Co-Equal in Position or Co-Equal in Divine Nature?
Top Questions for Trinitarians about Jesus being Co-Equal to God:
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Jesus Has Divine Nature
The
Greek words used for "divine,"
"divinity," "deity," and
"divine nature," can mean
something that is manifesting the same attributes or qualities of
God, godlike, or the state of being God or being a god. Context must
determine the meaning.
The
Bible says the fullness of the divine nature dwells in Jesus, in His
body (Colossians
2:9).
This fullness dwells in Christ as a result of a decision made by
God the Father (Colossians
1:19).
So
does this mean that Jesus is Yahweh? It absolutely **can**
mean that if the context supports this. But does it?
If
we go with the idea of this meaning that Jesus is the one true God,
Yahweh, then it means that God the Father somehow, at one time, made
a decision to turn His Son into the same God as Himself.
Since God
had to choose to place the fullness of divine nature into the Son,
then this is not something the Son has eternally possessed.
Trinitarian doctrine claims that the Son has always had divine nature
and there has never been a time when when He lacked divinity.
The
question thus remains, what was God's Son before the Father made the
decision to put the fullness of divine nature inside of Him?
(Colossians
1:19)
It
seems much more reasonable to me that it means Jesus is manifesting
all of the fullness of the qualities and attributes of His Father
perfectly, something no one else can do (at
least not right now). It
could also mean that Jesus is the absolute greatest of all the gods
who represent Yahweh -- that third category of gods we discussed
above.
Plus,
immediately after saying that this fullness of divine nature dwells
in Jesus, it declares that Christians have received a fullness from
Jesus. If we say that the fullness Jesus has makes Him Yahweh, would
we also be required to say that the fullness Christians have makes
them Yahweh too?
In
addition, God is going to grant some measure of this divine nature to
Christians too, according to 2
Peter 1:4:
2
Peter 1:4 (ESV): ...you may become partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world
because of sinful desire.
Since
we all agree that Christians
are not going to become Yahweh,
we acknowledge that "divine
nature"
here means we will share in the spirit nature of God and angels, or
we will manifest the qualities and attributes of God, or, perhaps, it
means we will be representatives and rulers for Yahweh. Maybe it
means all of the above. But it definitely does not mean we will
become
Yahweh.
God's Firstborn Son, Not God's Twin Brother
The
Bible always refers to the relationship between God and Jesus as
“Father”
and “Son,”
never as “brothers”
or “twins.”
If the Bible wanted to teach that they were Co-Equal, why wouldn't it
call Jesus God's “twin
brother”
instead of God's “Son?”
Jesus
Himself used the term “brothers”
to mean “equals”
(See Matthew 23:8). In
addition, the Apostle Paul and James, the brother of Jesus, used the
word “brother”
to mean “equal”
(Philemon
1:16; James 4:11-12). However,
Jesus used the term “Father”
to refer to a superior. (See
Matthew 23:9; John 14:28)
So,
what does the Bible mean when it says Jesus is the “Son”
of God? Well, it actually means almost the same thing as when we say
a human is the son
of
a father: It means the Father gave life to Jesus, taught Jesus, and
Jesus obeys the Father (John
6:57; John 8:28-29; John 5:19-20; John 5:30; Hebrews 5:8).
What
is the correct interpretation of Philippians 2:6?
Philippians
2:6 (NET): who though he existed in the form of God did not regard
equality with God as something to be grasped,
Philippians
2:6 (NIRV): In his very nature he was God. But he did not think that
being equal with God was something he should hold on to.
This
passage, in
either interpretation,
doesn't agree with the traditional Trinity Doctrine's claim that
Jesus has always
been Co-Equal to God the Father.
The
NET
Bible, NASB,
and ESV
all render this verse to show that Jesus did not even think that He
should grasp at being equal to God. This would mean Jesus never was
equal to God [in
authority, at least].
The
NIRV,
NIV,
and other Bible versions render this verse to show that Jesus did
possess equality with God in heaven, but when He became a human, He
gave up this equality.
Neither
of these interpretations can harmonize with the traditional
Trinitarian claim that Jesus has always
been Co-Equal to God.
What
is this"equality"
that Jesus give
up
(or
never had, depending on the interpretation or translation)
in Philippians
2:6? If
it is the “equality”
of nature we spoke about above, then Jesus gave up His divine spirit
nature when He became a Man. On the other hand, if this is “equality”
in position or authority, then Jesus gave up (or
never had)
equal authority with God the Father.
If
we go with the ESV/NET
interpretation, I think we must say that it refers to equality
of authority,
because other Scriptures definitely teach that Jesus possessed the
same divine spirit nature that God possesses (John
1:1; Colossians 2:9). If
we go with the NIRV/NIV
interpretation, then we could say that it refers to equality
of nature,
and Jesus gave this up when He became a human being.
In
addition, what does it mean for Jesus to exist in “the
Form of God?”
The Greek word is “morphe.”
Greek experts and dictionaries are divided on the meaning of this
word. Some say it means “the
outward appearance of,”
and some say it means “the
true nature of.” That
is why the ESV/NASB
render it as “form”
and the NIV/NIRV
render it as “in
very nature.”
If
we go with the ESV/NASB
interpretation, it would mean that Jesus reflected God's qualities
and nature, but may not necessarily have the exact same type of
essence that God has. If we go with the NIV/NIRV
interpretation, it would mean that Jesus did possess a nature
identical to the nature that God possesses. Neither
of these interpretations says that Jesus and the Father live together
inside of the same Being.
What
is the correct interpretation of Colossians 1:15?
Colossians
1:15 (ESV): He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
all creation.
The
Greek phrase for "firstborn
of all creation,"
according to what I have researched, is most likely in the "partitive
genitive"
form, which is a fancy way of saying that the
firstborn mentioned must be included as part of the group called
"creation"
here.
In
the Greek Septuagint (LXX) version of the Old Testament, and in the
Greek New Testament, the phrase “firstborn
of (someone/thing)”
is used in one of two ways:
- To say that the one who is “firstborn” was caused to be born by that someone/thing mentioned.
- To
say that the one who is “firstborn”
was a member of the group that the someone/thing mentioned is part
of.
Option 1 doesn't work for Colossians 1:15, because the rest of creation could not have caused Jesus to be born, since the rest of creation did not exist until it was created through Jesus. So we are left with option 2: Jesus would be included among the group that is called “creation.”
Usually
in the Bible, the word “firstborn”
refers to the first son born into a family or the first of a new type
of thing or experience – in other words, it
usually means the first in chronological order.
There are, however, a few occasions where it may not refer to the
chronological first, and instead, it takes on the
symbolic meaning of holding first place.
One such Scripture is Psalm
89:27. Even
in that Psalm, with the symbolic use of the term “firstborn”
over the kings as meaning “Highest
of the kings of the earth,”
it
is still including the firstborn king inside the group called
“kings.”
So,
while admittedly, “firstborn”
in Colossians
1:15
may not refer to Jesus being first chronologically
(even
though that idea is present in Colossians 1:17-18),
it is most likely still placing Jesus within
the group or category called “creation.”
It
should be noted that in Colossians
1:18,
and in Romans
8:29,
the Apostle Paul uses the word “firstborn”
to mean that Jesus is the first
chronologically
to rise from the dead to immortal life and the first
chronologically
to have the new resurrection body.
- Jesus is the first creature that was ever made by God, thus He is the first being ever “born.” (Compare Proverbs 8:22-24)
- Jesus is the first of the New Creation humans who have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them. (Compare Romans 8:29)
- Jesus is the Preeminent or Supreme One among all the creatures God has made. (See the ESV, NASB)
- Jesus
is the Preeminent or Supreme One over
all the creatures God has made. (See the NIV,
NLT)
However, option number 4 is not a valid option, if indeed the Greek structure of Colossians 1:15 is in the “partitive genitive." Some Bible experts and scholars do not think that this Greek phrase is in the “partitive genitive" sense, therefore, they say Jesus is excluded from the group or category of “creation,” and Jesus was over/outside creation.
I
recommend you do your own research on this topic to come to a
satisfying conclusion. Here are two links to get you started on this:
Restoration
Light
and
Scriptural
Truth.
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Co-Eternal and Uncreated?
Is
it true, as the Trinity Doctrine says, that the Son was never
created, but instead is eternal and has always existed with the
Father?
Proverbs
8:22 (NET): The LORD [Yahweh] created me as the beginning of his
works, before his deeds of long ago.
This
verse clearly says “Wisdom”
was created by God as the beginning of God's works. Some translations
say "produced"
instead of "created,"
but it's the same idea. Feel free to check out various Study Bibles
produced by a wide range of scholars to fact-check this for yourself.
Many
Bible scholars say this “Wisdom”
of Proverbs
8
is the same as
"the Word" [Jesus] from
John
1:1. This
is based partly on what the Apocrypha says about "Wisdom,"
which closely resembles what the New Testament says about Christ. In
addition,
1 Corinthians 1:24
explicitly
says that Christ is "the
Wisdom of God."
(The Jewish Apocryphal book of Sirach, says "Wisdom"
is the Word from God's mouth and was the first thing created by God.)
To
me, this is pretty convincing that the writers of the New Testament viewed the Son of God as Wisdom, and at
some point, was created or brought into existence by Yahweh. However,
I will admit there are many different interpretations of Proverbs
8,
and there are different ways these verses can be translated. Please
research this for yourself before arriving at your own conclusion.
Jesus,
at John
6:57,
says Christians will live because of Jesus in
the same way that Jesus lives because of God the Father.
How can Jesus be Co-Eternal if He received His life, and continues to
live, because of the Father?
If
Jesus is the Almighty Supreme Being, Source of all life, then He
would not need the Father to give Him life or keep Him alive, would
He? How
could there ever have been a time when the Father had to grant life
to the Son, if the Son is Co-Equal and Co-Eternal? (John
5:26)