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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDWARD WATSONS WEBWORLD"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>EDWARD WATS</B><B>ON'S WEBWORLD</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id83.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION"><U><B>SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 1: DOES JESUS HAVE A PREEXISTENCE?"><U><B>PART 1: DOES JESUS HAVE A PRE-EXISTENCE?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 2: IS JESUS GOD?"><U><B>PART 2: IS JESUS "GOD"?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id89.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2"><U><B>2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id90.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3"><U><B>3</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id91.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4"><U><B>4</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id92.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5"><U><B>5</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id93.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6"><U><B>6</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id94.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7"><U><B>7</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>8</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 2: CONCLUSION"><U><B>PART 2: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id98.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 3: ARE JESUS AND JEHOVAH THE SAME?"><U><B>PART 3: ARE JESUS AND JEHOVAH THE SAME?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id100.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2"><U><B>2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3"><U><B>3</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id102.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4"><U><B>4</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5"><U><B>5</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6"><U><B>6</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id105.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7"><U><B>7</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8"><U><B>8</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 3: CONCLUSION"><U><B>PART 3: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 2: APPENDIX"><U><B>SECTION 2: APPENDIX</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id109.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 2: CONCLUSION"><U><B>SECTION 2: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id137.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABBREVIATIONS"><U><B>ABBREVIATIONS</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>[MORMONISM. The Faith of the Twenty-first Century. Volume 1. Edward K. Watson. (Liahona Publications. Copyright © 1998 Edward K. Watson.) pp. 286-287. MORMONISM: Section 2, Part 2, Chapter 8. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <div> <U>CHAPTER 8</U></div> <bR> <div> <B>Is Jesus Subordinate to the Father?</B></div> <bR> <div>      This needs to be clarified. Is Heavenly Father superior to Jesus Christ or are they equal? It's easy to say he is or he isn't but the fact is, both positions are correct. Subordination must be clarified. What does “subordination” mean? If we understand it to mean an<I> inferior position or rank</I> just as a colonel is inferior to a general, then absolutely! Jesus is subordinate to the Father. He  obeys Heavenly Father's orders. He represents God to mankind. He is sent by the Father. </div> <div>      On the other hand, if we understand “subordination” to mean an <I>inferior being</I> just as ants are inferior to humans, then, absolutely not. Jesus isn't an inferior being in relation to the Father. They have the same nature. Both of them have the “ God” nature just as we have the “human/man” nature. </div> <div>      My children aren't subordinate in nature to me because we are equal in nature. This means I'm not a superior being in comparison to them. They are merely subordinate to me in position and authority because I am their father. They need to honor me and do what I say that's in righteousness.</div> <div>      Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are completely equal in nature, power, ability, knowledge, mercy, honesty, justice, love, righteousness, kindness, purity and sinlessness. The perfection of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are about their attributes. Heavenly Father is not more merciful than Jesus, neither is he more righteous because if he was, Jesus could not be  perfect because something would be better than his perfection.</div> <div>      However, Jesus does defer to Heavenly Father and obeys him. He won't do anything against his wishes.<I> This doesn't mean Jesus can't; he just won't.</I> Jesus <I>chooses</I> because of his free agency to follow the Father in all things and he <I>chooses</I> not to fall into sin. </div> <div>      This is why Jesus functions beneath the over-arching authority of Heavenly Father (1 Cor  11:3;  15:24-28; Col  1:12-22; D&C  76:107; John  5:19;  6:37-40;  8:28-29,38,42,49-50,54-55;  10:25,29-30,37-38; etc.) and his  inferiority (John  14:28) is about his position (just like a colonel is inferior in rank to a general), not his nature as being God. </div> <div>      He received  his authority from the Father (Matt  28:18; John  3:35;  5:19-23;  12:49; etc.) and is also  omnipotent like the  Father (Matt  28:18; John  5:21;  10:17-18; Heb  1:3).</div> <div>      We must give  equal honor to Jesus as we do the Father. If we don't; we aren't honoring the Father (John  5:23). If we deny h is nature as God, which is clearly taught in the Scriptures, we are denying who he is and his sacrifice for us which could've only been done by him being ontologically God as well as being human. </div> <div>      Jesus Christ's words will judge against them who reject him for who he is (John  12:48). They are in darkness and fight against him in futility (John  1:5).  Rejecting who Jesus is causes one to hate who and what he is. This hatred causes one to hate the Father as well (John  15:23-25).</div> <div>      <I>All who reject Jesus as “God” in equality with the Father [by nature] have never really had the Holy Ghost in them since he testifies of Jesus Christ and his true nature of being</I>  <I> </I>“<I>God</I>”<I> </I>(John  15:26). Those who reject this Truth will be denied by Jesus before Heavenly Father at the Last Day (Matt  10:32-33; Luke  12:8-9).</div> <bR> <div> John  5:39-44 You keep searching the scriptures thinking you will receive eternal life through them, but they testify of me! And yet you refuse to come to me in order to receive that life. I don't seek honor from men but I know you don't have God's love in you. I came in my Father's name and you wouldn't accept me but if another comes accrediting himself, you will accept him. How can you believe when you are always seeking approval from one another and don't seek the honor that can only come from God?</div> <bR> <div>      Heavenly Father is superior to Jesus Christ only in the sense of: (1)  Rank and position just as a general is superior to a colonel despite both are equal in nature. A general isn't a superior being when compared to a colonel just because he has a higher rank and neither is the Father a superior being to the Son just because he is in a superior position to the Son. (2) His increasing posterity and its accompanying honor and glories; just as my father will always have more posterity than I ever will and will always receive greater honor because of the accomplishments of his descendants.</div> <div>      Jesus is Heavenly Father's agent, his representative (John  3:34;  4:34;  5:19,24,30,36-38;  6:38-40,44;  7:16,28-29,33;  8:16,28-29,38,40,42;  9:4;  10:36;  11:42;  12:44,49-50;  17:8;  20:21; etc.) but such representation doesn't mean he's inferior in nature to the Father.</div> <bR> <div>   “Now, did [God] send him [Christ], as a human mind might assume, to rule by tyranny, fear, and terror? Far from it! He sent him out of kindness and gentleness, like a king sending his son who is himself a king. He sent him as God; he sent him as man to men. He willed to save man by persuasion, not by compulsion, for compulsion is not God's way of working.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >1</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>[ENDNOTES]:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1.Letter to Diognetus. 7:3-4. Translated by Richardson. From HCNT. 393. cf. Mathetes.<I> Ep. Diog</I>. 7. ANF 1 (Sage).</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca"><U>e-mail me!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>