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How do trinitarians explain Luke 4:8, where Jesus responded to Satan's question his request to worship him:

Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

If Jesus was God himself, how did he worship another god? And for that reason he didn't worship Satan!

I mean if Jesus is a god he should say that I'm a god myself and with this reason I don't worship you (Satan). But instead he said 'for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' . if he's a god why did he worship another god?

I have searched and people said here that Jesus is a God in the flesh! referring to this:

John 1:1-18 (NIV) -Excerpt

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

He also says 'Jesus never did His own will but the will of the Father.' referring to these:

Matthew 12:50 (NIV) For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

John 16:28 (NIV) I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Mark 16:19 (NIV) After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV) For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:34 (NIV) Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

If he's God himself, why would he serve another god and do his jobs? I mean all of our acts have reasons. We eat food because our body needs food and we worship god because we need god. So why would Jesus want to serve God? Did he need his love? If he was a god why did he need another god's love?

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    Not sure what you are asking here. The Luke passage makes it clear that Jesus did does not worship Satan - it is a temptation the devil puts to him that he rejects. That makes your conclusion correct but leaves us wondering what your question is? – DJClayworth May 31 '16 at 01:17
  • @DJClayworth I mean if jesus is a god he should say that I'm a god myself and with this reason I don't worship you(satan). but instead he said 'for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' . if he's a god why did he worship another god? – John May 31 '16 at 03:59
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    You seem to be asking at least two distinct questions: 1) Why does Jesus refer to God in the third person if he himself is God? 2) Why would Jesus worship God if he himself is God? These may both be valid questions, but they should be asked one at a time, because the answers will be different to each one. – Flimzy May 31 '16 at 06:39

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Consider the story of Abraham pleading with God to spare Sodom from His wrath, as found in Genesis 18:

The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Abraham challenged God to obey his own commandment. Years later, Moses, too, (in Exodus 32) pleaded with God to not destroy the Israelites, reminding him of his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and God relented from His anger. He remained faithful to his promises; he obeyed his own word.

In the same way, Jesus obeyed all the commandments of God. As the Word of God, Jesus is the very embodiment of those commandments, hence the embodiment of obedience. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Jesus fulfills the commands by obeying them. In John 14:15,23, Jesus tells his disciples:

“If you love me, keep my commands."

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

Jesus equates obedience and love. The greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor, so by obeying the Father, Jesus shows that He loves Him.

Paul Chernoch
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  • thanks. that was a very good answer. our acts have reasons. for example we drink water because our body needs water, we worship god because we need god. So why would jesus want to love god? did he need his love? if he was a god why did he need another god's love? – John May 31 '16 at 04:02
  • Acts 17:25, "And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." – Paul Chernoch May 31 '16 at 13:02
  • I think it's interesting that Jesus gave answers that any man could have given- he didn't even need to exercise his Devine authority to rebuke Satan, just to lean on the word of God. – Andrew Jun 01 '16 at 02:52