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2. God is All-Powerful…but Jesus was not

Paul Derengowski, ThM


While Jesus performed many miracles, he himself admitted that the power he had was not his own but was derived from God when he said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do…" St. John 5:19.  Again he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing: As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has sent me."  St. John 5:30.  But God is not only all-powerful, he is also the source of all power and authority.  That Jesus, of his own admission, could do nothing on his own is clear proof that Jesus is not all-powerful, and that therefore Jesus is not God.

There are several flaws in this argument starting with a complete ignorance of the context, which is Jesus' healing ministry and the Jews accusation that he is "making Himself equal with God" in verse 18.  Jesus does not deny the charge, but goes on to say that "the Son"—a designation that the Muslim asserts that Jesus never makes about himself—can do nothing of Himself."  That only makes sense given his essential relationship with the Father.  For if Jesus could have done otherwise, then there would have been two gods in existence, God would have been made a liar, and we would all either cease to exist or we would all be under the servitude that Islam so desperately want to place everyone.

What Jesus is denying here has nothing to do with omnipotence, though, but with divine will.  Jesus had just shown himself capable of performing a healing that only God could have done.  Nevertheless, Jesus doesn't act contrary to God's will, which he knew intimately, being God "the Son."  As the account continues we see that Jesus not only claims to be God's Son again (v. 25), but that it is the Son before whom all will be judged one day, and it is he who gives life.  Of course, throughout the remainder of John's Gospel reference after reference after reference is given showing that Jesus is the very thing that the Muslim denies, and that is God incarnate (Jn. 1:1, 14, 18; 10:30, 33; 17:5, 11-12; 20:28).

NEXT: God does not have a God…but Jesus did have a God