I recently read a quote that made me think:
in the Jesus of the Gospels it is not ‘self-consciousness’ that strikes us, but God-consciousness. Throughout the story we get the impression of one who, with all His high claims, kept thinking far less of Himself than of the Father. Even in Him—or should we say, supremely in Him?—self-consciousness was swallowed up in His deep and humble and continual consciousness of God. (Baillie, 125)
The author continues,
in the Gospel which gives us the most transcendently high Christology to be found in the New Testament, Christology is more than anywhere else interwoven with the paradoxical human confession: ‘I, . . . yet not I, but the Father.’ (126)
Christology simply means the study of Christ; high Christology is viewing Jesus as divine. In these statements Donald Baillie puts his finger on something unique about Jesus. In John’s Gospel Jesus makes exalted claims about himself, such as:
- I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (6:35)
- I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (8:12)
- I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. (11:25)
- I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (14:6)
These claims are mind-blowing. But consider a different set of claims in the same Gospel:
- By myself I can do nothing. (5:30)
- My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. (7:16)
- I am not here on my own authority. (7:28)
- I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. (8:28)
So the one who makes astounding claims about himself can do nothing on his own? In fact, he doesn’t even speak on his own? The type of people who make big claims about themselves do not also say, “I do nothing on my own” or “My teaching is not my own.”
The Jesus in John’s Gospel is supremely confident in himself yet fully dependent on someone else. This is a highly unusual combination of attributes. Here’s a small sample of the dependent claims, which far outnumber the exalted claims.
The Father’s Mission
- I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me. (7:28-29)
- The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. (8:29)
- I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. (16:28)
The Father’s Words
- My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. (7:16)
- I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. (8:28)
- For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. . . So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. (12:49-50)
- The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. (14:10)
- These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. (14:24)
The Father’s Works
- Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. (5:19-20a)
- By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (5:30)
- I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me (14:31)
There is something childlike about these dependent statements. The Son watches what the Father does then copies him; the Son listens to the Father then repeats what he has heard.
Conclusion
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus did not speak or do anything on his own. He came to earth because the Father sent him, he spoke the Father’s words, and he did the Father’s works. Even during his arrest, he asked Peter, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (18:11).
Since “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8), let’s apply these observations to the present time. Jesus has a supremely high self-conception, but the source of his confidence is not himself. He is not like us, thinking, “I got this, I can do this on my own.” He does nothing on his own. In fact, he cannot do anything on his own. His confidence is in the one who is always with him. In sum, the Son is not self-conscious like us, thinking of himself as an independent island then becoming proud or even lonely. He cannot think of himself without thinking of his Father. When he looks in the mirror, he sees himself and the Father.
What does this mean for us? Since believers are being conformed into the image of the Son (Rom 8:29), spiritual growth means moving from self-consciousness to God-consciousness, from relying on ourselves to relying on God who is Father, Son, and Spirit because as Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia and the U.S. I am passionate about the Bible and Bible related topics. Here’s a link to my books.
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This not just generalities like “The Bible says we need to love and obey God” that you read everyday. You have gotten into the much deeper foundations of how we should REALLY relate and interact with God. If these things can only be partially understood with the carnal mind we need to carefully listen to and observe Jesus himself. We should learn through Him the reality that we are nothing without God. People are sometimes so self focused they fail to realize we are only here because of God who created us for His purpose. If we could only truly realize He is interacting with us constantly as the supreme being in all creation and is the creator of everything. This article will be very helpful to people if they will read your factual Bible based evidence for your insightful conclusions! I intend to do my utmost best to keep these Bible truths in mind as firmly as I can all the remainder of my life. Jesus Proved with His life, teachings…and resurrection .How we should interact with God the Father. This is the true everlasting truth ,in understanding the meaning of life I think you are among the best Christian authors writing today in analyzing Christian beliefs and opinions that really need clarifying and using the very best Bible based scripture to do so. Thanks for all you do! Will M