Is Jesus Equal to God?
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| English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
lesser God? Was he equal to the Father, or was he some sort of junior God, possessing the attributes of deity and yet somehow failing to match the total sketch of the divine that the Old Testament provides?
John 17:5 is one of the many verses that clearly indicates that Jesus fully shared the divine attributes and as such is worthy of worship. As the Creator
of the world, God was the First Cause of all creation. If the statement in this verse is true, how does John 14:28 affect its meaning?
Reading the context of John 14 makes a big difference in determining the
correct meaning of John 14:28. In this chapter, the disciples were distressed
because Jesus told them he was going away. Jesus says, “If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). That is to say, Jesus is returning to the glory that is properly
his, so if they really know who he is and really love him properly, they will
be glad that he’s going back to the realm where he really is greater.
When you use a category like “greater,” it doesn’t have to mean ontologically
greater. If someone says, “The president of the United States is greater than
I,” that person would not be saying that the president is an ontologically
superior being. While it’s true that the president is greater in military
capability, political prowess and public acclaim, he’s not more of a person
than anyone else. We’re all equal human beings.
Because of his ministry on Earth, Jesus was limited by the incarnation—he’s
going to the cross; he’s going to die—but he’s about to return to the Father
and to the glory he had with the Father before the world began, as seen in
verses like John 17:5.
