Jesus Serves God

Jesus serves, obeys, and is subject to God.

That they may know that You alone — Your name is Yahweh — Are the Most High over all the earth. — Psalm 83:18 (LSB)

Psalm 83:18 identifies the Father as Most High. The following passages describe the Father's authority over Jesus during his mission.

Jesus described the Father as the only true God and himself as the one sent on a mission (John 17:1-3). For the prayer and its direct statement, see Jesus' prayers.

Jesus Submits to God

And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. — 1 Corinthians 3:23 (NKJV)

Paul's statement that “the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3) is considered in the Apostle Paul's testimony. Some readers limit Jesus' submission to his earthly life, but Paul also describes what happens at the end:

Now when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. — 1 Corinthians 15:28 (NKJV)

The Son delivers the kingdom to the Father at the end and remains subject to God. Paul's description places Jesus' submission beyond his earthly ministry. This supports the conclusion that Jesus still has a God.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus submitted his will to the Father's (see also Mark 14:36):

And he (Jesus) went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt... He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done... — Matthew 26:39,42 (KJV)

These texts describe Christ as belonging to God and being subject to God. Other Christians understand this authority as compatible with equality of divine nature, rather than as a denial of Jesus' divinity. The Unitarian reading takes these passages as evidence that the Father holds higher authority than Jesus.*

The argument also draws on the following passages:

  • God, identified as Yahweh, has supreme authority (Psalm 83:18; 103:19-22).
  • Jesus is identified with God's servant (Isaiah 42:1; 52:13-53:12).
  • Jesus directs worship to God alone (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8).
  • Jesus was sent by the Father (John 3:16-18; 4:34; 6:57; 8:29; 14:24; 17:1-3; 1 John 4:14).
  • Jesus obeys the Father (John 4:34; 5:19; 6:38; 8:55; 10:37; 14:31).
  • Jesus calls himself the vine and his Father the vinedresser (John 15:1-9). This metaphor portrays the Father as the one who tends the vine.
  • Jesus entrusted himself to God (1 Peter 2:23).

Jesus Is Called God's Servant

The prophets expected Jesus to be a servant of God. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 portrays the Father's servant suffering, bearing the sins of many, and being vindicated, or publicly shown to be in the right. Philip explains this passage by proclaiming Jesus (Acts 8:32-35).

Jesus describes his saving mission as service:

“the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” — Mark 10:45 (ESV)

Peter taught:

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus... — Acts 3:13 (ESV)

Acts 3:26 likewise calls Jesus the Father's servant. The prayer in Acts also says:

"Truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus." — Acts 4:27-30 (ESV)

Some readers limit these descriptions to Jesus' human mission. However, Paul writes that the risen Jesus “lives to God”:

For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life that he lives, he lives to God. — Romans 6:10 (NKJV)

These passages positively identify Jesus as the Servant-Messiah, the Father's chosen Christ who suffers and is vindicated. His unique saving service need not imply identity with the Father Whom he serves.

Jesus Teaches Service to God

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,

‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” — Deuteronomy 6:13

— Matthew 4:10 (NKJV)

A similar instruction appears in 1 Samuel:

Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD (Yahweh) and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD (Yahweh) only. — 1 Samuel 7:3-4

In this context, LORD translates the Hebrew divine name YHWH. The command is to serve him alone. Christians who identify Jesus with YHWH interpret these passages differently; the text itself does not explicitly identify Jesus in this passage.

Paul similarly said:

But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets. — Acts 24:14 (ESV)

The “fathers” are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They lived long before Jesus' earthly birth. This supports the claim that Paul worshipped the God known to Israel. It does not by itself settle whether Jesus existed before his birth or whether he shares God's identity, as many Christians affirm.

Jesus Fasted

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. — Matthew 4:1-2 (ESV)

This account brings together the Spirit's leading, fasting, hunger, and temptation:

  1. Jesus was led by the Spirit, showing his dependence on the Father's direction.
  2. Jesus fasted and became hungry, showing real human need alongside devotion to God and worship.
  3. Jesus faced temptation, while James 1:13 states that God cannot be tempted by evil.

Hebrews 4:15 confirms that Jesus was tempted as humans are, yet without sin. It supports the Gospel account rather than supplying the argument's sole evidence.

These features together serve as evidence of Jesus' real human dependence and faithful obedience to the Father, rather than merely a religious example. This agrees with his prayer in Mark 14:36. Fasting is part of the portrayal of Jesus' faithful human obedience.

Conclusion

The passages considered here portray Jesus as subject to God, called God's servant, and teaching exclusive service to God. His fasting and temptation are also central to the discussion.