It is clear that Jesus is God (Jn 1:1). The question that must be addressed is whether or not there is a hierarchy within the Trinity. Is Jesus co-equal with the Father and the Spirit? As mentioned previously in another section, all three persons of the Trinity are God, and as such are worthy of worship and praise. There are some who would believe that the Son is inferior to the Father, by nature of the subordinate relationship of a son to his father. But this is not the case. God chose the image of a father and son so that Jesus could perfectly model the relationship we (as children of God) should have with the Father. Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “our Father” (Matt 6:9). Jesus modeled perfect submission to the Father in only doing what the Father told him to do (Jn 5:19) and speaking what the father told him to speak (Jn 12:49). Does his submission indicate inferiority? No. In John 14:28 Jesus refers to the Father as being greater than him, but this is meant to be a depiction of his submission and dependence on his Father for his earthly ministry.
Perhaps the most helpful passage in dealing with this is Philippians 2:5-11. Paul writes that Jesus, “was in the form of God.” In other words, prior to the incarnation, Jesus had the same form as God the Father. This is in contrast to after the incarnation when Jesus took on the “form of a servant” and was found “ in human form.” Paul writes that Jesus emptied himself and humbled himself. In doing so, he set aside some of his divine privileges for a time, but still remained fully God. Paul writes that Jesus, “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” In other words, Jesus did not need to assert his equality with God. The action of the Father in response to the humility of the Son, demonstrates his equality. The verses that follow say that, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The Son humbled himself so that the Father could then lift him up. This brought glory to the Son and to the Father. The glory of God is an indicator of the equality of God between each person of the Trinity. We see this reflected in Jesus’ prayer in John 17:5 where he says, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Jesus is co-equal with God, and shares in his glory. He is worthy therefore of the same adoration. The same is true of the Spirit, as will be demonstrated more fully in a later section.