You heard me say, "I am going away and I
am coming back to you." If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going
to the Father, for the Father is great than I. (John 14:28, NIV)
As a continuation of my previous post, A Triad of Early Christians Against the Trinity Being an Apostolic Belief, one should examine how Irenaeus, Origen, and Tertullian understood John 14:28. Do note that, even after the ascension and super-exaltation of Jesus (cf. Phil 2:6-11), the Father is said to be “greater” than Jesus with respect to knowledge and authority and that they did not engage in the gymnastics many modern Trinitarians do (i.e., Jesus was only speaking of his humanity):
Irenaeus:
Moreover, they possess no proof of their system, which has but recently been invented by them, sometimes resting upon certain numbers, sometimes on syllables, and sometimes, again, on names; and there are occasions, too, when, by means of those letters which are contained in letters, by parables not properly interpreted, or by certain [baseless] conjectures, they strive to establish that fabulous account which they have devised. For if any one should inquire the reason why the Father, who has fellowship with the Son in all things, has been declared by the Lord alone to know the hour and the day [of judgment], he will find at present no more suitable, or becoming, or safe reason than this (since, indeed, the Lord is the only true Master), that we may learn through Him that the Father is above all things. For "the Father," says He, "is greater than I." The Father, therefore, has been declared by our Lord to excel with respect to knowledge; for this reason, that we, too, as long as we are connected with the scheme of things in this world, should leave perfect knowledge, and such questions [as have been mentioned], to God, and should not by any chance, while we seek to investigate the sublime nature of the Father, fall into the danger of starting the question whether there is another God above God. (Against Heresies, 2.28.8[ANF 1:401-2])
Origen:
Grant that there may be some individuals among the multitudes of believers who are not in entire agreement with us, and who incautiously assert that the Saviour is the Most High God; however, we do not hold with them, but rather believe Him when He says, “The Father who sent Me is greater than I.” We would not therefore make Him whom we call Father inferior—as Celsus accuses us of doing—to the Son of God. (Against Celsus, Chapter XIV [ANF 4:645])
Tertullian:
For the Father is the entire substance, but the Son is a derivation and portion of the whole,1 as He Himself acknowledges: “My Father is greater than I.” (Against Praxeas chapter IX [ANF 3:603-4]
