By JOHN MARTIGNONI
Q: In a previous column you gave a number of passages of the Bible that point to Jesus’ divinity, but I had a Jehovah’s Witness come to my door who read a verse where Jesus says something about the Father being greater than he is. Is that verse in the Catholic Bible and, if it is, doesn’t that point to Jesus not being God, since he says he isn’t equal to the Father?
A: The verse you are referring to is indeed in the Catholic Bible. John 14:28: “You heard Me say to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father for the Father is greater than I.”
How can the Father be greater than Jesus, if Jesus is indeed God? After all, if Jesus is God, then He would obviously be equal to the Father. So, does the Father being greater than Jesus mean that Jesus can’t be God?
Not at all. What Jesus is saying here can be interpreted in two ways, neither of which denies Jesus’ divinity. The first, is that Jesus is speaking of His human nature in relation to the Father’s divine nature. Is not the Father’s divine nature greater than Jesus’ human nature? Indeed it is. In the Athanasian Creed, for example, it says Jesus is, “Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.” St. Augustine says we, “Acknowledge the twofold nature of Christ - the divine, by which He is equal to the Father; the human, by which He is less than the Father.”
So, we have to keep in mind the two natures of Christ - human and divine. The Word Incarnate, as man, is less than the Father; whereas, the Eternal Word, as Son, is equal to the Father.
The other possible way to interpret what Jesus says in John 14:28 is that the Father is greater than Jesus, not in the sense of nature or of being more complete, better, more excellent, or any such thing, but only in the sense of divine origin. The Father is “greater than” Jesus in the sense that Jesus is begotten of the Father. Jesus proceeds from the Father, but the Father proceeds from no one.
St. John Chrysostom, “If anyone will contend that the Father is greater, inasmuch as He is the cause from which the Son proceeds, we will bear with him and this way of speaking, provided he grant that the Son is not of a different substance or nature.”
St. Hilary of Poitiers, “The Father is greater than the Son: but this is said in respect to generation - as a father is to a son - and not of classification...The possession of a paternal designation is permissive of a distinction; but there is no distinction as to nature.”
St. Basil the Great, “The Son is second in order from the Father, because He is from Him; and in dignity, because the Father is His origin and cause...The Son is not, however, second to the Father in nature, because the Godhead is one in each of them.”
Either of these interpretations of John 14:28 are valid and are consistent with the rest of the New Testament. As I did indeed point out in an earlier column, there are a good number of verses that directly, or indirectly, identify Jesus as God. Both of the interpretations mentioned above fit perfectly well with all of those verses; whereas, an interpretation of John 14:28 that says Jesus is not God, is in direct contradiction to the rest of the New Testament.
About John Martignoni
John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice. If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org. And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.
Q: In a previous column you gave a number of passages of the Bible that point to Jesus’ divinity, but I had a Jehovah’s Witness come to my door who read a verse where Jesus says something about the Father being greater than he is. Is that verse in the Catholic Bible and, if it is, doesn’t that point to Jesus not being God, since he says he isn’t equal to the Father?
A: The verse you are referring to is indeed in the Catholic Bible. John 14:28: “You heard Me say to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father for the Father is greater than I.”
How can the Father be greater than Jesus, if Jesus is indeed God? After all, if Jesus is God, then He would obviously be equal to the Father. So, does the Father being greater than Jesus mean that Jesus can’t be God?
Not at all. What Jesus is saying here can be interpreted in two ways, neither of which denies Jesus’ divinity. The first, is that Jesus is speaking of His human nature in relation to the Father’s divine nature. Is not the Father’s divine nature greater than Jesus’ human nature? Indeed it is. In the Athanasian Creed, for example, it says Jesus is, “Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.” St. Augustine says we, “Acknowledge the twofold nature of Christ - the divine, by which He is equal to the Father; the human, by which He is less than the Father.”
So, we have to keep in mind the two natures of Christ - human and divine. The Word Incarnate, as man, is less than the Father; whereas, the Eternal Word, as Son, is equal to the Father.
The other possible way to interpret what Jesus says in John 14:28 is that the Father is greater than Jesus, not in the sense of nature or of being more complete, better, more excellent, or any such thing, but only in the sense of divine origin. The Father is “greater than” Jesus in the sense that Jesus is begotten of the Father. Jesus proceeds from the Father, but the Father proceeds from no one.
St. John Chrysostom, “If anyone will contend that the Father is greater, inasmuch as He is the cause from which the Son proceeds, we will bear with him and this way of speaking, provided he grant that the Son is not of a different substance or nature.”
St. Hilary of Poitiers, “The Father is greater than the Son: but this is said in respect to generation - as a father is to a son - and not of classification...The possession of a paternal designation is permissive of a distinction; but there is no distinction as to nature.”
St. Basil the Great, “The Son is second in order from the Father, because He is from Him; and in dignity, because the Father is His origin and cause...The Son is not, however, second to the Father in nature, because the Godhead is one in each of them.”
Either of these interpretations of John 14:28 are valid and are consistent with the rest of the New Testament. As I did indeed point out in an earlier column, there are a good number of verses that directly, or indirectly, identify Jesus as God. Both of the interpretations mentioned above fit perfectly well with all of those verses; whereas, an interpretation of John 14:28 that says Jesus is not God, is in direct contradiction to the rest of the New Testament.
About John Martignoni
John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice. If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org. And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment