Going back to submission/subordination again. What the V. 19 says is that Jesus learned from the Father by imitating God, not by submitting His Will to God. V 20 it says that the relationship between the Father and the Son is one of Love, through the Spirit I would add, not one of submission. V 18 says that His opponents said that Jesus was “making Himself equal with God,” and He was, not subordinating Himself to God, that is, healing in the Name of YHWH.<
His opponents charged Him with what they considered to be blasphemy because He called God His Father. It would probably be a mistake to forge constructive Christology based on the accusations of his opponents.
I would like to know what you make of
Philippians 2:7-8
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Also
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Galatians 4:4
This reverses the message of the NT that says Jesus is the visible Image of the invisible God or in other words we understand God the Father through Jesus, the Son; not that we understand that Jesus is God through Greek philosophical concepts.<
I don’t recall saying we did.
When we put our Greek philosophical concepts of God before the clear revelation of Jesus as God, we put the cart before the horse, we put foreign nations of God ahead of Jesus without examination.<
Well, I wouldn’t aim to do do that- I don’t think at least.
Jesus submitted to the will of His Father.
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Luke 22:41-42
What or Who is God and what are the privileges of God? It is clear that Jesus laid aside the power of God, when He became human. If this is a privilege than why do most people think that He has to be omnipotent to be God?<
If we take privilege to mean:
‘a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.’
Then I would consider Jesus had a perfect right to turn stone into bread. But he didn’t.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Matthew 4:1-4
With regard to the power of Jesus:
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 2:19
Jesus had the power to raise a man from the dead:
saying also… '“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.
in this he showed he had power over death.
John 11
Just to clarify your points here are you saying the Athanasian Creed has got it wrong when it says:
Similarly, the Father is almighty,
the Son is almighty,
the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there are not three almighty beings;
there is but one almighty being.
Is this the Greek philosophy that you mean?- Just to clarify etc?
If Jesus is truly the Son of God then why would it be wrong to say he is almighty?
Furthermore:
This is what Isaiah ch 6 says
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
It was John who recorded that it was Jesus who Isaiah saw i.e. the almighty:
7 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
John 12:37-41
Yes. Jesus voluntarily subordinated his will (making himself a subordinate) with his own future joy in mind, making a choice. That is not unlike laborers – they can always quit (but it may not be a good choice).
His nature disallows it and we are talking about two things that are mutually exclusive.