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1 John 5:5 "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God" The Bible, in a couple places has Jesus saying that He and His Father are "one." Many churches have taken this to mean that Jesus was not a man like you and I. They take it to mean that Jesus was actually God and put on flesh like a garment to work out our salvation and reconcile man back to God. To better understand this subject we should look at the following What did Jesus really mean when He said He was "one" with God The most used scripture in this issue is John 10:30 30 I and my Father are one. As with many subjects, it is important to read the scripture in the context that it was meant. Read either the whole chapter or at minimum several verses before and after the scripture in question. If you read on in John it continues; 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. As you can see, no where in John does Jesus make the claim the He is God. What did Jesus mean when he said that he and his father were "one"? He explained what he meant in:John 17 Here is the amplified John 17 1 WHEN JESUS had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You. 2 [Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed. 6 I have manifested Your Name [I have revealed Your very Self, Your real Self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word. 7 Now [at last] they know and understand that all You have given Me belongs to You [is really and truly Yours]. 8 For the [uttered] words that You gave Me I have given them; and they have received and accepted [them] and have come to know positively and in reality [to believe with absolute assurance] that I came forth from Your presence, and they have believed and are convinced that You did send Me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying (requesting) for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they belong to You. 10 All [things that are] Mine are Yours, and all [things that are] Yours belong to Me; and I am glorified in (through) them. [They have done Me honor; in them My glory is achieved.] 11 And [now] I am no more in the world, but these are [still] in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep in Your Name [[1] in the knowledge of Yourself] those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We [are one]. 12 While I was with them, I kept and preserved them in Your Name [ in the knowledge and worship of You]. Those You have given Me I guarded and protected, and not one of them has perished or is lost except the son of perdition [Judas Iscariot--the one who is now doomed to destruction, destined to be lost], that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now I am coming to You; I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts]. 14 I have given and delivered to them Your word (message) and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world [do not belong to the world], just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world (worldly, belonging to the world), [just] as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. 18 Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And so for their sake and on their behalf I sanctify (dedicate, consecrate) Myself, that they also may be sanctified (dedicated, consecrated, made holy) in the Truth. 20 Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching, 21 That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. 22 I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: 23 I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to Me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has failed to recognize You and has never acknowledged You, I have known You [continually]; and these men understand and know that You have sent Me. 26 I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself] may be in them. Look at this chapter. Jesus wants his apostles to be one, just like he is one with God. How were the apostles and his believers "one"? Their common focus of serving the commands of God made them one. Many places in the bible, believers are referred as being of "one body" composed of many separate parts. Though they are many different people, to Christ they are one body accomplishing God's will. 1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. I can't help but emphasize v15 here; pay close attention to what it says. With any scripture it is important to see "what it says," and sometimes more importantly, "what it DOES NOT say." Some differences between God and Jesus Christ God cannot die, see Deuteronomy 32:40. Jesus died. God never gets tired nor sleeps, see Isaiah 40:28. Jesus slept, see Mark 4:37 God knows everything. There are things Jesus did not know, see Mark 13:32 God cannot be tempted by evil, see James 1:13. Jesus was tempted by evil, see Hebrews 4:14 God cannot be seen, see Exodous 33:20, John 5:37, 1 Timothy 6:16, John 1:18. Jesus was obviously seen by many. What did Jesus say about His relationship to/with God? Jesus was asked many times through out the Bible "who" He was. I think it is important to look at His reply to this question, as I am sure He didn't lie or try to deceive. Also, did Jesus ever claim {as Lucifer did} to be "equal with God?" Did God and Jesus have the same will? What about the doctrine Jesus taught, was it His? Did Jesus ever say that God is greater than Himself? Let's look at these questions; There are many more scriptures to look at. If you are reading this then you have access to many on-line Bibles. Simply do some studying for yourself. I use this one; Bible Gateway. Does Jesus go back to heaven to be with Himself?, Or does He, as a separate person sit at the right hand of God? Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, The bible states God sent Christ. Jesus states clearly he did not come of himself, but God sent him. It is a distinction that he would not have made if he were indeed God. Did Jesus raise Himself from the dead? I think that it is quite clear; also as stated earlier God cannot die. There are several more scriptures stating that GOD raised Jesus from the dead, but I don't think that many question this. Yet, they still elevate Jesus to the position of God. I maintain that Jesus is our saviour, our mediator, our Lord, our brother, and without Him we cannot get to God. He is our bridge to God, and He has paid the "toll" for everyone who believes. Far too many churches have elevated Jesus to the throne of God. If I am not mistaken, that was Lucifer's sin. I am not belittling the life of Jesus or taking away His importance; I am simply putting God in His rightly deserved place at the top. The Apostles understood this, all the writers of the Bible understood this, so why now is there such a problem with this. 1 Corinthians 11:3 But I want you to know and realize that Christ is the Head of every man, the head of a woman is her husband, and the Head of Christ is God. Though we know that Jesus reflected many of the attributes of God (love, mercy, etc..), there are attributes of God, that Jesus did not match. That's because Jesus was not God, he was a man. When Jesus was accused of blaphemy, by making himself equal to God, he never said "You're right!" He always explained to them, how it was possible for him to have been given authority, to do the things that before, only God was able to do. (like forgiving sins for example.) When Jesus spoke of the father in relation to himself, he spoke of a father who was "greater than I", "Why callest thou me good, there is none good but God" etc. Jesus spoke of God, as though he were his God, instead of part of himself. Why is this important? 1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. The doctrine of the trinity, the misunderstanding of the nature of Christ, is called in the bible the "spirit of Antichrist". Christ Reflected God to the world The confusion that generated the trinity stems from the fact that Christ in many ways reflected God so accurately, that he could even in some cases be referred to as God. Just like angels in the old testament relayed the word of God, and in some cases accepted being called God, not because they were God, but because they were his messenger, and therefore represented him 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:5 (RSV) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Take some time and look into this for yourself and ask GOD for guidance; and then make your own decision as to where you want to put God in your life. God bless you. Exodus 20 1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. The people who teach that Jesus is God will tell you that if you don't believe that; that you don't believe in the "trinity." I suppose I would say that I don't believe in the trinity that they preach. One CAN believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; and NOT believe that Jesus IS God. I know this because I DO. It is amazing to me that the "arrogance" involved in spreading this doctrine. I have, and probably will continue to receive mail from these so called Christians telling me that I am stright from the devil. It would have been so simple had just ONCE throughout the entire Bible that it said this. Just once; Jesus only had to say it once! Most people would agree that the Bible contains "everything that we NEED to know." So, apparently.... Here is a quote from a "Jesus is God" website Do we really think we can comprehend the magnitude of a being who has created a universe with more than a million billion galaxies; where each galaxy has 100�s of billions of stars? Are we naive enough to think we can understand the complexity of a being who created a universe where every ounce has more than a 100 million trillion highly organized atoms? (Source: National Geographic, June 1983. ChemCom, Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1993.) I think this complexity of God is part of the reason we find the trinity so difficult to understand. Well, isn't that convenient, it's just one of those things we being mere humans can NEVER understand. It's because it's not true! I will give you the link for a section on this same website. It is a page listing the scriptures that "they" say, says that Jesus is God. Of course, I will tell you to read it very carefully. Then take your Bible and read it in context. The very same scriptures they use, I can also use saying the opposite. Is Jesus God? Comments? 
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