In John 14: 9, Jesus claimed equality with the Father in this statement to His followers: “I and the Father are one. If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” Yet, in john 14: 28, He said, “The Father is greater than I.”

This is not a contradiction. Both statements are a truth rooted in John 1: 1, 14. We learn from vs. 1 that Jesus, as the Word, has always been with God and that He is God. From vs. 14, and this is key, the Word became flesh in the form of Jesus.

Verse 14, noting the incarnation, harmonizes “the Father and I are one,” but “He is greater.”  When Jesus, as the Word (God), assumed the body and nature of man, He could only be effective as the representative of mankind by relinquishing the rank and powers of God (Philippians 2: 6, 7). By so completely doing so, He was made to be even lower than the angels (Hebrews 2: 9).

Therefore, Jesus then became dependent on God in heaven (called Father to help us grasp God’s desire to guide). The Father continued to operate in the capacity of God. Jesus operated in the capacity of man, subjecting Himself to the will of the Father who specified and empowered the works and miracles Jesus performed (John 5: 36; 8: 28).

However, though clothed in and limited by His human nature; Jesus, in essence, couldn’t be anything other than who He’s always been— God.  The distinction in the relationship – God in heaven (above) and God on earth (below in human flesh as The Son) – has to do with their respective roles even though both are equally God.

The word “roles” is important to help us understand. I heard a preacher describe it this way. He said that subservience in role isn’t the same as subservience in essence. For example, take the employer/employee relationship. The employer’s role is to prescribe the work to be done; the employee’s role is an obligation to serve. However, both the employer and employee are equal in the sense that they both share in the same nature or essence as human beings.

In the same way is how it is within the trinity. Each member is equally divine in essence and nature. But in their plan of redemption, each has a different working role. In the interests of order and effectiveness, these roles are defined by authority and subservience. The Father is greater than Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but only in the sense that His administrative role conveys the highest authority.