When anti-Trinitarians insist that Jesus can’t be Jehovah in the flesh because He receives authority from the Father, they bind themselves to a logic that would disqualify not only the Son but the Father from true deity. In light of these objections, I will challenge the anti-Trinitarians. I will show them that, according to their skewed understanding of what God can and cannot be or do, the Father can’t be God either.
In what follows, we’ll trace their reasoning through Deuteronomy’s inheritance imagery, Psalms’ calls to worship, Revelation’s celestial acclamations, and Pauline proclamations—only to show that the very gifts, worship, and authority they attribute to the Father are bestowed upon Christ.
By turning their arguments back on themselves, we demonstrate that the only way to preserve the Creator–creature distinction and honor Scripture’s universal worship is to confess Jesus as none other than the Incarnate Jehovah God.
Introduction
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Modern English Version (MEV).
The Unitarian Objection: Jesus as God’s Appropriately Appointed Agent
Some anti-Trinitarian heretics with a Unitarian view argue that Jesus cannot be Jehovah God incarnate because it was the Father who “gave Christ all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18, MEV) and “bestowed on Him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9-11, MEV). They point out that even the life intrinsic to the Son, along with the power and glory He possesses, have been given by the Father (John 5:22-27; Heb. 1:6, MEV). Therefore, they conclude, Christ is merely God’s appropriately appointed Agent invested with the Father’s absolute authority.
Divine Inheritance: Jehovah’s Portion and Boundary Lines
To turn the tables, we first observe that, by their own reasoning, the Father too would be disqualified from deity—since He also receives gifts and an inheritance.
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when He separated the sons of man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (MEV)
Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for You shall inherit all nations.Psalms 82:8 (MEV)
Creatures’ Homage: Power, Glory, and Honor Given to Jehovah
Holy Scripture further depicts created beings rendering or giving power, glory, and honor to the Father, and in the same contexts that all created beings give these to Christ!
Give to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
give to the Lord glory and strength.
Give to the Lord the glory of His name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.Psalms 29:1-2 (MEV)
the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him, who lives forever and ever. Then they cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“You are worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honor and power;
for You have created all things,
and by Your will they exist
and were created.”Revelation 4:10-11 (MEV)
Parallels of Authority: The Father and the Son
Even more striking are the parallels between the honors given to the Father and those given to Christ:
The seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:
“The kingdoms of the world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever.”Revelation 11:15 (MEV)
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying:
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Christ have come,
for the accuser of our brothers,
who accused them before our God day and night,
has been cast down.Revelation 12:10 (MEV)
Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
1 Corinthians 15:24 (MEV)
If receiving authority disqualifies Jesus from deity, it likewise disqualifies the Father from being God.
No one, not even these heretics, would accept such a fallacious standard.
Agents Empowered Yet Rejecting Worship
A further irony: apostles and angels—each invested with divine authority—never permitted themselves to be worshiped:
As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up. I myself am a man.”
Acts 10:25-26 (MEV)
I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10 (MEV)
I, John, am he who saw and heard these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “See that you not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
Revelation 22:8-9 (MEV)
Universal Worship of the Lamb
In stark contrast, every creature worships Christ alongside the Father:
Then I heard every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that are in them, saying:
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and power,
forever and ever!”The four living creatures said, “Amen.” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped Him who lives forever and ever.
Revelation 5:13–14 (MEV)
This passage is a huge embarrassment and problem for anti-Trinitarian heretics since it proves that Jesus is not a part of creation, but is separate and distinct from every created being in all of creation. Christ is placed on the same side as God the Father is placed on in the Creator/creature divide.
As such, Jesus must be Jehovah God Almighty (even though He is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit) since only Jehovah is uncreated. This explains why the Father would tolerate (in fact demand) every creature in existence giving His Son the exact same worship that He receives.
So here is my challenge to these anti-Trinitarians:
Show me a single example where any of Jehovah’s anointed earthly kings received the same worship from every created thing in existence like Jesus does and will continue to receive forever and ever.
The Unparalleled Exaltation of Jehovah
Old Testament texts affirm that none but Jehovah alone is exalted:
Who is like the Lord our God,
who dwells on high … ?Psalms 113:5 (MEV)
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for His name alone is excellent;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.Psalms 148:13 (MEV)
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.For the day of the Lord of Hosts shall be
upon everything that is proud and lofty,
and upon everything that is lifted up,
and it shall be brought lowIsaiah 2:11-12 (MEV)
For thus says the High and Lofty One
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place
and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.Isaiah 57:15 (MEV)
Only Jehovah is uncreated; thus, when the Father shares His unique name and sovereign authority with the Son, it confirms Christ’s identity as Jehovah.
Shared Name and Authority: Father and Son
Pauline and Hebraic writings celebrate the Son’s exaltation alongside the Father:
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He performed in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITIES, AND POWER, AND MIGHT, AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, NOT ONLY IN THIS AGE BUT ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME. And He put all things in subjection under His feet and made Him the head over all things for the church
Ephesians 1:19-22 (MEV)
He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, HE SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE MAJESTY ON HIGH.
Hebrews 1:3 (MEV)
So much for this rather desperate Unitarian objection.
Conclusion
When the gifts, worship, and authority given to Christ mirror those given to the Father—and when created agents refuse worship while the Lamb receives it from all creation—the only conclusion that preserves Scripture’s Creator–creature distinction and honors universal worship is to confess Jesus as the Incarnate Jehovah God.
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