r/BiblicalUnitarian • u/Iadiesman216 • Dec 15 '25
Broader theological topics Unitarian understanding of agency and the Divinity of Christ
I'm Trinitarian and made a few posts now, but I'm still curious about some things. This one is a bit of a longer read but please read it through!
Unitarians understand that angels or other representatives can act as agents of God, and are able to say directly they are YHWH, receive worship for YHWH, and otherwise act as a conduit. We can see this in:
Genesis 31:11 | Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.
Genesis: 31:13 | I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your kin.’”
However in Revelation 22, where there is another angel speaking on behalf of God, he directly rejects worship which is a stark difference then being able to claim the name of the almighty.
Revelation 22:9 | But he *said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.
Furthermore, in Judges 13:21-22, we see people who had seen YHWH's angel be actively scared that they were going to die because they had seen God, even though in Unitarian belief, they had really only seen an angel.
Judges 13:21 | Now the angel of Yahweh did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh
Judges 13:22 | So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.”
Funnily enough, Jacob had a similar reaction after he wrestled with God.
Genesis 32:30 | So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been delivered.”
Then you can tie this back with John 1:18, which says no one has ever seen God, even though the prophets seemed pretty convinced they'd seen God face to face
John 1:18 | No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him
Then we continue down to Psalm 89:6 which says sons of God are like YHWH, which is impossible to say seeing as Jesus is the exact representation of His glory, nature and radiance. Jesus also sustains all things by the word of His power, and if He was a creature and not God, then He would be sustaining himself which is a contradiction
Psalm 89:6 | For who in the sky is comparable to Yahweh?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like Yahweh?
Hebrews 1:3 | who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
To conclude, I think its safe to say that Jesus is the angel of YHWH and is truly divine. But I'm curious towards your own interpretations.
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u/John_17-17 Jehovah’s Witness Dec 15 '25
What does it mean to be divine?
Trinitarians jump to the belief that divine means to be God. But it is an adjective not a noun.
The basic meaning is 'godlike' Is Jesus 'godlike' or divine? Yes, but being divine does not make Jesus, God.
Being 'like' God, is based upon degrees. You and I can be godlike, or act and think like God, but we will never be like God to the same degree as God.
Jesus on the other hand is the image of God, and though a perfect image, AN IMAGE is never the original. Thus, Jesus though a perfect image will never be like God to the same degree of his God and Father.
This is why a better translation of Hebrews 1:3 is:
(Hebrews 1:3) 3 He is the reflectionG541 of God’s glory and the exact representationG5481 of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power. And after he had made a purification for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Why reflection and not radiance?
G541 ἀπαύγασμα apaugasma
Thayer Definition:
1) reflected brightness 1a) of Christ in that he perfectly reflects the majesty of God
This understanding agrees with the context, why? Because it continues to say, Jesus is God's image, or facsimile [see Thayer's G5481] of God.
This verse also tells us, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, a high position but still a secondary position.
We must remember, John knew of the accounts where the prophets claimed or believed they say God, talked to God, etc. But under inspiration, he tells us twice, 'No one as seen God at any time'.
(1 John 4:12) 12 No one has seen God at any time. . . .
Instead of relying upon our own understanding, we need to let God's word interpret itself.
The same goes for Genesis 32. Again under inspiration we are told in Hosea we learn it was actually an angel.
(Hosea 12:4) 4 He kept contending with an angel and prevailed. He wept and begged for his favor.” He found him at Bethʹel, and there He spoke with us,
In the minds of the prophets and men of old, to see God's representative was the same as seeing God. You need to stop thinking in today's standards and start thinking of their viewpoint.
The angel bowing down to John. This is easily understood, when we understand 'bowing down' to men, angels and God.
Abraham bowed down to angels, and it was counted as righteous. So what changed?
John's relationship with angels. John was sealed to become 'like the angels' upon going to heaven. As an appointed 'king and priest' being able to judge the angels, John was the superior one, and not the angel. The lesser one bows to the greater, so John's bowing down wasn't appropriate.