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Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun’s article

A Series of Answers to Common Questions

By

http://www../Shamoun/q_authority_given.htm

Question:

It is reported in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus said that all authority was given to him in heaven and earth (cf. Mat. 28:18), which means that someone else gave it to him. That someone else must be greater than Jesus, which means that Jesus cannot be God. After all, how can God be given all authority when he already has it to begin with?

This shall be yet another rebuttal to Sam Shamoun. In this article of his, Shamoun tries to show that Jesus claiming that all authority was given to him does not make him un-Godly. However so, I will be showing that it does indeed make him un-Godly, and without a doubt, once again prove he is not God, but only a prophet of God. Please click here to read some previous rebuttals [1] [2] [3] [4] to Shamoun in which i proved that Jesus was no more than a prophet and that Jesus is not God. Now let’s get on with his article.

He wrote:

Answer:

Much like in one of the previous questions <q_father_greater.htm>, the problem here is that the person is already assuming that God is a uni-personal deity, that there is only one Person (or center of consciousness) within God's eternal Being. Now, it is possible, of course, that the questioner is correct, that God does exist as one Person, or that there is only center of consciousness within God's Being. But one must first prove this assertion before assuming it. The questioner must show that the Holy Bible teaches that the God revealed within its inspired pages is uni-personal, and then deal with all those passages which teach that the Father, the Son (the Lord Jesus), and the Holy Spirit are all God, even though they are personally distinct from one another.

It is true that no one outside of God can give God anything, since God is the One who owns everything and gives his creatures all that they have:

"Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats?" Psalm 50:7-13

"

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an

image formed by the art and thought of man." Acts 17:24-29

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

But this says absolutely nothing about God's own inner life and internal communion. For instance, let us assume for the moment that God is a Triune Being, that there are three distinct Persons who exist as one Being. Then passages where Jesus is said to have received something from someone really pose no problem for Trinitarianism since you can have one of the divine Persons granting authority to another, or for one member of the Godhead to be in subjection to another (or to the others). After all, Christ is called God's Son for a reason, since this relationship implies a subjection of some kind on the part of the Son to the Father. Yet, much like earthly fathers can be greater in authority than their sons without this implying that the sons are inferior beings, the divine Father giving authority to his divine Son in no way implies that the latter is not God or is an inferior Being.

My response:

For that previous question Shamoun mentioned, please click here [4] to see my rebuttal to his supposed answer, in which he miserably failed and caused some problems for himself. Shamoun asks us to prove that God is a uni-personal being from the teachings of the Bible. Well that is an easy answer, just go to the Jews and check with them if they believe in a trinity, or if they believe in a uni-personal God. That is the answer to that question, it is without a doubt the Old Testament teaches that God is not a trinity or a multi-personal being, or else all Jews would just be Trinitarians, or at least the majority of them would be. However the majority of Jews reject the idea of a multi-personal God, they reject the idea of trinity.

Shamoun could come up with many verses from the OT in which he believes talks about a multi-personal God. I believe Shamoun has already done so, and believes that the OT does talk about a multi-personal God, but however one would expect nothing more by a missionary, to take another book and interpret it their way to suit their desires. However so, I shall be refuting several points raised up by Shamoun, in which he tries to prove that the OT does talk about a multi-personal God. However its interesting to see what Shamoun has to say, he believes that God is made up of three persons, and they all talk and communicate with each other. This is a bizarre belief to say the least, however it gets even worse, not only do these beings communicate with each other (which in reality is God's talking to each other no matter what a Trinitarian may argue), but they also pray to each other! That’s the explanation Shamoun gave as to why Jesus prays, which however was refuted here (*).

So let’s get this straight, God is one, and he is made up of 3 persons, all talking to each other, praying to each other, and each having a different rank than the other, very peculiar I must say. This is paganism without a doubt, a major blasphemy. It is very clear that Jesus is an inferior being to the Father.

1. Jesus prays to the Father

2. Jesus speaks of what he hears only, and who is he listening to? The Father

3. Jesus' doctrine which he preaches is not his own. Who does it belong to?  You guessed it, the FATHER.

4. Jesus submitted his will to whom? His Father.

5. Who gave Jesus everything he had? Such as the power for the several miracles he performed? The Father.

6. Was Jesus all-knowing? Who was smarter and who knew more? Him or the Father? Once again it was the FATHER, the Father knew more than Jesus, as Jesus himself said, no one knows the last hour accept who? ONLY THE FATHER. Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  

That’s the key word ONLY, meaning not even the fully divine Jesus who Christians always bring up, the divine Jesus who was all powerful before he took on the flesh, not even that Jesus knows the final hour as Jesus himself said ONLY the Father meaning no one else, hence Jesus is less knowledgeable than the Father, and is not all knowing meaning he is not God, because God knows all.

So from those 6 points I raised, we can definitely see that Jesus is inferior to the Father, to say he is not is a joke and denying the plain truth, especially point 6. For further details on those 6 points with the verses please click here [1][2][3][4]. So Jesus is inferior to the Father, and from point 6, Jesus is not all-knowing, he fails the tests of being God.

He wrote:

Having greater authority doesn't necessarily mean that the person is greater in essence, or that the one who is in subjection to another is inferior in nature to the other. To assume otherwise is to make a categorical mistake, a category fallacy, treating two distinct categories (nature and authority) as if they were one and same.

My response:

Not only does the Father have greater authority than Jesus, he is also superior to Jesus, and this is a fact.

He wrote:

The following citation helps to put this in perspective:

'Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after DESTROYING every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all." 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

Here is a classic example of how one member of the Godhead can give to another member something without this implying that one of them isn't God. Note that the Father subjected all things to the Son, and that the Son gives to the Father the kingdom. Christ's sovereignty and supremacy is clearly seen in this passage since he has the ability to destroy all other powers and authorities, bringing them into complete subjection to the Father. Thus, the Son receiving authority to rule no more disproves that he is God then the Father receiving the kingdom from his Son disproves that he is God also.

My response:

To start off, those verses don’t prove Jesus is God. Shamoun believes that just because Jesus delivers the kingdom to God, this makes Jesus very special and makes him God, since he is giving God the kingdom. However we go back to square one, who gave Jesus that power to destroy all the authority and power, and all his enemies? The Father God gave Jesus that authority to do those things, God gave Jesus the task of delivering the kingdom to God, it does not mean God needed Jesus or couldn’t do it alone, God just decided he would let Jesus do it, and God gave him the tools to do so. So once again we are at square one, Shamoun forgot the main point which is the Father gave Jesus everything. So there is nothing to indicate Jesus being God in that verse, but there is something very interesting to indicate that Jesus is no more than a prophet, and is inferior to the Father once again, let us post the verses:

1 Corinthians 15:24-28

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Very interesting to see that Jesus will also be subjected unto God like everybody else, meaning that Jesus is not superior to God, and once again showing is inferior to the Father, and without a doubt is a Prophet. We also see that it is the Father who put all things under Jesus, as we see in verse 28: 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

So there we go again, it was God the Father giving Jesus that power, and we once again see that the Father is superior to Jesus, and we see once again Jesus cannot be God, but indeed is no more than a Prophet.

He wrote:

Another thing to keep in mind is that, according to the Scriptures, Christ voluntarily came down from heaven in order to assume the role of a slave, a servant. While on earth, the Lord Jesus subjected himself to the authority of the Father, doing nothing of his own initiative, but only doing

 the very thing that the Father commanded and desired:

"And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'" Matthew 20:24-28

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me." John 6:38

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8

My response:

If that’s true as you think it is, then what is so unique about Jesus's miracles? As i pointed out, if Jesus came to be a servant, and have no power, and get everything from God. Then how are the miracles he performed and words he has spoken making him God? What is so special about them, since you admit he came to be a servant, to serve, and to receive things from the Father. If you say Jesus came down to serve, and had no power, and became a man. It would then be illogical for you to say at the same time, OH LOOK JESUS DID THIS MIRACLE! NO PROPHET COULD DO IT! NO MAN COULD DO IT! THIS MAKES HIM GOD! Many Christians often say that, such as Shamoun in Jesus' miracles articles which I refuted here (*).

So again, you can’t say Jesus was just a man, let go of his power, and came to serve. And then at the same time turn around and say LOOK JESUS DID SOMETHING THAT NO PERSON COULD! It is a logical fallacy, you must either believe that Jesus was mere man as the verses Shamoun posted showed, and if you do believe it, then you cannot turn around and make arguments of Jesus' miracles and words he spoke in the favor of him being God.

However if you choose to make arguments of Jesus' miracles and words he spoke in favor of him being God, then this makes the Bible wrong and Paul wrong, and Jesus wrong, when all of them claim that Jesus is just a man, who came to serve, who became obedient, and gave up his powers, either way you decide, but you are still left in a dilemma. If you do accept the truth that Jesus became a mere man, a servant, giving up his powers and so on, then this eliminates every single argument you have to prove that Jesus is God by the miracles and words he spoke, because you cant have it both ways, you cant say ah yes Jesus was just a mere man, gave up his powers and so on. If you choose option 2 which is to make arguments out of his miracles and words he spoke, then the Bible is wrong, Jesus lied, and so did Paul. If you are a mere man, a servant, obedient, then it is impossible for you to turn around and do great miracles ON YOUR OWN, and speak magnificent words and glorify yourself ON YOUR OWN, however they are possible by the fact that you are a servant, a prophet of God, a normal man, and that God gives you these things.

However let me correct Mr. Shamoun, Shamoun stated that: 'Another thing to keep in mind is that, according to the Scriptures, Christ voluntarily came down from heaven in order to assume the role of a slave, a servant. While on earth, the Lord Jesus subjected himself to the authority of the Father, doing nothing of his own initiative, but only doing the very thing that the Father commanded and desired'. Shamoun contradicted the very words of a certain statement Jesus made. Let us post the verse of what Jesus said to check if Jesus did only what his Father commanded him to do, as Shamoun pointed out, and as Jesus himself pointed out in the Bible.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down OF MY OWN ACCORD. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." John 10:17-18

What ever happened to the Jesus who did everything his Father told him? As we see Jesus laid down his life on his own accord, his own will, his own doing, as he said: but I lay it down OF MY OWN ACCORD. So was Jesus lying when he said he only does the will of his Father? Or was it that Jesus could no longer stand being a servant and a man and go by the will of his Father only, but breakaway for that moment and do his own will? Or was it a contradiction in the Bible? Well I say it's all three.

He wrote:

In response to Christ voluntarily humbling himself and becoming a slave, the Father exalted him:

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11

One must therefore understand the Lord Jesus' words in Mat. 28:18 in light of this backdrop, that Christ humbled himself for a season with the Father then exalting him as a result. In other words, Christ didn't seek to exalt himself after perfectly completing the mission he was sent to do, but humbly waited to be exalted by his Father. After all, the Lord was perfectly doing what he told his disciples to do:

"The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:11-12

My response:

That’s all good, Jesus became a servant, a man. Which means all his miracles, all the things he said and did were not special and unique, nor did they make him God.

He wrote:

With all this behind us, we now turn to Mat. 28:18, taking a look at its immediate and surrounding context, to see if whether the passage supports the Orthodox Christian view of Christ or not:

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:17-20

My response:

Baptizing people in the name of God and the son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is not something special either, as we clearly saw, Jesus is inferior to the Father, and he got everything from the Father, so it is clear they are not even in the same level. However, to baptize in Jesus’ name shows the honor and high status of Jesus. As when a Muslim takes the shahada, they have to bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God, and that there is no God but Allah, this does not make Muhammad God, nor does it make him on the same level as God, the same thing with the baptizing.

I am with you always could mean several things. One it could be metaphoric, since it was Jesus who was given the Gospel and taught and so on, and if you follow it then you are basically believing in what he taught, and believing that he a prophet, a true person, not a liar, hence Jesus will always be with you since your believing in what he was teaching and doing.

Secondly, Jesus always being with them to the end of age also means they have to be with him, and since it says to the end of age, that un-doubtedly is heaven, because heaven is eternity, as Jesus said in the verses: teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:17-20

Teaching them what he had, which was from God, and if they stick to it they get to heaven, where Jesus is too. It is also clear he is talking to his disciples, so it’s obvious Jesus could've meant being with them in heaven. So Jesus ALWAYS being with them is not something to make him God.

He wrote:

In the biblical worldview, name signifies a person's nature, essence and/or characteristics:

"The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.’ Then Moses said, ‘I pray You, show me Your glory!’ And He said, ‘I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.’ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!’ Then the LORD said, ‘Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.’" Exodus 33:17-23

"The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.'" Exodus 34:5-7

Moses asks to see God's glory, with God stating that he would proclaim his name to his servant. God proceeds to proclaim his name by enumerating some of his attributes and characteristics. God also says that he knows Moses by name, which basically means that God knew Moses personally. In other words, knowing a person's name is to know the person himself, name being synonymous with person/personality or characteristics:

"You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you." Exodus 20:24

My response:

Jesus’ characteristics were nothing special, as you said, and as Jesus said, and as Paul said, Jesus became a mere man, a servant. So this would make his characteristics that of a normal man, and of a prophet to do the things he did, not God. The fact also remains that Jesus is inferior to the Father as I showed.

He wrote:

Remembering God's name means to remember God.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you." Psalm 5:11

"I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High." Psalm 7:17

My response:

Nothing to refute or address here, but to make it clear once again that Jesus is inferior to the Father and that the Father is superior to Jesus.

1- Jesus prays to the Father

2- Jesus speaks of what he hears only, and who is he listening to? The Father

3- Jesus' doctrine which he preaches is not his own. Who does it belong to?  You guessed it, the FATHER.

4- Jesus submitted his will to who? His Father.

5- Who gave Jesus everything he had? Such as the several miracles he performed? The Father.

6- Was Jesus all-knowing? Who was smarter and who knew more? Him or the Father? Once again it was the FATHER, the Father knew more than Jesus, as Jesus himself said, no one knows the last hour accept who? ONLY THE FATHER. Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Jesus saying only is very important, it basically means ONLY the Father knew when the hour was, not Jesus the man, nor Jesus the divine, meaning he is not all-knowing even if divine form! Meaning he is not God. 

He wrote:

Loving and praising God's name is another way of saying that one loves and praises God. And:

"Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 124:8

Compare:

"My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:2

Note how these two passages speak of help coming from God and his name, since name is being used as a synonym for God's presence, power, being etc.

Name can also refer to a person's inherent or delegated authority:

"Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.'" 1 Samuel 17:45

"I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him." John 5:43

Just as the late, renowned NT Greek grammarian and scholar, A.T. Robertson noted in his comments on Matt. 28:19:

... The use of name (onoma) here is a common one in the Septuagint and the papyri for power or authority... (Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament; online source underline emphasis ours)

My response:

That is all very nice, but the fact remains, Jesus is inferior to the Father. It is also a fact that even the DIVINE Jesus who was all powerful and had all the glory before taking on the flesh and becoming a man was not all-knowing as we see in this verse:

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

So no one except the Father knows when the last hour is, once again the word ONLY is very important because it means that no one else knew when the last hour was, including the DIVINE Jesus. Therefore not only does this show once again that the Father is superior to Jesus the man and Jesus the divine, because he knows more. This also proves that Jesus is NOT God because God knows everything, he knows the last hour, and if is not all knowing then this means he is not God, and Jesus was not all knowing.

He wrote:

In light of this background, when Jesus refers to the one name (not names) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, this basically implies that the three Persons share the same nature, essence, characteristics, and/or authority. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have one name because they have the same nature and share the same eternal Being, being equal in their divine authority. At the same time, they are personally distinct. This understanding of Jesus' use of name is consistent with the immediate context where Christ is worshiped and promises to be with all of his followers to the end of the age, a claim of omnipresence which is a divine attribute. Jesus affirms his omnipresence elsewhere in Matthew:

"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." Matthew 18:20

To summarize the data from the closing comments of Matthew's Gospel, we learned that:

1-Jesus is worshiped.

2-Jesus has universal sovereignty.

3-Jesus has the same divine name, authority, essence, nature, characteristics, etc., that the Father and the Holy Spirit have.

4-Jesus is omnipresent, and promised that his sovereign, all-powerful presence will remain with all believers till the end of the age.

These points make it clear that Jesus' words cannot be misconstrued so as to imply that he was denying his Deity. His comments simply mean that, after humbling himself and setting aside his divine privileges for a season in order to fulfill God's will, Christ receives from the very One to whom he subjected himself the authority that is his by divine right.

My response:

Let us make it clear again, Jesus is INFERIOR to the Father as i clearly proved, and i clearly proved Jesus lacks a main characteristic to be God.

1- Jesus prays to the Father

2- Jesus speaks of what he hears only, and who is he listening to? The Father

3- Jesus' doctrine which he preaches is not his own. Who does it belong to?  You guessed it, the FATHER.

4- Jesus submitted his will to who? His Father.

5- Who gave Jesus everything he had? Such as the several miracles he performed? The Father.

6- Was Jesus all-knowing? Who was smarter and who knew more? Him or the Father? Once again it was the FATHER, the Father knew more than Jesus, as Jesus himself said, no one knows the last hour accept who? ONLY THE FATHER. Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Now Shamoun made 4 points. His first point was that Jesus was worshiped, well that doesn’t make him God, Satan is worshiped too, does that make him God? Certainly not, but according to Shamoun yes it does make Satan God because he was worshiped. Not only does it make Satan God because he is worshiped, it also puts him on the same level of God since he is worshiped, because it is obvious Shamoun is trying to show that since Jesus was worshiped, this puts him on the same level with the Father making them equal, and since Jesus is being worshiped, this also makes him God.

So Shamoun tried to show Jesus being equal with the Father and being God. However Jesus is not equal with the Father as I have shown, and if we were to take Shamoun's argument as proof, then this makes Satan on the same level as the Father, and makes him God too. So Shamoun has not only failed to prove Jesus is God and equal with the Father, but he instead has managed to show that he believes Satan is God as well, along with all the other idols being worshiped around the world, good job Sam, keep it up.

To his second point, I want Shamoun to show that verse, and I want to know if Jesus has it on his own, or is it something his Father has given to him as usual? I believe his Father gave it to him.

As to his third point, Jesus does not have the same authority, essence and characteristics of God. For one Jesus has no authority of his own, for two, Jesus is not all knowing, for three Jesus has nothing from himself, and let me point the 6 facts to show Jesus is INFERIOR to the Father once again:

1- Jesus prays to the Father

2- Jesus speaks of what he hears only, and who is he listening to? The Father

3- Jesus' doctrine which he preaches is not his own. Who does it belong to?  You guessed it, the FATHER.

4- Jesus submitted his will to who? His Father.

5- Who gave Jesus everything he had? Such as the several miracles he performed? The Father.

6- Was Jesus all-knowing? Who was smarter and who knew more? Him or the Father? Once again it was the FATHER, the Father knew more than Jesus, as Jesus himself said, no one knows the last hour accept who? ONLY THE FATHER. Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Shamoun could say that’s the man part of Jesus most of the time, but id love to see what he has to say to point 6, which includes the so called divine Jesus. However though, the fact is Jesus is inferior to the Father, and has no authority, and is not on the same level.

As to point 4, this has already been addressed, no needs to go over it again, just go back up my paper and you will see it. The facts are still the same; Jesus is inferior to the Father.

He wrote:

Furthermore, because he perfectly accomplished his Father's will while a man, Christ earned the right to share in God's sovereign rule as a true human being, not just because he happens to be the divine Son. And in so doing, the Lord Jesus gives believers the right to also share in this rule. What this essentially means is that Christ restored the dignity that humanity had before Adam's fall, giving them the right to once again rule over the physical creation (as well as angels) which was lost in the Garden:

"A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:24-30

"Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." John 17:24

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:14-17

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." Romans 8:31-34

"Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!" 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

"Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

"Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, 'What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.' Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:5-9

"The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star." Revelation 2:26-28

"The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." Revelation 3:21

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.'" Revelation 5:9-10

"Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years." Revelation 20:4-6

Thus, Christ as the glorified Son of man, the head of the new creation, the originator of a glorified human race, earned the right for all believers to rule along with him over the entire creation of God!

Praise you Lord Jesus! You are eternally worthy to be loved, praised, and to rule forever and ever! Amen.

My response:

Very funny to see Shamoun go on a victory parade by the end of his article, Shamoun has once again failed to prove Jesus is God, and on the same level as the Father. However, the fact remains that Jesus was GIVEN everything, and that Jesus was INFERIOR to the Father, not only the man part of Jesus was inferior, but the DIVINE form of Jesus was inferior as well. Let us make a summary of Shamoun's article

1- He failed to prove Jesus is God, or even on the same level as the Father, as the proof still is against him.

2- He did manage to show that he believes that Satan and all other idols are God too, and on the same level as God since they are worshiped.

3- He created a dilemma for himself, he must now decide whether Jesus came down to serve and give up all his powers, meaning everything he did was not special and not making him God. Or he must decide whether the miracles he has done prove he is God, and the words and claims he made, either way he cannot have it both ways.

4- He helped us bring a nice problem, he claimed Jesus only did his Fathers will, I showed that the Bible says otherwise. So either Jesus lied, or Jesus couldn’t be obedient enough and quit and just did his own will, or it’s a contradiction, either way you’re left with a problem at the end.

So another rebuttal to another article by Sam Shamoun, another failing attempt by Shamoun to prove Jesus is God.

Praise Allah! Forever we shall worship and serve you, and indeed we believe in Jesus son of Maryam as no more than a mighty Prophet of God and the Messiah. Ameen

Rebuttals, and exposing the lies of the Answering Islam team section.

Rebuttals to Sam Shamoun's Articles section.

A Muslim's Rebuttals section.

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