Continued from Part 2
Similarly, when asked if he would “at this time” restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6) Jesus replied: “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has placed in His own jurisdiction” (Acts 1:7). Are we to conclude that the “equal” partners of the triune godhead have powers and knowledge, which they do not share with each other? Even after his supposed resurrection, Jesus is still not all-knowing but is said to receive increments of knowledge from God.
Thus, we find: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place” (Revelation 1:1). Even the pre-incarnate Jesus did not have the same degree of knowledge as God, the Father. If this pre-incarnate supernatural being is equated with the angel of the Lord as so many trinitarians allege then the following needs to be considered. The prophet Zechariah records that the angel of the Lord inquired of God: “O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have compassion on Jerusalem and on the cities of Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:12). Where is the equality of knowledge between the “equal” partners of the triune godhead?
Luke 2:52 says: “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in physical growth, and in favor with God and men.” Do the members of the Trinity have likes and dislikes about each other? Did Jesus, the perfect god-man, need to increase in favor with God, or shall we say with two-thirds of God?
John’s Jesus does not consider himself equal with the Father as is illustrated in several verses. In the Gospel of John, Jesus acknowledges that “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19). He adds: “I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me” (John 5:30; see also John 6:38, Luke 22:42). Are some members of the allegedly coequal Trinity subservient, and less than equal, to other members? Although they have different wills (“I do not seek my own will”), do they obey without question the others’ commands (“the will of Him who sent me”)? John’s Jesus admits to subordinating his own distinct will, yet according to the trinitarian doctrine they should all have the same will. Should one of the triune partners have to forgo his own will in favor of the will of another member of the Trinity? Should not they all have the exact same will? And, which member of the triune deity initiates the divine will?
John’s Jesus says: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:28-29). John’s Jesus once more admits that “I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me commandment, what to say, and what to speak” (John 12:49). Does the Son have a mind of his own or is he simply reiterating what he is told? Continuing in this vein Jesus says that what he is teaching is not his own ideas. He exclaims: “My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me” (John 7:16). Jesus could not say this if he were God because the instruction would then have been his to begin with.
John’s Jesus says: “As the Father gave me command, even so I do” (John 14:31). Are we to presume that the Son has no authority without the consent of the Father? In the New Testament, there are numerous verses alleging that Jesus was given power and authority by “the Father.” Yet, if he was an integral part of God, then he would have always had the power and authority that the New Testament says he was “given.” Jesus was allegedly given “all authority” by the Father (Matthew 28:18). He was allegedly given “a name above every name” by the Father (Philippians 2:9). He was allegedly given work to accomplish by the Father (John 5:36). He was allegedly given the power to “raise up” those who believed in him by the Father (John 6:39-40, 10:28-29). He was allegedly given glory by the Father (John 17:22, 24). He was allegedly given his “cup” of suffering and death by the Father (John 18:11). The Father allegedly “seated” Jesus at His own right hand (Ephesians 1:20) and “appointed” him over the Church (Ephesians 1:22). These verses make no sense if Jesus is eternally “coequal” with the Father.
Continued...