THE HARD SAYINGS OF JESUS: John 5
From John Chapter 5, Jesus begins to speak words that were difficult for His contemporaries to accept and remain challenging for many today. One such statement is found in John 5:23:
“That all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”
Equality Among the Divine Persons
To understand the honor shared among the Persons of the Trinity, we turn to Genesis.
In Genesis 3:22, we read:
"And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.'"
This statement has two possible interpretations:
"The man has now become like ONLY one of us, knowing good and evil."
This interpretation cannot be admitted because all three Persons of the Trinity possess perfect knowledge.
"The man has now become like ANY one of us, knowing good and evil."
This is the more likely meaning because each Person of the Trinity has the same knowledge of good and evil.
The shared knowledge within the Trinity reflects the perfect unity and equality of the Divine Persons. The knowledge of God is inseparable from His power, holiness, and other attributes. Thus, what one Person of the Trinity is, the other two are equally—their shared divinity.
It is worth noting that humanity became "like God" only in a limited sense, specifically in the awareness of the faculty of will. Humans can distinguish between good and evil, but God, as the highest good, is uniquely capable of perfectly choosing good over evil.
