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Looking at FALSE Christian beliefs in
Looking at FALSE Christian beliefs in... Jesus Christ
Sam Shamoun
The following article is a response to the claims set forth by Nisar Muhammad
which can be found here:
http://www.answerchristianity.fsnet.co.uk/JC.htm
We will omit material that
has already been addressed in our previous rebuttals. All biblical quotations
are from the RSV, unless noted otherwise.
NISAR:
The God of Jesus was
a Jew. He was circumcised as a Jew. He lived as a Jew and prayed as
a Jew. He performed the Jewish Rites. He was addressed as a Rabbi by
the learned. Jesus the pious Jew celebrated Passover, he taught in the
temples, he wore tsitsit and the fringe or tassels attached to the four
corners of a robe. He showed regard for the temple by paying the half
shekel tax.
RESPONSE:
Since historic Christianity
has always taught that Jesus was a Jew, we really do not see the relevance
of Nisar’s statements in relation to Jesus being God? Does Nisar assume
that Jesus cannot be God in nature solely because he was also a Jewish
man? Then this is his dilemma since the Holy Bible clearly teaches both
truths, namely that Jesus is both fully God and fully human. More on
this below.
NISAR:
"The question concerns Jesus a Galilean Jew of the first third
of the first century, for whom 'God' would have a meaning specified
by his background and the theological language of the time. By way of
simplification (and perhaps oversimplification) let me say that I think
by a Jew of that period `God' would have been thought of as One dwelling
in the heavens - among many attributes. (Brown, Responses to 101 Questions
on the Bible [Paulist Press; Mahwah, N.J. 1990)
RESPONSE:
Let us complete the quote that
Nisar “borrowed” from one of my articles:
"… I would say that
by that time (i.e. the last decade of the first century), under the
impact of their quest to understand Jesus,
Christians had in a certain sense expanded the meaning of the word
'God.' It no longer for them simply covered the Father in heaven;
it covered the Son on earth. They had come to realize that Jesus
was so intimately related to God, so filled with God's presence,
that the term God was applicable to him as it was to the Father in heaven.
May I emphasis that this does not involve a change in Jesus; it involves
a change and growth in the Christian perception of who he was.” (Ibid.)
And,
“Did Jesus have an identity
which his followers later came to understand in terms of his being God?
If he was God (and most Christians do agree on that), did he know who
he was? I think the simplest answer to that question is yes.”
(Ibid. p. 99)
It is clear that Raymond Brown’s
statement in context wasn’t denying the Deity of Christ, but
was simply explaining why Christ never said he was God, or why others
never asked him if he were God. Brown’s answer demonstrates that Christ,
the Apostles and the NT wholeheartedly teach that Christ is God.
NISAR:
The God of Jesus was God (The Father). The God = The Father
By God "The Father is understood the creator of the world and the
sole reigning deity of the Old Testament as well as the first person
of the Holy Trinity."
In the New Testament the Jews claim that God is Our Father and Jesus
said, it is the father, of whom you say... he is Our God.
RESPONSE:
Again, let us quote Jesus’
words in context:
“Jesus then said to the
Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly
my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you
free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham, and have never
been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, “You will be made
free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, every one
who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the
house for ever; the son continues for ever.
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know
that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because
my word finds no place in you. I speak of WHAT I HAVE SEEN WITH MY
FATHER, and you do what you have heard from your father.’ They answered
him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham's
children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this
is not what Abraham did. You do what your father did.’ They said
to him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.’
Jesus said to them, ‘IF God were your Father, you would love me,
FOR I PROCEEDED AND CAME FORTH FROM GOD; I came not of my own accord,
but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because
you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil,
and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is
no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature,
for he is a liar and the father of lies. But, because I tell the truth,
you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the
truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of
God; the reason why you do not hear them
is that you are not of God.’ The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not
right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered,
‘I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor
me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and
he will be the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one
keeps my word, HE WILL NEVER SEE DEATH.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now
we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and
you say, “If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.” Jesus
answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing;
it is MY FATHER who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your
God. But you have not known him; I KNOW HIM. If I said, I
do not know him, I should be a liar like you;
but I do know him and I keep his word.
YOUR FATHER Abraham rejoiced that he was to see MY DAY; he saw IT
and was glad.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty
years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly,
I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’ So they took up stones
to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.”
John 8:31-59
In this passage, Jesus makes
the following astonishing claims:
1. God is Christ’s Father,
whereas he is not the Father of these unbelieving Jews.
2. God glorifies Christ just
as Christ glorifies God.
3. Christ claims that his word
has the sovereign power to prevent believers from ever dying (spiritually).
4. Christ existed before Abraham
came into being, and came forth from God out of heaven. Compare:
“He said to them, ‘You
are from below, I am from above; you are of this world,
I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your
sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’”
John 8:23-24
“Jesus then said to them,
‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread
from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the
bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life
to the world’… Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he
who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never
thirst’… For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own
will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who
sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me,
but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father,
that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal
life; AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY.’ The Jews then
murmured at him, because he said, ‘I am the bread which came down
from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, “I have
come down from heaven”?’” John 6:32-33, 35, 38-42
“This is the bread which
comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one
eats of this bread, HE WILL LIVE FOR EVER; and the bread which
I shall give for the life of the world
is my flesh.” John 6:50-51
“Then what if you were
to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?” John 6:62
“In that day you will ask in
my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;
for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have believed that I came from the Father. I came from the Father
and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going
to the Father.” John 16:26-28
5. Interestingly, whereas Jesus
calls Abraham the father of these Jews, Jesus never calls Abraham his
own father. Rather, Jesus shows that he is greater than Abraham since
the latter rejoiced to see Jesus’ day.
NISAR:
Jews have worshipped God as
a one undivided being; one single person; the father. The Jews believe
that the father alone is God. The Jews believe only in one God; The
God=The Father.
RESPONSE:
Typical of anti-Trinitarians,
Nisar commits the fallacy of hasty generalization and equivocation,
as well as non sequitur. He wrongly assumes that since God is often,
but not always, used of the Father this automatically means that the
Father alone is God. In so doing Nisar erroneously assumes that God
and Father are interchangeable terms. Nisar then begs the question by
asserting that since God is only one individual, namely the Father,
Jesus therefore cannot be God.
Whereas the term Father does
refer to a specific person distinct from the Son, as well as the Holy
Spirit, this is not the case with the term "God." Although
often used of the Father, the term God is also used of the Son, as the
following citations demonstrate:
“Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear
a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el.” Isaiah 7:14
“But there will be no gloom
for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt
the land of Zeb'ulun and the land of Naph'tali, but in the latter time
he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen
a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has
light shined… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the
government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’”
Isaiah 9:6
Fulfillment:
“All this took place to
fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel’
(which means, God [ho theos] with us).” Matthew 1:22-23
“Now when he heard that John
had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he
went and dwelt in Caper'na-um by the sea, in the territory of Zeb'ulun
and Naph'tali, that what was spoken
by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zeb'ulun
and the land of Naph'tali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee
of the Gentiles- the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.’”
Matthew 4:12-16
“And the angel said to
her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son
of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his
father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and
of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And Mary said to the angel,
‘How shall this be, since I have no husband?’ And the angel said to
her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called
holy, the Son of God.’” Luke 1:30-35
“And you, child, will be
called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord
to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God,
when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those
who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet
into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79
And:
“A voice cries: ‘In the
wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert
a highway for OUR GOD. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every
mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of
the LORD has spoken’… Behold, the Lord GOD comes
with might, and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs
in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those
that are with young.” Isaiah 40:3-5, 10-11
Fulfillment:
“For the Son of man is
to come with his angels in the glory of his Father,
and then he will repay every man for what he has done.” Matthew
16:27
“In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth; WE HAVE BEHELD HIS GLORY, glory as of the only Son
from the Father. (John bore witness to HIM, and cried, ‘This
was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks before me,
for he was before me.”’)… He (John) said, ‘I am the voice
of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,'
AS THE PROPHET ISAIAH SAID.”’” John 1:1, 14-15, 23
“Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by
another way, that man is a thief and a robber;
but he who enters by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens;
the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before
them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger
they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know
the voice of strangers… Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of
the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep
did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me,
he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the
sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees;
and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is
a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd;
I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know
the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have
other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and
they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.”
John 10:1-5, 7-16
“The Jews answered him,
‘It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because
you, being a man, make yourself God.’” John 10:33
“Thomas answered him, ‘My
Lord and MY GOD!’” John 20:28
“And to the angel of the
church in Thyati'ra write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who
has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient
endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first… And all the
churches shall know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and
I will give to each of you as your works deserve.” Revelation 2:18-19,
23b
“For the Lamb in the midst
of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to
springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.” Revelation 7:17
“‘Behold, I am coming
soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning
and the end’… He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am
coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:12-13,
20
Finally:
“Behold, a day of the
LORD IS COMING, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in
the midst of you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem
to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and
the women ravished; half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest
of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will
go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day
of battle. On that day HIS FEET shall stand on the MOUNT OF OLIVES
which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the MOUNT OF OLIVES shall
be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that
one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward.
And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up, for the valley of
the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you
fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzzi'ah king of Judah.
Then the LORD YOUR GOD WILL COME, and all the holy ones with him…
And the LORD will become king over all the earth; on that day
the LORD will be one and his name one.” Zechariah 14:1-5, 9
According to the NT, the Lord
God that is to descend upon the Mount of Olives is none other than the
Lord Jesus Christ!:
“And when he had said this,
as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out
of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold,
two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why
do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from
you into heaven, will come IN THE SAME WAY as you saw him go into heaven.’
Then they returned to Jerusalem from THE MOUNT CALLED OLIVET,
which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away;” Acts 1:9-12
“Then I saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like
a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name
inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clad in a robe dipped
in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed
him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which
to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will
tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings
and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:11-16
The preceding OT passages and
their subsequent fulfillment in Jesus clearly demonstrate that the term
God does not always refer to the Father. These examples also demonstrate
that the OT prophets were aware that the one true God of Israel is multipersonal,
something which we will expound upon shortly. Other passages where God is
used in reference to the Son include:
“But of the Son he says,
‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter
is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated
lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the
oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.’” Hebrews 1:8-9
“awaiting our blessed hope,
the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”
Titus 2:13
“Simeon Peter, a servant
and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal
standing with ours in the righteousness
of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” 2 Peter 1:1
Second, since Trinitarians
believe that God is one undivided Being, it is therefore apparent that
Nisar is attacking a straw man here. Nisar erroneously assumes that
an undivided Being cannot exist or subsist in three distinct, yet inseparable
Persons. Yet Nisar provides no arguments proving why this cannot be
true.
Third, it might be true that
some (many?) Jews have worshiped God as one single Person, namely the
Father, yet it is not true that EVERY Jew believed this way. Nor is
it true that the Holy Bible supports the erroneous view that the Father
ALONE is God.
For instance, it was monotheistic
Jews who believed in the absolute Deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit
who wrote the NT. This clearly demonstrates that there were many Jews
who worshiped God as a Triune Being.
Furthermore, as was already
mentioned, the OT is replete with passages demonstrating that the one
true God exists as a multipersonal Being. For the sake of brevity, we
will only highlight a few examples:
“Then
the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomor'rah brimstone and fire
from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and
all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew
on the ground.” Genesis 19:24-25
Here, Yahweh on earth destroys
Sodom and Gomor’rah with fire from Yahweh in heaven. This is a clear
reference to two distinct Persons as God. That one of these Persons
is on earth can be seen from this passage:
“And the LORD APPEARED
TO HIM by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in
the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three
men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door
to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, ‘My lord, if
I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant’… Then
he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set
it before them; and he stood by them under the tree
WHILE THEY ATE. They said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’
And he said, ‘She is in the tent.’
THE LORD SAID, ‘I will surely return to you in the spring, and
Sarah your wife shall have a son.’ And Sarah was listening at the tent
door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it
had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed
to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old,
shall I have pleasure?’ THE LORD SAID to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah
laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is
anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return
to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied,
saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid.
HE SAID, ‘No, but you did laugh.’
Then THE MEN set out from there,
and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them
ON THEIR WAY. THE LORD SAID, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham
what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great
and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves
by him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and
his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness
and justice; so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised
him.’ Then the LORD SAID, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and
Gomor'rah is great and their sin is very grave,
I WILL GO DOWN TO SEE whether they have done according to the outcry
which has come to me; and if not, I will know.
So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom;
but Abraham still stood BEFORE THE LORD. Then Abraham drew near,
and said, ‘Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose
there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the
place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be
it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked,
so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee!
Shall not THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH do right?’ And the LORD said,
‘If I FIND at Sodom fifty righteous in the city,
I WILL SPARE the whole place for their sake.’ Abraham answered,
‘Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who
am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking?
Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?’
And HE SAID, ‘I WILL NOT DESTROY IT if I FIND forty-five there.’
Again he spoke to him, and said, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’
HE ANSWERED, ‘For the sake of forty
I WILL NOT DO IT.’ Then he said, ‘Oh let not
the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found
there.’ HE ANSWERED, ‘I WILL NOT DO IT, IF I FIND THIRTY THERE.’
He said, ‘Behold, I have taken upon myself
to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’
HE ANSWERED, ‘For the sake of twenty
I WILL NOT DESTROY IT.’ THEN HE SAID, ‘Oh let not
the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose
ten are found there.’ HE ANSWERED, ‘For the sake of ten
I WILL NOT DESTROY IT.’ And the LORD WENT HIS WAY, when he
had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.”
Genesis 18:1-3, 8-33
This passage has caused major
problems for anti-Trinitarians such as Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses
and even unbelieving Jews. The reason being is that this passage clearly
teaches that the true God Yahweh has appeared on earth to his servants
in the form of a man, something that the preceding groups vehemently
deny. In fact, this passage goes so far as to say that Yahweh actually
ate food that was offered to him by Abraham!
Furthermore, that Genesis 19:24
unmistakably identifies two distinct Persons as Yahweh God can be seen
from the following passage:
“‘I sent among you a pestilence
after the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men with the sword; I carried
away your horses; and I made the stench of your camp go up into your
nostrils; yet you did not return to me,’ says the LORD. ‘I overthrew
some of you, as WHEN GOD overthrew Sodom and Gomor'rah, and you
were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to
me,’ says the LORD.” Amos 4:10-11
Here, Yahweh states that Sodom
and Gomor’rah were overthrown by another entity who is God also.
“Ho! ho! Flee from the land
of the north, says the LORD; for I have spread you abroad as the four
winds of the heavens, says the LORD. Ho! Escape to Zion, you who dwell
with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the LORD of hosts, after
his glory SENT ME to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches
you touches the apple of his eye: ‘Behold, I will shake my hand over
them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them.
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts HAS SENT ME. Sing and
rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo,
I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD. And
many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day,
and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and
you shall know that the LORD of hosts HAS SENT ME TO YOU. And the
LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again
choose Jerusalem.’ Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for he has
roused himself from his holy dwelling.” Zechariah 2:7-13
According to this passage,
Yahweh God is being sent by Yahweh God to dwell in the midst of his
people!
“Gomer conceived again
and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call her
Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that
I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to the house of Judah;
and I will save them-not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen,
but by the Lord their God.’” Hosea 1:6-7 NIV
Yahweh says that he will deliver
Judah by Yahweh their God. This refers to God’s miraculous deliverance
of Judah from the hands of the Assyrian King Sennacherib. The OT records
the fulfillment of God’s promise:
“Then Isaiah son of Amoz
sent a message to Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him… He will not enter
this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return;
he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city
and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’
That night THE ANGEL OF THE LORD went out and put to death a hundred
and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people
got up the next morning-there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib
king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and
stayed there. One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his
god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the
sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son
succeeded him as king.” 2 Kings 19:20-21, 32b-37
God sent the Angel of Yahweh
to strike down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. This means that the God whom
Yahweh used to deliver the house of Judah was none other than the Angel
of Yahweh!
We have already written extensively
on the Angel, demonstrating from the Old Testament that this particular
Angel isn’t a creature, but is actually Yahweh God himself functioning
in the role of a messenger. Yet at the same time the OT shows that
this Angel is sent by another who is called Yahweh God, indicating that
the one true God is multipersonal. We also presented evidence that this
Angel is none other than OT appearances of the preincarnate Christ!
For more information, we recommend the following article: http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/tam1.htm
“Hearken to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I
am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my
right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth
together. Assemble, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared
these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the Chalde'ans.
I, even I, have spoken and called him, I have brought him, and he
will prosper in his way. Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning
I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been
there. And now THE LORD GOD HAS SENT ME AND HIS SPIRIT.” Isaiah
48:12-16
Here, the Creator Yahweh God
claims that Yahweh God has sent him and the Spirit, a clear affirmation
of God’s Triunity!
“I will recount the steadfast
love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the
LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel which
he has granted them according to his mercy, according to the abundance
of his steadfast love. For he said, Surely they are my people, sons
who will not deal falsely; and he became their Savior. In all
their affliction he was afflicted,
and THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE saved them; in his love and in his
pity HE redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the
days of old. But they rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit; therefore
he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. Then he
remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is he who brought
up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them his holy Spirit, who
caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided
the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who
led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not
stumble. Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So thou didst lead thy
people, to make for thyself a glorious name. Look down from heaven and
see, from thy holy and glorious habitation. Where are thy zeal and thy
might? The yearning of thy heart and thy compassion are withheld from
me. For thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel
does not acknowledge us; thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer
from of old is thy name.” Isaiah 63:7-16
The Exodus of Israel is attributed
to Yahweh God the Father, the Angel of His Presence (i.e. the Angel
of Yahweh) and the Holy Spirit. Notice again that the Angel is given
divine attributes and functions, being referred to as God’s personal
Presence and the Agent of redemption. This is another clear-cut OT proof
of God’s Triunity.
NISAR:
In the Bible the term God is used primarily as a name for the father.
Hence every time that Jesus Christ in the New Testament refers to "the
father", "Our Father", "Your Father", "My
father", "heavenly father" this is a reference to the
Lord God or God Almighty.
RESPONSE:
Nisar is correct that the Father
is the Lord God and God Almighty. Yet the NT clearly teaches that Jesus
and the Holy Spirit are also the one true Lord God and God Almighty.
NISAR:
Jesus himself was a pious Jew who called God "Father".
Father in the New Testament is called 'the God of....Jesus Christ'.
The Father was the one to whom Jesus prayed. According to Christian
theology, Jesus as the God-Man both prayed to the Father both privately
in seclusion and in secret and in public. Father is the one Jesus called
"My God."
For Jesus God the Father was his "The God" (the deity). As
a Jew he (Jesus) said we the Jews worship the father; hence The God
(divine being) = The Father!
The God of Jesus was not a
Trinitarian nor a triune deity. The God of the Jews and Jesus only had
a single one person in the GODHEAD; namely the Father. Hence The God
of Jesus has become one of three.
RESPONSE:
Here, Nisar attacks a strawman
since no Trinitarian has ever claimed that Jesus’ God is the Trinity.
Nisar commits the fallacy of false dilemma since implicit in his statement
is the erroneous assumption that “God” either refers to the Trinity
or to the Father, but it cannot refer to both. Yet, in Trinitarian usage
the term God refers to different things in different contexts. For instance,
when a Trinitarian refers to the God of Christ, he or she means the
Father. When a Trinitarian speaks of God being manifested in the flesh,
God here refers to the Lord Jesus Christ becoming man for our salvation.
The Trinitarian is not claiming that the Trinity became man, or that
the Father or the Holy Spirit became flesh.
Similar, the Holy Bible also
uses the term God in different senses as we have already shown above
and as Nisar himself notes:
Second, Jesus became a member
of creation by partaking of human nature:
“Since therefore the children
share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same
nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power
of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear
of death were subject to lifelong bondage.” Hebrews 2:14-15
By becoming man, Jesus’ relationship
with the Father took on a new dimension since the Father now became
Jesus’ God. Since Jesus retains his human nature, the Father will forever
remain his God:
“For as the Father has
life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself,
and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the
Son of man.” John 5:26-27
Compare:
“But he, full of the Holy
Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing
at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.’” Acts
7:55-56
“‘The times of ignorance
God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because
he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness
by A MAN whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance
to all men by raising him from the dead.’ Now when they heard of
the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, ‘We will
hear you again about this.’ So Paul went out from among them.” Acts
17:30-32
“Then I turned to see the
voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
and in the midst of the lampstands
one like A SON OF MAN, clothed with a long robe and with a golden
girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool,
white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like
burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the
sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his
mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun
shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though
dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the
first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive
for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” Revelation
1:12-18
“Then I looked, and lo,
a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like A SON OF MAN,
with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And
another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him
who sat upon the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour
to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.’ So he
who sat upon the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth
was reaped.” Revelation 14:14-16
Other verses include:
“Brethren, I may say to
you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried,
and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one
of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection
of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades,
NOR DID HIS FLESH CORRUPTION. This Jesus God raised up, and of
that we all are witnesses.” Acts 2:29-32
“Brethren, sons of the
family of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us has been
sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem
and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand
the utterances of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled
these by condemning him. Though they could charge him with nothing deserving
death, yet they asked Pilate to have him killed. And when they had fulfilled
all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree,
and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for
many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to
Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring
you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has
fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is
written in the second psalm, ‘Thou art my Son, today I have begotten
thee.’ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, NO MORE
TO REUTRN TO CORRUPTION, he spoke in this way, ‘I will give you
the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another
psalm, ‘Thou wilt not let thy Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after
he had served the counsel of God in his own generation, fell asleep,
and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption;
but he whom God raised up SAW NO CORRUPTION.” Acts 13:26-37
“Thus it is written, ‘The
first man Adam became a living being’;
the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the
spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The
first man was from the earth, a man of dust;
THE SECOND MAN is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are
those who are of the dust; and as is
THE MAN of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we
have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear
the image of THE MAN of heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
“Indeed I count everything
as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them
as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not
having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that
I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and
may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible
I may attain the resurrection from the dead… But our commonwealth
is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will change our lowly body to be like HIS GLORIOUS BODY,
by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
Philippians 3:8-11, 20-21
“For there is one God,
and there is one mediator between God and men,
the MAN Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the
testimony to which was borne at the proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6
This concludes this part. Part
two follow shortly, Lord Jesus willing.
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