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Bible Question: When
Jesus gave his prophecy about the end of this
system of things, He stated. "But of that day, or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the father." Had
Jesus been the equal Son part of a Godhead
(Trinity) surely he would have known what the father knows. But
Jesus did not know, so how
are we to believe that he is equal to God?
Bible Answer: Who was Jesus? That is the key that unlocks the mystery of your
question. If we are wrong here the scriptures do not make sense.
If it is confusing, it is because we do not understand what scripture
is trying to say. It is like reading a novel and not understanding
who the lead character is. The story is then a mystery.
Who Is Jesus? There are those today who are confused about Jesus. Some think He was only a man and others say Jesus is God. The latter is what Christians believe. Over the years, I have taught a Bible class on basic Christian doctrine. I usually start the course with a quiz to determine what areas I need to emphasize. There is one question that almost everyone misses everytime the quiz is given. It is a true and false question, "Jesus was a man." The answer that is usually given is "False." This is unfortunate, because Jesus was BOTH God and man. Scripture teaches that Jesus was 100% God and Jesus was 100% man. He was both! Listen to this passage,
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. . . through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning
His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the
Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, (NASB) Romans 1:2-4 |
The passage claims Jesus was born a human being and that He was
God. The term Son of God means that Jesus was God. Listen to this
passage,
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Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to
them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For
which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any
of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you,
a mere man, claim to be God." Jesus answered them, . . . Why then
do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, `I am God's Son'?
(NIV) John 10:31-36 |
The Jews said they were going to stone Jesus because He claimed to be God. They understood that Jesus was saying He was God. Notice how Jesus responded, " . . . because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" In that culture the term "Son of God" was equal to saying He was God. So they were going to stone Him for blasphemy. Scripture teaches that Jesus was both God and man. Now how is this important to your question?
Kenosis of Jesus. Philippians 2:6-8 will help us answer your question,
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. . . although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross. (NASB) Philippians 2:6-8 |
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