Jesus is not God

This sheet shows a set of passages from the Bible which show one of the great truths of the Bible – Jesus is not God, but Jesus shows what God is like. The sheet shows a set of 11 reasons for believing that Jesus is not God. One passage is quoted in full for each of these. You will need to look up the other passages for yourself.

1. No-one has ever seen God

 Even after the time of Jesus, no-one had seen God. Thousands had seen Jesus; over 500 saw him alive after his resurrection. But no-one had seen God.

1 Timothy 6:16  …who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion.

See also:

John 1:18; John 5:37; John 6:46; 1 John 4:12; 1 John 4:20 which tell us that no-one has ever seen God

Exodus 33:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:27 which tell us that it impossible to see God.

2. God has always known everything - Jesus didn't know everything

God knows everything and has always known everything. He declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9,10). But Jesus has not always known everything.

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32)

As God knows everything and there are some things that Jesus does not know, Jesus can’t be God.

See also: Isaiah 46:9,10; Matthew 20:23; Acts 1:7;

3. God cannot be tempted - Jesus was tempted

James 1:13 tells us that God cannot be tempted. However, we know that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. There are also places where the Bible tells us clearly that Jesus was tempted; for example:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

See also: Luke 22:28; Hebrews 2:17,18

4.  God never changes, but Jesus has changed

God is perfect; he has no need of change. He states that he does not change in Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17. But while Jesus may now have reached a stage where he does not change, there was clearly a time when he did change. For example, as a child it could be said:

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:52)

See also: Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 5:8,9; Luke 13:32

5. God is greater than Jesus

The Bible consistently tells us that God, the Father of Jesus, is greater than Jesus. If Jesus is God then this could not be true.

The words of Jesus: You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.  (John 14:28)

See also: Matthew 12:18; 1 Corinthians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Corinthians 15:28

6. Authority is given to Jesus by God

Jesus does not have authority because of his nature. He was given authority by God. For example, Jesus said: All things have been handed over to me by my Father… (Matthew 11:27) This would not need to be the case if Jesus is God; if Jesus is God he would already have all power by his nature.

See also: Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36; John 3:35; John 13:3; John 17:2; Ephesians 1:20-22; Philippians 2:9,10; Hebrews 1:2.

7.  The Bible distinguishes Jesus from God

There are more than 100 passages in the Letters alone which contain references both to Jesus and to God. These references make it clear than only one of these is God, and this one is never Jesus. For example: For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5)

See also: Acts 2:22; Acts 2:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Romans 1:7; Romans 1:8; Romans 2:16; Romans 3:22;

Romans 5:1; Romans 5:11; Romans 7:25; Romans 8:34; Romans 8:39; Romans 10:9; Romans 15:5; Romans 15:6; Romans 16:27; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6;

1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 1:1; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 1:17; Ephesians 4:5,6; Ephesians 5:20; Ephesians 6:23; Philippians 1:2; Philippians 1:11; Philippians 2:11; Colossians 1:3; Colossians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:11;

1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:2; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Timothy 5:21; 1 Timothy 6:13; 2 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 John :3

8. God, the Father, is the God of Jesus

Not only does the Bible tell us that Jesus and God are different, it tells us that our God is also the God of Jesus. For example:  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1Peter 1:3) In Revelation 3:12 Jesus refers to his Father as his God no fewer than four times: The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

                As Jesus has a God he cannot be the supreme being. It is not possible for God to have a God.

See also:  Psalm 89:26; Matt 27:46; John 20:17; Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:3 & 1:17; Revelation 1:6

9. God cannot die - Jesus died

God the living God, on whom the life of all creatures is based. God cannot die (see

1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:16; Acts 14:15; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 3:3). However, it is quite clear that Jesus died (see John 19:33; Romans 5:8-10; Romans 6:3,5; 1 Corinthians 11:26; Philippians 2:8; Hebrews 13:20). It is a vital fact of Christianity that Jesus died for our sins.

10. God raised Jesus from the dead

Jesus died and was raised from the dead. He did not raise himself; he was raised by God. …if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9).

See also: Acts 2:32; Acts 4:10; Romans 4:24; 1Thessalonians 1:10; Hebrews 13:20

11.  Jesus Endorses the Jewish view of God

Jews have always had a picture of one God; they were never Trinitarians. Jesus said: We know who we worship - salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:22)