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Why Jesus is not the Father All through Jesus life he spoke to the Father as another, not as himself. The Bible says the Father sent the Son (from heaven), the Father did not come from heaven to incarnate as man, he sent another Heb.10:1 Jesus who is in front of the disciples is asked to teach them to pray, he says our Father who art in heaven. If he was the Father on earth than this would be a untrue statement of how to pray . Jesus is always called the Son not the Father At his baptism It tells us the Father spoke from heaven, nowhere does it say the father is on earth, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Nor did the Father say he has become the Son (Jn.4:14). The Holy Spirit comes down from the Father in heaven and puts his seal of approval on the Son. So all three (person’s) are involved in the inauguration, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When Jesus’ soul is troubled because the hour of his death approaches in John 12:28, He prays, “Father, glorify thy name. Then came therea voice from heaven, saying , I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” In v.30 Jesus says the voice came for their benefit to show the Son is the object of the Father’s testimony. Although the Father did not say the same exact words as before, the intent is the same. God has not testified of any other in this manner. At the transfiguration (in Mt. 17:5; Mk.9:7 and Luke 9:35) After he reveals Gods glory to the disciples showing who He really is. Again the Fathers voice from heaven speaks as “ a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him !”(Mark 9:7). Notice that He says to listen to Him. The Father is not pointing to him as a human, but to the Son as deity. Peter later recalls, “ For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount ” (2 Peter 1:17-18). Seven statements were made while Jesus was being crucified. Three were directed to the Father. Luke writes, “Then said Jesus, Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Then as the darkness enveloped Him, as the pains of His substitutional sacrifice for our sin overshadowed His very person, He cried, “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?” The last statement was “Father into thy hand I commend My Spirit. The Son of God who spoke to the Father (as he always did). Notice the last statement he commends his spirit into the fathers hands. He dismissed his own spirit. Only God has this ability. The Bible portrays the “persons” as simultaneously existing. The Father is in relationship and speaks to the Son and vice versa before and after the incarnation. Both the Son and the Father send the Holy Spirit. This becomes impossible if one becomes another as taught in modalism. The confusion of persons is seen when Jesus said if you seen me you have seen the father. We all know this is not a literal statement because he himself said John 6:46 Not that anyone has seen the Father , except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. “ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him .” (John 1:18) and prior to this John explained “ and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father .” (John 1:14) So when John records Jesus saying, “ He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 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. 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 14:9-11) Is Jesus saying he as a human is in the Father, or is he reiterating what he said before The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, speaking of the position he had prior to his incarnation. This is the expression of mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son because they share the same nature. He explains His unique intimate union than cannot be found between a mere man and God. While most Oneness focus on the statement the Father is in me, they have to include I am in the father. These are a statement of relationship just as The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father explain his relationship prior to him coming to earth. He is explaining their unique relationship that no other man has because they share equality in nature and being. [ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?] They as two are essentially one in nature as well as purpose; but they are not the same in person. This is the expression of mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son because they share the same nature. This unique intimate union cannot be found between a mere man and God. It is a claim to an essential equality with the Father. This becomes a hard concept to grasp when one is taught, convinced there is no tri-unity of God. “I and my Father We are one,” is not a numerical one. Jesus is not saying He is the Father. They are not one and the same person, but in nature they are a united one. It actually reads in Greek we are one, the first person plural esmen; showing that two are one. one of the same kind, both God in nature. John 10:30 One hen (NT:1501). Neuter, not masculine heis (NT:1501). Not one person (cf. heis (NT:1501) in Gal 3:28), but one essence or nature . (from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament) When one looks at all the statements of plurality it becomes clear what he is expressing. V.20: “ In that day you shall know that I am in My Father and you are in Me and I in you.” Again He is expressing a spiritual relationship, speaking of a future dispensation of the Holy Spirit, that begins at Pentecost for all believers In John 14:22-23 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “ Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and “and We will come to him and make Our home with him .” It is not the humanity of Christ that is going to make its home in us. Notice the plural words, We and Our. Jesus spoke of this in a plural: Robertson’s Greek defines this as “ first person plural (the Father and I)” (Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament). The phrase “We will come” in the Greek is erchomai- the first two definitions in the Strong’s Concordance is: 1) to come; used of persons: 2) to come from one place to another, and used both of persons arriving. In John 17:21 Jesus prays “ that they all may be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us.” Here we see the actual meaning that Jesus is trying to convey: that the Father and He are different in person but are united, just as we are different but are to be united. Jesus is teaching a plurality in the nature of God. Because we all have His Spirit in us the body of Christ we are spiritually united as one, as they are one spiritually united. The difference is that we as creatures are brought into this spiritual union by the Spirit, they the Father, the Son and the Spirit have had this union before time began because of who they are. This Spiritual unity is through His Holy Spirit. As Christ is in the Father the saints are in Christ, as the Father is in the Son so is Christ in His children, making us the body of Christ. “ So we being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another ” (Romans 12:5). So these statements show the positional relationship of believers in Christ but we cannot overlook the statements of uniqueness of the Son with the Father that explain his nature that He alone has.
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