Because He Could Swear By No Greater

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Hi R____,
Thank you for your question about Christ’s relationship with His Father. For a much more indepth treatment of this subject be sure to read The Head of Christ Is God on iswasandwillbe. com.
You are, of course, right about Christ being “The Almighty” of Revelation one:

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Christ is ‘the Almighty’ in the same sense that Joseph was ‘almighty’ in all the land of Egypt. Christ is ‘Almighty in the sense given us in Php 2:

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [ things] in heaven, and [ things] in earth, and [ things] under the earth;
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We confess that Jesus is “the Almighty… to the glory of God the Father” because:

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

But Christ never thinks of Himself as separate from His Father. Here is how Christ thinks of His own relationship with His Father:

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

Here is the verse that tells us that the ‘God’ who spoke with, and appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all of those to whom He appeared in the Old Testament, was none other than Christ Himself and was never ever God the Father:

Joh 5:37  And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

There were several people who both heard the voice and saw the form of Yahweh. But as we saw in Php 2, Christ was given a name that was above every name, so there was no way for Him to swear by a greater name than Himself.

Heb 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,

I hope this all helps you to clear this up for you.
Mike

Other related posts