John 8:17-18 NLT Illustrated: "What Greater Witness ..." />

 

Are Jesus and God the Father two separate individuals? This seems like a strange question to ask. Trinitarians try to explain how their doctrine works with explanations such as this: “While the three persons of the Godhead are distinct, they cannot be separated. That is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal. They exist simultaneously, not consecutively” (Trinitarian website). Does this make any sense? They claim the doctrine is true, yet, they admit it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to understand. Let’s examine what the Bible says, and see if the truth is really that difficult to understand. 

 

John 8:16-18 – “If I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me” (NIV). In these verses, Jesus twice says “the Father . . . sent” him, which means they are two separate and distinct people, because the sender and the one sent cannot be the same, nor can they be in the same location. He also says the Father is with him, indicating they are separate and distinct. Jesus also says the witness of “two” individuals is true. ‘I’m one, and my Father who sent me is the other,’ he says.  Obviously, Jesus and his Father are two separate and distinct people.

John 10:30 – Are the Father and Jesus “one” within a Trinity? Or, are they “one” in unity, the same as the disciples are in John 17:11,20-23?  Since the disciples are not “God”, yet are to be “one” with God and Jesus and with one another, obviously they are “one” in unity. The Greek word “hen” is in the neuter gender, and is translated as “one”, but this is not the numeral “one”. To be the numeral “one” it would have to be in the masculine gender. Anyway, at John 8:17,18, Jesus said that he and his Father are “two”, numerically speaking.

 John 14:10 – “Do you not believe that I am in union with the Father and the Father is in union with me? I am not the source of the words that I say to you, but the Father who is united with me is doing these things himself” (AAT). Jesus and his Father are clearly shown to be “one” in unity, or, “in union with” each other, but this doesn’t mean they are one in the Trinitarian sense “of the same essence”. This verse, and the entire Bible shows they are entirely separate individuals. Why? Jesus says he is “not the source of the words” that he speaks, but the Father is the source. This is because only the Father is the Almighty, not the Son or the holy spirit. “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:10 ESV). Jesus admits that he is not the ultimate authority, but his Father is.

 John 8:42 – “I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me” (NIV) — Jesus says, ‘I have come to you from God. I’m not here on my own, but God sent me.’ This shows that God the Father is the one who is in control, sending Jesus from heaven to earth. Saying that “God sent me” is very powerful evidence that Jesus is not God. Also, the fact that Jesus was here on earth, and his Father was in heaven, as always, shows that they are entirely separate individuals.

John 20:17 – “I am ascending to my Father and you Father, to my God and your God” (NIV).– God the Father and his Son Jesus are entirely separate, distinct and apart. Jesus was here on earth at the time, and his heavenly was in heaven, as always, which is strong evidence of their separateness. Jesus called his Father his “God,” which means that Jesus cannot be God.

“Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1 NAB). Notice that Jesus, here in this picture is “at the right hand of God“. Yes, he’s close to God, but he is obviously separate from God. While Jesus is honored with the highest position in existence next to his Father, he is obviously not Almighty God, since he sits next to him, at the most favored position, God’s right hand.

Let’s make no mistake, Jesus said that, “I and the Father are of one accord” (John 10:30 Lamsa), and “I am in union with the Father and the Father is in union with me” (John 14:10 AAT). They are in perfect unity, but that doesn’t mean “they cannot be separated”, as Trinitarians claim.

By bypassing “man-made ideas” that “cancel the word of God” (Mark 7:7,13 NLT), and examining the scriptures themselves directly, in both their local and remote contexts, we can easily see that Jesus and God the Father are two separate individuals.