The Bible contains many verses that Christians interpret differently, depending on their beliefs about Jesus's nature.

Some verses emphasize Jesus's humanity and submission to God, leading many to argue that these affirm Jesus is not God.

 

Here are several examples often cited in this discussion:

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1. Jesus Affirms God's Supremacy

• John 14:28: "You heard me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

 

This verse shows Jesus distinguishing himself from God and acknowledging the Father’s superiority.

 

2. Jesus Prays to God

• Matthew 26:39: "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’"

 

Jesus praying to God suggests that he is not God, as God would not pray to Himself.

 

3. Jesus Has Limited Knowledge

• Mark 13:32: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

 

This indicates that Jesus is not all-knowing, a key attribute of God.

 

4. Jesus Refers to God as His God

• John 20:17: "Jesus said, 'Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."'"

 

By referring to the Father as "my God," Jesus implies a distinction between himself and God.

 

5. Jesus Denies Being Inherently Good

• Mark 10:18: "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good—except God alone.'"

 

Jesus redirects the attribution of goodness to God alone, separating himself from divinity in this context.

 

6. God Cannot Be Seen

• 1 Timothy 6:16: "[God] alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see."

 

Jesus was seen and interacted with physically, which many interpret as proof that he is not God.

 

7. Jesus is a Mediator

• 1 Timothy 2:5: "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus."

 

If Jesus is the mediator between God and humanity, he is distinct from God.

 

8. Jesus Submits to God's Will

• John 5:30: "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."

 

Jesus acknowledges his dependence on God’s authority.

 

9. Paul's Declaration of One God

• 1 Corinthians 8:6: "Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

 

Paul makes a distinction between "one God, the Father" and "one Lord, Jesus Christ."