(Mark 14:32)
David K. Bernard who is one of the greatest “Oneness” writers of the 21th Century says in his book, The Oneness of God, "We must realize that, unlike any other human being, Jesus had two perfect and complete natures - humanity and deity. What would be absurd or impossible for an ordinary person is not so strange with Jesus. We do not say Jesus prayed to Himself, for this would incorrectly imply that the man was the same as the Spirit.
Rather, we say that the man prayed to the Spirit of God, while also recognizing that the Spirit dwelt in the man.
The choice is simple. Either Jesus as God prayed to the Father or Jesus as man prayed to the Father. If the former were true, then we have a form of subordination or Arianism in which one person in the Godhead is inferior to, not coequal with, another person in the Godhead. This contradicts the biblical concept of the one God, the full deity of Jesus, and the omnipotence of God. If the second alternative is correct, and we believe that it is, then no distinction of persons in the Godhead exists. The only distinction is between humanity and deity, not between God and God.”
David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God, rev. ed. (Hazelwood, Mo.: Word Aflame Press, 2000), 177-78.
Jesus prayed to God, first as an example. Jesus was the perfect example of how men should pray. All flesh, even the flesh of Jesus had to pray to God (The Heavenly Spirit - Deity). There are many instances where Jesus would give respect to his own Spirit through prayer.
Therefore, this scripture doesn’t seem strange to a believer in the oneness of God. Now don’t forget, Jesus would do things, not for himself, but for us. We should follow Jesus and his actions concerning the Deity/heavenly Spirit of God. This includes praying to God out of our humanity.
This excerpt is from my book, "Understanding the Trinity, Three Persons vs Three Manifestations. Google: will daniels understanding the trinity
Friday, January 28, 2011
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