Who Listened to — and Answered Jesus’ Prayers

The Trinity doctrine — the truth or clever misinformation

Anything can be true if it’s not tested. Doctrines, philosophies, and so-called higher reasoning, are no exceptions. Should we blindly accept beliefs just because they’re culturally normal, family traditions, or because we’re taught that only the faithless ask questions? You’ll need to answer that for yourself. For me, asking questions is the starting point for finding truth.

Many religions of Christianity have long labeled the Trinity Doctrine as a Divinely inspired mystery, one that can neither be understood nor questioned. If you’re reading this with a twinge of guilt, no doubt you’ve been taught that yourself. And if you’re reading this out of curiosity, holding no particular belief on the subject, you still might find my further thoughts interesting.

Is Jesus God — the son of God — or both at the same time

Since my teen years when I attended a nominal Christian church with my family, and where I was introduced to the Trinity doctrine, this question plagued my thoughts. I asked questions but no one, including the minister and teachers in the church, could give me an answer that made sense. I too got the cop-out reply, “You’re not meant to understand.”

One particular analogy was given me that I still shake my head over today. It went like this: Think of the Trinity like your family. You, your sibling, and your father are three people who make up (1) family.

Okay, I thought about that for some time. I didn’t want to be a ‘faithless’ person so I tried to make it fit in terms of common sense, other bible teachings, and how it affected my relationship with God. I spent many hours meditating, and analyzing, with no definitive conclusion. In fact, I got so discouraged that I just shelved the matter. Fast forward a few years when I now had two small children to whom I wanted to teach biblical principles. The question on the Trinity came back with a vengeance. The very basic question about who God was, had to be answered. I could not risk teaching my children a lie that would have far reaching spiritual consequences.

Simply put, the Trinity doctrine states that God is comprised of three individuals (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) who are co-equal and co-existent, yet they are one entity in substance. This would constitute Jesus as being the Creator and Sovereign of the Universe.

So, Is Jesus God — the son of God — or both at the same time? Let me share with you the questions and lines of reasoning that lead to my personal decision.

Questions for thought

After some pondering, I came to the realization that the best person I could ask was Jesus himself. My cell phone plan didn’t cover that far so my next best option was to see if his thoughts on this matter were recorded in the scriptures. It turned out that there are many occurrences. (For the sake of not boring you with a sermon, I’m going to keep my comments as brief as possible while still providing a reasonable explanation.)

Consider Jesus’ words as recorded in the Bible at John 6:38 and John 7:16. Here are some points I found helpful.

• If Jesus were God, wouldn’t he claim to have come to do his own will?
• Jesus stated that he was sent. Doesn’t that indicate someone of higher authority had the power and right to do the sending? If Jesus were God, why would he submit to the will of someone else?
• Another profound thought amazed me. The scripture at John 17:16 indicates that what Jesus taught was not of his originality but was given to him by someone who had the authority to tell him what to say. And Jesus fully discloses this fact.
• At John 14:28 Jesus states that his father is greater than he is. From this statement, it’s evident that Jesus considered himself inferior to his father.
• The scripture at Luke 3: 21,22 states that at Jesus’ baptism his father spoke these words from heaven, “You are my Son, the beloved; I have approved you.” There is so much information in this statement that’s hard to ignore. 1) His father clearly states their relationship — You are my Son — He didn’t say you are part of me, you’re my equal partner, or anything close to that. 2) His father indicates his personal feelings toward his son — the beloved. If Jesus were God, wouldn’t this sound a little narcissistic? 3) His father establishes Jesus’ credentials by giving his seal of approval — I have approved you. If Jesus were God, would he need anyone else’s approval?
• Last but not least, another point in the scripture at Luke 3:21,22 states that Jesus was praying at his baptism. If he is God, then to whom was he praying? The whole concept of a god is that he is the one who is supreme. Would a god pray to another god, or even stranger, to himself? A lot of food for thought here…

My line of reasoning

Through a study of the scriptures, I learned that Jesus was born into the Jewish nation. That nation had a specific religious heritage that began with the Law Covenant made with them through Moses in 1513 B.C.E. Jesus was baptized in 29 C.E. So the nation of his birth had been worshipping their God for over 1500 years. Jesus, being raised by Jewish parents who followed the religious festivals, and sacrifices established in the Law, would have participated in those things along with his family. He would have been accustomed to offering sacrifices and praying to the Jewish/Hebrew God.

Obviously, that God was not him.

Many more scriptures show that he had a very close relationship with his God and took seriously the task he was given to perform on earth. He relied on his God for help all the way through his ministry and up to his death.

So, in answer to the question posed in the title of this article, it was the God of the nation of Israel (Jewish nation) who listened to — and answered Jesus’ prayers. Who was this god? In the Hebrew language his name was Yahweh. The English translation of that name is Jehovah. It was Jehovah who was Jesus’ father and God.

My takeaway

I don’t know about you, but when establishing these facts, I was angry at the misinformation of the Trinity Doctrine taught by nominal Christian religions. And I was compelled to find out if there were other false teachings I wasn’t aware of. It’s been quite a journey, fascinating and rewarding to discover for myself what the Bible really teaches as opposed to accepting just any religious ideology as truth.

Your takeaway

Never be ashamed to question established truths. If they turn out to be accurate, you’ve had the chance to strengthen your beliefs. If they turn out to be false, you have the opportunity to seek truth. It’s a win — win situation.