Is Jesus Christ equal to God? Based on the following scripture, and what they have heard, or been told, many people think so.
“For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God” (John 5:19 NRSV).
If we look at this scripture closely, and think about it logically, there are three serious problems with the claim that Jesus made himself equal with God, and so he must be God..read more
In our series about what is stated concerning Jesus in the various books of the New Testament, this article examines the book of 1 Corinthians. It is claimed by many preachers and denominations that Jesus is part of a Trinity, along with God the Father and the holy Spirit. If this is so, we surely should find evidence of it in a New Testament book such as 1 Corinthians, which covers Christian beliefs. Is the Trinity doctrine in 1 Corinthians?
1 Corinthians 1:1 – “An apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” – God and Jesus are separate and distinct.
1 Corinthians 1:2 – “To the church of God in Corinth and to those sanctified in Christ Jesus.” – Two distinct beings – God and Jesus are mentioned, but no holy Spirit, or Trinity, here.
1 Corinthians 1:3 – “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Again, separate and distinct. Again, no greetings from the holy Spirit are mentioned. Of course, the holy Spirit is real, even though it is not mentioned here. If God and Jesus were part of a Trinity, as is claimed, this would be a logical place to mention the holy Spirit, and/or Trinity, in these opening greetings.
1 Corinthians 1:4 – “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.” – No holy Spirit, nor any Trinity or duality, is mentioned here.
1 Corinthians 1:6 – “God thus confirming our testimony about Christ concerning you.” God and Jesus are separate and distinct. No holy spirit or Trinity is mentioned.
1 Corinthians 1:9 – “God is faithful who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Two individuals named, God and Jesus, but no Holy Spirit, or Trinity.
1 Corinthians 1:28,30 – “God chose the lowly … It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God.” – Jesus comes from God, but is not God. God does not come from Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2:10 – “This God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God” (NAB). In this very first mention of the holy spirit in 1 Corinthians, it is called “the Spirit,” or “his spirit” (NIV). This language is indicative of the fact that the holy spirit is not a person. Without the spirit being a person, there is no Trinity.
1 Corinithians 2:11 – “Among human beings, who knows what pertains a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God” (NAB). The Spirit of God is compared with the spirit of humans. The activity of this “spirit” is compared with the “spirit” of the self-consciousness of humans. The spirit of humans is to their own individual thoughts as the Spirit of God is to his own thoughts. Holy Spirit is therefore “holy intelligence,” a revelation of the actual mind of God.
1 Corinthians 2:16 – “Who has known the mind of the Lord?… But we have the mind of Christ.” – There are distinctive differences between God and Jesus. The holy spirit is not mentioned here, not because it is not real, but because it is not a person, but is God’s “power” (Acts 1:8). No Trinity is mentioned because it is not real. The Trinity is not in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 3:23 – “You are of Christ and Christ is of God.” – Christ comes from God the Father. He is “the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 ESV; NASB; NAB; KJV). Jesus had a beginning to his life, so he has not been eternal, which means he is not God.
1 Corinthians 4:1 – “As servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” – Two separate, distinct individuals are mentioned, “Christ,” and “God.”
In our series about what is stated concerning God, Jesus, and the holy Spirit, and whether there is any evidence of the Trinity doctrine, in the various books of the New Testament, we will examine the book of Romans.
“Romans is theologically the most important of all the epistles written by Paul, and it contains his most comprehensive and logical presentation of the gospel . . . this =&0=&
Since Romans is said to “this foundational New Testament book,” we would expect to at least find some evidence of the Trinity doctrine, if it is true, in this important book of Romans.
Notice the relationship between the two – God and Jesus. How about the holy Spirit, how does it play a role?
Romans 1:1 – “Paul” is “a slave of Jesus Christ . . . and set apart for the gospel of God” (NAB). The gospel, the good news, belongs to God, not Jesus. Also, there is no mention of the holy Spirit or the Trinity in this verse. Why? Because, the holy Spirit, although it is real, is not a person.
Romans 1:3 – “the gospel about his Son” (NAB), “regarding his Son” (NIV). The gospel is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We see that the focus is on God, who deals with humankind through his Son.
Romans 1:4– “Established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (NAB). Jesus was “appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (NIV). Since he was “appointed,” that means the one who did the appointing is the superior. Therefore, there is no equality, as the Trinity doctrine claims. Jesus is “the Son of God,” not “God the Son” – separate and distinct from the God the Father. Since “God has resurrected this Jesus” (Acts 2:32 HCSB), and Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18), it means that Jesus has not been eternal, as the Trinity doctrine claims.
Romans 1:7 – “from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV). It is admitted by Trinitarians that, “two divine persons are in view here . . . the Lord Jesus Christ . . . is shown to be another person besides the Father” (The Forgotten Trinity, p 157). But, why isn’t the letter also from the holy Spirit if the Trinity doctrine is true? Because the holy Spirit is not a person. “God” is shown in this verse to be the “Father,” and not “the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 1:8 – “I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ” (NAB) – Notice that he thanks God, not Jesus, or the Trinity. But he does so “through Jesus.” This is the proper way to pray, not to Jesus or the Trinity, but through Jesus (John 14:6). “My God” is clearly shown not to be Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:9 – “God, whom I serve in preaching the gospel of his Son” (NIV) – Paul says he is serving God, not Jesus, or the Trinity, in the preaching of God’s Son. “God” is clearly shown to be someone other than “his Son.”
Romans 2:16 – “God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ” (NIV) – “God” is someone other than Jesus, and is the ultimate judge, doing so “through Jesus Christ.” “God” is obviously superior to Jesus Christ, which fact negates the “eternal” clause of the Trinity doctrine.
Romans 3:22 – “The righteousness of through faith in Jesus Christ” (NAB) – God’s righteousness flows through Jesus Christ to believing humans. This shows that God the Father is supreme over his Son, Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:24-26 – “They are justified by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation through . . . through the forbearance of God–to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus” (NAB) – These verses indicate that the channel to and from God is Jesus, but God is not Jesus. God presented Christ, who died, as a sacrifice of atonement. This shows that God, not Jesus, is the one who is in complete control. God uses Jesus mightily, but Jesus is obviously not equal to God.
Romans 5:1 – “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” – A Christian’s peace comes from God, the supreme being, through Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:5 – “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (NAB). ” . . . through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (NRSV). Even though many translations call the holy Spirit “who,” or “whom” here, it is clear from the Greek that “that,” or “which,” is the thought intended. This verse makes it clear that the holy Spirit is not a person.
Romans 5:8 – “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (NAB) – Jesus, not God, died for us. Since, “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (=&1=&Jesus, because he died, cannot be God.
Romans 5:9 – “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (NIV). This verse once again shows that God operates through Jesus, which gives evidence that God, not Jesus, is the superior one.
Romans 5:10 – “We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (NAB) – “The death of his Son” means that Jesus actually “died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), so he cannot be God because, “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB).
Romans 5:11 – “We boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (NAB) – We always have to go through Jesus to get to God. In fact we can only know God through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Romans 5:15 – “Even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift to many through this other man, Jesus Christ” (NLT) – The supreme being, God, channels his blessings through Jesus Christ. Jesus is called a “man,” which proves he can’t be God, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19).
Romans 5:17 – “Even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness . . . through this one man, =&2=& – God’s gifts and provisions flow through Jesus, which shows that God is superior over Jesus. Jesus is again called a man, proving he’s not God.
Romans 6:4 – “Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father” (NLT) – In this verse, it is shown that the God who resurrected Jesus is “the Father,” which again proves that Jesus can’t be God because he died, and “God . . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12).
Romans 6:9 – “Since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again, death no longer has mastery over him” (NIV) – Jesus died, God brought him back to life, as noted in Romans 6:4 above. Death did have mastery over Jesus briefly. This means that: (1) Jesus is not God; and (2) God is superior over Jesus.
Romans 6:10 – “The life he lives, he lives to God” (NIV) – Jesus is said to be ‘living to God,’ in godly submission, which, once again, indicates that God the Father is superior over Jesus.
Romans 6:11 – “Consider yourselves . . . alive to God through Christ Jesus” (NLT) – God the Father deals with humans, not directly, but through his Christ, his Son Jesus. Jesus is the “mediator” between God and humans (1 Timothy 2:5), all of which means that Jesus is not God.
Romans 6:23 – The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 7:4 – Christ… Who was raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit for God
Romans 7:25 – Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord
Romans 8:3 – “God has done this by sending his own Son” (NAB). – The sender is greater than the one sent, as Jesus said: “No sender is greater than his master, no messenger is greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16 NAB).
Romans 8:11 – “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you” (NRSV). The fact that God resurrected Jesus Christ from the “dead” (Revelation 1:18) is twice stated in this verse. Since “God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Jesus Christ cannot be Almighty God. The holy Spirit is referred to as “the spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead,” and “his Spirit that dwells in you,” so it is God’s spirit, and not a person.
Romans 8:16,26,27 – “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God . . . the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (NAB). These verses use the pronouns “itself” and “it” to describe the holy Spirit. The pronouns “it” and “itself” do not describe a person, proving that the holy Spirit is not a person.
Romans 8:29 – “God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among brothers and sisters” (NLT) – Almighty God, not his Son, exclusively has the ultimate power to foreknow the future. Jesus said there were some things that he did not know (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32), which means that Jesus can’t be God. We also note from this verse that Jesus has “brothers and sisters” (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11). In contrast, God has “children” (Galatians 3:26; Revelation 21:5-7), but no “brothers and sisters,” which testifies to the fact that Jesus cannot be God.
Romans 8:32 – He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all – God gave Jesus, therefore, God is greater
Romans 8:34 – “Christ Jesus who died… Who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” – Christ, at the right hand of God, intercedes for us with God, so Jesus can’t be God
Romans 8:39 – From the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 9:5 – “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised” (NIV). Translations like this one render the Greek in a way that makes Jesus “God over all.” However, this statement contradicts the Trinity doctrine itself, by making Jesus supreme over all, even God and the Holy Spirit. “In this Trinity . . . None is greater, or less, than another. But the whole three persons are . . . coequal” (Athanasian Creed). Even worse, this translation contradicts the Bible itself: “Supreme over the nations is Yahweh, supreme over the heavens his glory” (Psalm 113:4 NJB). “One God and Father of all, who is over all” (Ephesians 4:6). the Bible says that it is God the Father who is over all, not the Messiah. The “Lord” “God” is referred to in the Bible as having “his Messiah” (Revelation 11:15; 12:10). The NIV translators admit that the Greek of Romans 9:5 can also be translated as, “the Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised” (NIV marginal reading). The NAB renders it similarly, and explains the reason in its footnote on the verse: “Paul’s point is that God who is over all aimed to use Israel, which had been entrusted with every privilege, in outreach to the entire world through the Messiah.”
Romans 10:9 – “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (NIV). This verse shows us that “God” is someone other than “Jesus.” It also shows us that Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). Since “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), this is yet another powerful proof that Jesus is not Almighty God. Without Jesus being God, and being eternal, there is powerful evidence against the Trinity doctrine in Romans.
Romans 14:9 – “For to this end Christ died and returned to life” (NIV). Christ died and return to life – God didn’t die, Jesus did. This proves Jesus has not been eternal, and the Trinity doctrine is contradicted by Romans.
Romans 14:18 – Anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God
