Thursday, April 9, 2015
IF JESUS WAS GOD, THEN WHOM WAS HE PRAYING TO?
The question of Jesus being God and who He was praying to often causes great confusion, and if one is not careful, it can lead to doubts in the Christian faith. In many religious debates, Muslim scholars and even Jehovah’s Witnesses frequently ask: When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, whom was He praying to? And further still, they ask: Since when does God ever ask for help? Indeed, these questions require solid answers supported by clear biblical passages.
To understand Jesus as God on earth praying to His Father in heaven, we must first recognize that God the Father and Jesus “the Son” had an eternal relationship long before Jesus took on human flesh. Beyond that, you must understand that when Jesus was on earth He had two natures—Jesus was fully God and at the same time fully Man (see the booklet “The Two Natures of Jesus Christ”). Please read John 5:19–27, especially verse 23, where Jesus teaches that the Father sent the Son (also see John 15:10).
In Isaiah 9:6 we are told that a Son was given and a Child was born. Jesus was eternally part of the Trinity, together with the Holy Spirit. The Trinity has always been God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—not three gods, but one God revealed in three Persons. Jesus taught that He and His Father are one (John 10:30), meaning that He and His Father share the same essence and nature. The Father, Son, and Spirit are three Persons with equal fellowship, existing together as God. These three always were and always will be in an eternal relationship. They existed before the beginning of time and will continue to exist forever and ever.
When Jesus—having two natures simultaneously (God and Man) according to Isaiah 9:6—took on the sinless human body, He also took the form of a servant, giving up His heavenly glory (Philippians 2:5–11). As a Man, Jesus grew and learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8). He experienced temptation by Satan, false accusations by humans, rejection from His own people, and ultimately crucifixion. His prayers to the Father in heaven were requests for strength (John 11:41–42) and wisdom (Mark 1:35; 6:46)—ALL OF WHICH HE DID AS A HUMAN BEING. His prayers demonstrated His dependence on His Father in His humanity so that He might fulfill the Father’s redemptive plan, as recorded in John 17. His praying showed that He ultimately submitted to the will of His Father, which included going to the cross to pay the penalty (death) for our breaking of God’s law (Matthew 26:31–46). Without question, He rose bodily from the grave, securing forgiveness and eternal life for all who repent of their sins and trust in Him as Savior.
Therefore, there is no problem with God the Son praying or speaking to God the Father. As mentioned earlier, They had an eternal relationship long before Christ became man. This relationship is displayed in the Gospels so we can see how the Son of God, in His humanity, carried out the will of His Father, and in doing so, purchased redemption for His children (John 6:38). Through continually presenting Himself to His Father in heaven, Christ was always empowered and strengthened, remaining focused through His life of prayer. Christ’s example of prayer is the one we are to follow.
Jesus Christ was not inferior to God while He prayed to His Father in heaven. Remember, Jesus had two natures—God and Man. He showed that even in human nature, a life of prayer is essential to accomplish the Father’s will. Jesus’ prayers to His Father demonstrated the example of relationship within the Trinity and also set an example for us: that we must depend on God for the strength and wisdom we need through prayer. Since Christ, as the God-Man, needed a vibrant prayer life, so also must His followers today.
Therefore, Jesus praying to His Father—He did so as a Man (John 17), even though at the same time He was God (see the booklet “The Two Natures of Jesus Christ”). This is clear proof that since the creation of the world, there has never been anyone like Jesus Christ. Jesus is prayed TO (Acts 7:59), and at the same time we read that Jesus prays TO God the Father (John 17).
Truly, Jesus Is God.
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Presented to you by Max Shimba
From Max Shimba Ministries Org.
© 2015, April
April 09, 2015
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