Is Jesus subservient to God the Father?

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normdplume

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Hi. I was wondering if people could give me their views on whether Jesus is subservient to God the Father. There are many verses in the Gospels where Jesus seems to subordinate himself to the Father. Are they not equal in the Trinity? I came across a forum elsewhere where a member intentionally referred to Jesus as God the Son, rather than the Son of God.
 
I am not Catholic or Christian, but if the Trinity consists of One G-d in three Persons, it simply cannot be that Jesus is subservient to the Father. All Persons of the Trinitarian G-d MUST be co-equal; otherwise, we are not talking about One G-d. However, Jesus is completely human as well as completely divine: the hypostatic union. Therefore, perhaps His subservience is on a human level rather than a divine one. This is tricky since, as far as I understand it, the “two aspects” of Jesus: human and divine are not fragmented. What a difficult and challenging theology Christianity is!
 
It has to do with Jesus nature - that he is both man and divine (true man and the God). You have to see that in context. Where was the incident and what did he do?

As a man, he brought examples of what a Godly man is to be, for us to follow. The reason he came down to earth (wonder why we use the word ‘down’, is heaven up there?) so that we can see and understand how we should believe and live as sons of God, not of the Devil.

From that, probably it is easier to understand what and why Jesus did and said the things that he did and said.
 
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According to the traditional Catholic view, some passages in the New Testament speak
of him in his humanity, others in his divinity. So the first group of passages speak of him as being subservient to the Father as a man would be, while others speak of him as equal to the Father.

And important statement about this is known as the Tome of Pope Leo (written in the 400s), in which this Pope said:
“To be hungry and thirsty, to be weary, and to sleep, is clearly human: but to satisfy 5,000 men with five loaves, and to bestow on the woman of Samaria living water, droughts of which can secure the drinker from thirsting any more, to walk upon the surface of the sea with feet that do not sink, and to quell the risings of the waves by rebuking the winds, is, without any doubt, Divine. Just as therefore, to pass over many other instances, it is not part of the same nature to be moved to tears of pity for a dead friend, and when the stone that closed the four-days’ grave was removed, to raise that same friend to life with a voice of command: or, to hang on the cross, and turning day to night, to make all the elements tremble: or, to be pierced with nails, and yet open the gates of paradise to the robber’s faith: so it is not part of the same nature to say, I and the Father are one, and to say, the Father is greater than I. For although in the Lord Jesus Christ God and man is one person, yet the source of the degradation, which is shared by both, is one, and the source of the glory, which is shared by both, is another. For His manhood, which is less than the Father, comes from our side: His Godhead, which is equal to the Father, comes from the Father.”

The tome, which is one of Pope Leo’s letters, is at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604028.htm
 
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The Son is generated by the Father and the Father generates the Son, but they are co-equal. The Son is not subservient to the Father. God has one will and one mind, not three such that one submits to the other. From a Trinitarian perspective they are equal and are that mind and will equally. It’s Christ’s human nature and will that willingly submitted itself to God’s will.
 
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“Equal to the Father, as touching His Godhead. Inferior to Father, as touching His humanity.”
  • St. Athanasius (one of my Patrons)
That’s about the best answer I’ve ever seen.
 
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Hypostatic union and communication of idioms apply. Because the question is framed around “Jesus”, his two natures are therefore to be considered.

As God, Jesus is not inferior to the Father.

As man, he was.

Questions like these should always be approached with the Hypostatic Union in mind. Ask yourself: are you asking this question about Christ in his divinity, or his humanity?

Now if you had asked, “Is the Second Person of the Trinity inferior to the Father” or “Is the Logos inferior to the Father” or “Is God the Son inferior to the Father” then the answer is a flat out No.
 
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Obedient yes. Subservient no.

And varies through other traditions but those are not Catholic understanding.
 
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