John 5:19 Amen, amen I say to you The Son does not do any [thing] by himself [alone] but that which he sees the Father bring forth For whatever it is [that] He does this also the Son does in the [exact] same way[1]
[1] This is a statement of absolute unity between the man Christ Jesus and The God Christ Jesus—who all of the fullness of the Godhead dwells in physical form Colossians 2:9—and is not be taken as any declaration of subordinate status on the part of Jesus the Christ.
Early English Bible translators lived under monarchies which were in turn controlled by Popes--essentially creating Roman Catholic theocracies. Thus, their entire world view was comprehended through the lens of hierarchy. This hierarchical bias was reflected in many of the word and phrase choices they made during the course of their translating activities.
Though modern translators have never lived under a monarchy/theocracy, they have failed to recognize and remove the ancient pre-suppositions of those who did, and who inserted their views into the general understanding of the Holy Scriptures via both bible translation and commentary. We see then that ancient perceptions have been passed down to modern Christians unchallenged.
Aside from translator bias—sometimes unintentional but bias nonetheless—there are many textual reasons this statement of Jesus should not be construed as alluding to a hierarchal relationship within the Godhead, not the least of which is the fact that Jesus is YHWH—Jehovah God—Himself. The hierarchal, and misleading, theory of the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd persons of the Godhead (which has passed to modern Christians through the [false] doctrines of Eternal Generation and Eternal Procession) have unduly influenced virtually all Bible translators to support the theory of hierarchy within the Godhead ever since John Wycliffe gave us the first complete English translation of the Holy Scriptures. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) rest their case for inequality between women and men entirely on the alleged hierarchy within the Godhead. In support of hierarchy between the sexes, Charles Stanley wrote that if God the Father was not the leader of the Godhead, then complementarians had no basis for teaching gender-based subordination (A Man’s Touch, Victor Books, Wheaton, ILL, 1988).
"As there exists no textual evidence (only easily refuted gender-biased-English-translation-theology) that the Father is the leader within the Godhead, this writer states that, unequivocally, complementarians have no basis for teaching gender-based subordination."
The London Confessions, issued by Baptists in the 17th century sought to correct the Arian nature of earlier Church creeds, and after three attempts, felt they had succeeded in their statement which left the doctrine of the One, yet Triune, God intact while admitting to the impossibility of any mortal to logically explain it: “1. The Lord our God is but one God, whose substance is in Himself; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light, which no man can approach unto; Who is in Himself most holy, every way infinite, in greatness, in wisdom, power, love, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, Who gives being, moving and preservation to all creatures. 2. In this divine and infinite Being, there is the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, Each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided; All infinite without any beginning, therefore but one God, Who is not to be divided in nature, and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties.” The London Confession, Final Edition, 1652
Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.
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Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several books. Her study entitled, Woman this is WAR! examines and refutes the complementarian theory of male headship].
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