JESUS Is Not GOD

Who is Jesus Christ? Is he the Son of God [God's "only begotten Son"―John 3:16; KJV]; or is he God himself? Was Jesus created, that is, did he have a beginning, or has he always existed as part of a Triune Godhead? Why the debates and confusion regarding Jesus' identity?

The Encyclopaedia Britannica explains:

"The Trinity, in Christian doctrine, [is] the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be one of the central Christian affirmations about God.
"Neither the word 'Trinity' nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Hebrew Scriptures: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord' (Deuteronomy 6:4). The earliest Christians, however, had to cope with the implications of the coming of Jesus Christ and of the presumed presence and power of God among them—i.e., the Holy Spirit, whose coming was connected with the celebration of Pentecost. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were associated in such New Testament passages as the Great Commission: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matthew 28:19); and in the apostolic benediction: 'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all' (2 Corinthians 13:13). Thus, the New Testament established the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity."

Rather than getting into a discussion on the Trinity, why not read for yourself what Jesus said about himself, and his relationship to his heavenly Father. The Jews rejected Jesus as their promised Messiah, because as Jesus said, "they have not come to know either the Father or me." (John 16:3; 7:28; 8:54,55) That should not be the case with us. We cannot have a relationship with someone we don't even know. In fact, our everlasting life depends on having an accurate knowledge of both, the Father and his Son Christ Jesus: "And this is eternal life: that people know you, the only true God, and that they know Jesus Christ, the One you sent." (John 17:3, NCV)

In Jesus' Own Words:

Matt. 20:23 - "Jesus told them, 'You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.'” (NLT)

Matt. 26:39, 42 - "And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (ESV)

John 5:30, 36-38 - “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. . . 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent." (ESV)

John 12:49 - "For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak." (ESV)

John 14:23-24, 28 - "Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. . . 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." (ESV)

John 15:10, 21 - "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. . . 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me." (John 16:1-4; ESV)

John 16:5, 10, 27-28 - "But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’. . . 10 because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer. . . 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (ESV)

John 20:16-17, 21 - “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (ESV)

John 17:1-26:
1 “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (Rev. 3:14)
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

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Jesus is "the beginning of the creation by God"
(Compare with other Bibles at BIBLE GATEWAY)

Jesus says that he is "the beginning (η αρχή) of the creation by God". (Revelation 3:14) While many translations render this correctly from the available ancient Greek manuscripts, yet there are also many other translations that fraudulently translate the word "η αρχή" as "the ruler" (ο άρχων), thereby wanting to deny that Jesus had a beginning. Or, perhaps, these translators are simply not qualified. Please compare for yourself the words "the beginning (η αρχή)" with "the ruler (ο άρχων)" as they appear in the Greek Scriptures, and note that they don't mean he same. "The Beginning" is in the feminine "η", while "the Ruler" is in the masculine "ο" ― "ο άρχων των βασιλέων της γης (the Ruler of the kings of the earth). The definite articles ὁ, ή, τό is equivalent in English to "the" before a noun; while the lack of it denotes that it is simply "a" beginning, "a" ruler, "a" king, "a" man, etc.

Revelation 3:14: "And to the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write: These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God."
In GREEK: »Και προς τον άγγελο της εκκλησίας στη Λαοδίκεια γράψε: Αυτά λέει ο Αμήν, ο πιστός και αληθινός μάρτυρας, η αρχή της δημιουργίας του Θεού».

Here are some examples of the word "the beginning" (η αρχή) as it appears in other parts of the Greek Scriptures:

John 1:1, 2 – "In the beginning (η αρχή) the Word was, and the Word was with God, ... This one was in the beginning (η αρχή) with God
John 2:11 – "Jesus performed this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning (η αρχή) of his signs"
John 6:64 – "For from the beginning (η αρχή) Jesus knew who were the ones not believing"
Colossians 1:18 – "He is the beginning (η αρχή), the firstborn from the dead"
2 Thess. 2:13 – God selected you from the beginning (η αρχή)
Heb. 1:10 – "You at the beginning (η αρχή), O Lord, laid the foundations of the earth itself"
Heb. 3:14 – "confidence we had at the beginning (η αρχή)"
Rev. 3:14 – the faithful and true witness, the beginning (η αρχή) of the creation by God,
Rev. 21:6 – “I am the beginning (η αρχή) and the end”
Rev. 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning (η αρχή) and the end”
See also: Heb. 5:12; 7:3; 2 Peter 3:4; 1 John 1:1; 2:7, 13, 14, 24, 2:24; 3:8, 11; 2John 5,6

Here are some examples of the word "the ruler" (o άρχων) and "a ruler" (άρχων) as it appears in the Greek Scriptures:

Rev. 1:5 – "and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” (o άρχων των βασιλέων της γης).
Matt. 9:18 – "a certain ruler (άρχων) who had approached"
Matt. 9:34; 12:24 – "the ruler (o άρχων) of the demons (also Luke 11:15)
Luke 12:58 (GW) – "when an opponent brings you to court in front of a ruler (άρχων),"
Luke 18:18 – "And a ruler (άρχων) asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'”
John 3:1 – "a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (άρχων) of the Jews"
John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11 – “the ruler of the world (o άρχοντας του κόσμου)” (Satan)
Acts 7:27, 35 – "Who made you a ruler (άρχων) and a judge over us?"
Acts 23:5 – "for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler (άρχων) of your people.'"
Eph. 2:2 – "the ruler (o άρχων) of the authority of the air" (Satan)

Revelation 3:14:
Jesus is "the beginning of the creation by God"
"η αρχή της δημιουργίας του Θεού"
―SBL Greek New Testament

KJ21 “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: ‘These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
ASV    "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
BRG    "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
DARBY  "And to the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
DLNT   “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write— These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.
DRA    "And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God:
ESV    “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
PHILLIPS   “Then write this to the angel of the Church in Laodicea: ‘These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation:
JUB    "And unto the angel of the congregation of the Laodiceans write; Behold, he who saith, Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
KJV "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
AKJV   "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
MSG    "Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says:
MEV   “To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says these things:
MOUNCE   “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, · the Beginning of God’s creation, · has this to say:
NASB   “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
NKJV   “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
NTE   ‘Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea. “These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
RSV “And to the angel of the church in La-odice'a write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
RSVCE “And to the angel of the church in La-odice'a write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
NMB    "And to the messenger of the congregation that is in Laodicea write: This says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
VOICE  "Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Laodicea. “These are the words of the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation:

CEB “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
CJB   “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Laodicea, write: ‘Here is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Ruler of God’s creation:
ERV   “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “Here is a message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of all that God has made.
EHV   "To the messenger of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation, says this:
EXB   “Write this to the ·angel [or messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Laodicea [a city in Phrygia, a mountainous province of western Asia]: “The Amen [Hebrew for “so be it”; here referring to Jesus], the faithful and true witness, ·the ruler of all God has made
ICB “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “The Amen is the One who is the faithful and true witness. He is the ruler of all that God has made. He says this to you:
NCV  “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of all God has made, says this:
NIRV “Here is what I command you to write to the church in Laodicea. Here are the words of Jesus, who is the Amen. What he speaks is faithful and true. He rules over what God has created. He says,
NIV   “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
NIVUK  ‘To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
TPT "Write the following to the messenger of the congregation in Laodicea, for these are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation:
WEB   “To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Head of God’s creation, says these things:
YLT   "And to the messenger of the assembly of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the witness -- the faithful and true -- the chief of the creation of God;

CSB “Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:
CEV "This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: I am the one called Amen! I am the faithful and true witness and the source of God’s creation.
GW   “To the messenger of the church in Laodicea, write: The amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the source of God’s creation, says:
GNT  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin of all that God has created.
HCSB “Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation says:
ISV “To the messenger of the church in Laodicea, write: ‘The Amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the originator of God’s creation, says this:
LEB   “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “This is what the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation, says:
TLB   “Write this letter to the leader of the church in Laodicea: “This message is from the one who stands firm, the faithful and true Witness of all that is or was or evermore shall be,* the primeval source of God’s creation:
NOG “To the messenger of the church in Laodicea, write: The amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the source of God’s creation, says:
NABRE  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this: “‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this:
NET “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:
NRSV “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation:
TLV  "To the angel of Messiah’s community in Laodicea write: “Thus says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Originator of God’s creation:
AMP “To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Laodicea write: “These are the words of the Amen, the trusted and faithful and true Witness, the Beginning and Origin of God’s creation:
AMPC  "And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation:
NLT   “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:
NLV   “Write this to the angel of the church in the city of Laodicea: ‘The One Who says, Let it be so, the One Who is faithful, the One Who tells what is true, the One Who made everything in God’s world, says this:
WEB  “Write this to the angel of the church people in Laodicea: Here are the words of the one whose name is Truth. What he says can be trusted. He is the one who began all that God made.
WYC "And to the angel of the church of Laodicea write thou, These things saith Amen, the faithful witness and true, which is beginning of God's creature [that is the beginning of God's creature].

Doesn't John 1:1 prove that Jesus is God, where it says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"? (ESV) As we have already seen above, Jesus himself says that he is not God, but the Son of God; and that his heavenly Father sent him to do the work that he accomplished during his short three-and-a-half-year ministry. Jehovah is the God of Jesus Christ the same as he is the God of us all. That is what Jesus said to Mary Magdalena, when he appeared to her after his resurrection. He told her: "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”— John 20:17, ESV.

Why do practically all translations say that "the Word" [Logos, Jesus] was God? What does John 1:1 really say in the Greek manuscripts? It says: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.―SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT).
Anyone with a basic understanding of the Greek language knows the importance of the articles ὁ, ή, τό, before a noun (as already discussed above regarding the words "the beginning"―η αρχή, and "the ruler"―o άρχων; in contrast to "a beginning"―αρχή , and "a ruler"―άρχων, without the article). Note that in John 1:1 the masculine article "ὁ" appears all three times before "the Word" (ὁ λόγος) and once before "the God" (πρὸς τὸν θεόν―"toward the God"); but is lacking where it says "and the Word was God"―"καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος" [and god was the Word]. That is not by accident, as if some copyist overlooked to include the definite article "ὁ". Without the article "ὁ", "θεὸς" is "a deity, a god or goddess; divine, godlike; a general name of deities or divinities."

Consider the example at Acts 28:6, where "θεὸς" [theos] appears without the article "ὁ", and all translations are unanimous in rendering it as "a god". The account tells of how Paul, along with 276 others, was shipwrecked on the island of Malta. While gathering wood for the fire, Paul was bitten by a venomous snake which attached itself on his hand. The local people expected Paul to drop dead, thinking that he must be a murderer who could not escape justice although having survived the shipwreck. According to the English Standard Version (read it in all other Versions) the Scripture reads: "But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that [Paul] was a god" [αὐτὸν εἶναι θεόν]. The argument by some "scholars" that Greek grammar does not apply when it comes to discussing God, is bogus, and exposes their true motive.

Jesus is not Jehovah God. He said: "I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." (John 14:28, ESV) On the other hand, Jesus' Father, Jehovah God, says regarding his Son: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”―Matthew 17:3; ESV.

The translators of the Holy Scriptures are often influenced by their own personal doctrinal beliefs. This becomes evident when a person compares the various translations of the same verse of a scripture against the many Bible Versions. Click on the Bible below to view the many Bible Translations that are available in the English language. By analyzing who the publishers and copyright owners are, you will note the influence their beliefs have had on their particular renderings.

To translate the Holy Scriptures―and to teach them―is a serious responsibility. Anyone guilty of misleading others will be held accountable by God: "Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified." ―James 3:1,2; The Message (MSG).