A lot of people have been deceived into believing “Jesus is God.” But if we honestly compare his attributes with God the Father, we will find Jesus Christ himself falls far short of being “true God.” Of course, He told us this himself, but folks don’t want to believe Him. Praying to his Father, Jesus said: “This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3). So, let’s see if Jesus was telling the unexaggerated and unambiguous truth in verse 17:3, shall we?

Keep in mind that these are all comparing attributes of Jesus’ self, his person, and not merely his “humanity” or “human nature.” No scripture teaches that his non-god attributes only apply to Jesus’ “humanity” or “human nature,” as traditions of men like to claim falsely.

Item	Attributes of Jesus	Attributes of God
1	Jesus himself is NOT Almighty (John 5:19, 30 10:29, 14:28, 1Cor 15:27-28)	God is ALMIGHTY (Gen 17:1, 35:11, Exo 6:3, Rev 21:22)
2	Jesus himself received Life from God (John 5:26, 12:50)	God Gave Jesus LIFE (John 5:26, 12:50)
3	Jesus himself Received his Anointing (Acts 10:38 also Hebrews 1:9)	God Anointed Jesus (Acts 10:38 also Hebrews 1:9)
4	Jesus himself is NOT his own Father (Mat 7:21, 10:32-33, 36, 12:50, 16:17, 18:10, 19; John 20:17, Acts 13:33, Heb1:5, 2John 1:3)	God is the Father of Jesus (Rom 15:6, 2Co 1:3, 2Co 11:31, Eph 1:3, Eph 3:14, Col 1:3, 1Pe 1:3)
5	Jesus himself is the Son of Man (Mat 16:13, Mark 14:62)	God is NOT the Son of Man (Numbers 23:19)
6	Jesus himself is a Man (Mark 15:39, John 8:40; Acts 2:22; Romans 5:15; Heb 10:12)	God is NOT a Man (Num 23:19, Hos 11:9, John 4:24)
7	Jesus himself is the Son of God (Mat 16:16, Mark 15:39, John 10:36)	God is NOT the Son of anyone (Isa 45:22, 46:9 )
8	Jesus himself was Sacrificed (1Cor 5:7, Eph 5:2, Heb 9:26, 10:12)	God was NOT Sacrificed (Eph 5:2)
9	Jesus himself Died (Mark 15:39; Acts 4:10, 13:30, 34, 17:31; Rom 5:8; 4:24, 6:4, 9, 8:11, 10:9; Gal1:1, Eph 1:20, Col 2:12, 1Th 1:10; 2Ti 2:8; 1Pe 1:21; 1Cor 15:3-4)	God NEVER Died (1Tim 1:17)
10	Jesus himself had Brothers & Sisters (Matthew 12:50, Mark 3:35, 6:3)	God has NO Brothers / Sisters (Isa 43:10)
11	Jesus himself was Resurrected by God (Acts 4:10, 13:30, 34, 17:31; Rom 5:8; 4:24, 6:4, 9, 8:11, 10:9; Gal1:1, Eph 1:20, Col 2:12, 1Th 1:10; 2Ti 2:8; 1Pe 1:21; 1Cor 15:3-4) and that by commandment from God (John 10:18)	God Resurrected Jesus (Acts 4:10, 13:30, 34, 17:31; Rom 5:8; 4:24, 6:4, 9, 8:11, 10:9; Gal1:1, Eph 1:20, Col 2:12, 1Th 1:10; 2Ti 2:8; 1Pe 1:21; 1Cor 15:3-4)
12	Jesus himself is our High Priest (Heb 3:1)	God was never, and is not even qualified to be our High Priest (Heb 3:1, 5:1)
13	Jesus himself was our Apostle (Heb 3:1)	God was Never an Apostle (Heb 3:1)
14	Jesus himself was Tempted by Evil (Mat 4:1, Heb 2:18, 4:15-16)	God was Never and Cannot Be Tempted by Evil (James 1:13)
15	Jesus himself received the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18, Acts 10:38, 1Cor 15:27)	God gave Jesus the Holy Spirit w/Power (Matthew 28:18, Acts 10:38, 1Cor 15:27-28)
16	Jesus himself is utterly dependent on the Father (John 5:19-30, 5:26, John 8:29, John 15:10, John 14:31, John 10:17–18)	God is wholly independent and works all things according to the counsel of his own will (Exod 3:14, Eph 1:11, Heb. 2:4, Jam. 1:18)
17	Jesus’ whole existence depends on the Father (John 5:21, John 10:18)	God’s existence originates from and has no source other than Himself (called aseity) (Exo 3:14, Psalm 90:2. Isaiah 46:10)
18	Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15, 2 Cor .4:4, Hebrews 1:3), and as such He was seen and handled (1 John 1:1)	God is not made in anyone’s image, in fact, He is invisible (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12), By faith we understand that things that were made were not made by things that can be seen (Heb. 11:3)
19	Jesus himself prayed to God the Father (Mat 26:42	God the Father prays to no one (Psa 65:2)
20	Jesus himself was born (Col. 1:15,18, Heb. 1:6, Rom. 8:29), meaning he had his literal beginning as a man (Matt 1:1, Jhn 18:37)	God always existed (Psalm 102:25-27)
21	Jesus himself grew in stature and favor before God and man (Luk 2:40, 52) and did not know all things (Mark 13:32, 5:30, 11:13); even in heaven, he had to be given revelation from the Father (Rev. 1:1)	God always was, and never was not, all-knowing (I change not) (Job 21:22)
22	Jesus himself was perfected through suffering (Hebrews 2:10)	God was always perfect and didn’t need anything or to go through anything to be perfected. (God is not a man that he should repent) (Job 21:22, Job 35:6-8)
23	Jesus himself had “for himself, to offer sins” because God laid upon him the sin of us all (Hebrews 5:3, 23. Isaiah 53:12, 2 Cor 5:21, Romans 3:25, Heb 9:14)	God never took upon Him any sin (James 1:17, Matt 19:17, 1 John 1:5)
24	Jesus himself had faith in God to save him (Heb. 5:7)	God never needed saving nor needed to have faith in anyone (Acts 17:25, Job 22:2, Luke 17:10, Romans 11:35-36)
25	Jesus himself was given all authority by God (Mat. 28:18)	God has all authority by nature of His being (Psalm 90:2, Psalm 102:25-27)
26	Sent by the Father (John 14:24; 17:3; 17:21)	Sends: no one sends Him (Isaiah 40:13–14; 45:5–6; implied John 7:28)
27	Jesus’ “all” authority has one exception: God, who gave him his authority, thus Jesus’s subordination to the Father, not coequality, is what is eternal (1 Cor. 15:27-28)	God has no one who is excepted from being under His authority (1 Cor. 15:27).
28	Jesus’ office of sonship authority over others will end when God is all in all (1 Cor. 15:28)	God’s authority had no beginning and will have no end, ever (1 Cor. 15:28).
29	When Jesus said, “I am” (Gr. ego eimi), he was using a common phrase (just like we would use) to refer to himself as the Christ, the anointed one of God (John 4:25-26)	When God said “I am that I am” it translated into Greek as “I am the Being” (Gr. ego eimi ho on), then God said, tell them “ho on” (the Being) sent you (Exodus 3:14-15). Since God’s “name” was never the Greek phrase “ego eimi” (I am), Jesus never used “God’s name” to identify himself, as many falsely conclude and have thereby deceived many.

These attributes are more important to know than whether Jesus was referred to as “God” because, in Bible times, men could be called “god” (John 10:34-38) in a limited sense, which Jesus did qualify for: “…He (God) called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken)” (John 10:35). (We will cover this in more depth below). But Jesus does not even come close to fully “qualify” as a “true God,” as this list demonstrates.

These comparable attributes demonstrate just how ludicrous, disrespectful, and even blasphemous it is to view Jesus as “co-equal” to the Father or as the identity of the Father. Jesus was a man who earned all the authority that God gave him. And for that, God anointed him to be God’s chief representative and authority over all creation. To say that Jesus was God by identity is to dismiss and disrespect Jesus’ life of sacrificial obedient faith to the Father on our behalf, which earned him the position of exalted status he now enjoys with the Father.

“³A Man of sorrows… ⁵he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities… ¹¹My righteous Servant shall justify many, For he shall bear their iniquities. ¹²Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because he poured out his soul unto death, And he was numbered with the transgressors, And he bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:3, 5, 11–12; NKJV)

“You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.” (Psalm 45:7, Hebrews 1:9)

“He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for [because, since] I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” (John 8:29)

“…made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:5–12)

“Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.” (John 10:17–18)

“19 Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise… 30 I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don’t seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.” (John 5:19–30)

P.S. This table was originally brought to my attention by Kevin Gregg, at https://www.truthministriesapostolicchurch.org/the-attributes-of-god-jesus-compared/. I expanded the table from 15 lines to 28.

The H.A.N.D.S. Acronym: Exposé of a Trinitarian Shell Game vs. What Jesus Was Given

Contemporary Trinitarians have been promoting what they call the HANDS acronym to “prove” Jesus is God. They claim that since Jesus shares all the Honors, Attributes, Names, Deeds, and Seat of God, that somehow proves He is God, mic drop, end of story. But that is just a major shell game. To begin with, why would they have to resort to a grammatical scheme if what they are claiming to be true is openly taught in the Bible? The fact that they have to resort to this kind of trickery is the first red flag that many simply ignore.

What they are referring to are things they claim that only God has inherently. That part is true; that’s the kernel of truth by which they gain your confidence. The key word here is “inherently.” That’s where they slip the pea under a different shell hoping you won’t notice their sleight of hand. Now, if this were a parlor trick, it would be cute and entertaining. But there are moral stakes involved in this game of theirs.

What they aren’t telling you is what is deadly. By claiming that because Jesus shared these attributes with the Father they use human reasoning to conclude this could only mean He is God. By making that sound reasonable, they are hiding three major truths from you, among others.

They are hiding from you that everything Jesus has, particularly under each of these categories, He did not have any of them inherently. They were all given to Him. And that truth alone proves that He was never, nor is He now, “true God” by identity or person.

They are hiding from you that we also share—or will share—some of the same things with Jesus they claim prove He is God, and that should prove to any truth-seeking person that sharing these traits doesn’t make someone true God. And this because He is the firstborn among many brothers and we are heirs together with Him. Colossians 1:15: “the firstborn of all creation;” Colossians 1:18: “the firstborn from the dead;” Hebrews 1:6: “when he brings the firstborn into the world;” Romans 8:29: “the firstborn among many brothers.” Why does this matter? Because “Firstborn” implies beginning which contradicts the eternal deity claim. This clarifies Colossians 1:16’s “all things created through him,” because Jesus was always in God’s foreknowledge and plan as the appointed heir through whom the new creation would be brought forth. Isaiah 44:24 is explicit that Yahweh alone carried out the original creation, leaving no room for a second divine being beside Him. Therefore, Paul’s statement must refer to the new creation in Christ, realized through the man whom God had foreordained—not through a co-creator existing alongside Him.

They are hiding from you that if sharing traits with God makes Jesus God, then it also makes us Gods, and that is both the lie of the serpent in the Garden and an exact match with the descriptions of the antichrist (anti-Anointed one) in the Bible. Which is precisely why they make Jesus into God: because they reject the idea of Jesus being the Anointed Man that God made Him to be.

These are not harmless or innocent points of deception. These people have read the first commandment as well as anyone else. And rather than submitting to it, have decided instead to subject it under human reasoning. What is the commandment that they refuse to simply submit to? The very first one.

In Exodus 3 God defined Himself in no uncertain terms:

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM,’… You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh… has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.” (Exodus 3:14–15)

And then God codified this truth by commandment:

“Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5)

This commandment could not possibly have been clearer. And if there was any doubt, it was reiterated many times. For example:

“You shall fear Yahweh your God. You shall serve him. You shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.” (Deuteronomy 10:20)

“Therefore you shall love Yahweh your God, and keep his instructions, his statutes, his ordinances, and his commandments, always.” (Deuteronomy 11:1)

“You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice. You shall serve him and cling to him.” (Deuteronomy 13:4)

Jesus completely upheld and authorized the Jewish view of this as being the first and greatest commandment:

“One of the scribes… asked him, ‘Which commandment is the greatest of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The greatest is: “Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment…’ The scribe said, ‘Truly, teacher… he is one, and there is none other but he; and to love him with all… is more important than all…’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from God’s Kingdom.’” (Mark 12:28–33)

“Jesus answered him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.”’” (Luke 4:8)

And yet, these words aren’t acceptable to Trinitarians. Trinitarians choose to disobey this commandment rather than submit every thought under obedience. To make it appear that they keep it, what do they do? They play a shell game with words and claim that “one” refers to a mythical substance that their three deific persons share. And that creates an insurmountable problem that they are not honest enough to face.

What Trinitarians can’t do is quote any commandment from the Scriptures for us to “love one substance in three deific persons.” That commandment does not exist, nor is God ever described in those terms in the Bible. Notice what John says about those who don’t keep God’s commandments:

“He who says, ‘I know him,’ and doesn’t keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.” (1 John 2:4)

That doesn’t say “has lied” it says, “is a liar.” Those are strong words, but they are in our Bibles for a good reason. When you consider the three points that are listed above, and realize Trinitarians are not telling you the truth about what the Scriptures teach, and they do that, so they don’t have to submit to the commandment that God is one “He,” there is no other term for what they are doing than lying. They don’t lie because they don’t keep the commandment, they don’t keep the commandment because they are liars. Those are strong, harsh words, to be sure, but it is what the Scripture says.

And here is what they are making into a lie with their man-made H.A.N.D.S. acronym:

“All Authority Has Been given to Me In Heaven and In Earth.” (Matthew 28:19)

So says Jesus Christ of Nazareth Himself. I believe He knows what He is talking about and just explained Himself precisely. No one who claims that Jesus is “true God” (coequal with the Father) believes these words of Jesus; they only give them lip service. Let’s examine why that is so.

Jesus denied having aseity (self-existence or self-originated power):

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing from Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing…” (John 5:19)

“I can do nothing from Myself. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30)

This is not vague. It is categorical. These words are Jesus’ formal doctrinal correction to the direct accusation that he was “making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). In response, Jesus declares not only his functional subordination, but the absence of any aseity—the doctrine that God is self-existent, self-originating, and dependent on no one (Exodus 3:14). If God says, “I AM that I AM” (Exodus 3:14), but Jesus says, “I can do nothing from myself,” then Jesus is telling you plainly: he is not that “I AM.” The onus is on us to hear His words—all of them.

This is Jesus’s direct rejection that the essential attributes of God apply to Himself inherently in any way. They are also Jesus’s direct rebuttal to the Trinitarian H.A.N.D.S tradition of men. He does not claim aseity—He denies it in direct response to people misunderstanding Him to be God. That makes these two verses the most theologically precise rejection of deity Jesus ever gave. Jesus doesn’t just avoid claiming to be God—He refutes the very possibility of it—directly. And what qualifies as sloppy reading is to dismiss this self-explanation from the lips of Jesus Himself. But that’s not merely sloppy reading—it is subtly introducing another Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t merely identify himself as human—he denies having God’s essential nature: self-origination, autonomous power, and aseity.

Let’s look at the Scriptures that Trinitarians must ignore and negate which explain to us that Jesus was given all of the attributes that Trinitarians claim make Him personally and inherently God:

• Life – “The Father gave to the Son also to have life in himself.” (John 5:26)
• All authority – “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
• Glory – “The glory which you have given me I have given to them.” (John 17:22)
• A name – “God highly exalted him and gave to him the name which is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9)
• The Spirit – “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.” (John 3:34)
• Judgment – “The Father has given all judgment to the Son.” (John 5:22)
• Works – “The works which the Father has given me to accomplish.” (John 5:36)
• Commandments – “The Father who sent me gave me a commandment.” (John 12:49)
• Teaching – “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.” (John 7:16)
• Disciples – “All those whom the Father gives me will come to me.” (John 6:37)
• Revelation – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him.” (Revelation 1:1)
• A kingdom – “I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred one on me.” (Luke 22:29)

What Trinitarians don’t realize is that all of these traits and attributes that were explained to be given to Jesus represent the Bible’s way of saying “Jesus is not God.” In fact, they are clearer because they strip the person of Jesus from inherently having all these traits and attributes and explain them as being given to Him. They don’t strip him of those traits and attributes, they explain how He obtained them and operated in them. And explaining how things work is a much more effective and decisive way of teaching us what to and not to believe.

These verses explain to us that Jesus had nothing that was inherently His. That is absolutely not true of the God of the Bible. Does God need to be given life? Does God need to be given authority? Does God need to be given teachings? Does God need to be given revelation of Himself? Does God need to be given a kingdom? In all cases, the answer is a resounding “NO! That’s a preposterous proposition!” If Jesus being given these things makes Him God, then us being given many of the same things would necessarily make us gods as well. And that is the second dark truth they don’t want you to know about the Trinity doctrine: it makes man into God which we’ll get to next.

As you have seen, the Bible does explain that these attributes were given to Jesus. What the Bible never says or explains is that they were inherent to His being and were evidence that He was God incarnate. So then, when the Bible declares that these attributes were given to Jesus Christ—and Trinitarians insist instead they are evidence of His inherent deity—that is nothing short of a blatant denial of Scripture, or blindness to it, in favor of human reasoning. Cut and dried. No excuse.

And that is how Trinitarians defend the Trinity: by resorting to flat out lies and deceptions as these and claim they are truths.

Why are they blatant lies? Because “God” (the source of all authority) and “Anointed One” (being given authority) are mutually exclusive concepts. Saying the “deity of Christ” is like saying, “the squareness of that perfect circle,” or “a living corpse”, or a “married bachelor.” These are the kinds of oxymoronic titles that Trinitarians are making up when they speak of “the deity of Christ.” You can’t be a square and be a circle any more than you can be God and need to be given and receive authority. You can’t be a living corpse any more than you can need to be given life and earn authority and still be God Almighty. Mutually exclusive terms don’t resolve the inherent contradictions, they just prove the irrationality of those demanding their legitimacy.

And yet this is precisely the wool that Trinitarians have pulled over their own eyes—and expect others to accept likewise.

And yet, as mentioned above, there is a darker side to their claim that “if Jesus shares attributes with God He must be God,” and that’s because:
We Also Share Attributes With God—Does that make us God?
If we follow the logic of Trinitarians, we could also conclude we are Gods, or will be Gods.

Following is a solid list of Scriptures where many of the same traits, honors, or prerogatives assigned to Jesus (and used by Trinitarians in the H.A.N.D.S. acronym) are also explicitly shared with us, showing that these are not exclusive indicators of deity. They are categorized under the H.A.N.D.S. headers the Trinitarians use.

H – Honors

“Behold, I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” (Revelation 3:9)

→ Shared object of worship, just as Jesus is worshiped. Others as well:

“Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers… behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to [worshiped] my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?” (Genesis 37:5–8)

“Abraham rose up, and bowed himself [worshiped] to the people of the land…” (Genesis 23:7, 12)

“The two angels came… Lot… bowed himself (worshiped) with his face to the earth.” (Genesis 19:1)

“Isaac blessed Jacob, saying, ‘Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down (worship) to you. Be lord over your brothers; Let your mother’s sons bow down (worship) to you…’” (Genesis 27:29)

“David… cried after Saul, saying, ‘My lord the king.’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance [worship].” (1 Samuel 24:8)

“When Abigail saw David, she… bowed herself to the ground [worshiped]…” (1 Samuel 25:23, 41)

“The woman of Tekoa… did obeisance (to the king)… Joab… did obeisance, and blessed the king… Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king…” (2 Samuel 14:4, 22, 33)

“Mephibosheth… did obeisance [worshiped David].” (2 Samuel 9:6)

“…and all those who despised you shall bow themselves down [worship] at the soles of your feet…” (Isaiah 60:14)

“…The sons of the prophets… came to meet him [Elisha], and bowed themselves [worshiped] to the ground before him.” (2 Kings 2:15)

“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” (Revelation 3:9)

If Jesus being worshiped makes Him true God, what does it make all of these saints?

“The glory which you have given me, I have given to them.” (John 17:22)

→ If glory equals deity, then Jesus made us all gods. But the text shows that the glory Jesus had is something given—and shared—through relationship, not essence. We share in Christ’s glory as joint heirs (Romans 8:17), not as co-equal gods.

A – Attributes

“That they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one… that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.” (John 17:22–23)

→ Shared unity, love and oneness with the Father—same pattern, same kind, not a lesser unity. It doesn’t make us God any more than it makes Jesus God.

“He whom God has sent (Jesus) speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.” (John 3:34)

“When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:28)

→ Jesus was given the Spirit without measure, and in the end, we too will share in that same fullness—when God is “all in all.” If sharing the Spirit without measure makes Jesus God, it will make us God as well.

N – Name

“I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem… and my own new name.” (Revelation 3:12)

→ We are given God’s name and Jesus’s new name. If sharing a name with God means being God, that would also make us God.

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

→ We are clothed with the identity of Christ.

D – Deeds

“Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these…” (John 14:12)

→ We share in Christ’s deeds—and exceed them. And in this case it doesn’t say share, it says we will do the works Jesus does and even greater. If that makes Jesus God, by the same reasoning it would make us God also.

“Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” (Luke 10:19)

→ Shared authority to act against spiritual opposition.

“If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.” (John 20:23)

→ Apostles share judicial prerogatives many claim are God’s alone. This would make the Apostles gods because they share the deeds that only God has authority to wield.

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:43)

→ Shared radiance/glory—parallel to Christ’s transfiguration.

S – Seat (or Throne)

“He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:21)

→ Shared honor of the throne. Some Trinitarians claim that sitting on God’s throne proves Jesus is God. But Solomon also sat on God’s throne:

“Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh.” (1 Chronicles 29:23)

…as will overcomers (Revelation 3:21).

“To him who overcomes… I will grant to eat of the tree of life… will not be hurt by the second death… I will give a white stone… authority over the nations… I will confess his name before my Father…” (Revelation 2–3, summary)

→ All these reflect shared status, rule, and favor.

“Beloved, now we are children of God… we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

→ We will be like Him—not just positionally, but in revealed likeness.

The serpent’s lie was, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Today, that same lie is repackaged in doctrines claiming Jesus must be God because He shares God’s honors, attributes, name, deeds, and seat. Yet Scripture says we too will share in those very things—not because we are God, but because that has always been God’s plan for man. That’s why He gave dominion to Adam and Eve. Jesus is the fulfillment of that plan—the perfect, faithful human. But if Jesus is extra-human, then He didn’t prove anything, and God’s plan failed. Worse still, if possessing what only God once possessed makes someone God, then the serpent was right. But he wasn’t. That same lie, on the lips of Trinitarians, now turns Christ’s earned inheritance into evidence of identity and perverts the Father’s plan to glorify many sons (Hebrews 2:10) beginning with the man, Jesus Christ.

But doesn’t the Bible call Jesus “God”?

It’s true that a few verses refer to Jesus as “God” (e.g., John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8 quoting Psalm 45—see below). On this basis, “deity of Christ” proponents think they have an open-and-shut case, reasoning: “If Jesus is called God, then He must be ‘true God.’” Superficially, that sounds unassailable.

But when we live by every word of God—as we are commanded to do, and as Jesus Himself exemplified in just such situations—we discover that reasoning sets up a false dilemma.

Why? Because other humans in the Bible have been called “gods” by God Himself, and that certainly doesn’t mean in their cases that they were also “true God.” This provides clear biblical precedent for people being called “god” without it meaning they are “true God.” “Deity of Christ” defenders ignore both this fact and the reason behind it. In doing so, they exaggerate their position to the detriment of the many passages that explain Christ’s role explicitly—and create more theological problems than they solve.

Let’s see how Jesus Himself makes this point. When He was accused of making Himself God, listen carefully to how He responded:

John 10:34–38: [The Jews said to Jesus]… “you, being a man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

Jesus pointed them back to their own Scriptures, where God called men “gods.” In doing so, He exposed that they were not truly listening—neither to Him nor to the Scriptures they claimed to defend. These were unbelievers who refused to hear Jesus. And what we discover, if we do hear Him, is that there is no real difference between those who openly reject Him and those who claim to believe in Him yet refuse to listen to what He explains. Those who insist on the “deity of Christ” while ignoring His own explanations to the contrary take the same position as unbelievers—assuming, as they did, that He was making Himself equal with God when that simply was not so.

God said, “You Are Gods”

What was Jesus referring to? Let’s look and see:

Psalm 82:1: “God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.”

Psalm 82:6: “I [God] said, ‘You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.’”

The psalm depicts a courtroom scene. God stands in the “assembly” (Hebrew: adat el — the divine council or assembly of God) and rebukes the “gods” (elohim) for judging unjustly:

“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed” (Psalm 82:2–4).

These responsibilities belong to human rulers and judges under the Torah (e.g., Exodus 22:8–9; Deuteronomy 1:16–17). Then verse 7 says: “Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers.” If these “gods” were angels, that warning would make no sense—angels do not die like men, nor are they responsible for administering Israel’s civil justice. This was the role of Israel’s human rulers and judges.

So, although God Himself purposely calls them “gods” in the sense of bearing authority, He warns that their exalted title will not shield them from judgment; they will share the fate of ungodly mortal rulers. In doing this, God was establishing the boundaries of human leaders—boundaries that also apply to Christ, who said He could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19, 30). Read in context—and in light of Jesus’ own application—Psalm 82 is a rebuke of unjust human judges who, by receiving God’s law and authority (“to whom the word of God came”), were called gods (elohim) but will be judged for their corruption.

To be consistent with their own reasoning, if they applied the same standards in this case, the “deity of Christ” defenders would have to regard these judges as “true God” as well, rather than as representatives of the true God—as the biblical precedent clearly shows. Their refusal to do so exposes that they are operating in the same double-minded hypocrisy that Jesus exposed in the Pharisees.

This same principle appears again in Psalm 45—the very passage quoted in Hebrews 1:8. There, a royal son of David—obviously human—is addressed as “God”: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,” yet the verse continues, “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you” (Psalm 45:6–7). The anointed king is called Elohimbecause he rules on God’s behalf, not because he is the Most High. That is the very context in which Hebrews 1:8 applies this to Christ, the ultimate Anointed One, showing that even the most exalted “God-language” used of the Messiah follows the same biblical pattern: God honoring His appointed ruler—not introducing a major doctrinal shift that authorizes the pagan idea of “gods come to earth in the form of men” (Acts 14:11).

And yet none of today’s “Jesus is God” proponents go around claiming that the Hebrew kings were “true God” because God called them “God.” Why not? Because doing so would expose their double-mindedness. The real issue is that they don’t understand the Scriptures—where God Himself calls humans “gods”—and they hear only what confirms their tradition, just as the Pharisees did.

How Much Moreso The One Whom The Father Sanctified And Sent Into The World?

Jesus interprets this very principle in John 10:34–36 to defend Himself against the charge of blasphemy: if mere human agents of God’s word could rightly and scripturally be called “gods” by God Himself, how much more the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? In other words, Jesus perfectly embodies what God was implying about those human leaders. To confuse Jesus with the true God, when He is fulfilling God’s plan for humanity, is to fundamentally misread the biblical testimony—exactly what the Pharisees were doing, and the false basis on which they rejected Him as the Messiah.

When Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), he wasn’t redefining Jesus as the Most High; he was recognizing the authority of the One whom God had raised and exalted—exactly as Jesus had earlier explained—and honoring His words. Earlier, Jesus had told His disciples, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28) and prayed to “the only true God” (John 17:3). So Thomas’s confession is best understood in this contextas a response of faith when confronted with the risen Messiah—the one through whom God was working, as promised (Acts 2:36; John 14:10). Just as Israel’s judges were called “gods” because God’s word came to them, Thomas’s declaration acknowledges Jesus as the supreme representative of that same God. The passage affirms Jesus’ exaltation as the temple of the living God, exactly as He had been explaining—not an out-of-context claim of personal deification of the Messiah whom God calls His “servant.” “My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; for he will bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11)

This means the entire contention that “Jesus is God” rests on exactly such false conclusions—and in this case, one that Jesus Himself already refuted. If that isn’t a case of not hearing Jesus, what is?

It was brought against Him then by those who did not believe Him, and it is brought against Him today by those who also do not listen to what He consistently explains about Himself. What is the difference between those who openly reject His words and those who claim to honor Him, but twist His words to mean the opposite of what He consistently explained of Himself? Either way, those who refuse to accept His words are disobeying God’s commandment to “listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). There are indeed people who do this—but that does not make it right; it only exposes their unwillingness to submit to Jesus’ authority and reveals their confession as lip service.

Consistently Scriptural

This pattern—where God grants divine titles to His representatives—continues consistently throughout Scripture.

Exodus 21:6 (literally): “Then his master shall bring him to the gods (elohim)…”

Exodus 22:8–9 (literally): “…then the master of the house shall be brought to the gods (elohim)… the cause of both parties shall come before the gods (elohim).”

These passages are among the clearest examples where gods (elohim) refers to human judges acting on God’s behalf. Grammatically and conceptually, they align perfectly with Psalm 82. The “deity of Christ” contenders must either ignore these passages, explain them away, or—if consistent with their own reasoning—claim these judges were also “true God.” In doing so, they create more problems than they artificially appear to solve.

The Hebrew term used here is ha-elohim—literally “the gods,” an idiom meaning “the judges.” These are courtroom settings, not temple rituals, which is why even the Targums and Septuagint render the word as “judges.”

So the bottom line is exactly as Jesus said:

God Calls Them “Gods” and the Scripture Can’t Be Broken!

Exodus 21:6 and 22:8–9 unmistakably refer to human judges, not to God Himself. That is why nearly all ancient and modern translations render ha-elohim as “the judges.” These passages confirm that elohim (gods) could be a legal title for men entrusted with God’s authority. This aligns seamlessly with Psalm 82, where God calls judges “gods” and rebukes them for perverting justice.

And this is exactly the precedent Jesus appeals to in John 10:34–36: those “to whom the word of God came” (Israel’s judges under God’s law) were called gods (elohim) by God Himself—“and the Scripture cannot be broken.”

Here’s how it works step by step:

1. Biblical precedent — God Himself uses elohim (“gods”) for human agents entrusted with His word and authority. Psalm 82 is the key passage: these “gods” are Israel’s judges and rulers, tasked with administering His law justly. God calls them “gods” because they stand in His place to judge His people.
   Psalm 82:6: “I said, ‘You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.’”
   Exodus 7:1: “I have made you as God to Pharaoh.”
2. God is the one who says so — It’s not men exalting themselves. God is the one who declares their role and applies the title, investing them with representational authority.
3. Jesus affirms this as Scripture — In John 10:34–36, Jesus quotes Psalm 82, reminds them that “the Scripture cannot be broken,” and uses this precedent to answer the charge of blasphemy. He doesn’t deny the title; He shows that Scripture itself allows humans to be called “gods” when they act under God’s commission.
   John 10:34–36: “Jesus answered them, ‘Isn’t it written in your law, “I said, you are gods”? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, “You blaspheme,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”?’”
4. The issue is allegiance, not the title — Throughout Scripture, God’s authorized agents may be called “gods,” but they are accepted because they represent the true God. Those who serve other “gods” are rejected and condemned (Psalm 97:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; Jeremiah 10:11). The biblical distinction is not between “true God” and “anyone else ever called god,” but between Yahweh’s appointed representatives and those serving false powers.
5. Therefore — If Scripture uses “gods” for human agents of Yahweh, and Jesus explicitly appeals to this precedent, then applying exalted language to the Messiah does not make Him ontologically “the only true God.” Rather, it affirms that He, as the sanctified and sent Son, holds the highest position in God’s authorized order—above all other agents, but still distinct from the one true God (John 17:3; Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9–11).

Therefore:

To Believe in “the Deity of Christ” Is Both Dishonoring and Disobedient to God—Because It Is Refusing to Hear Jesus!

This means that Scripture itself—when we truly listen and hear—completely flips the script on those who claim that because Jesus is called “God” in certain passages, He must therefore be “true God.”

Why?

1. They use a false dilemma to negate the commandment that God is one “He.”
2. Like the Pharisees, they refuse to accept the scriptural precedent of men being called “god” to whom the word of God came.
3. Since it is God Himself who calls these judges “gods,” their reasoning determines good and evil independently of, and contrary to God—mirroring the “Has God really said…?” tactic in the serpent’s playbook.
4. By their own reasoning, if being called “God” makes someone “true God,” then Moses and Israel’s judges must also be “true God.” “Deity of Christ” proponents ignore the inconsistency—or outright hypocrisy—of applying this logic to Jesus while denying it to those whom Scripture also calls “gods.” That is precisely the hypocrisy that Jesus flipped the script back on the Pharisees in John 10:34.
5. God gave a direct command from heaven to “Hear Him” (Mark 9:7) regarding Jesus. To disobey a command from God is sin, and “to him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin” (James ^4:17).
6. Jesus said, “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37). And Peter warned, “It will be, that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:22–23).
7. While “deity of Christ” proponents believe they are honoring Jesus by declaring Him to be “true God,” they actually dishonor Him by refusing to accept His own explanation to the contrary when He was directly accused of making Himself equal with God.

“…The Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus therefore answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself’” (John 5:19–23).

In saying He could do nothing of Himself, Jesus was directly refuting the Jews’ false accusation in the clearest terms. An all-powerful God cannot claim to have no personal power—but Jesus did exactly that. He wasn’t referring merely to His human nature; He was speaking absolutely and explicitly about “Himself.” According to Jesus Himself, there is no “coequality” between Himself and “true God”!

The same pattern appears in John 10. Jesus was accused of making Himself God or equal with God, and He refuted the charge plainly:

John 10:34–38: [The Jews said to Jesus]… “you, being a man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’ If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

Those who promote the “deity of Christ” refuse to accept Jesus’ own explanations of Himself—just as the Pharisees did. Both insist He was claiming equality with God despite His clear denials. The only difference is that the Jews wanted to kill Him for a claim He refuted, while “deity of Christ” proponents want to turn Him into something He explicitly said He was not—so they can worship Him as God, in direct disobedience to the commandment that God is one “He” and distinct from the Anointed One He sent.

The Stone that the Builders Rejected

In either case, the stone the builders rejected is still being rejected today:

“Jesus said to them, ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, “The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you…’” (Matthew 21:42–43)

Conclusion

The biblical truth of the matter is that the man-made Trinity doctrine represents the same Pharisaical spirit that plagued the first-century Jewish leaders—those whom Jesus openly and repeatedly rebuked for “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” and making God’s commandment of none effect.

To be like Jesus, we should be just as active in exposing and rebuking the false doctrine of the Trinity as He was in confronting the Pharisees. That was a major feature of His ministry of setting captives free—because truth sets free.

If Trinitarians want to biblically legitimize their doctrine, let them quote the commandment where God decrees that He is “three persons in one substance,” contrary to His own self-definition: “I AM THAT I AM.” The singular pronoun is all the explanation and definition we should need. Anything beyond that is an excuse to break the first commandment. Since they cannot produce such a commandment, that is our sign that they are teaching for commandments the doctrines of men.

The commandment where God Himself declares that He is “three persons in one substance” does not exist. But these do:

Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”

Deuteronomy 10:20: “You shall fear Yahweh your God. You shall serve him. You shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.”

Deuteronomy 11:1: “Therefore you shall love Yahweh your God, and keep his instructions, his statutes, his ordinances, and his commandments, always.”

Deuteronomy 13:4: “You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice. You shall serve him and cling to him.”

Luke 4:8: “Jesus answered him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.”’”

Mark 12:28-34: “ ‘Which commandment is the greatest of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The greatest is: “Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he; and to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all…’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from God’s Kingdom.’”

And these commandments—not the traditions of men—should be the final word on the subject.

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