With whom was Jesus equal?
Phil. 2:5-6 NKJV |
5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, |
With whom was Jesus equal? Paul said, "God."
Is Jesus equal in the sense that He is also God?
Isa. 46:5, 9 CEV |
5Can anyone compare with me? Is anyone my equal? 9I alone am God! There are no other gods; no one is like me. Think about what happened many years ago. |
Is Jesus equal in the sense that He is also God? God said, "I alone am God". Nobody can be equal to God in the sense that they are also God.
Is Jesus equal to God in terms of authority?
I Cor. 11:3 GW |
3However, I want you to realize that Christ has authority over every man, a husband has authority over his wife, and God has authority over Christ. |
Is Jesus equal to God in terms of authority? Paul said, "God has authority over Christ". Paul did not mean that they were equal in terms of authority.
In what way then can our Lord Jesus be equal with God? In form.
What does it mean to be in the form of God?
Phil. 2:5-6 Greek |
5τοῦτο γὰρ φρονείσθω ἐν ὑμῖν ὃ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, 6ὃς ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, |
Chris. in the Making, p. 115 |
"... it has long been recognized that μορφῇ (form) and εἰκών (image) are near synonyms and that in Hebrew thought the visible ‘form of God’ is his glory." |
(Christology in the Making: An Inquiry Into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, Dunn, James D. G. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996)
What does it mean to be in the form of God? The Greek reads, "ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ." What was understood to be synonymous with the word "μορφῇ"? According to James Dunn, a New Testament scholar and theologian, "εἰκών (image)". What Paul wrote to the Philippians is the equivalent of what he wrote to the Corinthians in II Cor. 4:4, in that Jesus is in the image of God.
What does it mean to be in God's image? Does God have a literal appearance? What is an attribute of God?
I Tim. 1:17 NKJV |
17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. |
What is an attribute of God? Paul said, "invisible". Unlike Jesus, the true God cannot be seen and therefore does not have a literal form or image.
What does it mean then to be in the image of God?
Eph. 4:24 CEB |
24and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness. |
What does it mean then to be in the image of God? Paul explained, "in justice and holiness." Who are also expected to be in God's image? Paul said, "clothe yourself with the new person created according to God's image". Who was Paul speaking to? The members of the Church of Christ. We are instructed to be like God in image or holiness, just as Christ already is. It is in this sense that the Scripture allows for Jesus to be equal with God.
Why is holiness the image of God?
I Pet. 1:16 NKJV |
16because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." |
Why is holiness the image of God? God said, "for I am holy".
What was Christ found in appearance as?
Phil. 2:8 NKJV |
8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. |
What was Christ found in appearance as? Paul said, "as a man."
Is this also figurative? Is Jesus man in appearance only? How did our Lord Jesus Christ introduce Himself?
John 8:40 NKJV |
40But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. |
How did Christ introduce Himself? Jesus said, "Man". Hence, Jesus is man not only in appearance, but in nature. From whom did Jesus hear the truth? Jesus said, "I heard from God." The one who hears is different from the one who is heard.
What is Christ's nature according to the Apostles Peter and Paul, respectively?
Acts 2:22 NKJV |
22"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— |
I Tim. 2:5 NKJV |
5For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, |
What is Christ's nature according to the Apostles Peter and Paul, respectively? They say, "Man". Was Jesus a man attested as God? Peter said, "by God". The one who attests is different from the one being attested. To whom does Jesus mediate man? Paul said, "God". Jesus the Mediator is different from the God to whom He mediates.
What is Christ's nature according to the Prophets Isaiah and David, respectively?
Isa. 53:3 NKJV |
3He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. |
Ps. 80:17 NKJV |
17Let Your hand be upon the Man of Your right hand, upon the Son of Man whom You made strong for Yourself. |
What is Christ's nature according to the Prophets Isaiah and David, respectively? They say, "Man".
How should we recognize God?
Hos. 11:9 NKJV |
9I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror. |
How should we recognize God? God said, "I am God, and not man."
How should we recognize man?
Ezek. 28:2 NKJV |
2"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is lifted up, and you say, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the midst of the seas,' yet you are a man, and not a god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god |
How should we recognize man? God said to the prince of Tyre, "you are a man, and not a god". God is God, and man is man. God is not man, and man is not God. Jesus, who is man, therefore, cannot be God.
The teaching that Jesus is both man and God arose during the apostasy, and was developed in response to external pressures from the pagans.