|
|
|
ONENESS Part 2- Jesus is God
Posted On: 12/09/2006 05:43:10
|
I want first to deal with one of the most common objections to the sole deity of the messiah Jesus as God alone, and that is the use of the hebrew word Elohim ; due to its plural tense some misguided trinitarians see some proof of their imagined plurality in the Godhead. Elohim is the most common word in the hebrew scriptures which is translated as "God" in our english translations. It is also used to refer to false gods (Judges 8:33) spirit beings (1 Samuel 28:13) and judges (Psalm 82). In the hebrew language plurals are used to express greatness or majesty, multiple attributes ,etc. Elohim is used in situations that definitly portray only one person or personality: God to Jacob (Genesis 32:30), the golden calf (Exodus 32:1,4,8,23,31) which was one calf (Exodus 32:4,5,8,19-20,24,35) it is used for singular pagan gods also (Judges 8:33, 16:23, 2 Kings 1:2,3, 19:37). The trinitarians do not even stop to ask themselves: why the jews, knowing Elohim was plural, cling so tenaciously to the oneness of God? The Elohim arguments are one of those pitiful "strawmen"! John Calvin ,who championed trinitarianist theology; who also burned Servetus of Villanova, for opposing the trinity, at the stake in 1553; not once resorted to such a fanciful discussion even he knew the truth of the matter of grammer in the hebrew tongue. Allow me to let the trinitarians speak for themselves on this matter of Elohim:John Miley (1893) "Only an overstrained definition, however could give it the sense of a trinal distinction of persons in the Godhead...Elohim is placed in apposition with Jehovah (Deut.4:35/1Kng 18:21) and in such instances a plural sense of the former would be inconsistant with the latter, therefore Elohim has no fixed plural sense which can give the personal distinctions of the trinity"-Systematic TheologyWilliam Smith "The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea, that it reffered to the trinity of persons in the Godhead, hardly finds now a supporter among scholars.It is what grammarians call the plurality of majisty, or it denotes the fullness of divine strength, the sum of powers displayed by God"-Bible Dictionary Modern scholarship is now reaching for straws or are seriously misguided to propose this stumbling block to the oneness of God! Now let us look at the scriptural texts concerning Elohim as Jehovah in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ for a moment. Jehovah/Yahweh proclaimed himself Elohim in Exodus 16:12 "I am Yahweh your Elohim" and again in 20:2 as well as other places such as found in Leviticus 23:22, 24:22, Numbers 10:10 and 15:41 to name a few. When Moses and the elders of Israel saw the Elohim of Israel, they saw HIS feet NOT THEIRS (Exodus 24:9,10)! The Prophets thereafter proclaimed Yahweh/Jehovah himself is the only true Elohim; "Thus saith Yahweh...beside me is no Elohim"(Isaiah 44:6)"Yahweh is the true Elohim"(Jeremiah 10:10) throughout Ezekiel God proclaimed the very oneness of his nature using "I" the singular pronoun hundreds of times but never "we"; "For Yahweh, he is Elohim and there is no other beside him"(Deuteronomy 4:35).
Let us go on further into the matter; look at Isaiah 35:4-6 "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not: Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense: He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" Now according to the scriptures in Luke 7:22, Who came? Look at Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" And according to Matthew 3:3, Whose way was prepared for? According to the prophet Zechariah it would be Elohim sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:4,12,13) Who was sold out according to Matthew 27:9,10? It would be Elohim who would be pierced (Zechariah 12:10) at calvary (John 19:37) It would be Elohim coming back as King (Zechariah 14:5) and we know who is coming back do we not- Jude 14, Revelation 19:5,11, 13, 14-16, and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18! The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:7-10 applies some very interesting scriptures to the Lord Jesus Christ, for he is quoting from the Psalms, 68:17-20, looking at these texts it becomes very, very clear the matter of who is God alone. The psalmist calls him Elohim in 17,18, El (the singular of elohim) in 19,20, Adonai (v. 17,19,20) Yahweh (v. 20) and Yah, the abbriviated form of Yahweh in 18. These verses identify the plural Elohim and Adonai with the singular nouns El, Yah, and Yahweh. Now according to Paul to the Ephesians Jesus himself is Elohim, Yahweh, Adonai, El, and Yah! No one suggests their is a plurality of persons in Jesus do they? Jesus alone is our Elohim, He is Yahweh/Jehovah! As the scripture saith "God was in christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19) "In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"(Colossians 2:9) "God was manifested in the flesh"(1 Timothy 3:16) and we find Stephen calling upon God saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit-Acts 7:59!
|
