Was Jesus inferring he was God when the Jews said he was making himself equal with God in John 5:18-19?
18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Here we can see that Jesus was accused of making himself equal with God, likely because of the Jewish custom that says that the eldest son is equal to his Father in the respect that he inherits all from his Father. Although it is true that Jesus inherits all that the Father has made, I do need to point out that Jesus said just previous to this that he can do nothing of himself, only what he sees his Father doing. If we agree with those Jews rather than what Jesus actually said, then we simply make the same mistake as they did.
If we use this scripture to say that Jesus is co equal to the Father which is a precept of the Trinity Doctrine, then we know from scripture that any equality Jesus has with God was given to him by God, because all things originate in God. After all it is written in Acts 2:36
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
So even Jesus lordship was given to him by God. Further anything that is considered equal to someone or something also indirectly infers that you cannot be that thing. When making two things equal in anyway, it is taken for granted that you are talking about two different things. So if Jesus is equal to God in anyway, then it is also saying that he is not God. If I am equal to my Father in whatever terms, it is also taken for granted that I am not my father. If 3+5=4+4 then 3,4, & 5 are still certainly different numbers. We don’t really need to say that 8=8 because 8 is 8. Thus if Jesus is equal to God, then he is not God. This is basic stuff, but due to men accepting the Trinity Doctrine, sometimes we need to explain these simple concepts to show the error that this doctrine brings.
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