Articles
I And My Father Are One
Quite possibly, the most significant statement made in the Bible about the relationship between the Father and the Son is in John 10:30. “I and My Father are one.” In this article, I want to consider just two ways this is explained in the scriptures.
Jesus was not a created being, but was the Creator
Jesus was not only with the Father at the creation, but was an active participant in it. He was not a created being, as some have asserted falsely, but was a part of the creative force. “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), says God prior to humanity’s first breath. From this verse it is clear that was more than one voice saying, “Let it be so” on that day. Paul writes, furthermore, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by Him were all things created, all that is in heaven, and in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:14-17). For those who claim that Christ is a created being, these verses offer immediate correction. He is not the firstborn of the creation in the sense that He was the first man made by God. Jesus Christ is firstborn because He holds the authority, the rule, and the power. He has the distinction of being the only begotten Son of God before we even existed, and were called to God as sons through adoption (Galatians 4:4-5). It was by Jesus Christ that the world was made (Hebrews 1:1-3), and there can be no doubt from these passages that Christ and the Father were together and unified in the act of creation.
Jesus was in perfect harmony with the divine will
Consider John 5:17-19, which says, “‘My Father is working until now, and I myself am also working.’ For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.’” There is perfect unity between Christ and the Father in carrying out the works planned from eternity. Nobody else can claim such things, for we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me” (John 9:4). “If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though you believe not in Me, believe the works; then you may know, and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:37-38, John 5:36).
