Two wills, two persons?
The Objection Lab · Objection IV of X
Two wills, two persons?
Stated first the way its strongest advocate states it. Then your turn.
“In Gethsemane Jesus said “not my will, but thine,” and two wills means two persons.”8 verses answer it
I · The steelman
Their case, at full strength
“In Gethsemane Jesus said “not my will, but thine,” and two wills means two persons.”
In Gethsemane Jesus prays, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt 26:39). Two wills are in play, and one yields to the other. That submission is not only a human scene. The Son’s will is in view before the incarnation: “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). Entering the world, He says, “Lo, I come … to do thy will, O God” (Heb 10:5–7). The Son freely offers Himself to the Father’s purpose.
This is a relationship of love and self-giving within God. If Jesus is simply the Father in flesh, Gethsemane becomes God negotiating with His own humanity, and the agony loses its meaning.
II · Drill it
Answer it. Ninety seconds.
Write what you would say if you heard this tonight. The clock starts with your first word; the ring is only a guide.
0 words
Read further
- Ten Objections to Oneness, Answered · this objection in the essay
- Oneness Theology: A Working Compendium
A short but complete map of Oneness theology: the one God of Israel, manifested in flesh as Jesus Christ. It works through the Hebrew and Greek of the key Old and New Testament texts, the typology of the angel, the tabernacle and the priesthood, and the apostolic practice of baptism in Jesus’ name. Each contested text is set beside the strongest Trinitarian reading before it is answered.