Revelation 1:1 opens with the words:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.”
At first glance, this raises a serious theological question. If Jesus is fully divine and therefore omniscient, how can God “give” Him revelation? Does this imply that Jesus lacked knowledge?
This objection deserves careful attention. In Book of Revelation 1:1, a chain of communication is described:
God → Jesus → angel → John → the churches.
The text explicitly says God gave the revelation to Jesus. The natural reading suggests a transfer. However, the key issue is what kind of transfer is being described. Is it the communication of new information to someone previously ignorant? Or is it the conferral of authority and mission for the purpose of mediation?
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is presented as both fully divine and relationally distinct from the Father (see my other articles). In Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly says he is “sent” by the Father and that he speaks what the Father gives him (John 8:28-29; 12:48-50). Yet the same Gospel affirms his eternal preexistence and divine identity.
This pattern suggests that “receiving” language often describes role and mission rather than deficiency. The Son is the mediator of divine revelation. That mediation involves being sent, commissioned, and entrusted with disclosure. None of those actions imply ignorance.
Consider this analogy. A father and son share a collection of films. They have watched them all and know them thoroughly. One of those films is about the son himself (“lets say the film of Jesus Christ”). The father then says, “I give this film to you to show to others.”
The son does not receive new knowledge about the film. He already knows it because he has watched it already. The “giving” from his father establishes him as the one who will deliver it. It is an act of authorization, not instruction for the purpose of being the mediator. With this background, lets rephrase rev 1:1:
“The Film of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to other.”
Similarly, Revelation 1:1 can be understood as describing the Son as the appointed revealer and mediator of God’s revelation which Jesus already knows. The giving marks mediation, not ignorance.
John 1:18 explicitly says:
No one has seen God at any time but the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.
This is also said in Matthew 11:27
All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom He chooses to reveal Him.
This is basic Trinitarian doctrine.