But I go back to the "Arian" verses:
"for the Father is greater than I."--St John 14:28
This verse is true in the human nature of Christ, God the Father is not a man, He has no human nature, human nature is true only of Christ, Christ in His humanity is inferior to the Father, where as Christ in His deity is equal to the Father, this is actually Catholic dogma and is taught in Ecumenical councils.
"But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."--St Mark 13:32/St Matthew 24:36
The misinterpretation of this verse is responsible for greater heresies, many draw from this Christ did not have the power to know the time of the End. The simple answer is this is a statement of Christ in His human nature which was not by its own nature omniscient and prescient of the future, only by union with the Word is this knowledge available. The surround context for this verse is Christ as the "Son of Man" not the "Son of God." Those who read carefully will see that Christ knew the events leading up to End, He was not ignorant of the hour in His Divinity. Christ did not want men to know the time of the End, but wanted them to be vigilant, He did not come to tell man the end of time (Acts 1:7).
"So He was not able to perform any mighty deed there"-St Mark 6:5
Many stop quoting there verse here, but the whole verse says He did do some mighty deeds: "So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them." Some comment that sometimes in Scripture that able/could means would (cf Genesis 37:4, St John 7:7). But the reason He was not able to do mighty deeds was because of a lack of faith. St Matthew's parallel verse states: "And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith." (St. Matthew 13:58) Perhaps St John Cassian expounded on this the best in the following:
"But among others the unfathomable depth of Christ's beneficence was so stopped up, that it was said: And Jesus could do there no mighty works because of their unbelief. [Mark 6:5-6] And so the bounty of God is actually shaped according to the capacity of man's faith, so that to one it is said: According to your faith be it unto you: [Matthew 9:29] and to another: Go your way, and as you have believed so be it unto you; [Matthew 8:13] to another Be it unto you according as you will, [Matthew 15:28] and again to another: Your faith has made you whole. [Luke 18:42]"
"And Jesus advanced (in) wisdom and age and favor before God and man."-St Luke 2:52
The argument used is in sort 'If Jesus is God, then why does the bible say he 'grew' or 'advanced' in wisdom?"
The direct answer to that is that the Wisdom of God was being made manifest in Jesus in proportion to His growth in the physical body. Rather than go on on my own poorly stated response here are the Church Fathers on this particular verse:
"Do not think to yourself, "How can God grow?" "How can he who gives grace to angels and to men receive fresh wisdom?" Rather reflect upon the great skill with which we are initiated into his mystery. For the wise Evangelist did not introduce the Word in his abstract and incorporeal nature. He says of him that "he increased in stature and wisdom and grace," [Luke 2:52] but after having shown that he was born in the flesh of a woman and took our likeness, he then assigns to him these human attributes. Only then does he call a child and say that he grew in stature, as his body grew little by little, in obedience to corporeal laws. So he is said to have increased in wisdom, not as receiving fresh supplies of wisdom. God is perceived by the understanding to be entirely perfect in all things and altogether incapable of being destitute of any attribute suitable to the Godhead. So God the Word gradually manifested his wisdom proportionally to the age which the body had attained.
The body then advances in stature, and the soul, in wisdom. The divine nature is incapable of increase in neither one nor the other, seeing that the Word of God is all perfect. With good reason he connected the increase of wisdom with the growth of the bodily stature, because the divine nature revealed its own wisdom in proportion to the measure of the bodily growth."--St Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Homily 5, (CGSL 36-64**)
St Jerome says likewise:
"How does he who is Wisdom receive understanding? "Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men."[Luke 2:52] This means not so much that the Son was instructed by the Father but that his human nature was instructed by his own divinity. There is the seer's prophecy of him who blossomed from the root of Jesse," The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and of understanding."--St Jerome, Homily on Psalm 15(16) (FC 57:26**)
Here are some verses I found that were used in the Early Church to show Jesus is God Almighty, and is omniscient:
"His [Jesus’] disciples said, "Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God."—John 16:29-30 (St Augustine says this means Christ is omniscient in Tractate 103)
…Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You..."—John 21:17
“…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”—1 Corinthians 1:24
"..Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."—Colossians 2:3
In short Christ is God and because He is of the same Nature as the Father, He has all the powers of the Father and is equal to the Father, and is omniscient, Christ as the Son of God, in His deity, was NEVER ignorant of ANYTHING, to assert otherwise to espouse a heretical, if not a position of apostasy from the Christian Faith.
To be continued...
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