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Christ Jesus did not claim that He was the Father
in John 14:7-11. The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is man (John 8:40) proves that He is not God. For God Himself declared: "I am God, and not man" (Hosea 11:9) and I do not change (Malachi 3:6).

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"Did Christ Jesus claim that He was the Father
in John 14:7-11?"


Letter to the Editor:
PASUGO, February 1998, p.2

I BELIEVE IN your teaching that Christ is man. However, He is also God because He claimed that He was the Father (John 14:7-11). Also, then were times when God became man (Isaiah 42:13; Exodus 15:3).

Johnstiff B. Malnegro
Davao City, Philippines

Editor's reply:

The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is man proves that He is not God. God is not a man nor would He ever want to become one. He Himself declared: "For I am God, and not man" (cf. Hosea 11:9, NKJV).  Neither does God change nor vary or have a shadow of turning  (cf. Malachi. 3:6; James. 1:17). Thus, God  would never change His state of being to become a man because He would never go against His own words (Numbers 23:19).

I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror. (Hosea 11:9, NKJV)

“For I am the Lord, I do not change;  Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. (Malachi 3:6, NKJV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17, NKJV)

God is not a man; he will not lie. God is not a human being; his decisions will not change.
If he says he will do something, then he will do it. If he makes a promise, then he will do what he promised.  (Numbers 23:19, Easy to Read Version)

The Lord Jesus Christ declared  that He is a man (cf. Jn. 8:40). Furthermore, He clarified His distinction from God by saying that God is spirit, without flesh and bones, unlike what He has (cf. Jn. 4:24; Lk. 24:36-39)

 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. (John 8:40)

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24, NKJV)

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:36-39, NKJV)

You said that Jesus claims He is the Father in John 14:7-11. These verses, however do not say so:

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”  Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. (John 14:7-11, NKJV)

It is clear in these verses that Christ did not claim that He is the Father.     He simply said, ".... He who has seen me has seen the Father."  Why, then, did He say this?   We must take note that God, being spirit, cannot be literally seen but is manifested through His eternal power, by the things that He has made (cf. Rom. 1:19-20)

because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, (Romans 1:19-20, NKJV)

On the other hand, Christ is a man attested by God through miracles, wonders, and signs (cf. Acts 2:22). God performed the works through Christ merely as His instrument. This is why Christ said that those who have seen His works are also said to have seen God.

 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—  (Acts 2:22, NKJV)

Moreover, according to Christ Himself, He did not speak His own words but the words of the Father who had sent Him (cf. Jn. 14:24). The works that He did were not His own but that of the Father (cf. Jn.10:37-38). He admitted that by Himself, He could do nothing (cf. Jn. 5:30) which further proves that He is not God.

HHe who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.(John 14:24, NKJV)

If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” (John 10:37-38, NKJV)

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 5:30, NKJV)

You cited Isaiah 42:13 and Exodus 15:3 in claiming that there were times when God became man. Let us quote these verses: 

The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. (Isaiah 42:13, KJ V)

"The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name." (Exodus 15:3, Ibid)

These verses do not mean that God at one time became a man. The expressions "as a mighty man" and "man of war" in these passages were used figuratively, the former a simile and the latter a metaphor, both of which show likeness or analogy. As we have pointed out earlier, God has emphasized that He is "God, and not man"—He would never want Himself to become man.

Isaiah 42:13 is further clarified in this version:

"The Lord shall go forth LIKE a mighty man; He shall stir up his zeal LIKE a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies." (NKJV, emphasis ours)

God is not man in nature, as could be gleaned from the preceding verse, but His stirring up of His zeal was likened to a man of war. In the same manner, a war-ship, which is a thing, is also called a man-of-war (cf. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language) but not, of course, in the literal sense a man.

___________________

Note: Verses in smaller font were added for clarity. Emphasis ours.

Bible Study Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free to visit the Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question you have in mind.

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