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.

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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

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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?

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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

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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

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Quick Facts Bible research image examining whether God ever declared Jesus to be God or instead repeatedly identified Him as His beloved Son. The study examines Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 10:36, John 17:3, John 20:17, Hebrews 1:8–9 and other key passages concerning the identity of God and Jesus Christ. 

QUICK FACTS: DID GOD EVER SAY JESUS WAS GOD?

Or Did God Repeatedly Declare Jesus to Be His Son?

What Did God Say About Jesus — And What Did Jesus Say About Himself?

Research by Simon Brown

There may be no more important question for a Christian than this:

WHO IS GOD — AND WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

Detailed Bible research infographic examining whether God ever declared Jesus to be God or instead repeatedly identified Jesus as His Son. It explores Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 10:36, John 17:3, John 20:17, Hebrews 1:8–9, Acts 2:32–33 and 1 Timothy 2:5, encouraging readers to examine what God and Jesus actually said. 

Millions of Christians have been taught that Jesus is God.

Orthodox Trinitarian Christianity teaches that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, while maintaining that these are not three Gods but three distinct persons sharing the one divine being.

Oneness or Modalist Christians approach the question differently, identifying Jesus with the one God in a way that does not maintain the same eternal distinction of three divine persons.

But rather than beginning with a creed, denomination, church council or theological system, I want to begin somewhere much simpler:

WHAT DID GOD HIMSELF SAY ABOUT JESUS?

Did God announce:

“This is God the Son”?

Did He say:

“This is another person within the one God”?

Did He say:

“This is Me”?

Or did God identify Jesus in another way?

Let's examine what Scripture actually records.

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QUICK FACT 1 — GOD SAID: “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON”

Detailed Bible research infographic covering Quick Facts 1–10 from “Did God Ever Say Jesus Was God?” It examines Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, Matthew 12:18, John 10:36, John 17:3, Hebrews 1:8–9, John 20:17, Revelation 3:12, 1 Corinthians 8:6 and 1 Timothy 2:5. The study compares what God explicitly says about Jesus with what Jesus says about Himself and His Father. Research by Simon Brown.

At Jesus' baptism, a voice came from heaven:

MATTHEW 3:17

“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Notice the relationship expressed in this statement.

The voice from heaven speaks about Jesus and calls Him:

“MY SON.”

There is the One speaking, and there is the Son about whom He speaks.

At the very least, this establishes a genuine distinction between the One speaking from heaven and Jesus.

And the title God gives Jesus is enormously important:

SON.

God does not say:

“This is Me.”

He says:

“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON.”

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QUICK FACT 2 — GOD SAID IT AGAIN AT THE TRANSFIGURATION

This was not an isolated statement.

At the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw Jesus with Moses and Elijah.

Then a voice came from the cloud:

MATTHEW 17:5

“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

Again:

“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON.”

The One speaking is distinguished from the Son about whom He speaks.

Whatever theological conclusions Christians subsequently draw about Christ's nature, surely we should begin by allowing God's own recorded words to speak for themselves.

God identifies Jesus as:

HIS SON.

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QUICK FACT 3 — GOD ALSO CALLS JESUS HIS SERVANT

Matthew applies Isaiah's prophecy to Jesus:

MATTHEW 12:18

“Behold, My servant whom I have chosen, My beloved with whom My soul is well pleased. I will put My Spirit upon Him…”

Look carefully at the language:

“MY SERVANT”

“WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN”

“I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM”

The passage distinguishes the One who chooses from the servant who is chosen.

For me, this contributes to a consistent biblical picture:

GOD WORKING THROUGH HIS CHOSEN MESSIAH.

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QUICK FACT 4 — JESUS CALLED HIMSELF “THE SON OF GOD”

John 10 is frequently used in arguments that Jesus claimed to be God.

But we need to read Jesus' own response carefully.

Jesus said:

JOHN 10:36

“Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

Look at the identities Jesus gives us.

There is:

THE FATHER

who sanctified and sent Jesus,

and there is:

JESUS

who says:

“I AM THE SON OF GOD.”

Notice something else.

Jesus does not say here:

“I AM GOD THE SON.”

The expression recorded in the passage is:

“I AM THE SON OF GOD.”

Those are not identical statements.

That distinction deserves serious examination.

---

QUICK FACT 5 — JESUS SAID THE FATHER SENT HIM

John 10:36 contains another important statement:

“…Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world…”

Jesus is:

THE ONE SENT.

The Father is:

THE ONE WHO SENT HIM.

This distinction occurs repeatedly throughout John's Gospel.

Jesus says in His prayer:

JOHN 17:3

“…Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

So we should ask:

WHO IS THE SENDER — AND WHO IS THE ONE SENT?

Jesus consistently identifies the Father as the One who sent Him.

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QUICK FACT 6 — JESUS CALLED THE FATHER “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”

Now we come to one of the most important passages in my research.

Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven and prayed to His Father.

He said:

JOHN 17:1–3

“Father… this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Look carefully at the identities in Jesus' prayer.

He addresses:

THE FATHER

and calls Him:

“THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”

Jesus then identifies Himself as:

“JESUS CHRIST WHOM YOU HAVE SENT.”

For me, John 17:3 is foundational.

The Father is identified as “the only true God,” while Jesus is identified as the Christ whom that God sent.

A Trinitarian will answer that John 17:3 can be reconciled with the Trinity because the Son shares the Father's divine nature and is included in the divine identity elsewhere in Scripture.

That interpretation deserves to be represented fairly.

But it does not remove the actual wording of Jesus' prayer.

Jesus addresses His Father as:

“YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD.”

So if another passage appears to call Jesus “God,” we must ask an important question:

IN WHAT SENSE IS THE WORD “GOD” BEING USED?

And that brings us directly to Hebrews 1:8.

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QUICK FACT 7 — BUT DOESN'T GOD CALL JESUS “GOD” IN HEBREWS 1:8?

This is one of the most important Trinitarian objections to the argument presented in this study.

Hebrews 1:8 is commonly translated:

HEBREWS 1:8

“But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…’”

At first sight, this certainly appears to have God addressing the Son as:

“O GOD.”

We should not hide this verse.

We should not pretend the Trinitarian argument does not exist.

And we should not simply declare the common translation false.

The Greek expression ὁ θεός — ho theos can function as a nominative used for direct address, and the traditional rendering “Your throne, O God” is grammatically legitimate and widely accepted. An alternative rendering along the lines of “God is your throne” has also been defended, though many interpreters consider the vocative reading more natural in context. (BibliaPlus)

But whichever translation we consider, we must not stop at verse 8.

READ THE VERY NEXT VERSE.

HEBREWS 1:9

“…therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions.”

Hebrews therefore presents us with something extremely important.

The Son who may be addressed as “O God” in verse 8 is immediately said to have:

“GOD, YOUR GOD.”

And this God:

ANOINTS HIM.

Hebrews 1:8–9 is quoting Psalm 45:6–7, where the same sequence appears: the royal figure is addressed with exalted language and then is said to have “God, your God” who anoints him. (Bible Gateway)

So the question is not merely:

DOES HEBREWS 1:8 CALL JESUS “GOD”?

The deeper question is:

IF JESUS IS CALLED “GOD” HERE, IN WHAT SENSE IS THAT TITLE BEING USED?

Because the very next verse says:

JESUS HAS A GOD.

This agrees with Jesus' own words:

JOHN 20:17

“…My God and your God.”

And the risen Jesus repeatedly says in Revelation 3:12:

“MY GOD.”

Therefore, even if we accept the traditional translation:

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD…”

that alone does not settle the larger question of whether Jesus is the same One whom Jesus Himself calls “the only true God” in John 17:3.

Hebrews 1:8 must be interpreted together with Hebrews 1:9.

I have examined the Greek, Psalm 45, the different translations and the Trinitarian argument much more fully in my separate investigation:

QUICK FACTS: DOES HEBREWS 1:8 REALLY CALL JESUS THE ONE TRUE GOD?

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QUICK FACT 8 — JESUS SAID THE FATHER WAS HIS GOD

This is particularly significant after considering Hebrews 1:8–9.

After His resurrection, Jesus told Mary Magdalene:

JOHN 20:17

“I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”

Jesus has:

A FATHER

and Jesus says:

“MY GOD.”

This statement comes after His resurrection.

And similar language continues in Revelation.

REVELATION 3:12

The risen Jesus repeatedly refers to:

“MY GOD.”

So Christians should ask:

IF JESUS HAS A GOD, WHO IS THE GOD OF JESUS?

The biblical answer is:

THE FATHER.

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QUICK FACT 9 — PAUL SAID: “ONE GOD, THE FATHER”

Paul writes:

1 CORINTHIANS 8:6

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ…”

Again we find two descriptions:

ONE GOD — THE FATHER

and:

ONE LORD — JESUS CHRIST

Trinitarian scholars commonly argue that Paul is reformulating the Jewish Shema in a way that includes Jesus within the divine identity.

That argument should not simply be ignored.

But neither should we ignore what Paul explicitly writes:

“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”

and:

“ONE LORD, JESUS CHRIST.”

For me, this fits naturally with Jesus' own statement in John 17:3.

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QUICK FACT 10 — PAUL DISTINGUISHES GOD FROM JESUS THE MEDIATOR

Paul writes:

1 TIMOTHY 2:5

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Again:

ONE GOD

and:

ONE MEDIATOR — CHRIST JESUS.

The sentence grammatically distinguishes God from the mediator whom Paul identifies as:

“THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.”

A Trinitarian can answer that Jesus mediates according to His humanity and that His role as mediator does not exclude His possessing a divine nature.

That is the theological response.

But the verse itself still distinguishes:

the one God

from:

the mediator, Christ Jesus.

How that distinction relates to Christ's nature is then the theological question that must be demonstrated from Scripture.

---

QUICK FACT 11 — GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD

Detailed Bible research infographic covering Quick Facts 11–21 from “Did God Ever Say Jesus Was God?” It examines Acts 2:32, Philippians 2:9, Matthew 28:18, John 5:30, Matthew 26:39, Matthew 6:9, John 16:23, John 4:23 and John 5:23, before examining the Trinity, Oneness or Modalism, and whether God ever said “Jesus is Me.” 

Peter preached:

ACTS 2:32

“This Jesus God raised up…”

Notice the two identities:

GOD

raised:

JESUS.

The New Testament repeatedly says that God raised Jesus from the dead.

Jesus did not cease to be God's Son at the resurrection.

Instead, God vindicated and raised His Son.

---

QUICK FACT 12 — GOD EXALTED JESUS

Peter continues:

ACTS 2:33

“Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God…”

And later:

ACTS 5:31

“God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior…”

Paul likewise writes:

PHILIPPIANS 2:9

“Therefore God also highly exalted Him…”

Look at the repeated pattern:

GOD RAISED JESUS.

GOD EXALTED JESUS.

JESUS IS AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND.

The God who exalts is distinguished from the Christ whom He exalts.

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QUICK FACT 13 — JESUS SAID HIS AUTHORITY WAS GIVEN TO HIM

After His resurrection Jesus declared:

MATTHEW 28:18

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Jesus possesses extraordinary authority.

But notice the wording:

IT WAS GIVEN TO HIM.

That naturally raises the question:

WHO GAVE JESUS THIS AUTHORITY?

The New Testament consistently presents the Father as the source of Christ's authority.

This does not diminish Jesus.

It magnifies what God has accomplished through His Son.

---

QUICK FACT 14 — JESUS SAID HE COULD DO NOTHING “FROM HIMSELF”

Jesus said:

JOHN 5:19

“The Son can do nothing from Himself, unless He sees the Father doing something…”

And:

JOHN 5:30

“I can do nothing from Myself… I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Again Jesus distinguishes:

HIS WILL

from:

THE WILL OF THE ONE WHO SENT HIM.

Whatever position we ultimately reach concerning Christ's nature, these statements must be included in the evidence.

---

QUICK FACT 15 — JESUS PRAYED TO HIS FATHER

Jesus did not merely talk about the Father.

He prayed to Him.

MATTHEW 26:39

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

And:

JOHN 17:1

“Father, the hour has come…”

Jesus' prayer reveals a relationship between:

THE SON WHO PRAYS

and:

THE FATHER TO WHOM HE PRAYS.

This is particularly important because Jesus also taught His disciples to pray to the Father.

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QUICK FACT 16 — JESUS TAUGHT US TO PRAY TO THE FATHER

Jesus said:

MATTHEW 6:6

“Pray to your Father…”

Then He gave His model prayer:

MATTHEW 6:9

“Therefore pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven…’”

Jesus later said:

JOHN 16:23

“Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.”

The pattern is striking:

PRAY TO THE FATHER

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

IN JESUS' NAME

Jesus is absolutely central.

But the Father is the One Jesus explicitly teaches His followers to address.

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QUICK FACT 17 — TRUE WORSHIPPERS WORSHIP THE FATHER

Jesus told the Samaritan woman:

JOHN 4:23

“The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…”

Notice again:

THE FATHER.

This verse does not by itself answer every New Testament passage in which Jesus receives honour, homage or proskyneō.

But when Jesus explicitly discusses true worship, He identifies:

THE FATHER

as the One whom true worshippers worship.

That statement deserves to be taken seriously.

---

QUICK FACT 18 — DOES THIS MEAN JESUS SHOULD NOT BE HONOURED?

Absolutely not.

Jesus said:

JOHN 5:23

“…that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.”

Jesus is God's Messiah, His beloved Son, our Lord, Savior and appointed King.

God has highly exalted Him.

Paul writes:

PHILIPPIANS 2:9–11

that God highly exalted Jesus, bestowed upon Him the name above every name, and that every knee will bow and every tongue confess:

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD

But notice how the passage concludes:

“TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.”

Honouring Jesus does not require us to erase the distinction between Jesus and His God.

I believe we honour Jesus by believing what God says about His Son and what Jesus says about His Father.

---

QUICK FACT 19 — WHAT ABOUT THE TRINITY?

Here we must be accurate.

Orthodox Trinitarian Christianity does not teach that Jesus is the Father.

It teaches:

The Father is God.

The Son is God.

The Holy Spirit is God.

Yet:

The Father is not the Son.

The Son is not the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not the Father.

Trinitarians maintain that these are not three Gods but three distinct persons sharing the one undivided divine essence or being.

Therefore, simply proving that Jesus and the Father are distinct does not, by itself, disprove the Trinity.

Trinitarians already believe they are distinct persons.

The deeper question is:

DOES SCRIPTURE ACTUALLY IDENTIFY THE ONE GOD AS THREE COEQUAL, COETERNAL PERSONS?

Or does Scripture consistently present:

THE FATHER AS THE ONE GOD

and:

JESUS AS GOD'S SON, CHRIST, LORD AND MEDIATOR?

That is the question I believe Christians must test against the whole of Scripture.

---

QUICK FACT 20 — WHAT ABOUT ONENESS OR MODALISM?

This is a different question.

Oneness theology is not the same as orthodox Trinitarianism.

Some Oneness Christians identify Jesus with the Father in ways that Trinitarians themselves reject.

But the distinctions we have examined create serious difficulties for simply identifying Jesus as the same person as the Father.

Jesus says:

“My Father.”

Jesus prays to the Father.

The Father sends Jesus.

Jesus does the Father's will.

The Father raises Jesus.

The Father exalts Jesus.

Jesus calls the Father:

“MY GOD.”

And God calls Jesus:

“MY SON.”

Whatever else we conclude, the biblical Father and Son should not simply be collapsed into the same person.

---

QUICK FACT 21 — DID GOD EVER SAY: “JESUS IS ME”?

This brings us directly back to the question I first raised in my original research.

God repeatedly identifies Jesus as His Son, while the old article asked whether God ever actually said that He Himself was Jesus.

So let's ask the question carefully.

Where does God say:

“JESUS IS ME”?

Where does the Father say:

“I AM MY SON”?

Where does God say:

“MY SON AND I ARE THE SAME PERSON”?

Those statements are not what we find.

Instead, we repeatedly encounter:

MATTHEW 3:17

“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON.”

And:

MATTHEW 17:5

“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON… LISTEN TO HIM.”

Therefore I believe our understanding of Jesus should begin with the identity that Scripture explicitly gives Him:

THE SON OF GOD.

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QUICK FACT 22 — WHAT DID GOD SAY ABOUT HIMSELF?

Detailed Quick Facts Bible research image examining Isaiah 46:9 and John 17:3. God declares that He is God and there is no other, while Jesus prays to His Father and calls Him “the only true God,” distinguishing the Father from Jesus Christ whom He sent. 

Through Isaiah, God declares:

ISAIAH 46:9

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”

And Jesus, praying to His Father, says:

JOHN 17:3

“…that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

For me, these statements fit together naturally.

There is:

THE ONE TRUE GOD — THE FATHER

and there is:

JESUS CHRIST — HIS SON WHOM HE SENT.

---

BUT WHAT ABOUT VERSES THAT APPEAR TO CALL JESUS “GOD”?

Hebrews 1:8 is not the only passage Christians debate.

There are other verses—such as John 20:28, Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1—that Trinitarians understand as identifying Jesus as God.

Those passages deserve careful examination individually.

We should not build our faith by ignoring difficult verses from either side.

Neither should we take one disputed translation or grammatical construction and allow it to erase dozens of explicit statements identifying:

the Father as Jesus' God,

and:

Jesus as God's Son.

The correct method is to examine all the evidence.

That is what I have tried to do throughout my research.

---

THE QUESTION EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD ASK

I do not want anyone to accept this conclusion merely because:

SIMON BROWN SAYS IT.

Nor should somebody believe the Trinity merely because their church says it.

Nor should somebody reject the Trinity merely because another teacher tells them to.

OPEN YOUR BIBLE.

Read God's words.

Read Jesus' words.

And ask:

WHO DID GOD SAY JESUS WAS?

WHO DID JESUS SAY HIS FATHER WAS?

WHO DID JESUS CALL “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”?

WHO DID JESUS CALL “MY GOD”?

WHO SENT JESUS?

WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD?

WHO EXALTED JESUS?

WHO GAVE JESUS HIS AUTHORITY?

WHO DID JESUS PRAY TO?

AND WHO DID GOD CALL “MY BELOVED SON”?

For me, the cumulative biblical picture is clear:

THE FATHER IS THE ONE TRUE GOD.

JESUS IS HIS SON, HIS CHRIST, HIS CHOSEN AND EXALTED LORD AND MESSIAH.

And this brings us to something particularly beautiful.

We don't have to invent a confession concerning Jesus.

Scripture already gives us one.

---

WHO DID JESUS SAY HE WAS?

Jesus said:

JOHN 10:36

“I AM THE SON OF GOD.”

And when Peter confessed Jesus' identity, he said:

MATTHEW 16:16

“YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”

And John's Gospel tells us why it was written:

JOHN 20:31

“…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

That is an extraordinary statement.

John tells us what he wants his readers to believe about Jesus:

JESUS IS THE CHRIST.

JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.

For me, that confession is enough.

It does not diminish Jesus.

It does not dishonour Him.

It does not make Him insignificant.

God has made Him Lord and Christ.

God raised Him from the dead.

God exalted Him.

God placed Him at His right hand.

God gave Him authority.

And God commanded us:

“LISTEN TO HIM.”

So I believe the safest place for every Christian to stand is exactly where Scripture stands.

Not beyond Jesus' words.

Not beyond God's declaration.

But upon the confession Scripture itself gives us:

JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.

---

Research by Simon Brown

wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com

John 1:1

• John 1:1 — Does "The Word Was God" Mean Jesus Is Almighty God?
• IS THE WORD JESUS IN JOHN 1:1? 
• What Is the Truth About John 1:1 to 5?
• WHY John 1:1 is not about Jesus!

Hebrews 1:10 – Did God Really Say to the Son, “You Laid the Foundation of the Earth”?

• WHO IS THE ONE TRUE GOD? New video!
• 
  
• The Greatest Commandment Ever Given — Who Is the One True God?
• Mark 12:29 — Why Did Jesus Quote the Shema?
• Deuteronomy 6:4 — The Shema: "Hear, O Israel, Yahweh Our God Is One"
• John 10:30 — What Did Jesus Mean by "I and the Father Are One"?
• John 8:58 — What Did Jesus Mean by "Before Abraham Was, I Am"?
• John 20:28 — Did Thomas Really Call Jesus Almighty God?
• John 14:9 — "He Who Has Seen Me Has Seen the Father" Explained
• John 17:3 — Jesus Confirmed That the Father Alone Is the Only True God
• John 17:5 — Did Jesus Exist with the Father Before the World Began?
• 2 Peter 1:1 — Another Trinitarian Misunderstanding?
• Colossians 1:15–17 — Does "Firstborn of All Creation" Mean Jesus Was Created?
• Hebrews 1:2 — Did God Create the Universe or the Ages Through His Son?
• Who Is the Alpha and the Omega?
• Did the Doctrine of the Trinity Originate with Jesus Christ and His Apostles?
• Is Jesus God, or the Son of God? What Does the Whole Bible Teach?
•  Scriptures Proving Yahweh: The One True God of Israel Is the Creator Alone.
• John 6:38 — How Did Jesus Come Down From Heaven?

1 Corinthians 8:6 – One God the Father and One Lord Jesus Christ

Quick Facts: Does Romans 9:5 Really Call Jesus “God Over All”? What Did Paul Actually Mean?

Quick Facts: Does Matthew 28:19 Prove the Trinity?

Quick Facts: Does Hebrews 1:8 Really Call Jesus the One True God?

TITUS 2:13 — DOES THIS VERSE PROVE JESUS IS GOD?

What Did Isaiah See? A Bible Study of Isaiah 6:1 and John 12:41

Quick Facts: Who Is on the Throne of God — One God or Three?

Quick Facts: Does John 10:30–36 Really Prove Jesus Said He Is God?

John 8:24 Quick Facts — Unless You Believe That I Am He?

Did the Catholic Church Create the Doctrine of the Trinity? And Did Later Church Fathers Reject the Earlier Jewish Understanding of the One God?

The Shocking Trinitarian Claim – Unless Jesus Is God, He Cannot Be the Savior!

Why I Believe the Teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses Are Mistaken.

 

Simon Brown with his wife Angel and her family at their Christian wedding. This Bible study investigates who Jesus taught His followers to pray to and worship, who Jesus Himself prayed to, prayer to the Father through Jesus Christ, and whether Christian traditions concerning prayer agree with Jesus’ own teachings. 

WHO DID JESUS SAY WE SHOULD PRAY TO AND WORSHIP?

What Did Jesus Himself Teach About Prayer, Worship, the Father, and His Own Role as the Son of God?

A Personal Testimony and Biblical Investigation

Research by Simon Brown

There are some Bible studies that begin simply because we come across a difficult verse. But this study is different.

This article grew out of something deeply personal in my own life—my previous marriage, my relationship with God during one of the most painful periods of my life, and eventually meeting Angel, who became my new wife three years later.

It also grew out of a question that I now believe every Christian should seriously consider:

WHO DID JESUS ACTUALLY TEACH US TO PRAY TO AND WORSHIP?

Detailed Quick Facts Bible research infographic examining who Jesus taught His followers to pray to and worship. It explores Matthew 6:6–9, John 16:23, John 4:23, John 17:3, John 20:17, 1 Timothy 2:5, prayer to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, obedience to Jesus’ teachings, and whether the way Christians pray could affect their prayers. Research by Simon Brown.

Not who does our church tell us to pray to.
Not what have we always done.
Not what does Catholicism, Trinitarianism, Modalism, or even my own understanding tell us.
But:

WHAT DID JESUS SAY?

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MY PERSONAL JOURNEY

In 2023, I separated from my wife after discovering that she was having an affair with one of our lodgers.

Of course, this broke my heart.

During our marriage I had tried to teach her many of the teachings of Jesus, but she would not seriously study the Word of God for herself. I had often worried that without strong foundations in God, Jesus and the Bible, her faith might not be strong enough when serious temptation came.

Sadly, my marriage ended through adultery.

During this extremely difficult period, however, I personally felt God's love, guidance and support very strongly.

Eventually I obtained a court order preventing my former wife from returning to my home. Through everything that happened, I believed God was helping me through one of the most painful periods of my life.

And so I prayed.

I prayed that God would bring a Christian woman into my life who would join me in following Jesus Christ and the One True God.

And then I met a beautiful young Christian woman called Angel.

It almost seemed to me as though God had literally sent me an angel.

But there was something that immediately presented a challenge.

ANGEL WAS A DEDICATED CATHOLIC.

And this made me wonder:

Was there a reason God had brought a Catholic woman into my life?

Could I encourage Angel to open the Bible for herself and examine whether everything she had inherited through Catholic tradition actually agreed with the teachings of Jesus?

Could I also encourage her family to do the same?

I knew from personal experience how difficult changing one's religious beliefs can be, because I had previously been a Trinitarian myself.

Leaving deeply established religious doctrines behind can feel like trying to turn an enormous oil tanker around in the middle of the ocean.

People naturally tend to believe what they have been taught throughout their lives. But something being taught for hundreds of years—or believed by millions of people—does not automatically make it true.

The question must always be:

WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD ACTUALLY SAY?

---

ANGEL BEGAN QUESTIONING HER CATHOLIC FAITH

Over time, Angel began examining these things for herself.

I encouraged her not simply to believe me, but to read the Bible and test what she had been taught against Scripture.

Eventually Angel left the Catholic faith and came to share my belief that Jesus is literally the Son of the One True God, rather than God Himself.

Some members of her family also subsequently left Catholicism.

However, our journey certainly didn't end there.

I began noticing something very important.

Although their beliefs had changed, some of their religious habits and traditions had not completely changed with them.

They would still sing to Jesus, worship Jesus and direct prayers to Jesus.

This made me ask:

IF WE CHANGE OUR DOCTRINE BUT CONTINUE PRACTISING SOMETHING JESUS NEVER TAUGHT US TO DO, HAVE WE REALLY FOLLOWED HIS TEACHING ALL THE WAY?

That question is one of the main reasons I decided to write this study.

---

THE CHANGES I HAVE SEEN IN ANGEL'S LIFE

When I first met Angel and her family, they were living with considerable financial hardship.

I felt deeply sorry for them.

Since then, their circumstances have improved considerably. Angel herself has changed enormously, and even people around her have noticed the difference in her circumstances and the things she and her family can now enjoy that were previously beyond their means.

Naturally this has made me wonder about God's blessings.

Jesus said:

MATTHEW 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

I cannot prove that Angel's improved circumstances happened because she left Catholicism or rejected the Trinity.

Nor would it be right for me to conclude that relatives experiencing debt must therefore be under God's displeasure because they remain Trinitarians.

The Bible itself contains faithful servants of God who experienced poverty, suffering and hardship.

But what I can say is that I have personally seen enormous changes in Angel's life, and these experiences have strengthened my desire that both she and her family continue seeking God and testing everything against His Word.

Material prosperity itself cannot determine whether a doctrine is true.

SCRIPTURE MUST DETERMINE THAT.

And that brings me to the question at the heart of this study.

---

WHO DO DIFFERENT CHRISTIAN FAITHS PRAY TO?

Before criticising anybody's beliefs, we should represent them accurately.

CATHOLICISM

Catholics may pray to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Catholic worship also contains the traditional pattern of approaching the Father through Christ.

Catholics additionally ask Mary and the saints for their intercession, although Catholic teaching distinguishes this from the worship it says belongs to God alone.

ORTHODOX TRINITARIAN CHRISTIANITY

Trinitarians believe that:

The Father is God.
The Son is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.

Yet they maintain that there is only one God, not three Gods.

Therefore Trinitarian Christians generally regard prayer addressed to the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit as legitimate, although many Trinitarian traditions particularly emphasize prayer to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.

ONENESS / MODALIST CHRISTIANITY

Oneness believers reject the orthodox Trinity of three distinct divine persons.

They strongly emphasize Jesus as the revelation of the one God, and prayer directly to Jesus consequently occupies an important place in their faith.

These doctrines are different, and we should not confuse them.

Trinitarians do not believe Jesus is the Father.

Oneness believers may identify Jesus with the Father in a way orthodox Trinitarians explicitly reject.

But this leaves us with the question that matters most:

WHICH OF THESE BELIEFS AGREES WITH JESUS?

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QUICK FACT 1 — JESUS SAID: PRAY TO YOUR FATHER

Quick Facts Bible research image illustrating Jesus teaching His followers about prayer. Matthew 6:6 records Jesus instructing His disciples to “pray to your Father,” raising the important question of whom Christians should address in prayer. Research by Simon Brown.

Jesus gave remarkably straightforward instructions:

MATTHEW 6:6

“Pray to your Father…”

Notice whom Jesus identifies as the recipient of prayer:

YOUR FATHER.

Jesus then proceeds to teach His followers how to pray.

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QUICK FACT 2 — JESUS BEGAN HIS MODEL PRAYER: “OUR FATHER”

Quick Fact 2 Bible image showing Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray, beginning His model prayer with “Our Father” in Matthew 6:9.

MATTHEW 6:9

Jesus said:

“Therefore pray like this: ‘Our Father in the heavens…’”

Jesus did not begin:

“Our Jesus…”

He did not say:

“Our Holy Spirit…”

Nor did He say:

“Our Father, Son and Holy Spirit…”

He said:

“OUR FATHER.”

If Jesus was deliberately teaching His disciples how to pray, shouldn't His followers take that instruction extremely seriously?

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QUICK FACT 3 — JESUS TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES TO ASK THE FATHER IN HIS NAME

Detailed Quick Facts Bible research image examining Jesus’ instruction to ask the Father in His name. John 16:23 directs prayer to the Father in Jesus’ name, Ephesians 2:18 describes access to the Father through Christ, and 1 Timothy 2:5 distinguishes the one God from the mediator, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus said:

JOHN 16:23

“Whatever you may ask the Father in My name, He will give you.”

Look carefully at the relationship:

ASK THE FATHER → IN JESUS' NAME

Jesus presents Himself as central to our approach to the Father.

This agrees beautifully with:

EPHESIANS 2:18

“For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

Again:

THROUGH CHRIST → TO THE FATHER

And Paul writes:

1 TIMOTHY 2:5

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Again Scripture distinguishes:

ONE GOD

from

THE MEDIATOR — JESUS CHRIST.

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QUICK FACT 4 — WHO DID JESUS HIMSELF PRAY TO?

Jesus didn't merely tell other people how to pray.

He showed them.

Matthew 11:25

Jesus addressed the Father.

Matthew 26:39

Jesus prayed:

“My Father…”

Luke 22:42

Jesus prayed:

“Father…”

John 11:41

Jesus said:

“Father, I thank You…”

John 17:1

Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven and said:

“Father…”

Luke 23:46

At His death Jesus cried:

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

The pattern is difficult to miss:

JESUS PRAYED TO HIS FATHER.

So shouldn't people who claim to follow Jesus seriously consider following His example of prayer?

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QUICK FACT 5 — JESUS SAID TRUE WORSHIPPERS WOULD WORSHIP THE FATHER

Quick Facts Bible research image illustrating Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well. John 4:23 records Jesus saying that true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The study asks Christians to consider carefully who Jesus Himself identified as the recipient of true worship. 

Jesus told the Samaritan woman:

JOHN 4:23

“The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…”

Notice again:

THE FATHER.

Jesus continues in verse 24 that God is spirit and those worshipping Him must worship in spirit and truth.

This raises a serious question:

IF JESUS SAID TRUE WORSHIPPERS WOULD WORSHIP THE FATHER, WHY SHOULDN'T WE FOLLOW HIS INSTRUCTION?

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QUICK FACT 6 — JESUS CALLED THE FATHER “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”

In one of Jesus' greatest recorded prayers, He said:

JOHN 17:1–3

Jesus prayed to His Father, and then said:

“…that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent.”

There are two identities in the statement:

“YOU” — THE FATHER, THE ONLY TRUE GOD

and

“JESUS CHRIST” — THE ONE WHOM THE FATHER SENT

For me, this is extremely important evidence concerning the identity of God.

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QUICK FACT 7 — EVEN THE RISEN JESUS HAS A GOD

After His resurrection Jesus told Mary:

JOHN 20:17

“I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”

Jesus didn't merely have a Father before His death.

The risen Jesus still said:

“MY GOD.”

And whom was He talking about?

THE FATHER.

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QUICK FACT 8 — THIS CHALLENGES TWO DIFFERENT BELIEFS ABOUT JESUS

This evidence needs to be applied carefully because I am addressing two different doctrines.

MODALISM / ONENESS

If Jesus literally is the Father, why is Jesus praying to the Father, speaking to the Father, being sent by the Father and calling the Father “My God”?

TRINITARIANISM

Trinitarians already agree that Jesus is not the Father.

Their claim is different: the Father and Son are distinct persons who nevertheless fully share the one divine being.

Therefore my question for Trinitarians is:

WHY DOES SCRIPTURE REPEATEDLY IDENTIFY THE FATHER AS JESUS' GOD WHILE PRESENTING JESUS AS GOD'S SON, MESSIAH, SENT ONE AND MEDIATOR?

Prayer is not my only evidence for this conclusion.

It is one part of the much larger cumulative biblical case that has led me to believe the Father is the One True God and Jesus is His Son.

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QUICK FACT 9 — WHERE DID JESUS TEACH US TO PRAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Quick Facts Bible research image examining whether Jesus or the apostles explicitly taught Christians to pray directly to the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 describes the Spirit helping believers in their weakness and interceding in connection with prayer, raising the question of where Scripture provides an explicit command or model prayer addressed to the Holy Spirit. 

This is another question I believe Trinitarian Christians should seriously consider.

If the Holy Spirit is a third distinct, coequal divine person and Christians are supposed to address prayers directly to Him:

WHERE DID JESUS TEACH THIS?

Where did Jesus say:

“PRAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT”?

Where do the apostles provide a model prayer beginning:

“HOLY SPIRIT…”?

Romans 8:26 describes the Spirit as helping believers in their weakness and interceding in connection with prayer.

But saying the Spirit helps us pray is not the same statement as commanding us to pray to the Spirit.

The absence of an explicit command by itself does not prove that addressing the Holy Spirit is forbidden.

But it certainly gives us a question worth investigating:

IF DIRECT PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A NORMAL PART OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, WHY IS AN EXPLICIT TEACHING OR EXAMPLE SO DIFFICULT TO FIND?

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QUICK FACT 10 — BUT DID ANYONE DIRECTLY ADDRESS JESUS?

Yes.

And we must not hide this.

ACTS 7:59

As Stephen was being stoned:

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Stephen was directly addressing Jesus.

But look at the extraordinary circumstances.

Immediately beforehand Stephen sees:

ACTS 7:55–56

God's glory and Jesus standing at God's right hand.

Stephen therefore sees Jesus and directly addresses the risen Jesus whom he is seeing.

This passage should not be dismissed.

But neither should we turn Stephen's extraordinary experience into words Jesus never spoke.

Acts 7:59 does not record Jesus saying:

“FROM NOW ON, PRAY TO ME INSTEAD OF THE FATHER.”

Nor does it say:

“THIS IS NOW THE MODEL FOR CHRISTIAN PRAYER.”

The question therefore remains:

SHOULD ONE EXAMPLE OF DIRECTLY ADDRESSING THE RISEN JESUS DURING AN EXTRAORDINARY VISION REPLACE JESUS' EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS: “PRAY TO YOUR FATHER”?

I do not believe it should.

Revelation 22:20 similarly contains the appeal:

“Come, Lord Jesus.”

So I am not claiming that nobody in Scripture ever directly addressed Jesus.

I am asking something much more specific:

WHO DID JESUS TEACH HIS DISCIPLES TO PRAY TO?

And His answer was:

THE FATHER.

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QUICK FACT 11 — JESUS SAID LOVING HIM MEANS KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS

This takes us to something even more important than theological argument.

Jesus said:

JOHN 14:15

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

And:

JOHN 8:31

“If you remain in My word, you are truly My disciples.”

And 2 John 1:6 says that love involves walking according to His commandments.

Therefore this isn't merely about winning an argument concerning the Trinity.

IT IS ABOUT OBEDIENCE TO JESUS.

If Jesus teaches:

“Pray to your Father,”

shouldn't those who claim to follow Him want to do exactly that?

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QUICK FACT 12 — COULD THIS EVEN AFFECT OUR PRAYERS?

Quick Facts Bible research image examining whether following Jesus' instructions about prayer could affect our prayers. John 15:7 connects asking with abiding in Christ and His words, while John 15:10 connects remaining in His love with keeping His commandments. The study asks whether departing from Jesus' teaching to pray to the Father could contribute to prayers not being answered, while recognizing that Scripture gives several reasons for unanswered prayer. 

This brings me to a question I believe Christians should take very seriously.

I am not saying that every unanswered prayer happens because somebody prayed to Jesus rather than the Father.

Scripture gives several reasons prayer may not receive the answer we desire.

But Jesus Himself connects prayer with remaining in His teaching.

JOHN 15:7

“If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish…”

Jesus also says:

JOHN 15:10

that keeping His commandments is connected with remaining in His love.

So we should at least be prepared to ask:

IF WE ARE NOT FOLLOWING JESUS' INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT PRAYER, COULD THIS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR PRAYERS NOT BEING ANSWERED?

If Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, why would we knowingly substitute a different pattern?

If Jesus tells us to remain in His words, shouldn't His words about prayer remain in us too?

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QUICK FACT 13 — THE BIBLE GIVES OTHER REASONS PRAYER CAN BE HINDERED

We should not oversimplify unanswered prayer.

James 4:3

People can ask with wrong motives.

1 John 5:14

Confidence in prayer is connected with asking according to God's will.

Mark 11:25

Jesus connects prayer with forgiveness.

1 Peter 3:7

Our conduct toward others can affect our prayers.

So Scripture clearly teaches something important:

GOD DOES CARE HOW WE LIVE AND HOW WE PRAY.

Therefore asking whether we are following Jesus' instructions concerning prayer is completely legitimate.

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QUICK FACT 14 — DOES JESUS RECEIVING “WORSHIP” CHANGE EVERYTHING?

The New Testament does describe people bowing before Jesus, and the Greek word proskyneō is sometimes translated “worship.”

This deserves careful investigation because proskyneō can describe worship of God, but it can also describe bowing, homage or reverence toward someone who is not God.

Therefore the mere appearance of the English word “worship” does not by itself settle Jesus' identity.

I have examined this separately in:

QUICK FACTS: WAS JESUS WORSHIPPED — AND IF SO, DOES THAT PROVE JESUS IS GOD?

[READ ARTICLE]

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QUICK FACT 15 — HONOURING JESUS IS NOT OPTIONAL

None of this means Christians should dishonour Jesus.

Quite the opposite.

Jesus is God's Son.

He is the Messiah.

He is our Lord.

He is God's appointed King.

He is our mediator.

God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him.

Jesus says in John 5:23 that the Son is to be honoured.

And Philippians 2:9–11 describes God highly exalting Jesus so that every knee should bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord:

“TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.”

Therefore my argument is not:

DISHONOUR JESUS.

My argument is:

HONOUR JESUS BY LISTENING TO JESUS.

If Jesus says:

“PRAY TO YOUR FATHER”

then surely one of the greatest ways of honouring Jesus is to believe Him and obey Him.

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SO WHO SHOULD CHRISTIANS PRAY TO?

After examining Jesus' teaching, His example and the wider New Testament pattern, this is the conclusion I have personally reached:

PRAY TO THE FATHER

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

IN JESUS' NAME

Jesus is not an obstacle between us and God.

He is the one through whom we have access to the Father.

That is why Jesus said:

JOHN 14:6

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Notice where the Way leads:

TO THE FATHER.

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MY MESSAGE TO ANGEL, HER FAMILY — AND EVERY CHRISTIAN READING THIS

This study is particularly personal to me because of Angel and her family.

I don't want Angel to believe something merely because I tell her.

I don't want her family exchanging one human tradition for another.

And I don't want anybody reading this article to believe something simply because Simon Brown wrote it.

Open your Bible.

Read Jesus' words for yourself.

Ask:

WHO DID JESUS PRAY TO?

WHO DID JESUS TEACH ME TO PRAY TO?

WHO DID JESUS SAY TRUE WORSHIPPERS WOULD WORSHIP?

WHO DID JESUS CALL “THE ONLY TRUE GOD”?

WHO DID JESUS CALL “MY GOD”?

WHY DID JESUS TEACH US TO ASK THE FATHER IN HIS NAME?

WHERE DID JESUS TEACH US TO PRAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT?

AND AM I FOLLOWING JESUS' WORDS — OR SIMPLY FOLLOWING WHAT MY RELIGION TAUGHT ME?

These are questions I believe every Catholic, Trinitarian, Oneness believer—and indeed every Christian, including myself—should be willing to ask.

Because Jesus said:

“IF YOU REMAIN IN MY WORD, YOU ARE TRULY MY DISCIPLES.”

— John 8:31

And:

“IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.”

— John 14:15

So perhaps the most important question isn't:

WHAT HAS MY CHURCH ALWAYS TAUGHT ME?

It is:

AM I ACTUALLY DOING WHAT JESUS TAUGHT ME?

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Research by Simon Brown

wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com

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 Quick Facts: Was Jesus Worshipped — And If So, Does That Prove Jesus Is God?

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