I resume my refutation of Greg Stafford and his fellow Arian heretics (https://islamunmasked.com/2019/08/15/to-the-glory-of-god-the-son-refuting-a-common-arian-canard-pt-1/).

As I had noted previously, the glorification of the Father and the Son is reciprocal in that it isn’t merely the Son that glorifies God. Rather, the Father himself is committed to glorifying the Son in like manner:

“‘But I am not seeking glory for myself; there is One who is seeking and judging.’… Jesus answered: ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, the one who you say is your God.’” John 8:50, 54

“When, therefore, he had gone out, Jesus said: ‘Now the Son of man is glorified, and God is glorified in connection with him. God himself will glorify him, and he will glorify him immediately.’” John 13:31-32

“The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his Servant, Jesus, whom you handed over and disowned before Pilate, even though he had decided to release him.” Acts 3:13

The Spirit is also involved in glorifying the Son:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now. However, when that one comes, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own initiative, but what he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things to come. That one will glorify me, because he will receive from what is mine and will declare it to you. All the things that the Father has are mine. That is why I said he receives from what is mine and declares it to you.” John 16:12-15 

In fact, not only is the Father committed to honoring and glorifying his beloved Son,

“No, it was not by following artfully contrived false stories that we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but rather, we were eyewitnesses of his magnificence. For he received from God the Father HONOR AND GLORY when words such as these* were conveyed to him by the magnificent glory: ‘This is my Son, my beloved, whom I myself have approved.’ Yes, these words we heard coming from heaven while we were with him in the holy mountain.” 2 Peter 1:16-18

He also demands that every creature honor the Son in the exact same way that they honor God:

“For the Father judges no one at all, but he has entrusted all the judging to the Son, so 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.” John 5:22-23

This explains why John had a vision in which he saw the Son receiving the exact same worship that God himself receives from all of creation: 

“When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, and each one had a harp and golden bowls that were full of incense. (The incense means the prayers of the holy ones.) And they sing a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slaughtered and with your blood you bought people for God out of every tribe and tongue* and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.’ And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, and they were saying with a loud voice: ‘The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy to receive the power and riches and wisdom and strength AND HONOR AND GLORY and blessing.’ And I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and underneath the earth and on the sea, AND ALL THE THINGS IN THEM, saying: ‘To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing and THE HONOR and THE GLORY and the might forever and ever.’ The four living creatures were saying: ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshipped.” Revelation 5:8-14

Now, this places Arian heretics such as Gregory Stafford in a dilemma. The fact that Jesus is distinguished from every created being in existence proves that he is no mere creature. Rather, the Son is exactly like God in that he is separate from the entire creation, and is therefore eternal by nature, having no beginning to his life or existence. 

This helps us further appreciate why doxologies, or ascriptions of praise and glory, are offered to both the Father and the Son,

“They exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.” Romans 1:25

“Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Philippians 4:20

“No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18

“and from Jesus Christ, ‘the Faithful Witness,’ ‘the firstborn from the dead,’ and ‘the Ruler of the kings of the earth.’ To him who loves us and who set us free from our sins by means of his own blood—and he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—yes, to him be the glory and the might forever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6

Since the Son is uncreated by nature, being essentially one with the Father, and therefore worthy of the exact same worship.

The God-breathed Scriptures further proclaim that God is glorified in union with his Son:

“Now a man named Lazʹa·rus was sick; he was from Bethʹa·ny, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This was the Mary who poured perfumed oil on the Lord and wiped his feet dry with her hair; it was her brother Lazʹa·rus who was sick. So his sisters sent a message to him, saying: ‘Lord, see! the one you have affection for is sick.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said: ‘This sickness is not meant to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’… Jesus said to her: ‘Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’” John 11:1-4, 40

“Most truly I say to you, whoever exercises faith in me will also do the works that I do; and he will do works greater than these, because I am going my way to the Father. Also, whatever you ask in my name, I will do this, so that the Father may be glorified in connection with the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14

“Whatever it is that you do in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, thanking God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

“If anyone speaks, let him do so as speaking pronouncements from God; if anyone ministers, let him do so as depending on the strength that God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The glory and the might are his forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

This shows that God will never allow himself to be glorified apart from Christ since he has bound his glorification with the glorification of his Beloved. 

In other words, a person who seeks to honor God without acknowledging, confessing, honoring, and loving the Son will not be accepted since to reject the Son is to reject the Father, to hate the Son is to hate the Father etc., since it is the Son who mediates God’s presence and unites us to the Father:

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” John 1:18 New International Version (NIV)

“‘All those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and I will never drive away the one who comes to me; for I have come down from heaven to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none out of all those whom he has given me, but that I should resurrect them on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who recognizes the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day.’ Then the Jews began to murmur about him because he had said: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ And they began saying: “Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ In response Jesus said to them: ‘Stop murmuring among yourselves. No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him, and I will resurrect him on the last day. It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by Jehovah.” Everyone who has listened to the Father and has learned comes to me. Not that any man has seen the Father, except the one who is from God; this one has seen the Father. Most truly I say to you, whoever believes has everlasting life.’” John 6:37-44

“However, Jesus called out and said: ‘Whoever puts faith in me puts faith not only in me but also in him who sent me; and whoever sees me sees also the One who sent me.’” John 12:44-45

“Jesus said to him: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6

“Remain in union with me, and I will remain in union with you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you unless you remain in union with me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in union with me and I in union with him, this one bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing at all. If anyone does not remain in union with me, he is thrown out like a branch and dries up. And men gather those branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in union with me and my sayings remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will take place for you. My Father IS GLORIFIED IN THIS, that you keep bearing much fruit AND PROVE YOURSELVES MY DISCIPLES… Whoever hates me also hates my Father.” John 15:1-8, 23

“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. But whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:22-23  

“If we accept the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. Because this is the witness God gives, the witness that he has given about his Son. The person putting his faith in the Son of God has the witness within himself. The person not having faith in God has made him a liar, because he has not put his faith in the witness given by God concerning his Son. And this is the witness, that God gave us everlasting life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this life.” 1 John 5:9-12

This simply confirms what I stated in the first part of my discussion, namely, it is simply not true that the Father does nothing to and for the glory of another. Rather, the Father does all things to and for the glory of his Son to the extent that he even refuses to be glorified apart from his Beloved. The Father has made it that he can only be glorified in union with and in reference to the Son.

I am still not through dismantling Greg Stafford’s blasphemous assault against the risen Lord of glory since I have more for him and his fellow Arian heretics in the next part of my rebuttal (https://islamunmasked.com/2019/08/17/to-the-glory-of-god-the-son-refuting-a-common-arian-canard-pt-3/).

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