Is Jesus Really God? Understanding the Unity of Father and Son in John 10:30

When Jesus spoke these words—“The Father and I are one” (John 10:30)—He was not trying to win an argument. He was tearing down the wall between heaven and your living room. This was not a clever line offered in debate, but a declaration of divine closeness. Think about it. If the Father and the Son are truly one, then every moment Jesus wept, God wept. Every time Jesus forgave, God forgave. Every promise Jesus made carries the full weight of eternity. This is not distant theology. This is your life.

Daily Biblical Reflection – December 22, 2025

Verse for Today (22nd December 2025)

“The Father and I are one.” – John 10:30

In this profound declaration, Jesus reveals the deepest mystery of His identity and mission. These words, spoken in the midst of controversy and challenge, pierce through centuries of theological reflection to touch the very heart of our faith. When Jesus says, “The Father and I are one,” He is not merely claiming similarity or agreement with God. He is declaring an essential unity that transforms everything we understand about God’s relationship with humanity.

This unity is not uniformity. The Father and the Son are distinct persons, yet they share one divine essence, one will, one purpose, one love. In this mystery of the Trinity, we glimpse something beautiful about the nature of love itself. True love does not erase identity but brings persons into such deep communion that they become one in heart, mind, and action while remaining beautifully themselves.

For those who heard these words, they were either a stumbling block or a revelation. Some picked up stones, seeing blasphemy. Others found in them the answer to every longing their hearts had ever known. The same is true today. This verse invites us to decide who Jesus is for us. Is He merely a good teacher, a prophet, a moral guide? Or is He truly the Son of God, one with the Father, the perfect image of the invisible God?

But there is another layer of meaning here that touches our daily lives most practically. Because Jesus and the Father are one, when we encounter Jesus, we experience God. When Jesus speaks, God speaks. When Jesus touches the leper, God touches the leper. When Jesus weeps at Lazarus’s tomb, God weeps. When Jesus forgives the woman caught in adultery, God forgives. This is not mere representation or delegation; this is divine presence made tangible and near.

This truth should transform how we read the Gospels. Every word Jesus speaks becomes God’s word to us. Every miracle He performs reveals God’s heart toward human suffering. Every moment of His compassion shows us the Father’s love. We do not have to wonder what God thinks about the poor, the sick, the outcast, or the sinner. We simply look at Jesus.

As we approach Christmas, this verse takes on even deeper significance. The child born in Bethlehem is not simply a prophet announcing God’s coming. He is God come among us. In His tiny infant hands, divinity touches our humanity. In His first cry, heaven speaks in a human voice. The incarnation is the ultimate expression of the truth Jesus declares: the Father and the Son are so perfectly one that the Son can become human without ceasing to be divine, can walk our earth without abandoning heaven’s throne.

This unity also reveals something about our own calling. Jesus prayed that His followers would be one as He and the Father are one. This is more than an appeal for organisational unity or doctrinal agreement. It is an invitation into the very life of God, into a communion so deep that we begin to share God’s heart, see with God’s eyes, love with God’s love. When Christians live in true unity, the world glimpses something of the divine mystery itself.

There is immense comfort in this verse as well. Because Jesus and the Father are one, we can trust completely in Jesus’s promises. When He says He will never leave us or forsake us, it is God’s eternal commitment. When He promises us peace, it is God’s peace. When He assures us of forgiveness, it is God’s forgiveness. There is no gap between what Jesus offers and what God gives.

In our moments of doubt or distance, when God seems far away or silent, we can turn to the Jesus of the Gospels. There we find God speaking, God acting, God loving. The Father who sometimes seems hidden becomes visible in the Son who walked dusty roads, ate with sinners, and welcomed children into His arms.

Today, let us rest in this deep truth. The God of infinite majesty has chosen to be known in the face of Jesus Christ. We need not climb to heaven or search the depths to find God. We need only look to Jesus—in Scripture, in the Eucharist, in the faces of those He calls “the least of these.” There we find the Father and the Son, eternally one, eternally reaching toward us with love.

May this truth anchor your faith today. In every uncertainty, remember: Jesus speaks with the Father’s voice. In every struggle, remember: Jesus acts with the Father’s power. In every moment of need, remember: Jesus loves with the Father’s heart. They are one, and in that unity lies all our hope, all our peace, all our salvation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Holy Trinity and the Error of Modalism

(Catechism-Style Questions & Answers)

Q1. What is the central mystery of the Christian faith?

A. The central mystery of the Christian faith is the Most Holy Trinity—one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (CCC 234). CCC 234 refers to paragraph 234 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Q2. What does the Church mean by “one God in three Persons”?

A. The Church teaches that God is one in essence (nature) and three in Persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, yet they share the same divine nature fully and equally.

Q3. Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit equal?

A. Yes. They are coequal, co-eternal, and consubstantial. None is greater or lesser; none comes before or after another.

Q4. Where is the doctrine of the Trinity formally expressed?

A. The doctrine of the Trinity is clearly expressed in the Nicene Creed, formulated at the Councils of Nicaea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD), which the Church professes in the liturgy.

Q5. What is Modalism?

A. Modalism is a false teaching that claims God is one Person who appears in different modes or roles—as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit—at different times, rather than being three distinct Persons.

Q6. Why does the Catholic Church reject Modalism?

A. The Church rejects Modalism because it:

• Contradicts Scripture

• Denies real personal distinctions within God

• Undermines the truth of salvation and mediation

• Reduces the Trinity to appearances rather than eternal reality

Q7. How does Scripture reveal the Trinity?

A. Scripture reveals the Trinity through the simultaneous action of the three Persons, especially at the baptism of Jesus, where:

• The Son is baptised

• The Spirit descends

• The Father speaks from heaven

(Matthew 3:16–17)

Q8. Why is Jesus’ prayer to the Father important?

A. Jesus’ prayer (John 17) shows a real relationship between the Son and the Father. It would be meaningless if the Father and Son were the same Person.

Q9. How should Catholics understand “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30)?

A. This means the Father and the Son are one in divine nature, not one Person. They are united in essence while remaining distinct.

Q10. What problem does Modalism create regarding salvation?

A. Modalism undermines the role of Christ as Mediator. Scripture teaches that Jesus is the mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5), which requires a real distinction between the Father and the Son.

Q11. What is Patripassianism, and why is it rejected?

A. Patripassianism is the belief that the Father suffered and died on the Cross. The Church rejects this, teaching instead that the Son suffered in His human nature, while the Father did not suffer.

Q12. Why is the Trinity essential to understanding God as love?

A. Love requires a relationship. The Trinity reveals that God is love eternally, even before creation—Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Father, in the communion of the Holy Spirit.

Q13. Does the Church teach three gods?

A. No. The Church firmly teaches one God. The Trinity avoids both tritheism (three gods) and unitarianism (one Person only).

Q14. How do Catholics profess faith in the Trinity daily?

A. Catholics profess faith in the Trinity when they:

• Make the Sign of the Cross

• Are baptised

• Pray the Glory Be

• Participate in the Holy Eucharist

Q15. What should Catholics avoid when explaining the Trinity?

A. Catholics should avoid analogies that suggest:

• One person with three roles

• Temporary appearances instead of eternal Persons

Such explanations unintentionally resemble Modalism.

Q16. How should the mystery of the Trinity be approached?

A. With faith, humility, and reverence. The Trinity is not a contradiction but a revealed mystery—known because God has made it known.

Q17. What is the key takeaway for believers?

A. God is not solitary but in communion. The Trinity reveals that at the heart of reality is relationship, love, and self-giving—the model for Christian life.

The daily Word of God,(Verses)shared every morning by His Excellency, Rt. Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan, with reflections by Johnbritto Kurusumuthu.

© 2025 Johnbritto Kurusumuthu | Rise & Inspire Devotional Series

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