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 and Obey the Greatest Commandment?
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 call Jesus:
“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 gives us the answer.
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 the entire warning.
Jesus does not say that merely calling him Lord guarantees entrance into God's Kingdom.
He points us toward:
THE WILL OF HIS FATHER.
So we need to ask a very important question:
WHAT IS THE WILL OF JESUS' FATHER?
And what did Jesus himself say was God's greatest commandment?
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.”
This 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.”
BUT HOW DOES TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY EXPLAIN “NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS”?
Later orthodox Christology explains these passages by teaching that Jesus possesses two natures:
A DIVINE NATURE
and:
A HUMAN NATURE.
From this developed the doctrine that Christ possesses:
A DIVINE WILL
and:
A HUMAN WILL.
According to this explanation, when Jesus says:
“Not My will, but Yours”
his genuinely human will is submitting to the divine will.
But now we must ask:
WHERE DOES JESUS SAY, “I HAVE TWO NATURES”?
Where does Jesus say:
“I HAVE TWO WILLS”?
Where does Scripture explain Luke 22:42 by saying:
“My human will is submitting to the divine will which My divine nature shares with the Father and Holy Spirit”?
SCRIPTURE NEVER STATES THAT FORMULA.
Trinitarians appeal to various Scriptures from which they infer Christ's two natures. Therefore, it would be unfair to say that they have no biblical arguments whatsoever for the doctrine.
But that is different from Scripture actually saying:
ONE PERSON — TWO NATURES — TWO WILLS.
Those are later theological formulations.
Jesus' own words are much simpler:
“NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS.”
JESUS REPEATEDLY SUBMITTED TO HIS FATHER
This is not an 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 unmistakable:
THE FATHER SENDS.
JESUS IS SENT.
THE FATHER COMMANDS.
JESUS OBEYS.
THE FATHER'S WILL IS GIVEN.
JESUS SUBMITS TO THAT WILL.
And now Jesus tells us:
“He who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”
So what did Jesus identify as God's greatest commandment?
WHAT DID JESUS SAY WAS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?
Jesus was asked:
“Which commandment is the greatest of all?”
His answer was:
“The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.’”
— Mark 12:29
Jesus was quoting directly from Deuteronomy:
“Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.”
— Deuteronomy 6:4
The Hebrew word translated one is:
אֶחָד — ECHAD
It means:
ONE.
Jesus therefore begins the greatest commandment with the biblical confession:
YAHWEH IS ONE.
And the surrounding Scriptures repeatedly explain the uniqueness of this one God.
“THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM”
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
This is extremely important.
Scripture doesn't merely say that there is one God.
It describes this God as the singular:
I — ME — HE — HIM.
WHO DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT IDENTIFY AS THE ONE GOD?
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:
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.
BUT DOESN'T THE TRINITY ALSO SAY THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD?
YES.
And this is where we must accurately distinguish what Trinitarians claim from the conclusion I believe follows when their doctrine is tested against Scripture.
Classical Trinitarian Christianity explicitly rejects belief in three Gods.
It teaches that:
THE FATHER IS GOD.
THE SON IS GOD.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD.
It also teaches:
THE FATHER IS NOT THE SON.
THE SON IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT THE FATHER.
These are described as:
THREE DISTINCT PERSONS
who share:
ONE DIVINE BEING OR ESSENCE.
Therefore Trinitarians sincerely say:
“WE BELIEVE IN ONE GOD.”
But simply declaring that a doctrine is monotheistic does not prove that its definition of God agrees with Scripture.
The question is:
WHERE DOES THE BIBLE DEFINE THE ONE GOD AS THREE DISTINCT COEQUAL AND COETERNAL PERSONS SHARING ONE DIVINE ESSENCE?
That exact definition 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 the New Testament says:
“There is ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
Therefore, from my Biblical Unitarian understanding, defining three distinct Persons as each fully God does not preserve the straightforward biblical identification of the one God.
Trinitarians deny that this amounts to three Gods because they maintain that the three Persons possess one indivisible divine essence.
But that explanation itself must be tested against Scripture.
WHERE DOES SCRIPTURE TEACH IT?
That is the question.
DOES “DISTINCT” MATTER?
Yes—but we should be precise.
Trinitarian theology itself insists that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are genuinely distinct Persons.
The Father is not the Son.
The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not the Father.
Therefore, we are not dealing with three different names for exactly the same Person.
That would be Modalism, which classical Trinitarianism rejects.
The Biblical Unitarian objection is therefore not:
“Trinitarians secretly admit that they believe in three Gods.”
They do not.
The objection is:
IF THE FATHER IS GOD, THE SON IS GOD, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD, WHILE EACH IS PERSONALLY DISTINCT FROM THE OTHERS, WHERE DOES SCRIPTURE SAY THESE THREE TOGETHER CONSTITUTE THE ONE GOD?
That question must be answered from Scripture—not merely from later theological terminology.
“FABRICATED WORDS” — DID PETER WARN CHRISTIANS ABOUT FALSE TEACHING?
Peter gave a frightening warning:
“There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies…”
— 2 Peter 2:1
Then he 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.
This should make every Christian stop and think.
Peter does not explicitly name the Trinity.
Therefore, I cannot say:
“2 Peter 2 proves that Peter was specifically prophesying about the Trinity.”
But neither does Peter say that his warning could never apply to doctrines developed later in Christian history.
The correct response is:
TEST THE TEACHING.
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 concept of one God certainly is.
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 used in arguments that Jesus is called theos — “God.”
But we have already examined several of the major passages individually.
And the question must always remain:
DOES THE WORD “GOD” BEING APPLIED TO SOMEONE AUTOMATICALLY IDENTIFY THAT PERSON AS YAHWEH, THE ONE TRUE GOD ALMIGHTY?
The Bible itself demonstrates that the word god can be used in different senses without making every person to whom it is applied the one true God.
HEBREWS 1:8
Hebrews 1:8 can legitimately be translated:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
But 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.
Our detailed Hebrews 1:8 research examines this passage separately:
TITUS 2:13
Titus 2:13 is frequently presented as proof that Jesus is being identified as God.
Our detailed investigation argues from the grammar and context for understanding God as referring to the Father and Jesus Christ distinctly.
There is genuine scholarly disagreement over the grammar, and many scholars understand both “God” and “Savior” as referring to Jesus.
But that disagreement is exactly why Titus 2:13 should be studied carefully rather than simply announced as proof of the Trinity.
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.
Our detailed study argues for understanding God as referring to the Father and Savior as referring to Jesus Christ.
Again, many Greek scholars favour the reading that applies both titles to Jesus, so we should acknowledge that grammatical debate rather than pretend it does not exist.
But even if someone concludes that theos is applied to Jesus in a particular passage, another question remains:
DOES THAT MAKE JESUS “THE ONLY TRUE GOD” WHOM JESUS IDENTIFIED AS HIS FATHER?
That conclusion does not automatically follow.
2 Peter 1:1 — Who Is Peter Referring To? A Study of the Greek Text
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 confession is:
JESUS IS THE CHRIST.
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.
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 is the argument Scripture must be allowed to test.
NOW RETURN TO MATTHEW 7
After examining all of this, Jesus' warning becomes even more serious:
“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.”
Jesus does not tell us that religious profession is enough.
These people:
CALL JESUS LORD.
USE JESUS' NAME.
CLAIM MIRACULOUS WORKS.
Yet Jesus says:
“I NEVER KNEW YOU.”
And what did Jesus identify as the beginning of God's greatest commandment?
“Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, THE LORD IS ONE.”
— Mark 12:29
The scribe responds:
“Teacher, You have said well that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NONE OTHER BUT HE.”
— Mark 12:32
And Jesus does not correct him.
Instead, Jesus says:
“You are not far from God's Kingdom.”
— Mark 12:34
That is remarkable.
THIS WARNING IS FOR ALL OF US
Matthew 7:21–23 should not merely become a weapon for attacking another denomination.
Jesus' warning should first make every one of us 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 believe what God has revealed?
Do I obey Jesus?
Do I love God?
Do I love my neighbour?
Do I forgive?
Do I practise mercy?
Do I seek righteousness?
Am I following Scripture—or simply repeating what I have been taught?
And most importantly:
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 religious works in his name.
Yet Jesus says:
“He who does the WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.”
Jesus himself submitted to that 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 beginning with:
“The Lord our God, THE LORD IS ONE.”
— Mark 12:29
Scripture says:
“There is no god with Me.”
“There is no one else besides Him.”
“You are the God, even You alone.”
Paul identifies:
“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
And Jesus calls his Father:
“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”
Therefore, after examining the biblical evidence, my conclusion is:
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 does Scripture explicitly teach the later formula that Jesus is one Person possessing two natures and two wills.
These claims must be tested against what Scripture actually says.
Peter warned Christians about false teachers and “fabricated words.”
Peter did not explicitly identify the Trinity in that warning, so I cannot claim that 2 Peter 2:1–3 proves he was specifically speaking about the Trinity.
But neither should any later Christian doctrine be exempt from Peter's warning.
TEST EVERYTHING AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD.
And above all, listen to Jesus:
“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
Because the warning that follows 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
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