Home | Why Christ is not God

The key doctrine of the Bible that the Iglesia Ni Cristo upholds is the absolute oneness of God the Father. The true church founded by our Lord Jesus is Christ is a MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION, which means they believe in the oneness of God. There are so many verses in the Bible that support this teaching: John 17:1, 3 points unequivocally to the Father as the only true God as testified by Jesus. Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, told them "for us, there is but one God, the Father" (I Cor. 8:6). He likewise emphasized to the Ephesians that the "one God is the Father of all" (Eph. 4:6). When he says "all" that includes Jesus our Lord who announced to Mary Magdalene "my Father is your Father" and "my God is your God" (John 20:17).

When we teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is NOT God, it becomes a surprise to many who are not aware of the INC position on the true God. They find it hard to believe that we deny the alleged deity of Christ. So they ask: "why don’t we believe that Jesus is God?" Here are the compelling reasons based on the Bible:

ARGUMENT # 1
God is omniscient while Jesus Christ is not. The Bible teaches that God knows all things (I John 3:20). There is one thing that Jesus himself acknowledged that he does not know: his coming. Here is what he said, "No one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). By his admittance that he does not know his coming, Jesus is at the same time teaching that he is not the true God. If others will reason out and say that Jesus is speaking as a man here on earth, the question is: is he telling the truth or not? If the answer is: he is telling the truth, then we have to admit the truth that Christ is not omniscient, therefore, he is not God. Granting that Christ emptied himself of his divine attribute, that is, of being an omniscient when he declared, "even the Son doesn’t know the day and hour of his coming," is Christ trying to obscure the issue of his coming? Does he know or not know his coming? Would it be logical to accept the obvious contradiction of this position that beyond his negation in this verse, that as God, he knows fully the time of his coming. On the other hand, does it not appear that Christ is a hypothetical liar by acknowledging publicly something that he does not know when inwardly he knows it? On the second thought, why would he teach something that is stupendously a big lie if he knows his coming in the first place? These are hard questions that the proponents of Christ-is-God doctrine will never be able to answer!

ARGUMENT # 2
God is Almighty while Jesus Christ is not. The Bible teaches that God is the most powerful God (Gen. 17:1). Christ’s statement in John 5:30 proves that he is not the Almighty God because he admitted, "I can of my own self do nothing." Why would an omnipotent God on earth say that he cannot do anything by himself? The limitation that Jesus had while on earth proves the point that Jesus is not God in spite of the miraculous deeds he had done. Peter even testified that God did those miracles through him (Acts 2:22).

ARGUMENT # 3
Jesus Christ admitted that "the Father is greater" than him. That is the message he left with his disciples before going to the Father (John 14:28). It would be preposterous to believe that Jesus Christ is God because his greatness is not the same as the Father. Why is the Father greater than the Son? Because the Father is God while the Son is not.

ARGUMENT # 4
Jesus did not admit that he is good. His denial of being good while pointing to God as the one who is good is a proof that he different from God. Lets analyze the biblical account: As Jesus started on his way; a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good Teacher," he asked,” what must I do to inherit eternal life? "Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:17-18). Although Jesus Christ is a good man, he did not accept that he is good but emphasize to the man who asked him that God is the only one who is good. Is this not a clear proof that Jesus is not God?

ARGUMENT # 5
God is above all things (Ephesians 4:6) while Christ will place himself under God (I Cor. 15:27-28 TEV). Apostle Paul wrote: For the Scripture says, "God put all things under his feet." It is clear; of course, that the words "all things" do not included God himself, who puts all things under Christ. But when all things have been placed under Christ’s rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him, and God will rule completely over all.

The believers in Christ-is-God doctrine will be shocked on the Day of Judgment to see that Jesus will place himself under God. Why would it be shocking to them? Because they believe that the Father and the Son possess equal powers (as the Trinity doctrine emphasizes) while the Bible clearly delineates the great difference between the two. Why will Jesus Christ place himself under God if it is true that he is God by nature? No wonder Apostle Paul taught the Christians that "God is supreme over Christ" (I Cor. 11:3 TEV) because the Son does not possess a power equal to God.

ARGUMENT # 6
Christ prayed to God. Why did he do it if he were God in the first place? The author of Hebrews reported that "during the days of Jesus life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his submission" (Heb. 5:7).To a bright mind, would it be logical to believe at this point that the God-Man on earth would be seeking the help of someone? If the Son were truly God, his fervent prayer in Gethsemane would only be a show and not a real manifestation of his absolute dependence on God, which is the motivation behind his prayer, and anybody else who would pray to God. Does it not show a mockery of God and an outlandish hypocrisy on the part of Christ if he were God? He even asked him, "Father, save me from this hour" (John 12:27). Even when he was dying on the cross, he showed his faith in God by calling in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).

By biblical standard, it would be heretical to believe that Christ is God. However, our denial of his alleged deity does not in any way tarnish our faith in his lofty position that God himself have bestowed on him (Matt. 28:18; 11:27). It should not be misconstrued that by denying the alleged divinity of Jesus Christ, it would tantamount to degrading him. On the contrary, the Iglesia Ni Cristo highly regards our Lord Jesus Christ based on the lucid biblical teachings about his attributes and qualities: He is the Son of God (Matt. 3:17),our Lord (Acts 2:36) and our Savior (Acts 5:31). He is our only Mediator to God (I Tim. 2:5) and the only way to the Father (John 14:5). We worship him since it is Gods will that all should worship him (Phil. 2:9-11) and we believe that he is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22) because God placed all things under his feet (Eph. 1:22).

Never did he nor his apostles introduce him as God! NOW HEAR THESE:

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and Men, the Man Christ Jesus”. I Tim. 2:5 

The bible tells us that Jesus is a Man mediating between God and Men!

“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said: come, Glorify your Son, that your son also may glorify you, As you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. AND THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE, THAT THEY MAY KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1-3)

This was the scene when Jesus prayed to God, he said the may know you the only true God. He didn't say that they may know us the only true God or that they may know you and me the only true God. Clearly there is know verse in the Bible that says Jesus is another God.

This page is maintained and managed by Romano D.

For comments and suggestion you may contact the author. Back to top or index