Is Jesus God? Part 9 - "God is greater than Jesus – Jesus is subordinate to God"

Return to Part 8: "God is perfect – Jesus was not"God is perfect – Jesus was not"

1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”

Jesus is superior to others, but God is superior to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:28 “When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.”

Jesus is subject to God, therefore they can’t be the same one entity.

Hebrews 2:17 “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

If Jesus is God, where is the need for being fully human? To be fully human means to have no special powers, and to not know everything. Why would he have to be ‘in service’ to God if he is God? God created the entire universe, but can’t forgive sins in God form?

Hebrews 3:1-2 “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.”

Jesus is called an apostle and a priest. Is God an apostle and priest? This verse also declares that Jesus was appointed and faithful to God, so is God needing to be faithful to himself?

Hebrews 5:5 “In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

Jesus did not glorify himself, and was made to be a priest by God. Does God have to make himself a priest, nor glorify himself? Is God the father of himself?

Hebrews 5:8 “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered”

This tells us that Jesus had to ‘learn’ to be ‘obedient’. This implies that he wasn’t at some point in time prior, otherwise he wouldn’t have to learn to be. This also suggests that God is not knowing all if Jesus was God.

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

Several important points in this verse: 1-God says that “LORD” is his name. He doesn’t say his name is Jesus. 2- He will not give his glory to any other. This contradicts John 8:54 , John 17:5 , Matthew 16:27 , Matthew 25:31 , Matthew 24:30 , 2 Corinthians 4:4 , and others. 3- No praise is to be given to images. Christians today have statues of Christ, especially amongst Catholics, that they bow down to praise and glorify him. It is idol worship.

Isaiah 43:10 “"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.”

God chose him, and reaffirms that there is none after him. Jesus was created after, therefore he can’t be God.

John 5:36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish--the very works that I am doing--testify that the Father has sent me.”

He states to bear witness that things are not his own works, but the works of the God that sent him.

John 5:37 “And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form”

Jesus was sent by God. Does God send himself? Does God need to testify about himself to people? Does God need help? God has never been seen nor heard. Jesus was seen and heard.

John 6:27 “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Here we see two things, 1- that Jesus is called ‘son of MAN’, 2- that God gave Jesus his seal of approval.

John 7:16-17 “So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.”

If Jesus is God, then it would be his own teaching, but he says it isn’t his teaching, but only God’s.

John 7:28 “Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him.”

Jesus is stating he is there because God sent him, and not by his own authority. If he is God, then it would be his own authority. He also states that they do not know God, but he does, so if he is God, then they know God.

John 7:39 “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

The Holy Spirit had not been assigned yet, because Jesus hadn’t been glorified yet. If Jesus and the Holy Ghost are both part of a trinity with God, then how can they not already be existing with the other or glorified/assigned?

(Side Note: Islam teaches that the Holy Spirit is Angel Gabriel, who is the messenger angel, therefore we see this as saying Gabriel will come with a message to be received. See also Proverbs 1:23 to support this claim. It says: “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”)

John 8:29 “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

Jesus states that God is ‘with’ him. Does God accompany himself? Jesus does what pleases God, not himself. Does God have to please himself?

John 8:42 “Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.”

God sent Jesus, by God’s decision, not on Jesus’ will. Does God send himself not of his own will? It doesn’t make sense if Jesus is God.

John 8:49-50 “Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.”

Jesus says he is not seeking his own glory, therefore, God and his glory are not the same. He also is stating that only God judges.

John 8:54 “Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.”

Is God not able to glorify himself? Jesus is stating that it means nothing if he does it himself, and what matters is that God glorifies him, and that God is another entity, with different authority. If he is one in the same as God, equal in a trinity, then even God’s testimony would not be true. It’s quite a conundrum.

John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.”

This indicates that God is greater than all, including him – the son, just as he does in John 14:28 .

John 11:41-42 “So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” (See also Jeremiah 1:5 )

Jesus is thanking God that he heard him. Does God need to talk to himself? Is it possible that God can’t hear himself, or others? Then he continues to state that God hears him and responded to him, and it was proof for the others to know that God had sent him as a prophet to deliver God’s message.

John 12:49 “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

If Jesus is God, he would not say that he is not speaking of his own self, but is instead speaking of what God had commanded him to say.

John 13:3 “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.”

Does God have to put things under his own power? Jesus came from God and goes back to God, therefore they can’t be the same.

John 14:24 “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

Jesus says his words are not from himself, but from God. If he was God, then they would be his own words. He is clearly distinguishing himself from God.

John 14:28 “You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

He says he is going back to the Father, not himself, and further clarifies that the Father is greater than him. If they are one in the same (3 in 1) then he would be talking about himself.

John 15:10 “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love.”

Jesus is saying that he is only relaying God’s commands, that God commanded him to command the people, and that God’s love is separate from his love. Does God love himself?

John 16:23 “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (See also Luke 11:2 , and John 4:23 )

When ‘kingdom comes’ (as seen in Luke 11:2 ), Jesus is saying they will ask God, not himself.

John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

He never said he was God, but that God sent him, and indicates that he and God are not the same.

John 17:5 “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Jesus asked God to glorify him with God, so if he is praying to God to glorify him, then he can’t be God himself. Simply having glory before the world began doesn’t mean that he has to be God.

John 17:21 “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

If Jesus is in God, and God is in Jesus, and says that everyone can be IN God, does that make everyone else part of God to? This shows that he did not mean that they are the same substance, nor even have the same glory or powers.

1 John 4:14 “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

God doesn’t send himself, he sends another - his son. Savior does not make one God either. This shows God is holding the power and ability to send others to do as he says.

Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Does God need to pray to himself? This verse also shows that he was NOT praying to teach others how to pray, because he was doing it alone away from others.

Mark 12:29 “"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

Jesus is saying “our” God, not “me”. This means God was above Jesus, and the Lord of Jesus.

Matthew 20:23 “Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."”

Jesus says he has no authority to grant where people can sit in heaven! If he is God, then he would have that authority. He is distinguishing himself apart from God.

Matthew 27:46 “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").”

Does God need to beg himself, and ask himself why he forsook himself? Jesus was thinking God had forgotten about him!

2 Peter 1:17 “He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Peter is talking about Jesus. Does God need to receive honor and glory from himself? Does God love himself, and have to be pleased with himself?

Revelations 1:1 “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John”

Does God need to ‘give revelation’ to himself? This demonstrates that Jesus couldn’t be God, because God is all-knowing, and Jesus was not.

Revelations 1:5 “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth…”

Can God be born, or be faithful to himself?

Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

Thanks is given to GOD, by means of deliverance through Jesus. Does God go through himself if Jesus is God?

Romans 13:4 “For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

Many points are made in this verse: 1- Jesus was given authority, he didn’t already have it. 2- He was a servant of God – Is God his own servant? 3- He was a ruler who would inflict punishments as an agent of God.

Qur’an 2:253 “Those messengers - some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree. And We gave Jesus, the Son of Mary, clear proofs, and We supported him with the Pure Spirit. If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He intends.”

Allah sent messengers that he spoke to, a message and miracles and signs to share with others. All messengers are also prophets.

Qur’an 3:59 “Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was.”

Allah created Adam, and Jesus both by command, he is their Creat-OR, not their pro-creat-OR (father).

Qur’an 4:171 “O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not "Trinity": desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.”

Allah is not having a trinity, as he does not need help. Jesus was a messenger (given the word of God) and prophet. Allah is one without partners, nor does he have a son. He can manage things by himself.

Qur’an 5:110 “[The Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Pure Spirit and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and [remember] when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when you came to them with clear proofs and those who disbelieved among them said, "This is not but obvious magic."

Allah tells here that miracles were given to Jesus, FROM God (Allah), same as the Bible taught (that they were from God, not Jesus himself.)

Qur’an 5:116 “And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.”

On Judgment Day, Allah will have Jesus testify about what he taught mankind, and Jesus will tell them that he never told anyone to worship him or his mother. He admits that he does not know all, and that only Allah knows all.

Qur’an 6:106 “Follow, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you from your Lord - there is no deity except Him - and turn away from those who associate others with Allah.”

Allah tells Muhammad that there is no God but Allah, and not associate with those that worship anyone or anything else. Just as Jesus was subordinate to Allah, so was Muhammad.

Qur’an 19:29-30 “So she pointed to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" [Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.”

Allah (God) has told us that Jesus was indeed a servant of God, a messenger and prophet.

Qur’an 19:34-35 “That is Jesus, the son of Mary - the word of truth about which they are in dispute. It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.”

Allah says Jesus was son of Mary (son of mankind), and that Allah does not need a son, because he is all-powerful by himself. He can command something and it is done.

Qur’an 25:3 “But they have taken besides Him gods which create nothing, while they are created, and possess not for themselves any harm or benefit and possess not [power to cause] death or life or resurrection.”

Allah rebukes those that worship others (creation), who are not able to create anything. Jesus was creation, yet by miraculous way, but still created, and should not be worshipped, because he is part of creation.

Qur’an 42:11 “[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”

Allah states that there is nothing like him, and that he is all-hearing and seeing. Man is not having these traits, and Jesus was a man.

Qur’an 43:57-59 “And when the son of Mary was presented as an example, immediately your people laughed aloud. And they said, "Are our gods better, or is he?" They did not present the comparison except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute. Jesus was not but a servant upon whom We bestowed favor, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel.”

Allah is stating that Jesus was a servant that he anointed (chosen and blessed).

Qur’an 43:63 “And when Jesus brought clear proofs, he said, "I have come to you with wisdom and to make clear to you some of that over which you differ, so fear Allah and obey me.”

Allah tells of when Jesus brought his proofs, which Jesus told the people he was given the word of God, and to fear God, and obey him, because he was commanding what was given to him by God. He did as God commanded him to do.

Continue to the next Section – Part 10: "Jesus denies he is God – Says he was sent by God"

Return to the Main Directory Listing Page for this Series

Recommended Reading:

Bible Corruption Series:

Part 1 – Intro to Bible Version Differences

Part 2 – 1 John 5:7, The Three That Bear Record in Heaven (Comma Johanneum)

Part 3 – John 7:53-8:11, Pericope of the Adulteress

Part 4 – Mark 16:9-20, Resurrection of Jesus

Part 5 – Conflicting Gospels on the Empty Tomb & Ascension of Jesus

The Corruption of the Torah

Is the Crucifixion of Jesus Really Foretold in the Old Testament?

Do Muslims Believe in the Bible?