This verse does not mean Jesus is not God. In context, Jesus is speaking during His incarnation, when He voluntarily humbled Himself. Philippians 2:6-8 says that though He was “in very nature God,” He “emptied Himself” and took the form of a servant. “Greater” refers to the Father’s position of authority while Jesus is on earth, not to a difference in divine nature. Elsewhere Jesus explicitly claims equality: John 10:30 says, “I and the Father are one,” and John 5:18 records that the Jews wanted to kill Him because He was “making Himself equal with God.”
2. “Jesus prayed, so He can’t be God.” (Matthew 26:39)
Prayer does not prove Jesus isn’t divine; it proves He is truly human. Christian theology teaches that Jesus has two natures — fully God and fully man. As man, He lived in perfect dependence on the Father and prayed as an example for us. Hebrews 5:7 says that “He offered up prayers and supplications.” Far from denying His divinity, this shows that He is the perfect Mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5).
3. “Jesus didn’t know everything.” (Mark 13:32)
When Jesus says He does not know the day or hour of the end, this reflects His voluntary self-limitation during His earthly ministry (Philippians 2:7). He chose not to fully exercise His divine omniscience while on earth. After His resurrection, Peter affirms: “Lord, You know all things” (John 21:17), showing that Jesus’ knowledge was no longer hidden. This was a temporary limitation, not a denial of His divine nature.
4. “Jesus said He was sent, so He isn’t God.” (John 17:3)
Being “sent” does not mean Jesus is less than God; it simply describes His mission. In John 17:3 Jesus calls the Father “the only true God,” but in John 17:5 He immediately asks to be glorified with “the glory I had with You before the world existed.” No mere prophet or messenger could say that. Jesus is distinguishing persons (Father and Son) but not denying His shared divine essence.
5. “The Church invented Jesus’ divinity at Nicaea.”
This is historically false. Long before the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), Christians were already worshipping Jesus as God. Early writers like Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD) repeatedly call Jesus “our God,” and Pliny the Younger (c. 112 AD) reports that Christians “sing hymns to Christ as to a god.” Nicaea did not invent Christ’s divinity — it formally affirmed what the church had always believed in order to respond to false teachings like Arianism.
6. “Jesus called Himself a prophet.” (Luke 13:33)
Yes, Jesus is a prophet — but that is only one of His roles. He is also King and High Priest. Calling Himself a prophet does not mean He is merely human. In fact, Jesus also claims divine titles: in John 8:58 He says, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” directly using the divine name from Exodus 3:14. The crowd understood this as blasphemy, which is why they tried to stone Him — proving He was claiming divinity.
7. “The Holy Spirit was added later.”
The New Testament already presents the Holy Spirit as divine. In Acts 5:3-4, Peter says that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands baptism “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This shows that the Spirit shares the same divine name and authority. The doctrine of the Trinity was not invented later — it was developed to summarize what Scripture already taught from the beginning.
Each of these objections either ignores the context of the verses or overlooks the two natures of Christ — His true humanity and true divinity. The Bible consistently presents Jesus as fully God and fully man. Early Christians recognized this and worshipped Him long before any church council. Far from being a later invention, the doctrine of Christ’s divinity and the Trinity is deeply rooted in Scripture and the faith of the first believers.
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my piece. Here are my responses. I’m speaking bluntly but with no disrespect intended, so please don’t take offense.
1. “The Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)
If Jesus really wanted people to think He was equal, He could have said so plainly. Instead, He drew a line between himself and God. That’s not “temporary humility,” that’s hierarchy.
2. “Jesus prayed.” (Matthew 26:39)
If He’s God, who’s He praying to? Himself? Prayer doesn’t prove divinity, it proves dependence. Hebrews saying He prayed doesn’t magically solve that contradiction.
3. “Jesus didn’t know everything.” (Mark 13:32)
Calling it “voluntary limitation” is just a theological patch. The plain reading is simpler: He didn’t know because He wasn’t all-knowing.
4. “Jesus was sent.” (John 17:3)
That language shows separation. Being “sent” is prophet language. You can’t both call the Father the “only true God” and still claim equality without heavy mental gymnastics.
5. “The Church invented divinity at Nicaea.”
You’re right that some Christians worshipped Jesus as divine before 325. Others didn’t. That’s the point: there was no single “original Christianity.” Nicaea wasn’t confirming universal belief — it was silencing dissent.
6. “Jesus called Himself a prophet.” (Luke 13:33)
Exactly. He identified as a prophet. Later writers and councils piled on titles like King, High Priest, and “I AM.”
7. “The Spirit was always divine.” (Acts 5:3–4; Matthew 28:19)
Acts and Matthew reflect later theology. The early church didn’t have a neat Trinity. That system only took shape after centuries of debate.
At first glance, yes — it sounds like hierarchy. But notice: Christians didn’t deny that there is hierarchy. The Father sends the Son, the Son obeys — that’s a relational order. The question is whether that hierarchy means inequality of nature.
Example: In marriage, the husband can lead (Ephesians 5:23) but both are equally human and equally valuable. Similarly, Jesus could be under the Father’s authority while still sharing God’s nature.
And He does claim equality elsewhere: John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”) caused the crowd to try to stone Him, because they understood it as claiming divinity (John 10:33). If we read all of John, it paints a picture of a Son who is distinct yet fully shares the Father’s identity.
⸻
2. “Jesus prayed — that means He’s not God.”
If Jesus were the Father, yes, that would be nonsense — but Christianity never said Jesus is the Father. Prayer isn’t God “talking to Himself,” it’s the Son talking to the Father.
Think of it like this: if God became human, wouldn’t you expect Him to live like a real human — including praying, trusting, and obeying? Otherwise His life wouldn’t be fully human. Prayer shows Jesus is genuinely human, not just pretending. That’s why Christians say His prayers reveal His humanity, not deny His divinity.
3. “Jesus didn’t know everything.” (Mark 13:32)
When Jesus says He doesn’t know the day or hour, this reflects His voluntary humility. Philippians 2:7 says He “emptied Himself,” meaning He chose to live with real human limitations, including not always exercising His divine knowledge. This was temporary — after the resurrection Peter says, “Lord, you know all things” (John 21:17). His lack of knowledge was part of His mission, not proof He wasn’t God.
4. “Jesus was sent — that means He’s just a messenger.”
Being sent doesn’t always mean being inferior. In the OT, God “sends” His own Word (Isaiah 55:11) and His own Spirit (Isaiah 48:16). They aren’t creatures — they are extensions of God Himself.
John 17:5 is the key: Jesus asks to be glorified with the Father “with the glory I had with You before the world existed.” According to Isaiah 42:8, God does not share His glory with another — so if Jesus had that glory, He must share God’s identity, not just be another prophet.
5. “Nicaea invented divinity and silenced dissent.”
It’s true there were debates — Arius (and others) denied Jesus was equal with God. But we have writings from 1st- and 2nd-century Christians (long before Constantine) who worshiped Jesus as God.
For example:
• Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD) calls Jesus “our God.”
• Pliny the Younger (c. 112 AD) reports Christians sang hymns to Christ “as to a god.”
That doesn’t prove everyone believed it, but it proves this wasn’t a 4th-century invention — it was already mainstream enough to be noticed by Roman officials a hundred years earlier.
⸻
6. “Jesus called Himself a prophet — nothing more.”
Yes — Jesus did call Himself a prophet. But He also said things that no mere prophet could say.
• He forgave sins directly (Mark 2:5-7) — and His audience said, “Who can forgive sins but God?”
• He took the divine name “I AM” (John 8:58) — the crowd tried to stone Him because they understood He was claiming God’s identity.
• He said He would judge the world (Matthew 25:31-32) — no prophet ever claimed to judge all nations.
So either Jesus was a prophet making outrageous blasphemous claims — or He really was who He claimed to be.
⸻
7. “The Holy Spirit wasn’t divine until later.”
The idea of the Spirit as divine is very early. Acts 5:3-4 says lying to the Spirit is lying to God. Paul, writing in the 50s AD (way before any councils), uses a blessing naming all three together: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
That’s not a later “neat system” — that’s first-generation Christian writing. The Trinity as a formal doctrine came later, but the building blocks were there from the start.
Your first claim is based on what you think Jesus should have said if he wanted people to know he was equal, except Jesus most of the time explained himself in metaphors, not in plain form.
In your second claim you didn’t take the time to read what I answered before. Prayer doesn’t mean dependence.
In your third claim you are just assuming what you think is simplistic is what it’s true. It’s not that easy. Voluntary limitation is what the Bible says Jesus did. He emptied himself. You are just choosing not to read that part or consider it.
It’s not “heavy mental gymnastics” you cannot just wait for the creator of the universe to be as simple as 1+1. Everything has a complexity behind it.
Nicaea was affirming what many Christians already considered. It’s not just “inventing the divine nature of Jesus” but more like the church confirming what they already believed in.
You just didn’t consider to read what I wrote about Jesus considering himself as a prophet. I invite you to truly analyze it.
Jesus himself said go and baptize in the name of the father the son and the Holy Spirit. You are just choosing not to write about that.
In the most kind way I want to say this, but I truly think you just don’t want to accept or consider what I’m telling you. Please, take the time to read what I wrote.
1. “The Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)
This verse does not mean Jesus is not God. In context, Jesus is speaking during His incarnation, when He voluntarily humbled Himself. Philippians 2:6-8 says that though He was “in very nature God,” He “emptied Himself” and took the form of a servant. “Greater” refers to the Father’s position of authority while Jesus is on earth, not to a difference in divine nature. Elsewhere Jesus explicitly claims equality: John 10:30 says, “I and the Father are one,” and John 5:18 records that the Jews wanted to kill Him because He was “making Himself equal with God.”
2. “Jesus prayed, so He can’t be God.” (Matthew 26:39)
Prayer does not prove Jesus isn’t divine; it proves He is truly human. Christian theology teaches that Jesus has two natures — fully God and fully man. As man, He lived in perfect dependence on the Father and prayed as an example for us. Hebrews 5:7 says that “He offered up prayers and supplications.” Far from denying His divinity, this shows that He is the perfect Mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5).
3. “Jesus didn’t know everything.” (Mark 13:32)
When Jesus says He does not know the day or hour of the end, this reflects His voluntary self-limitation during His earthly ministry (Philippians 2:7). He chose not to fully exercise His divine omniscience while on earth. After His resurrection, Peter affirms: “Lord, You know all things” (John 21:17), showing that Jesus’ knowledge was no longer hidden. This was a temporary limitation, not a denial of His divine nature.
4. “Jesus said He was sent, so He isn’t God.” (John 17:3)
Being “sent” does not mean Jesus is less than God; it simply describes His mission. In John 17:3 Jesus calls the Father “the only true God,” but in John 17:5 He immediately asks to be glorified with “the glory I had with You before the world existed.” No mere prophet or messenger could say that. Jesus is distinguishing persons (Father and Son) but not denying His shared divine essence.
5. “The Church invented Jesus’ divinity at Nicaea.”
This is historically false. Long before the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), Christians were already worshipping Jesus as God. Early writers like Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD) repeatedly call Jesus “our God,” and Pliny the Younger (c. 112 AD) reports that Christians “sing hymns to Christ as to a god.” Nicaea did not invent Christ’s divinity — it formally affirmed what the church had always believed in order to respond to false teachings like Arianism.
6. “Jesus called Himself a prophet.” (Luke 13:33)
Yes, Jesus is a prophet — but that is only one of His roles. He is also King and High Priest. Calling Himself a prophet does not mean He is merely human. In fact, Jesus also claims divine titles: in John 8:58 He says, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” directly using the divine name from Exodus 3:14. The crowd understood this as blasphemy, which is why they tried to stone Him — proving He was claiming divinity.
7. “The Holy Spirit was added later.”
The New Testament already presents the Holy Spirit as divine. In Acts 5:3-4, Peter says that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands baptism “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This shows that the Spirit shares the same divine name and authority. The doctrine of the Trinity was not invented later — it was developed to summarize what Scripture already taught from the beginning.
Each of these objections either ignores the context of the verses or overlooks the two natures of Christ — His true humanity and true divinity. The Bible consistently presents Jesus as fully God and fully man. Early Christians recognized this and worshipped Him long before any church council. Far from being a later invention, the doctrine of Christ’s divinity and the Trinity is deeply rooted in Scripture and the faith of the first believers.
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my piece. Here are my responses. I’m speaking bluntly but with no disrespect intended, so please don’t take offense.
1. “The Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)
If Jesus really wanted people to think He was equal, He could have said so plainly. Instead, He drew a line between himself and God. That’s not “temporary humility,” that’s hierarchy.
2. “Jesus prayed.” (Matthew 26:39)
If He’s God, who’s He praying to? Himself? Prayer doesn’t prove divinity, it proves dependence. Hebrews saying He prayed doesn’t magically solve that contradiction.
3. “Jesus didn’t know everything.” (Mark 13:32)
Calling it “voluntary limitation” is just a theological patch. The plain reading is simpler: He didn’t know because He wasn’t all-knowing.
4. “Jesus was sent.” (John 17:3)
That language shows separation. Being “sent” is prophet language. You can’t both call the Father the “only true God” and still claim equality without heavy mental gymnastics.
5. “The Church invented divinity at Nicaea.”
You’re right that some Christians worshipped Jesus as divine before 325. Others didn’t. That’s the point: there was no single “original Christianity.” Nicaea wasn’t confirming universal belief — it was silencing dissent.
6. “Jesus called Himself a prophet.” (Luke 13:33)
Exactly. He identified as a prophet. Later writers and councils piled on titles like King, High Priest, and “I AM.”
7. “The Spirit was always divine.” (Acts 5:3–4; Matthew 28:19)
Acts and Matthew reflect later theology. The early church didn’t have a neat Trinity. That system only took shape after centuries of debate.
1. “The Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)
At first glance, yes — it sounds like hierarchy. But notice: Christians didn’t deny that there is hierarchy. The Father sends the Son, the Son obeys — that’s a relational order. The question is whether that hierarchy means inequality of nature.
Example: In marriage, the husband can lead (Ephesians 5:23) but both are equally human and equally valuable. Similarly, Jesus could be under the Father’s authority while still sharing God’s nature.
And He does claim equality elsewhere: John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”) caused the crowd to try to stone Him, because they understood it as claiming divinity (John 10:33). If we read all of John, it paints a picture of a Son who is distinct yet fully shares the Father’s identity.
⸻
2. “Jesus prayed — that means He’s not God.”
If Jesus were the Father, yes, that would be nonsense — but Christianity never said Jesus is the Father. Prayer isn’t God “talking to Himself,” it’s the Son talking to the Father.
Think of it like this: if God became human, wouldn’t you expect Him to live like a real human — including praying, trusting, and obeying? Otherwise His life wouldn’t be fully human. Prayer shows Jesus is genuinely human, not just pretending. That’s why Christians say His prayers reveal His humanity, not deny His divinity.
3. “Jesus didn’t know everything.” (Mark 13:32)
When Jesus says He doesn’t know the day or hour, this reflects His voluntary humility. Philippians 2:7 says He “emptied Himself,” meaning He chose to live with real human limitations, including not always exercising His divine knowledge. This was temporary — after the resurrection Peter says, “Lord, you know all things” (John 21:17). His lack of knowledge was part of His mission, not proof He wasn’t God.
4. “Jesus was sent — that means He’s just a messenger.”
Being sent doesn’t always mean being inferior. In the OT, God “sends” His own Word (Isaiah 55:11) and His own Spirit (Isaiah 48:16). They aren’t creatures — they are extensions of God Himself.
John 17:5 is the key: Jesus asks to be glorified with the Father “with the glory I had with You before the world existed.” According to Isaiah 42:8, God does not share His glory with another — so if Jesus had that glory, He must share God’s identity, not just be another prophet.
5. “Nicaea invented divinity and silenced dissent.”
It’s true there were debates — Arius (and others) denied Jesus was equal with God. But we have writings from 1st- and 2nd-century Christians (long before Constantine) who worshiped Jesus as God.
For example:
• Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD) calls Jesus “our God.”
• Pliny the Younger (c. 112 AD) reports Christians sang hymns to Christ “as to a god.”
That doesn’t prove everyone believed it, but it proves this wasn’t a 4th-century invention — it was already mainstream enough to be noticed by Roman officials a hundred years earlier.
⸻
6. “Jesus called Himself a prophet — nothing more.”
Yes — Jesus did call Himself a prophet. But He also said things that no mere prophet could say.
• He forgave sins directly (Mark 2:5-7) — and His audience said, “Who can forgive sins but God?”
• He took the divine name “I AM” (John 8:58) — the crowd tried to stone Him because they understood He was claiming God’s identity.
• He said He would judge the world (Matthew 25:31-32) — no prophet ever claimed to judge all nations.
So either Jesus was a prophet making outrageous blasphemous claims — or He really was who He claimed to be.
⸻
7. “The Holy Spirit wasn’t divine until later.”
The idea of the Spirit as divine is very early. Acts 5:3-4 says lying to the Spirit is lying to God. Paul, writing in the 50s AD (way before any councils), uses a blessing naming all three together: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
That’s not a later “neat system” — that’s first-generation Christian writing. The Trinity as a formal doctrine came later, but the building blocks were there from the start.
Your first claim is based on what you think Jesus should have said if he wanted people to know he was equal, except Jesus most of the time explained himself in metaphors, not in plain form.
In your second claim you didn’t take the time to read what I answered before. Prayer doesn’t mean dependence.
In your third claim you are just assuming what you think is simplistic is what it’s true. It’s not that easy. Voluntary limitation is what the Bible says Jesus did. He emptied himself. You are just choosing not to read that part or consider it.
It’s not “heavy mental gymnastics” you cannot just wait for the creator of the universe to be as simple as 1+1. Everything has a complexity behind it.
Nicaea was affirming what many Christians already considered. It’s not just “inventing the divine nature of Jesus” but more like the church confirming what they already believed in.
You just didn’t consider to read what I wrote about Jesus considering himself as a prophet. I invite you to truly analyze it.
Jesus himself said go and baptize in the name of the father the son and the Holy Spirit. You are just choosing not to write about that.
In the most kind way I want to say this, but I truly think you just don’t want to accept or consider what I’m telling you. Please, take the time to read what I wrote.