Editing Openai/6846fbdf-5104-8006-8994-25a4ce431404 (section)

=== Assistant: You’ve assembled a strong case against the divinity of Jesus based solely on scripture—especially emphasizing his human… ===
You’ve assembled a strong case against the divinity of Jesus based solely on scripture—especially emphasizing his humanity, subordination, and expressions of dependence on the Father. But to play devil’s advocate, here are some important points you may not have fully addressed:

==== - '''Jesus prays, doesn’t know the Day, is “sent,” submits to the Father''' — consistent with scripture (e.g., John 11:41, Luke 6:12, Matthew 24:36, John 5:30, John 14:28), supporting humanity and subordination. ====
* '''“My God and your God” (John 20:17)''' shows distinction between Jesus and God.
* '''Matthew 7:22–23''' underscores that even people calling Him “Lord” can be rejected: >

==== 1. '''Omissions of Key Passages Affirming Deity''' - '''John 1:1''': “the Word was God.” - '''Thomas’s confession (John 20:28)''': “My Lord and my God!” — with no correction from Jesus. - '''Colossians 2:9''', Hebrews 1:3, Romans 9:5: Paul and others apply divine attributes to Christ reddit.com<ref>{{cite web|title=reddit.com|url=https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/14262/does-romans-95-assert-the-deity-of-christ|publisher=hermeneutics.stackexchange.com|access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>. ====
# '''Jesus Accepts Worship & Forgives Sins''' Only God can forgive sins—Christ did so and accepted worship multiple times (Matt 8:2; 14:33; Heb 1:6; Acts 5:31) blueletterbible.org<ref>{{cite web|title=blueletterbible.org|url=https://www.gotquestions.org/deity-of-Christ.html|publisher=gotquestions.org|access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>lavistachurchofchrist.org<ref>{{cite web|title=lavistachurchofchrist.org|url=https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/the-deity-of-christ-refuting-some-false-arguments/|publisher=lavistachurchofchrist.org|access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>.
# '''Works Only God Can Do''' Creation (“All things were made through Him” - John 1:3), judgment of the living and dead (2 Tim 4:1), and eternal divine essence (Micah 5:2) extend beyond human capacity gotquestions.org<ref>{{cite web|title=gotquestions.org|url=https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/the-deity-of-christ-refuting-some-false-arguments/|publisher=lavistachurchofchrist.org|access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>.
# '''Title “Son of Man” and “Unique Son”''' - “Son of Man” can be a messianic divine title (Daniel 7). - “Only begotten Son” (John 3:16) in Greek refers to a unique relationship, not necessarily implying createdness, within Trinitarian theology.
# '''Trinitarian Exegesis Explains Tension''' Trinitarianism views Jesus as one entity with the Father and Spirit, having equal divinity but different role/relation. Subordination verses reflect role, not essence gotquestions.org<ref>{{cite web|title=gotquestions.org|url=https://www.gotquestions.org/deity-of-Christ.html|publisher=gotquestions.org|access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>biblehub.com<ref>{{cite web|title=biblehub.com|url=https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/the-deity-of-christ-refuting-some-false-arguments/|publisher=lavistachurchofchrist.org|access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref>.

==== - ✅ You covered many subordination texts, Jesus’ dependence, and limitations. ====
* ⚠️ But you did not address: - Declarations of divine identity (John 20:28; John 1:1). - Actions requiring deity: forgiving sins, universal judgment, creation. - Pauline theology affirming Christ’s divine nature.

==== - You rely heavily on verses of humility and dependence—strong human indicators. ====
* However, argument is incomplete without reconciling verses of equality and authority.
* To claim Jesus “explicitly said he is not God” is logically weak: He never said “I am God” outright, but also never said “I am not God.” His identity is conveyed through implicit claims, worship acceptance, unique titles, and actions.

==== - Strong human argument, but lacks full scriptural engagement. ====
* A balanced debate would also include: - “Word was God” (John 1:1) - “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) - Acts where Jesus forgives sins or accepts worship. - Paul’s letters attributing divine status and works to Jesus.

===== Your argument is potent from a unitarian perspective. But to robustly argue Jesus is not God, you must also confront the pro-deity passages head-on—acknowledging worship, divine titles, divine works, and apostolic teachings equating him with Yahweh. Simply pointing to his humanity does not fully exclude deity. =====