Those religions you mention did not have "everything down correctly." It comes down to what is true about the One True God and that is His revelation of Himself to His people the Hebrews. The revelation of the Trinity of God did not find its fullest expression until the Advent of the Son. Before that it was God and His Spirit. Then comes this Jew who claimed the title of Deity and the eventual evidence that came out in the process of time. It says in the Torah "thou shalt have no other gods before Me" and what did Jesus do? He claimed many attributes of Deity, even calling upon the people worship that belongs to God alone. But the one Scripture that ended the discussion that Jesus Christ was God is found in Timothy. To discount this declaration of the Deity of Jesus Christ being God is to join those religions you mentioned (Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, etc.), and a rejection of Jesus as God is evidence that such false beliefs result in these religions as being false:
16 And
without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
1 Tim. 3:15–16.
It clearly says, "without controversy."
This means the discussion is over. It's a clear declaration that Christ came down from heaven as GOD in the flesh. If Jesus was not God, then He could save nobody. The Devine Name is given to the Lord Jesus Christ and He was prophesied as such:
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6.
Unbelief that Jesus Christ is God is just that: unbelief.
What you fail to understand about the Son of God is the fact that although He is One Person there are two natures: God and Man. It was the Man that got tired, was hungry, did not know everything, and even on the cross the Man cried out not the Deity for the Deity can never be separated from the Father. Nor did the Father forsake His Son.
God cannot deny God.
There are two words translated "greater."
- μείζων (meizōn) - This word typically conveys the comparative degree of "greater" or "larger."
- μέγας (megas) - This word generally means "great" or "large" and can also be translated as "greater" in certain contexts.
12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [megas]
works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. Jn 14:11–12.
29
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
John 10:28–29.
One example of the Greek word "μείζων" (meizōn) being used in the New Testament is found in Matthew 12:6:
6
But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater [meizon]
than the temple. Mt 12:6.
In this verse, Jesus is speaking, emphasizing that something superior or greater than the temple is present. The word "greater" is translated from the Greek "μείζων" (meizōn), conveying the comparative sense of superiority or excellence.
There is a difference. One denotes "superiority", the other in "quantity." Ever hear of supermarkets advertising "Mega" in their ads? Such as "Blockbuster" because there is more to be had.
That's right. He BODY, meaning His flesh. Although Jesus the Man died, the Deity (Christ) did not. And the Hypostatic Union teaches that Deity was was submitted "under" the Man Jesus.
Pay attention.
The general understanding is that this cry does not indicate an actual abandonment or forsaking of Jesus by God the Father. Instead, it is interpreted as Jesus expressing the profound sense of separation from God that he experienced as he bore the weight of humanity's sins upon himself.
In that moment, Jesus, who was without sin, took upon himself the sins of humanity, and in doing so, experienced the separation from the Father that sin brings. It is seen as a fulfillment of prophecy, as Psalm 22:1 begins with the same words, and the Psalm goes on to describe the suffering and vindication of the righteous sufferer.
So, while the cry expresses deep anguish and a sense of abandonment, it is understood within Christian theology as part of the sacrificial act of Jesus, rather than an actual forsaking by God the Father.
If the Father ACTUALLY had forsaken the Son at His greatest need that would set the precedent that God can forsake us and that cannot be done. Love does not forsake. Love envelops.
The anthropocentric belief is that the Father abandoned or forsook the Son. The theocentric understanding is that the Son taking the sin of the world experienced that sin which brings separation of man from God, but never did sin separate God from man.
And this was the purpose of creating a people created sinful separated from God, it was God who bridged that separation through the Son resulting in man in God, or as the verse says, "hid in Christ" (Deity.) Sinful man cannot be hid in Christ, only a holy, righteous atoned man can be hid in Christ.
If you look at it with a carnal mind which is what you are doing, then you will come away with the belief that the Father forsook the Son.
Reform your thinking.
Hope you can rest your worries.
