Why Jesus Christ Cant be God The key doctrine of the Bible that the Iglesia Ni Cristo [CHURCH OF CHRIST] upholds is the absolute oneness of God the Father. The true church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ is a MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION which means they believe in the oneness of God. There are so many verses in the Bible that support this teaching: John 17:1, 3 points equivocally to “the Father as the only true God” as testified by Jesus. Apostle Paul’s writing to the Corinthians, told them that “for us, there is but one God, the Father” (1 Corinthians 8:6). He likewise emphasized to the Ephesians that “one God is the Father of all” (Ephesians 4:6). When he says “all” that includes Jesus our Lord who announced to Mary Magdalene that “my Father is your Father” and “my God is your God” (John 20:17). When we teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is NOT God, it becomes a surprise to many who are not aware of the INC’s position on the true God. They find it hard to believe that we deny the alleged deity of Christ. So they ask: “Why don’t you believe that Jesus Christ is God?” Here are the compelling reasons based on the Bible: 1. God is omniscient while Jesus Christ is not The Bible teaches that God knows everything: 1 John 3:20 “If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything.” [Good News Bible] There is one thing that Jesus himself acknowledged that he does not know: his second coming. Here’s what he said, Matthew 24:36 No one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father By his admittance that he does not know his second coming, Jesus is at the same time teaching that he is not the true God. If others will reason out and say that Jesus is speaking as a man here on earth, the question is: is he telling the truth or not? If the answer is: he is telling the truth, then we have to admit the truth that Christ is not omniscient, therefore, he is not God. Granting that Christ emptied himself of his divine attribute, that is, of being an omniscient when he declared that even the Son does not know the day and hour of his coming, is Christ trying to obscure the issue of his coming? Does he know or not know his coming? Would it be logical to accept the obvious contradiction of this position that beyond his negation in this verse, that as God, he knows fully the time of his coming. On the other hand, does it not appear that Christ is a hypothetical liar by acknowledging publicly something that he does not know when inwardly he knows it? On the second thought, why would he teach something that is stupendously a big lie if he knows the time of his second coming in the first place? These are hard questions that the proponents of Christ-is-God doctrine will never be able to answer! 2. God is Almighty while Jesus Christ is not The Bible teaches that God is the Almighty [most powerful] God: Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Christ’s statement in John 5:30 proves that he is not the Almighty God because he admitted that: John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” Why would an omnipotent God on earth say that he cannot do anything by himself? The limitation that Jesus had while on earth proves the point that Jesus is not God in spite of the miraculous deeds he had done. Peter even testified that God did those miracles through him: Acts 2:22 “Men, Israelites! hear these words, Jesus the Nazarene, a man approved of God among you by mighty works, and wonders, and signs, that God did through him in the midst of you, according as also ye yourselves have known;” [Young’s Literal Translation] 3. Jesus Christ admitted that the Father is greater than him That is the message he left with his disciples before going to the Father: John 14:28 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” It would be preposterous to believe that Jesus Christ is God because his greatness is not the same as the Father. Why is the Father greater than the Son? Because the Father is God while the Son is not. 4. Jesus did not admit that he is good. His denial of being good while pointing to God as the one who is good is a proof that he is different from God. Lets analyze the biblical account: Mark 10:17-18 “As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life? “Why do you call me good? Jesus asked him. No one is good except God alone.” [GNB] Although Jesus Christ is a good man, he did not accept that he is good but emphasize to the man who asked him that God is the only one who is good. Is this not a clear proof that Jesus is not God? 5. God is above all things while Christ will place himself under God The Bible said God is above all things: Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” And Jesus, according to Apostle Paul: 1 Corinthians 15:27-28 “For the Scripture says, God put all things under his feet. It is clear, of course, that the words all things do not included God himself, who puts all things under Christ. But when all things have been placed under Christ’s rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him, and God will rule completely over all.” [GNB] The believers in Christ-is-God doctrine will be shocked on the day of judgment to see that Jesus will place himself under God. Why would it be shocking to them? Because they believe that the Father and the Son possess equal powers (as the Trinity doctrine emphasizes) while the Bible clearly delineates the great difference between the two. Why will Jesus Christ place himself under God if it is true that he is God by nature? No wonder Apostle Paul taught the Christians that God is supreme over Christ (I Cor. 11:3, Today’s English Version) because the Son does not possess a power equal to God. 6. Christ prayed to God. Why did he do it if he were God in the first place? The author of Hebrews reported that: Hebrews 5:7 “In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him.” [GNB] To a bright mind, would it be logical to believe at this point that the God-Man on earth would be seeking the help of someone? If the Son were truly God, his fervent prayer in Gethsemane would only be a show and not a real manifestation of his absolute dependence on God which is the motivation behind his prayer and anybody else who would pray to God. Does it not show a mockery of God and an outlandish hypocrisy on the part of Christ if he were God? He even asked him, Father, save me from this hour (John 12:27). Even when he was dying on the cross, he showed his faith in God by calling in a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46). The truth that cannot be denied By biblical standard, it would be heretical to believe that Christ is God. However, our denial of his alleged deity does not in any way tarnish our faith in his lofty position that God himself have bestowed on him (Matt. 28:18; 11:27). It should not be misconstrued that by denying the alleged divinity of Jesus Christ, it would tantamount to degrading him. On the contrary, the Iglesia Ni Cristo highly regards our Lord Jesus Christ based on the lucid biblical teachings about his attributes and qualities: He is the Son of God (Matt. 3:17),our Lord (Acts 2:36) and our Savior (Acts 5:31). He is our only Mediator to God (I Tim. 2:5) and the only way to the Father (John 14:5). We worship him since it is God’s will that all should worship him (Phil. 2:9-11) and we believe that he is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22) because God placed all things under his feet (Eph. 1:22). Never did he nor his apostles introduce him as God! NOW READ THESE: I Tim. 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and Men, the Man Christ Jesus The Bible tells us that Jesus is a Man mediating between God and Men! And Jesus proclaimed who is the ONLY TRUE GOD: John 17:1-3 “After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. For you gave him authority over all people, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him. AND ETERNAL LIFE MEANS TO KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent. [GNB] This was the scene when Jesus prayed to God, he said “TO KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD” Which refers to the FATHER. He didnt say: “TO KNOW YOU AND ME AS THE ONLY TRUE GOD” or “TO KNOW ME, THE ONLY TRUE GOD”. Clearly there is no verse in the whole Bible that says Jesus is another God. And what should be our recognition of Jesus? As he said: “TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST, WHOM YOU SENT”, meaning we should recognize him not as God but as the one sent by God - as a messenger of God: John 17:21 “I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, SO THAT THE WORLD WILL BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME.” [GNB] The undeniable truth, THE FATHER IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND NO ONE ELSE….
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 10:08:46 +0000
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