A Dynamic You Must Grasp

Have you come to believe that Jesus proceeds from God? Have you, after sufficient opportunity to study Scripture, drawn the conclusion that Jesus is “of” God? In other words, do you believe that God sent him?

The Apostles definitely did! They believed that Jesus was sent by God. Note closely what they said to Jesus right after many of his disciples turned away from him. Right after many refused the invitation to eat of his flesh and drink his blood, and decided to stop following him the Apostles affirmed their commitment by saying:

We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God (John 6:69).

So, do you concur with the Apostles? Do you think that Jesus is “of” God? Every man, every woman, and every young person either believes it or does not believe it. Where do you stand?

If you grasp the dynamic that Jesus is “of” God, then you affirm that he is subordinate to God. In other words, you believe that Jesus serves the Father. That’s a very unpopular position in the Church these days, but it’s the dynamic of their relationship.

Subordination is the essence of the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Very few Christians today understand this hierarchy, but Jesus is subordinate to the Father. His subordination defines Jesus’s relationship with God.

A Heresy?

Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and most Reformed churches have completely sold out regarding the relationship of Jesus to God. They adhere to what they call “the first five Ecumenical Councils”—meetings of leading Christian pastors which took place between 325 and 553 AD, their pastors believe that the statement “Jesus is essentially subordinate to God” is a heresy.

In 553 AD at the Fifth Ecumenical Council a group of bishops declared that the belief that Jesus is subordinate to God is a heresy. They gave that “heresy” a name. They called it subordinationalism, and deemed a few theologians “heretics”: Theodore of Mopsuestia, Nestorius, and Origin.

If you consider how these same bishops declared Mary Mother of God and consider how they established the false doctrine of the “Perpetual Virginity” of Mary, you’ll notice that their anathemas weren’t so important—in fact, they were very poor Bible interpreters.

To affirm that Mary never had sexual contact with her own husband flies in the face of numerous Bible passages as well as common sense. The men who convened at the Fifth Ecumenical Council lost track of sound doctrine—especially the Doctrine of Christ—and they devoted themselves to Mary. They were the founders of Marianism. These men rejected the Bible and did not uphold it.

Because of the bishops at the Fifth Ecumenical Council, Bible interpretation in in the 6^th century AD entered a steep decline. It became the worst period for Christian doctrine. In fact, with the Council’s denial of the subordination of Jesus to the Father, Europe entered the Dark Ages.

A dark shadow had been cast upon the Church. Heresies became doctrine, and sound doctrine became heresy. Islam would rise up soon afterwards as God’s rebuke to the breakdown of Christian doctrine.

Heart-Based Denial

But, if we push deeper, the biggest problem of the 6^th century wasn’t actually doctrine . It was the heart of Christians—the heart of the Church. Pastors everywhere refused to affirm what the Apostles affirmed: the reality that Jesus is “of” God. They denied Jesus’ subordination. Anyone who denies subordination, denies hierarchy, and is a rebel.

Rebels cannot interpret the Bible well, for it is based on the premise of authority. Here’s an example of a saying of Jesus which these rebels cannot interpret:

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does (John 5:20-21).

Even today, most Christians can’t interpret a passage like this. The heart the Church became stubborn around 553 AD, and it remains stubborn. It became rebellious, and it’s still rebellious. The Dark Ages were bad, but today’s apostate doctrine is just as bad. In 553 AD bishops met together to twist and misconstrue the Bible. Today, pastors still bend the Bible.

And this “bend” is perhaps their worst: They deny hierarchy. They will not admit that Jesus is “of” God. They deny Jesus’ subordination to the Father. And just like the coming of the Dark Ages, the denial of the subordination of Christ is a sign that apostasy is coming. It is telling of the encroachment of doctrinal darkness, false teachings.

Rebelliousness

As we mentioned, the main problem Christians have is not a lack of intelligence. Intellectual darkness is not the cause, it’s the result of a deeper problem. The promotion of error starts in an unbelieving heart. Today’s pastors and church-goers reject the notion that Jesus was subordinate to the Father out of rebelliousness. Let us explain.

Follow the logic here:

The fact that Jesus is subordinate to God establishes a hierarchy. God is the top of the hierarchy, then comes Jesus, then us. Hierarchies demand obedience. If Jesus was obedient to the Father, and through that obedience got his glory, then logically we must be obedient to Jesus to get our glory.

The heart of man hates the demands of obedience. That’s why the doctrine of the subordination of Christ is ignored, discredited, and deemed heretical. You see, it’s a heart problem, essentially. The rejection of hierarchy only becomes false teaching when people interpret the Bible with their rebellious heart as their guide!

The One Who Sent Jesus

Jesus didn’t hate obedience. He embraced it. He constantly reminded people about his relationship to the Father. Jesus always proclaimed that he was a messenger. He was proud to have been sent, and made it clear that God was the One who sent him.

Consider how our Lord expressed his submission, his obedience, to God:

For I have come down from Heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).

So, Jesus stressed his commitment to the will of God, not his own. He also stressed that he spoke God’s words, not his own.

These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me (John 14:24).

The result of his commitment to only do God’s will and to only speak God’s words was that the people who heard him did not believe in Jesus alone, but primarily in God. They believed in the One who sent Jesus—and that was great! That’s exactly what Jesus wanted.

Jesus made this a big theme of his ministry. He told us:

Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the One who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the One who sent me (John 12:44-45).

Now you can understand why Jesus constantly pointed people to the Father. Jesus refers to being ‘sent’ or to ‘the One who sent’ him 54 times in the Gospels, with 44 of those references in the Gospel of John. Yes, John has a special inclination to that topic, reiterating that Jesu was sent by God and he was proud to be God’s Messenger.

Now, if you will notice this pattern, then you might also be able to comprehend that our Lord’s subordinate role was the very reason (the essence of) why he taught that faith in him was really faith in God.

For example, Jesus said:

Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life… (John 5:23-24)

Back to Us

If we can’t grasp the fact that God sent Jesus; if we don’t understand that this is the foundation of their relationship, then vagueness will rule our minds. A confused idea of God is all the more unstable when the ambiguity of modern worship music combines with the blurry prayers often uttered in churches. All these push Christians further and further from the light of God’s Word.

Worse off, if we cannot conceive that Jesus is subject to God and came to us on mission from God—how can we ourselves live under authority? How will we behave rightly if we don’t conceive of ourselves as part of a hierarchy? Supposedly, Christians live with a mission, right? Well, who give the orders for the mission to be completed?

The root of the matter is that someone who ignores Jesus’ subordination to God cannot subject themselves to Jesus. And if they cannot subject themselves to Jesus, they cannot be sent by him. If they cannot be sent by him, they cannot serve him.

Jesus was sent by the Father, served him, fulfilled God’s mission, and consequently got glory from God. This same Father God resurrected Jesus and sat him at his right hand.

The Same Attitude

So, God glorified Jesus and established Jesus as our Lord. Now, Jesus is our authority. As our Lord, Jesus sends us just like God sent him. Consider what he said here:

All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-19).

For success in our mission, our attitude towards Jesus needs to be the same attitude he had towards God: complete submission—utter obedience. To be successful, we must obey him. We have to deny our will and do his.

Jesus became our direct authority when God resurrected him. That’s what Peter meant when he concluded his Pentecost sermon with the words:

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah (Acts 2:36).

So, today Jesus sends us the same way God sent him, with authority. The subordinate relationship Jesus has with God is the model of our subordinate relationship to Jesus. God has given Jesus all authority and Jesus sends us. He says ‘Go!”

The only question now is: Who will go? Who will obey Jesus? As he renounced his own will to do the will of the One who sent him, will you renounce yours? Will you abandon your plans to fulfill the mission of Christ?