Question 10: If Jesus Was God, Why Did He Refuse Being Called Good?
The Question
Question 10: If Jesus was God, why did he tell the man who called him “good master” not to call him “good” because, accordingly, there is none good but his God in Heaven alone?
The Short Answer
What Jesus was doing was revealing the source of all goodness, which is His God and Father, rather than Himself. Jesus refused the title “good” as a declaration of absolute, independent deity because He humbly recognized that supreme goodness originates solely from the Father.
“Now behold, one came and said to Him, ‘Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’ So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.'” (Matthew 19:16–17; see also Mark 10:17–18, Luke 18:18–19)
The Father as the Source of All Goodness
Jesus’s response was not a statement that He was an evil or sinful person. Rather, Jesus was pointing out that the goodness present in Him did not originate from Himself as an independent source, but came entirely from God the Father dwelling in Him. Just as a glass containing wine is distinct from the glass itself, the vessel is distinct from its content. The good in anyone or anything is God in them, for apart from God, no human being is capable of inherent goodness.
This truth is confirmed throughout Scripture:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)
“For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)
Scripture identifies God again and again as the ultimate source of goodness whose mercy endures forever, as celebrated throughout Psalm 136.
Sons of God as Gods Under the God of Gods
When Jesus redirected the title “good” to the Father, He was acknowledging the divine order of authority. However, in Scripture, there is a legitimate sense in which Jesus and other sons of God are referred to as “gods,” but not as Almighty God Himself. All sons of God share in the form, image, and nature of God as His offspring.
See 1 Corinthians 8:5–6, Psalm 82:6, John 10:34–36, John 1:1, John 1:14, Psalm 45:6–7, Hebrews 1:8–9
Jesus as God’s Humble Servant
Jesus, like other sons and divine representatives, has a God whom He serves, obeys, and gives glory and worship. You can consider it giving glory to God His Father for whatever goodness that the one who called Him good saw in Him.
A similar example will be what happened at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3 with Peter, John, and the man born lame. After raising and healing the man, they told the people they didn’t do it by their power. That’s giving God the glory, pointing to the source of the power that healed the man.
In the same way, Jesus gave glory to God for the goodness the people saw in Him by pointing to the Father as the Source of all goodness. Remember, He came down from heaven not to do His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him.
That’s what happened there. It’s not that Jesus is God Almighty. Scripture consistently presents Jesus as God’s righteous and humble servant. Isaiah 53:11, Matthew 12:18, Matthew 20:28, Luke 22:27, Acts 3:13 &v26, Acts 4:27 & 30.
The One True God Above All
There cannot be two ultimate, equal Gods; there is only one true God, who is the Father. He alone is the Godhead—the Head, Father, and God of all gods.
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20)
“God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.” (Psalm 82:1)
“Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 136:2)
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17)
“The king answered Daniel, and said, ‘Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.'” (Daniel 2:47)
The Trinitarian Explanation & Why It Is Wrong
Trinitarian theologians typically attempt to explain Jesus’s words in Matthew 19:17 and Mark 10:18 in two main ways:
- The Divine Riddle Claim: They argue that Jesus was asking a rhetorical question to trick the young man into acknowledging His deity—reasoning that if only God is good, and Jesus is called good, then Jesus must be claiming to be God.
- The Dual-Nature Claim: They argue that Jesus was speaking strictly according to His “human nature,” veiling His “divine nature” to demonstrate human humility.
First, there is no textual basis in Scripture for assuming Jesus was speaking in riddles or playing mind games. God is not the author of confusion. Jesus spoke with absolute clarity, affirming the Shema that God is one (Mark 12:29–32).
Second, Scripture explicitly rejects the idea that Jesus operated as a co-equal God alongside the Father. Jesus plainly stated, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28) and declared that “the Son can do nothing of Himself” (John 5:19). In John 17:3, Jesus prayed directly to the Father, identifying Him as “the only true God”. If Jesus were Himself Almighty God, denying absolute goodness to Himself while attributing it exclusively to the Father would be deceptive. Jesus was simply stating the biblical truth: all absolute, underived goodness resides in the Father alone, and Jesus as His faithful Son reflects that goodness to the world.
Conclusion
Jesus’s response to the young ruler makes perfect sense when understood within the scriptural order. Jesus refused the title “good” as a claim to absolute, independent deity because He humbly recognized that all supreme goodness originates from His God and Father in heaven. Jesus is the exalted Son, Messiah, and servant of God, but the Father alone remains the God of gods and the only true God.
Next, I’ll be answering the question: Why do so many Christians believe in the Trinity or Modalism doctrine when Jesus clearly taught that God is one?
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