Why did Jesus say "My Father is greater than I'?

Jesus Christ stated clearly without any obscurity whatsoever that the father was greater than him. This is what Jesus said: Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I (John 14:28). This statement from our Lord Jesus Christ has caused much controversy and unlearned men have used that as an occasion to deny the true deity of Christ. At first glance, you might be tempted to think that Jesus is not God because he himself said; "for my father is greater than I". So what did Jesus mean when he said the father was greater than him? Does it mean that Jesus Christ is not God? The answer to the question lies in understanding who Jesus Christ really is. 

When Jesus said the father was greater than him, it does not mean he denied his deity, or that he is not God. Jesus Christ affirmed his deity on several occasions, he made bold claims that an ordinary man was unworthy to make. He made claims like: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him (John 5:23). He claimed the same divine honor that was given to the father should also be given to him, because of his equality with the father in his divine nature. He also said: All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him (Matthew 11:27). The father and our Lord Jesus existed before time began and they had deeper fellowship and knowledge of one another in a way and manner that no creature can fully fathom. This is a statement that only God can make. 

Jesus Christ also exercised divine prerogatives that only God wields and can exercise. The bible records: And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? (Luke 5:20-21). Apostle John also tells us that the eternal word that was with God became flesh, and made his abode among us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1; 1; 14). On earth, if Jesus claimed to be God and his claims were true, then why did he say the father was greater than him? The answer can be found in his incarnation. Paul by the Spirit wrote: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

Jesus was in the form of God, but because of our salvation he made himself of no reputation, in other words he emptied himself and took upon him the form of a servant and was found in the fashion as a Man. He took upon himself a created human nature into union with himself. As a Man he was inferior to the father, he was subordinate to the father. As a Man he came not to do his own will but the will of him that sent him (John 6; 38). As a Man he lived in complete obedience to the father, because the father was greater than him in respect to his human nature. Jesus Christ took on a nature that was subject to weakness, pains, and even death. He humbled himself to take on flesh because of his love for us, because only as a Man that he could die and provide eternal redemption for us. Jesus Christ was both God and Man simultaneously. As God he was equal to the father but as a Man the father was greater than him. Jesus in the form of God is co-equal with the father but in respect to his human nature, he was subordinate and inferior to the father. Jesus Christ was God veiled in human flesh. His nature as God cannot change, therefore on earth he was both God and Man at the same time.

 In respect to his divine nature, he is of the same substance and essence with the father, but as a Man, the father was greater than him. As God his nature was uncreated, but as a Man he assumed a body with all its limitations prepared for him (Hebrews 10; 5). His assumption of a human nature and being inferior to the father was because of the plan of the Godhead to save us. The statement Jesus made does not mean he is inferior to the father in relation to his divine nature, no, but rather in respect to his human nature. Those who have concluded that Jesus Christ is not God, based on what he said have fallen into grievous error, and their ignorance has exposed them. This proves that they do not understand what the bible really teaches concerning the person and nature of Christ. Jesus Christ is on the same level with the father because he shares the same divine essence, same divine prerogatives and attributes with the father, but is inferior to the father, because of his assumption of a human nature. It is only in respect to his human nature that he is inferior to the father. As God he is equal to the father but as a Man the father is greater than him. God bless you

                A thought to ponder

As God he is equal to the father, but as a Man the father was greater than him

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