Quick Facts Bible research image examining Matthew 7:21–23, where Jesus warns that not everyone who calls him “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom, but those who do the will of his Father.
QUICK FACTS: MATTHEW 7:21–23 — “THEN I WILL TELL THEM, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU’”
Who Was Jesus Warning When He Said, “Depart From Me, You Who Work Lawlessness”?
Does Calling Jesus “Lord” Save Us — Or Must We Do the Will of His Father?
Research by Simon Brown
Few warnings spoken by Jesus are more serious than the words recorded in Matthew 7:21–23:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”
— Matthew 7:21
Jesus continues:
“Many will tell Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work iniquity.’”
— Matthew 7:22–23
Look carefully at the people Jesus describes.
They are not atheists.
They are not openly rejecting Jesus.
They call him:
“LORD, LORD.”
They claim to prophesy:
IN JESUS' NAME.
They claim to cast out demons:
IN JESUS' NAME.
They even claim to perform mighty works:
IN JESUS' NAME.
Yet Jesus gives them the terrifying answer:
“I NEVER KNEW YOU.”
How can people who openly confess Jesus as Lord and claim to perform extraordinary works in his name nevertheless hear:
“DEPART FROM ME”?
Jesus himself tells us why.
JESUS TELLS US WHY
Jesus says:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.”
— Matthew 7:21
This is the key to understanding the entire warning.
Jesus does not say that merely calling him “Lord” guarantees entrance into God's Kingdom.
Instead, he points us directly to:
THE WILL OF HIS FATHER.
So we need to ask a very important question:
WHAT IS THE WILL OF JESUS' FATHER?
We do not have to guess.
Jesus himself tells us.
JESUS TELLS US THE WILL OF HIS FATHER
In John 6:40 Jesus says:
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone beholding the Son and believing in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day.”
— John 6:40, Berean Literal Bible
Notice carefully what Jesus says:
“THIS IS THE WILL OF MY FATHER.”
Jesus then explains what that will involves:
BELIEVING IN THE SON.
This is extremely important when compared with Matthew 7:21.
The people in Matthew 7 call Jesus:
“LORD, LORD.”
Yet Jesus rejects them.
Therefore, merely calling Jesus Lord is not necessarily the same thing as genuinely believing in him.
True biblical belief is not merely saying the correct religious words.
It means accepting the Son whom God sent, trusting him, listening to him and receiving his teaching.
Jesus repeatedly explained where his teaching came from:
“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”
— John 7:16
And again:
“The word that you hear is not Mine, but that of the Father having sent Me.”
— John 14:24
Jesus also says:
“For I spoke not from Myself, but the Father who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
— John 12:49
The pattern is clear:
THE FATHER SENDS THE SON.
THE SON SPEAKS THE FATHER'S WORDS.
WE ARE CALLED TO BELIEVE IN THE SON.
AND THROUGH THE SON WE RECEIVE THE MESSAGE OF THE FATHER WHO SENT HIM.
Therefore, genuine belief in Jesus cannot be separated from receiving and following the teaching God gave through him.
MATTHEW 7 ITSELF EXPLAINS WHAT JESUS MEANS
There is another extremely important piece of evidence.
We do not even have to leave Matthew 7.
Only three verses after saying:
“He who does the will of My Father…”
Jesus says:
“Everyone therefore who hears these words of Mine and DOES THEM, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.”
— Matthew 7:24
Notice the connection.
Matthew 7:21:
DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER
Matthew 7:24:
HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE AND DOES THEM
This is extremely significant.
Jesus is contrasting religious profession with genuine faith and obedience.
Someone may say:
“LORD, LORD.”
But the real question is:
ARE WE LISTENING TO JESUS AND DOING WHAT HE TAUGHT?
Calling Jesus Lord while refusing to follow his teaching is precisely the kind of contradiction this warning should make every Christian examine.
JESUS DID NOT SEEK HIS OWN WILL
Jesus makes an extraordinary statement in John 5:30:
“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous, because I don't seek My own will, but the will of My Father who sent Me.”
Notice Jesus' own words:
“MY OWN WILL”
and:
“THE WILL OF MY FATHER.”
The distinction becomes even clearer in Gethsemane.
Jesus prayed:
“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
— Luke 22:42
Again:
“MY WILL”
and:
“YOURS.”
Jesus is not rebelling against God.
Quite the opposite.
Jesus willingly submits himself to his Father.
But the distinction remains.
Jesus has a will which he submits to:
THE WILL OF HIS FATHER.
And that makes Matthew 7:21 even more significant:
“He who does THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.”
HOW DOES TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY EXPLAIN “NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS”?
Later orthodox Christology explains passages such as Luke 22:42 by teaching that Jesus possesses:
A DIVINE NATURE
and:
A HUMAN NATURE.
Within later Christological formulation, Christ is also understood as possessing:
A DIVINE WILL
and:
A HUMAN WILL.
According to this explanation, when Jesus says:
“Not My will, but Yours”
his human will is submitting perfectly to the divine will.
Trinitarians appeal to various Scriptures from which they believe these conclusions follow.
Therefore, it would be unfair to claim that they have no biblical arguments for their position.
But there is still an important difference between:
A THEOLOGICAL INFERENCE
and:
AN EXPLICIT BIBLICAL STATEMENT.
Where does Jesus himself say:
“I HAVE TWO NATURES”?
Where does Jesus say:
“I HAVE TWO WILLS”?
Where does Scripture explicitly explain Luke 22:42 by saying:
“My human will is submitting to My divine will”?
Scripture never states that formula.
Jesus' actual words are much simpler:
“NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS.”
Therefore, the later theological explanation must itself be tested against Scripture rather than simply assumed.
JESUS REPEATEDLY SUBMITTED TO HIS FATHER
This is not based upon one isolated verse.
Jesus says:
“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”
— John 7:16
He says:
“The word which you hear isn't Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.”
— John 14:24
He says:
“For I spoke not from Myself, but the Father who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
— John 12:49
Jesus also says:
“The Father is greater than I.”
— John 14:28
The repeated biblical picture is clear:
THE FATHER SENDS.
JESUS IS SENT.
THE FATHER COMMANDS.
JESUS OBEYS.
THE FATHER'S WILL IS GIVEN.
JESUS SUBMITS TO HIS FATHER'S WILL.
So if Jesus tells us that we must do the will of his Father, what did Jesus teach concerning the God whom we are to love and obey?
WHAT DID JESUS SAY WAS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?
Jesus was asked:
“Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered:
“The first is, ‘Hear, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’”
— Mark 12:29
Jesus was quoting directly from Deuteronomy 6:4:
“Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.”
The Hebrew word translated one is:
אֶחָד — ECHAD
Its ordinary numerical meaning is:
ONE.
But something very important happens next.
The scribe responds:
“Teacher, You have said well that He is one, and there is none other but He.”
— Mark 12:32
Notice how the scribe understood Jesus:
“HE IS ONE.”
“THERE IS NONE OTHER BUT HE.”
Does Jesus correct him?
No.
Instead Jesus tells him:
“You are not far from God's Kingdom.”
— Mark 12:34
That is remarkable.
The confession that God is one and that there is none other but He receives Jesus' approval.
“THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM”
This was not a new teaching.
Moses says:
“It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides Him.”
— Deuteronomy 4:35
Again:
“See now that I, even I, am He. There is no god with Me.”
— Deuteronomy 32:39
Hezekiah prayed:
“Yahweh, the God of Israel… You are the God, even You alone.”
— 2 Kings 19:15
Yahweh himself declares:
“I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides Me, there is no God.”
— Isaiah 45:5
Notice the language Scripture repeatedly uses concerning God:
I
ME
HE
HIM
ALONE
NO ONE ELSE
NO GOD WITH ME
Scripture doesn't merely tell us that there is one God.
It repeatedly describes this one God using singular personal language.
So we must now ask:
WHO DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT IDENTIFY AS THIS ONE GOD?
“ONE GOD, THE FATHER”
Paul gives an extraordinarily direct answer:
“Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through Him.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6
Paul identifies:
ONE GOD — THE FATHER
and:
ONE LORD — JESUS CHRIST.
Jesus himself prayed to his Father:
“This is eternal life, that they should know You, the only true God, and Him whom You sent, Jesus Christ.”
— John 17:3
Notice the distinction:
YOU — THE ONLY TRUE GOD
and:
JESUS CHRIST — WHOM YOU SENT.
Paul again writes:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
— 1 Timothy 2:5
Again we have:
ONE GOD
and:
ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND HUMANITY — JESUS CHRIST.
This is why I believe the biblical identification of the one God is clear:
THE ONE GOD IS THE FATHER.
Jesus is:
HIS SON.
HIS CHRIST.
THE ONE WHOM GOD SENT.
THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND HUMANITY.
This does not diminish Jesus.
It honours Jesus according to the identity Scripture gives him.
BUT DOESN'T THE TRINITY ALSO TEACH THAT THERE IS ONE GOD?
YES.
This needs to be stated accurately.
Classical Trinitarian Christianity does not teach that there are three Gods.
Trinitarians sincerely confess one God.
Classical Trinitarian doctrine teaches that:
THE FATHER IS GOD.
THE SON IS GOD.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD.
It also teaches that:
THE FATHER IS NOT THE SON.
THE SON IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT THE FATHER.
These are understood as:
THREE DISTINCT PERSONS
sharing:
ONE DIVINE BEING OR ESSENCE.
Therefore, it would be inaccurate simply to say:
“Trinitarians believe in three Gods.”
They explicitly reject that conclusion.
But acknowledging what Trinitarians actually believe does not settle the biblical question.
The question remains:
WHERE DOES SCRIPTURE DEFINE THE ONE GOD AS THREE DISTINCT COEQUAL AND COETERNAL PERSONS SHARING ONE DIVINE ESSENCE?
That exact formula is never stated in Scripture.
Instead Scripture says:
“There is no god with Me.”
“There is no one else besides Him.”
“You are the God, even You alone.”
And Paul says:
“There is ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
So the issue is not whether Trinitarians sincerely believe themselves to be monotheists.
They do.
The issue is:
DOES THEIR DEFINITION OF THE ONE GOD COME FROM SCRIPTURE ITSELF?
That is what must be tested.
“FABRICATED WORDS” — DID PETER WARN CHRISTIANS ABOUT FALSE TEACHING?
Peter gave Christians a serious warning:
“There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies…”
— 2 Peter 2:1
He then says:
“In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words…”
— 2 Peter 2:3
Some translations render the expression:
“FABRICATED WORDS.”
The Greek expression is:
πλαστοῖς λόγοις — PLASTOIS LOGOIS
The adjective plastos carries the idea of something formed, fashioned, fabricated or invented.
But we need to be careful here.
Peter does not explicitly say:
“I am speaking about the Trinity.”
Therefore, I cannot honestly claim:
“2 PETER 2 PROVES THAT PETER WAS PROPHESYING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE TRINITY.”
The passage does not say that.
But Peter's warning establishes an important principle.
Christians must test what they are taught.
No doctrine — Trinitarian, Unitarian or otherwise — should be exempt from that examination.
TEST THE TEACHING AGAINST SCRIPTURE.
ARE WE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURE — OR LATER THEOLOGICAL DEFINITIONS?
Later Christian theology uses expressions such as:
THREE PERSONS
ONE DIVINE ESSENCE
COEQUAL
COETERNAL
ONE BEING IN THREE PERSONS
And when Jesus says:
“Not My will, but Yours”
later Christology explains Jesus through:
ONE PERSON
TWO NATURES
TWO WILLS
But Scripture never gives us those complete formulas in those words.
Now, the mere fact that a theological term is not found word-for-word in Scripture does not automatically make it false.
For example, the English word monotheism is not found in the Bible either, yet the Bible plainly teaches that there is one God.
Therefore the proper test is not merely:
“IS THE WORD IN THE BIBLE?”
The real test is:
“IS THE TEACHING IN THE BIBLE?”
And this is precisely where I believe the Trinity fails the test.
The Bible explicitly identifies:
ONE GOD — THE FATHER.
It identifies Jesus as:
THE SON OF GOD.
Jesus has:
A GOD AND FATHER.
Jesus is:
SENT BY GOD.
Jesus:
OBEYS GOD.
Jesus:
PRAYS TO GOD.
Jesus:
RECEIVES AUTHORITY FROM GOD.
Jesus:
SUBMITS HIS WILL TO GOD.
And Jesus calls his Father:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
DOES BEING CALLED “GOD” AUTOMATICALLY MAKE JESUS THE ONE TRUE GOD ALMIGHTY?
NO.
This is another important distinction.
There are passages in which theos — “God” — is applied, or according to many translations may be applied, to Jesus.
These passages deserve serious examination.
We should not hide them.
We should not pretend the Trinitarian argument does not exist.
But neither should we simply see the word “God” and immediately conclude:
THEREFORE JESUS IS THE ONE TRUE GOD ALMIGHTY.
Each passage must be examined in its own context.
HEBREWS 1:8
Hebrews 1:8 can legitimately be translated:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
This traditional translation is grammatically legitimate and widely accepted.
But we must not stop reading at verse 8.
Immediately afterwards we read:
“Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You…”
— Hebrews 1:9
So even where the Son is addressed:
“O GOD”
the Son still has:
“GOD, YOUR GOD.”
That distinction is extremely important.
The question therefore is not simply:
DOES HEBREWS 1:8 CALL JESUS “GOD”?
The deeper question is:
IF JESUS IS CALLED “GOD” HERE, DOES THAT MAKE HIM THE ONE TRUE GOD ALMIGHTY?
Because the very next verse says that the Son has:
“GOD, YOUR GOD.”
This agrees with Jesus' own words after his resurrection:
“I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”
— John 20:17
Our detailed Hebrews 1:8 research examines the Greek, Psalm 45, the different translations, and the important distinction between being called “God” and being the One True God:
READ THE FULL HEBREWS 1:8 RESEARCH
TITUS 2:13
Titus 2:13 is frequently presented as proof that Jesus is being identified as God.
Many modern translations understand both “God” and “Savior” as referring to Jesus Christ.
Many Greek scholars support that interpretation, and this should be acknowledged fairly.
However, our detailed investigation examines whether the grammar and wider context can instead be understood as referring distinctly to:
GOD — THE FATHER
and:
JESUS CHRIST — OUR SAVIOR.
This question becomes particularly important when compared with Paul's other statements.
Paul writes:
“Yet to us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ…”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6
And:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
— 1 Timothy 2:5
Jesus himself prayed:
“That they should know You, the only true God, and Him whom You sent, Jesus Christ.”
— John 17:3
Therefore Titus 2:13 should not simply be announced as proof of the Trinity without examining the grammar, context and Paul's wider distinction between God the Father and Jesus Christ.
There is genuine scholarly disagreement over the interpretation.
That disagreement is exactly why Titus 2:13 should be studied carefully.
Our detailed investigation examines these arguments separately:
TITUS 2:13 — DOES THIS VERSE PROVE JESUS IS GOD?
2 PETER 1:1
Likewise, 2 Peter 1:1 is often translated so that:
“GOD AND SAVIOR”
both refer to Jesus Christ.
Many Greek scholars favour this reading, and again that grammatical argument should be acknowledged rather than ignored.
However, our detailed study examines whether Peter may instead be distinguishing:
GOD — THE FATHER
from:
JESUS CHRIST — OUR SAVIOR.
Only one verse later Peter writes:
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
— 2 Peter 1:2
Notice the distinction:
GOD
and:
JESUS OUR LORD.
This is why 2 Peter 1:1 deserves careful examination rather than simply being treated as a settled proof-text.
And even if someone concludes that theos is applied directly to Jesus in 2 Peter 1:1, another question still remains:
DOES THAT MAKE JESUS “THE ONLY TRUE GOD” WHOM JESUS HIMSELF IDENTIFIED AS HIS FATHER?
That conclusion does not automatically follow.
Our full investigation examines Peter's language, the Greek construction and the wider biblical context:
2 PETER 1:1 — WHO IS PETER REFERRING TO? A STUDY OF THE GREEK TEXT
THE IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
These passages should not be ignored.
But neither should an entire doctrine be established by isolating a few disputed or grammatically debated verses from the rest of Scripture.
The proper approach is:
READ THE CONTEXT.
EXAMINE THE GREEK.
COMPARE TRANSLATIONS.
COMPARE SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE.
AND ALLOW THE CLEARER PASSAGES TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THE MORE DISPUTED ONES.
Jesus said to his Father:
“You, the only true God.”
— John 17:3
Paul said:
“To us there is one God, the Father.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6
And Paul said:
“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
— 1 Timothy 2:5
Therefore, even where Jesus may legitimately be called “God,” we must still ask:
IS JESUS BEING IDENTIFIED AS THE ONE TRUE GOD HIMSELF?
Or is Scripture using an exalted title for the Messiah while continuing to distinguish him from:
THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST?
WHAT DID JESUS ACTUALLY SAY ABOUT HIMSELF?
Jesus says:
“Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”
— John 10:36
Peter confessed:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
— Matthew 16:16
John tells us why he wrote his Gospel:
“These are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
— John 20:31
And John writes:
“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
— 1 John 5:5
The repeated apostolic confession is:
JESUS IS THE CHRIST.
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
And remember John 6:40:
“This is the will of My Father, that everyone beholding the Son and believing in Him may have eternal life.”
Therefore, recognising Jesus as the Son of God is not diminishing him.
IT IS BELIEVING WHAT GOD REVEALED ABOUT HIS SON.
DOES THE TRINITY “DENY THE FATHER AND THE SON”?
Here we must be particularly careful.
John writes:
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”
— 1 John 2:22
I do not believe we should simply declare:
“Every Trinitarian is the antichrist.”
The verse itself does not say that.
Trinitarians explicitly profess belief in both the Father and the Son.
However, as a Biblical Unitarian, my objection concerns how those identities are subsequently defined.
Scripture presents:
GOD
and:
THE SON OF GOD.
God sends His Son.
God gives His Son.
Jesus prays to God.
Jesus obeys God.
God raises Jesus.
God exalts Jesus.
God gives Jesus authority.
Jesus calls the Father:
“MY GOD.”
And Jesus calls his Father:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
Therefore, I believe identifying both the Father and His Son as distinct Persons who are nevertheless each the same one God changes the straightforward biblical relationship between:
THE ONE GOD
and:
HIS SON.
That claim must be tested against Scripture.
NOW RETURN TO MATTHEW 7
After examining all of this, return to Jesus' original warning:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.”
— Matthew 7:21
These people:
CALL JESUS LORD.
USE JESUS' NAME.
CLAIM TO PROPHESY.
CLAIM TO CAST OUT DEMONS.
CLAIM TO PERFORM MIGHTY WORKS.
Yet Jesus says:
“I NEVER KNEW YOU.”
Why?
Because religious profession by itself is not enough.
Calling Jesus Lord is not a substitute for genuinely believing him.
Miraculous claims are not a substitute for obedience.
Religious tradition is not a substitute for truth.
And Jesus has already told us:
“This is the will of My Father, that everyone beholding the Son and believing in Him may have eternal life.”
— John 6:40
Then, only three verses after Matthew 7:21, Jesus says:
“Everyone therefore who hears these words of Mine and DOES THEM, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.”
— Matthew 7:24
This gives us an extraordinarily clear picture:
BELIEVE IN THE SON.
LISTEN TO THE SON.
DO WHAT JESUS TAUGHT.
DO THE WILL OF HIS FATHER.
AND WHAT DID JESUS TEACH ABOUT GOD?
Jesus said:
“Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, THE LORD IS ONE.”
— Mark 12:29
The scribe replied:
“Teacher, You have said well that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NONE OTHER BUT HE.”
— Mark 12:32
And Jesus told him:
“You are not far from God's Kingdom.”
— Mark 12:34
Paul later wrote:
“To us there is ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6
And Jesus prayed to his Father:
“That they should know YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Him whom You sent, Jesus Christ.”
— John 17:3
For me, the biblical distinction is clear:
ONE GOD — THE FATHER.
ONE MESSIAH AND LORD — JESUS CHRIST, HIS SON.
THIS WARNING IS FOR ALL OF US
Matthew 7:21–23 should never become merely a weapon for attacking another denomination.
Jesus' warning should first cause every one of us to examine ourselves.
A person may be:
Trinitarian.
Unitarian.
Catholic.
Protestant.
Jehovah's Witness.
A pastor.
A teacher.
A Bible researcher.
And still need to ask:
AM I REALLY DOING THE WILL OF GOD?
Do I genuinely believe in the Son whom God sent?
Do I listen to Jesus?
Do I obey his teaching?
Do I love God?
Do I love my neighbour?
Do I forgive?
Do I practise mercy?
Do I seek righteousness?
Am I willing to change my beliefs when Scripture shows me that something I have been taught is wrong?
Or am I simply repeating religious traditions because they are what I have always believed?
And perhaps the most important question of all:
DO I KNOW THE ONE TRUE GOD AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST?
FINAL CONCLUSION
Matthew 7:21–23 contains one of the most frightening warnings Jesus ever gave:
“THEN I WILL TELL THEM, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU.’”
The people Jesus describes call him:
“LORD, LORD.”
They claim extraordinary religious works in his name.
Yet Jesus says that the one who enters the Kingdom is:
“He who does the WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.”
Jesus then tells us:
“This is the will of My Father, that everyone beholding the Son and believing in Him may have eternal life.”
— John 6:40
And within the very same Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:
“Everyone therefore who hears these words of Mine and DOES THEM… will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock.”
— Matthew 7:24
Jesus himself lived in complete submission to his Father:
“I don't seek My own will, but the will of My Father who sent Me.”
— John 5:30
And:
“Not My will, but Yours, be done.”
— Luke 22:42
Jesus identified the greatest commandment by saying:
“The Lord our God, THE LORD IS ONE.”
— Mark 12:29
The scribe understood him to mean:
“HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NONE OTHER BUT HE.”
— Mark 12:32
Paul identifies:
“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
And Jesus calls his Father:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
Therefore, after examining the biblical evidence, my conclusion remains:
ONE GOD — THE FATHER.
ONE MESSIAH AND LORD — JESUS CHRIST, HIS SON.
I do not believe Scripture teaches that the one God consists of three distinct coequal and coeternal Persons sharing one divine essence.
Nor do I believe Scripture explicitly teaches the later formula that Jesus is one Person possessing two natures and two wills.
Those theological claims must be tested against what Scripture actually says.
But neither should a Biblical Unitarian imagine that simply rejecting the Trinity guarantees that Jesus knows him.
MATTHEW 7 IS A WARNING TO ALL OF US.
Correct doctrine without obedience is not enough.
Religious claims are not enough.
Miraculous works are not enough.
Calling Jesus:
“LORD, LORD”
is not enough.
Jesus calls us to believe in him as the Son whom God sent, receive his words, follow his teaching and do the will of his Father.
So the final question is not merely:
“WHAT DENOMINATION DO I BELONG TO?”
Nor is it merely:
“DO I CALL JESUS LORD?”
The far more serious question is:
“AM I REALLY BELIEVING THE SON, LISTENING TO HIS WORDS, AND DOING THE WILL OF HIS FATHER?”
Because Jesus' warning could hardly be more serious:
“THEN I WILL TELL THEM, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU. DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO WORK LAWLESSNESS.’”
— Matthew 7:23
Research by Simon Brown
