Below is the response to my initial e-mail to the Jehovah's Witness regarding our conversation on Day One of Riverbend 2010 June 11. Following it is my reply.
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 11:03 AM
Jeremiah,
None of this has anything to do with what discussed about Jesus being
Almighty God. Let's not be negative but stick to one main Bible
doctrine at a time. I am still waiting on your supporting scripture
that you said you would show me.
Thanks,
Michael
Date: Sunday, June 13, 2010 12:13 AM
Michael,
Good to hear from you. Fair enough, although I was not being negative just inquisitive. I'll begin this evening by addressing two questions that I remember you asking last evening and will address the others (John 5:19; Col. 1:15) later since it is so late tonight.
I. Let's begin where you asked if Jesus was God, why He prayed to the Father in John 17?
Jesus prayed to the Father because as a man, under the Law (Gal. 4:4; Matt. 5:18), he needed to pray to the Father. The Bible teaches that he was both God and man (Col 2:9; John 8:58 with Ex. 3:14). In Colossians 2:9 "of the Godhead" in the root form greek is θεότης and the transliteration is theotēs and is deity (state of being God). Also, Jesus has two natures. Therefore, we will see two types of scripture concerning Jesus: those that seem to focus on His divine-side, and those that seem to focus on His human-side. It seems as though you are ignoring, or changing, the divine-side scriptures and concentrating on those that describe His human-side. The two natures of Jesus (His Hypostatic Union) can not be ignored. Also, God is a Trinity which means that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are all divine, but are distinct persons, not three gods. The person of the Son prayed to the person of the Father. This makes sense since Jesus was fully divine and fully human at the same time.
Next, you asked last evening ...
II. Why did Jesus say the Father was greater than He in John 14:28?
He said this because His position was different than that of God the Father, not His nature. Hebrews 2:9 says that Jesus was made for a little while lower than the angels and Galatians 4:4 says, He was under the Law. Therefore, as a man he was in a lesser position than the Father, but not different in nature. This would also explain why he grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52).
By comparison and one similiar to what you used last evening, a husband is the head of the family and the wife is not. Though their positions are different, he has greater authority, their natures are the same. This is how it works with Jesus. His nature is the same as the Father, but he was sent by the Father (John 6:44) and was in a lesser position due to his incarnation and being under the Law (His human-side of the hypostatic union).
I will address the other two in my next e-mail. Thank you.
Jeremiah
