Does the Bible condone Rape?

In discussion the following assertion seems to always comes up when people want to object to the bible and morality it demands: The Bible Condones rape! It's usually made as if it is a fact and every educated person knows that it's true. It's usually made with an air of arrogance and pride as if it invites capitulation of everything Christians hold dear. It comes up so often I think it's a good idea to have a post of links to resources that explains why this is such a stupid statement. No need to reinvent the wheel - it's been refuted ad nauseum. Of course the Bible does not condone rape anymore than it condones adultery, slavery, lying, or stealing.

Third Millennium Ministries
http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/search/label/rape
atheism-essays-particular-to-rape

Atheism is Dead: The Most Anti-Religion Book Ever Published

This is a great  post! Mariano describes the most anti-religious book ever  published! I don't want to give it away. Here is a hint:

This “book” is actually a volume which consists of the thoughts of one conceiver and was penned by 40 authors. Thus, the volume actually consists of 66 books.

Atheism is Dead: The Most Anti-Religion Book Ever Published

Debunking "EvilBible.com": Murder in the Bible

Image via Wikipedia

 Here is a great post responding to ideas on EvilBible.com regarding to "murder" in the Bible. Consider the author of the material on EvilBible.com refuted - utterly!

Debunking "EvilBible.com": Murder in the Bible

Christian Apologetics - Life and Doctrine: Trinity : Is the Father Identified as God?

Mariano continues his series on the Trinity. In this installment, he summarize the scriptural passages that show the Father is named God throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Christian Apologetics - Life and Doctrine: Trinity : Is the Father Identified as God?

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: What Was the Donkey Doing in Its Master’s Crib?

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Dr. Claude Mariottini has posted a great article discussing Isaiah 1:3. It says

“The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand” (Isaiah 1:3 NRSV).

"The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand."(NIV)

The article discusses that fact that some translations like the NRSV makes it sound like Isaiah was saying that donkeys belong in a baby's crib. But clearly many translations including te NIV do not make the same translation mistake. I agree with Dr. Mariottni that it does seem like a translation mistake. I also think that the issue brought up that some people interpret the verse as being a prophecy of Jesus lying in a manger as a baby. I was aware of the fact that the tradition of baby Jesus, lying in a manger surrounded by farm animals is just that - a tradition. I didn't realize that there is a pseudo-gospel out there that teaches that outright. This article is great and worth reading!

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: What Was the Donkey Doing in Its Master’s Crib?

Bible Basics: Trinity

Recently, Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries went to England for about a week. While he was there he debated and interacted with a few prominent Islamic apologists. He represented us well, and more importantly he well-represented God. In one of his meeting he debated a Muslim apologist named Abdullah al-Andalusi on the radio in England. They discussed the doctrine of the Trinity. As an historically-orthodox Christian, Dr. White defended the teaching. He was kind enough to post a video of the interaction on YouTube:



I've got to point out that I did not like the Abdullah al-Andalusi's arguments at all. It boiled down to: I don't understand the Trinity, many "Christians" as well as Islam outright reject it, and therefore it can't be true. A weak argument. Dr. White argued from the scriptures. Abdullah failed to show why White's reasoning was wrong. No one understands the structure of the atomic nucleus, yet we know it truly exists. There is sound Biblical evidence for the believing the Trinity. Dr. White did a great job defending it and teaching it. All of the "best" arguments used against the Trinity raised by Muslims were brought to bear and defeated. It's important to remember that many of these arguments are used by Oneness Pentecostals, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and other groups. For these reasons, I posted this video.

Mainstreaming Homosexuality

I've got to admit that the world is changing. "Change" in and of itself is not necessarily bad. The thing is that we must realize that what society is being changed to is not necessarily right. Society does need to grow. But we do not need to "grow" away form God. I am grateful that as an African-American to now have the same rights as white Americans have on paper. My father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and his father did not have the same opportunities. Accepting and honoring racial differences honors God who made all as he saw fit. Accepting homosexuality as a normal expression of humanity is not glorifying God because He said that he has better than that for us. What happened was that this country moved towards following the Bible more than it has before concerning civil rights. No one can use the Bible accurately and honesty to substantiate chattel slavery, Jim Crow, racism, or sexism. The Bible is clear, He hates all of this. He hates homophobia. It all comes down to the fact that God hates sin. As Christians we are called to hate sin, but like God love sinners. A saint is only a forgiven sinner. No sin, including homosexuality, is worse or better than any other sin. God hates all of it; lying is every bit as bad as homosexuality. Galatians 5:19-21

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What is disturbing to me is that sins are being mainstreamed and touted as progress to bettering society. Every generation seems to loose a little bit more fear and respect of our creator. When I was a child, I used to watch "Bewitched" on television and she said that when she was a child witchcraft was rejected by society but now its okay to be a witch. Society recognizes it as a legitimate and protected religion: Wicca. But that is not what the Bible says. It says that He hates witchcraft not that he hates witches. Deuteronomy 18:10 says:

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft

We are seeing the same thing with homosexuality. Have you noticed how accepted it is now? How easy and open people are as they spit in the eye of God? Make no mistake whenever we sin and know that we are sinning we are showing God nothing but hate and contempt. Notice how many sitcoms have a gay character? I'm hearing the cable network Showtime has green lit a series about a gay superhero. I'm not bashing homosexuals themselves they need love and compassion. They need to know that there is a better way - God's way.

I know the arguments that many people use: How can you condemn people who do what they do because they are born that way? God has a standard that under which no one can reach perfectly. So what if you have homosexual tendencies that you can't control? Everyone lies. Without the power of God to help you, given the right circumstances anyone is liable to lie. God can't stand lying. Proverbs 6:16-18 says:

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,

Now you know that cuts every time you read that. In your heart of hearts you know that's an indictment against all of us. Who among us is not guilty whether you are a homosexual or not? Don't forget that this passage describes all of us from birth!

As you can see: The above is the bad news. The good news is that God loves us all so much that he has designed a way for use to have fellowship with him. 2 Peter 3:9 says

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

How God has fixed our sin problem is clearly spelled out in scripture because He loves us all. One of my favorite passages is found in Romans 10:9-13 which says:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Bible Basics: The Personhood of the Holy Spirit

I was sitting in Sunday School class this morning and the subject was talking about the church as a community. The subject was Growing Community from Acts 6:1-15. Verses 9 and 10 jumped up at me. Look at what I mean from the NIV:

Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

What jumped up at me was in verse 1o "the Spirit by whom he spoke" because it says that the Spirit is a "whom". Only objects that have person hood are referred to as a "whom" in English. I checked the KJV and the New American Standard Version and the way they are worded the point is obscured by the translation. I checked my Interlinear Greek text and found that it matched the New American Standard version the closest. Here is the New American Standard version:

But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

See how verse 10 conveys the same point that Stephen's wisdom and power came from the Holy Spirit. Since the New American Standard Version more closely matches the Interlinear Greek I think that maybe trying to convey the person hood of the Holy Spirit was not something that Luke was trying to convey in that verse. He does make the point elsewhere in the book of Acts so that the doctrine of the Trinity is not depended on Acts 6:10.

Bible Basics: Bible Translations

Pastor Hampton of Grace Bible Church from Alabama has video on GodTube in which talks about why the King James Translation (KJV) is the true translation everyone should use. I think that he is a sincere Christian who loves God and is living all he knows how. Unfortunately it is wrong to teach that the KJV is the ultimate translation and that people are wrong if they use a different translation. Translations are not divinely inspired. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. The New Testament was written in Greek. Because of textual variants and issues in translating these languages into English the only way to be sure exactly what the Bible, short of learning to read Greek and Hebrew (which are not the same today as they were then) says is to study multiple translations and really digging into the text. Pastor Hampton makes a lot of assertions. Here is his video. I will go through each of his assertions and compare the New International Version (NIV) with the KJV. On his church's website he has documented about 200 differences between modern translations and the KJV. I'm not going to cover all of them in this post, but I recommend reading The King James Only Controversy by James White if you want to dig into this. It is worth it.



The list of scriptures in blue are from the KJV and the NIV is in red.
Here is a list of assertions that were made in the video:

1. Assertion - Matthew 18:11 is left out of other Bibles but not the KJV.

The reason why newer translations do not have verse 11 is because it is not in the oldest manuscripts. The KJV was translated from the best manuscripts at the time. Remember that the KJV version was completed in 1611 AD and has undergone numerous revisions over the past 400 years.

2. Assertion - Mark 1:2,3 KJV says "prophets" and other translations say Isaiah when vs 2 is from Malachi and vs 3 is from Isaiah therefore proving that the newer translations are lying.

As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" — "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "

The thing about Mark1:2,3 is that when you look in the Greek text, it reads as the NIV translates it. Why? I have two ideas. Pick one. Either the NIV is basing its translation on an older manuscript than the KJV used or the text the KJV used was redacted by a well-meaning scribe at some point who knew that Mark 1:2 was quoting Malachi 3:1 and Mark 1:3 was quoting Isaiah 40:3. He may have thought that he was providing clarity. And from a modern western European mindset, the same mindset from which Pastor Hampton was speaking, it is a little more clearer to render the verse that way. However from a 1st Century mindset attributing the quotations to Isaiah would not have been seen as an error. When quoting from a group of prophets often Jews would attribute the quote to the "major" prophet. We still refer to Isaiah as a "major prophet" and Malachi as a "minor prophet" today. "Major" does not mean better or more important. It just means that his book was longer relatively speaking.

3. Assertion - Galatians 2:16 "faith of Jesus Christ" in KJV and "faith in Jesus Christ" in other versions.

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified

Pastor Hampton makes much a difference in the NIV rendering and the KJV rendering. According to him, how you understand this verse dictates whether or not you believe that you are saved by your faith or by Jesus' faith. According to my interlinear Greek text either rendering is correct. To Hampton "faith of Jesus Christ"means that we are saved by Jesus' faith. He is right we can't have it both ways we are either justified by our faith or by Jesus' faith. I think that he is misinterpreting the text. No where in all of scripture do we see Jesus needing or having faith. By definition of what faith is (Hebrews 11:1) why would Jesus need faith? Jesus is God incarnate (see my posts about Jesus and the trinity). We are justified by our faith in Christ. Which is not a work because God calls us to himself through Jesus. That is why we believe and have faith in Jesus. This isn't a small point. It's the crux of what the Gospel is and is not.

4. Assertion - Luke 2:33 has the KJV saying "Joseph and his mother" but other translations call Joseph Jesus' father.

And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

Again I think Pastor Hampton needs to look at the Greek text. It reads like the NIV. I think either rendering is fine and does nothing to mess up what we know about Jesus. The preponderance of scripture does show us that Joseph was not Jesus' biological father but Jesus did submit himself to Joseph's and Mary's authority as his parents just as we are supposed to do to our parents. Recall Luke 2:51 says

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

Who is the "them"? Joseph and Mary!!! Therefore there is no problem with how the NIV renders Luke 2:33 and besides if you look at the Greek text (the 21st Edition of Eberhard Nestle's Novum Testamentum Graece) you see it the way the NIV translates it.

Conclusion
Why I believe that Pastor Hampton is sincere and only has the best of intentions, I must disagree with the conclusions he draws in his video. The modern translations are in many ways superior to the King James Translation because they draw on older manuscripts and the older the manuscript the more accurate it should match the original text. The KJV is an awesome translation and it deserves recognition as one of the finest English translations ever. All translations have mistakes because people make mistakes. The original texts are infallible, God-breathed truths - inspired by God. 2 Peter 1:16-21 says

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

These words cannot be used to describe translations. This is why I read and compare many different English translations including the KJV.

Bible Basics Trinity - Part 2 Redux

I know. I know. Yes, the Trinity again. Remember I promised to interact with the website links that Ronald provided in his comments on my post called:

Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2a Bible Foundations

I am amazed about the posts he cited. I will respond in the following order:
John 1:1,2 - The Word is Mighty found at:
http://notrinity.blogspot.com/2008/08/john-112-word-was-mighty.html
The author of the article asserts that John 1:1,2 does not call Jesus God. The author says that Jesus is mighty. What? Let me quote some of his argument:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God [TON THEON], and the Word was God [THEOS]. The same was in the beginning with God [TON THEON]. -- John 1:1,2, World English - transliterations from the Westcott & Hort Interlinear.

The author says that because "Ton Theon" is refering to God the Father and "THEOS" is refering to the Word - the LOGOS. These not the same words , that Jesus is being referred to as "God" in the way that human judges and leader were called "gods" in the Old Testament. The writer tries to dispel the orthodox interpretation of John 1:1-2 by stating that just because there is one God, does not mean that John is saying that either Jesus is the one true God or a false god. It is then asserted that the following verses from the Old Testament are examples were forms of "EL" and "ELOHIM" in Hebrew mean "strength, power, might, rulership, ect.": Genesis 23:6 (mighty); Genesis 30:8 (mighty); Genesis 31:29 (power); Deuteronomy 28:32 (might); 1 Samuel 14:15 (great); Nehemiah 5:5 (power); Psalm 8:5 (angels); Psalm 36:6 (great); Psalm 82:1 (mighty); Proverbs 3:27 (power); Psalm 29:1 (mighty); Ezekiel 32:21 (strong); Jonah 3:3 (exceeding). Because "ELOHIM" is translated as "THEOI" the plural of "THEOS" in John 10:34 when Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6-7 and that ELOHIM sometimes means mighty in the Old Testament, the author concludes that John 1:1,2 should read "the Word was mighty".

Let us examine the argument further. The laundry list of scriptures used to show that variants of Hebrew words related to the Hebrew words for God being applied to men cannot be applied to the times Jesus is referred to as God, because no man other than Jesus has ever had the divine name applied to Himself of claimed for by Him. I have never found any case where the Divine name YHWH was applied to anyone but Jesus and God the Father in all of scripture.

Revelations 22:13 from the Son of Yahweh blog can be found at:
http://sonofyah.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/ao-03/
In order to get out of saying that Jesus is God and worshipped as God, the author argues that Revelations 22:7,12-15 is not Jesus talking but the angel that was talking to John. I would love to see what version of the Bible and what printing the author used. Every King James Version and any Bible that has Christ's words in red letters have these verses in red. Why? Traditionally this has been interpreted to be Jesus' words. The NIV reads very differently. I find nothing compelling to say that the angel was speaking and and quoting anyone else. The evidence points to that John was hearing Jesus with his own ears. Here is the NIV translation of Revelations 22:6-16:

The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place." "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

To be fair...how do we know that what I have said Jesus said was him and not the angel as the author asserts? Here is one reason: Why assume that the angel is quoting someone else. He nor any angel or man other than Jesus Christ is qualified to say most if not all of the verses I maintain is Jesus talking not the Angel. And second, no man has seen the Father at any time. This has to include John himself so it wasn't the Father talking to John. We know that Jesus is not included in the statement because the Bible says that Jesus has made the Father known to us and reveals the Father.
Here is another point: verse 16 said that He sent the angel to John. The angel told John in verse 6 that "The Lord" sent the angel. "The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets" is what the verse says. If they are both true. Then Jesus is "The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets".

The First and the Last by Ronald Day can be found at:
http://reslight.net/forum/index.php?topic=193.0
Ronald Day's post is to try to argue against paralleling Revelations 1:17,18 with Isaiah 44:6. The bulk of his argument seems to center on using the fact that Jesus died and then was resurrected means that He is not God because God is eternal, always existed, and will never ever cease to exist. Who said Jesus ever ceased to exist? John 1:1,2 says Jesus has always existed - pre-incarnation. John 1:14 says "The Word (LOGOS) became flesh" remember? No where does the Bible says Jesus came into or out of existence. We do not think of death as ceasing to exists when we think of each other from a Christian worldview, why would "death" mean ceasing to exist when we talk about Jesus' death on the cross. Instead of ceasing to exist, Jesus merely separated from His body and 3 days later Jesus was resurrected in the same kind of glorified body that He has promised to us on his return.

Bible Basics - The Trinity Part 4: Bibliography

Here are some videos that I would recommend for understanding the doctrine of the Trinity.

"Is Jesus Christ God" A debate between James White




Trinity vs Oneness Debate on GodTube

It's in 27 parts and here is the first part

Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 3 Conclusion

Here is the conclusion of the posts on the Trinity. In the previous posts I have attempted to prove that Bible teaches the following:

A. The Father is God.
B. The Son, Jesus of Nazareth - the Christ, is God.
C. The Holy Spirit is God.
D. There is only one God.

The Doctrine of the Trinity is as attempt to systematize Biblical teaching - to help understand what the facts above mean. The Trinity doctrine says that God 3 persons in a single being. In English and Western thought, we don't make too much of a distinction between "being": and "person" but they are very different. I went through this in my first post on the Trinity. God is one "what" - one being and three "whos" or three persons. We tend to think of one being is one person. That is most certainly how we exist. This is where the confusion come in. Some people think that Trinitarians are not being honest when we claim monotheism.

Trinitarian detractors contend that 1 +1 + 1 cannot equal 1. I agree. One person plus another person plus another person cannot equal one person. They are claiming that we are saying that God is a "triplex" or a Triumverate, but that is not what we mean when we say God is "Triune". Mathematically we are asserting: one person (the Father) + one person (the Son, Jesus) + one person (the Holy Spirit) equals one being (the God of the Bible). The earlier equation where all three persons are equal to a single person mixes categories and misrepresents what the Bible teaches. Each of the three shares the same essence of the one being.

The Bible teaches us that God is Love. 1 John 4:17 says

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

By definition, love means nothing without relationship. It has to have an object to act on. There are some who teach that God made humanity because He needed to people to love. This contradicts all the scriptures that tells us that God does not need anything or anyone. Blasphemous idea that God needs us. He doesn't. He is complete in and of himself. The very name God used to identify himself to Moses means the He sustains himself with himself. We also know that God is eternal and has always exist. At one point there was no Angels and no universe. A void except for God. Was God still love then with no one to love? God never changes so He must have been love then too. So How with no one to love? The Old Testament has no answer for this, but Jesus revealed the answer: In the godhead, Father, son, and Holy Spirit co-equal and eternal - loving one another.

John 5: 20 says

For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

John 14:30 -31 says

I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
"Come now; let us leave.

Here are two scriptures that talk about God's immutability. Malachi 3:6 says

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Hebrews 13:8 says

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

If Jesus never changes in essence and character, He must be God, because humans do and we hope to improve. He doesn't need to improve his essence or character.

One last point: sometimes the Trinity is referred to as the "Godhead". In the King James, there are 3 times where the word is used.

Acts 17:29 (KJV) says

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

The NIV renders it thus

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.

"Godhead" means "divine being". Let us look at Romans 1:20 (KJV)

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The NIV renders the same verse as :

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

In Romans 1:20 "Godhead" is referring to divine nature. And now back to Colossians 2:9 which the KJV renders as

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

While the NIV reads as

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

So we can see that "Godhead" merely refers to God's deity, nature, and being. In other words it is that shared essence among the persons of the Trinity. The one being is God.

I know what you might be asking now. What about all the scriptures about Jesus not knowing the day and the hour of his return? How can he be God and not know? What about when Jesus prayed...did He pray to himself? If, not how does that work? Three words: I don't know. The Bible does not tells us that part or answer the mechanics of Jesus' incarnation. It only says that is what happened and if you die in your sins you will go to hell. Deuteronomy 29:29 says

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

I realize that these ideas have been misexplained and glossed over so many times its no wonder folks think that we Christians believe in three Gods and we have just deluded ourselves into denial. Due to misunderstanding some think that we think God looks like the picture to the right. I blame us for not being clear in our explanation and making it a much bigger issue than what is really important. Without trusting in Jesus for the remission of our sins, you, me, and everyone will have to bear the full weight and penalty for those sins for eternity. Or we can trust in Jesus and have our sins paid for by his redeeming act on the cross. He bought us. The question is do you want Jesus to pick up the tab or do you want to pick up the tab? I'm glad He paid my bill.

Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2b Bible Foundations

Let us continue to look at more scriptures concerning Jesus' claim to be God by looking at the fact that other folks in the beginning of the Church knew Jesus was God.
Both the Old Testament and New Testament both teach that no one is worthy of worship but God. For example Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13 in Luke 4:8

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

Showing that Jesus clearly did not teach that anyone could be worshipped but God. Why did he not correct Thomas in John 20:28? John 20:28 says:

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus did not correct him. I've heard some people say that in English the verse is mispunctuated. The it should be like "Oh My God, My Lord!" There are two problems with this. One, no way can you get that out of the Greek grammar and two as a Jew Thomas would not have been taking God's name as an explicative now matter how surprised he was.

Look at Hebrews 1:6 as another example:

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."

See the point? If Jesus is not God then why do we see him being worshipped? Answer: The Bible teaches that Jesus is God.
I would like to look at a few more scriptures dealing with who Jesus is. I love Philippians 2:5-11 because it encapsulates the early church's understanding of Jesus so simply.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I prefer the NIV and more modern translations than the King James rendering. The KJV says "Let this mind be in you..." which hides what the Greek is definitely saying for modern readers. Paul is admonishing us to be of a humble attitude like Jesus was. Then we are told the kind of humility Jesus exhibited for us. He was God and voluntarily entered into a human body to serve those whom he created. Considering the heights from which Christ condescended to serve humanity shouldn't be willing to lay aside ego and pride and serve each other in love.

I would be remiss not to mention John 14:8-21. I want to look at what Jesus said:

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Jesus emphatically tells us that seeing Him is as good as seeing the Father. He does not assert that He is the Father. No the Father and The Son are distinct but both are still God. John 12:12-14 is a great text that shows a glimpse of the Son's Relationship with the Father.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

Jesus and the Father are 2 distinct witnesses to who Jesus is and why He came. Each a distinct person. Not one.

Here are some other scriptures that should be considered when discussing this about Jesus' deity. John 1:1-5 says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

"The Word" is the Greek word LOGOS. It means the "eternal expression of the divine intelligence" (Goodrick-Kohlenberger number 3364). Some people have tried to take this idea as meaning that it's not talking about a person. The problem is John emphatically writes that the Word is God and is called a Him.

John 1:14 says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He says that God dwelt among men in the person of Christ.

John 1:18 says:

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

How can John write about no one seeing "God but God the One and Only" made him known? We must accept John's language whether we understand it or not. He is saying that no one has seen God, but God (the Word) has made him known. Unless you want to argue that the Word is not Jesus Christ what other conclusion can you draw other than Jesus is God.

Colossians 1:15-20 says:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

How can all things be made by him and for him and all things be held together by him unless he is eternal and is God? Most people agree that this passage is about Jesus. Jesus held the fullness of all that God is in him. This makes Jesus as more than just an exalted human being. It says that Jesus is God.

John 12:39-41 says

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
"He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them." Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

John 12:39-41 refers to Isaiah 6:1-4:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

John is saying that when Isaiah says He "saw" God, he was referring to Christ!

Let us turn to what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. We can see that it says that Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or energy field without consciousness or thought. Look at Acts 5:3,4 which says:

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

Examine what Peter said. First he said Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. You can't lie to a force, you can only lie to a person. Second, Ananias lied to God not just to men. The Holy Spirit is equated to God. Let's get another example: Acts 13:1-3 says

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

I'm sure you can see that it says that the Holy Spirit spoke. He said He had a plan for Barnabas and Paul. A force cannot have plans or have desires.

Let me sum up what I am saying so far. The Bible says the Father is God. The Bible says the Son is God. The Bible Says the Holy Spirit is God. Here is the next part. The Bible Says there is one God. Here are 2 Scriptures that say that there is only one God. Isaiah 43:10 says:

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 45:22 says:

"Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.

Are there any scriptures in the Bible that talk about the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit? Yes. Look at Matthew 28:19 which says:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matt 3:16,17 says

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Therefore if the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God; and there is only One God then the Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity.

Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2a Bible Foundations

So how do we go about showing that the Trinity doctrine comes from Scripture? Well, I wish I could say that this method was revealed to me from high, but I heard this line of reasoning from Dr. Walter Martin when he was addressing how to witness to Jehovah Witnesses when they deny the Trinity. I find that his presentation should work for any discussion of the subject.

Dr. Martin started with premise that if you can prove that the Bible teaches all of the following:
There are 3 persons identified in scripture -
Father is called "GOD";
the Son is called "GOD";
the Holy Spirit is called "GOD";
and there is only one God;

Then you have to accept the doctrine of the Trinity in order to be consistent with the Bible.
Then each person of the Trinity must Equal and are God. Logically, things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.
Therefore if the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God, then they must be equal to one another.

Let us take on further discussion step by step. All Christians agree that God is personal and the Father is God. 2 Peter 1:17 clearly states that the Father is called God.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

I'll leave this point because I think that very few people will argue with it. To show the concept that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit is God will require much more Biblical Proof.

Jesus applied the Divine name to himself. I realize that there are people who deny this. If you do not accept that Jesus is God, please consider the implications of if He really did teach that he is God. If any man makes such a claim, there are only 4 possible conclusions that you draw. Either He was:
a. deceived;
b. insane;
c. wrong;
or d. telling the truth.

Let's look at the scriptures to talk about what Jesus said about himself and what the scriptures say about Him. A favorite texts where Jesus emphatically claims the divine name is found in John 8:58,59 which says:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Without looking at the cultural context of the people who heard Jesus say this it is impossible to understand why they reacted so violently. They wanted to kill Him! Why? They understood what He was saying and it's lost on us in English. However Greek helps a lot. We have to go back to what God said to Moses back in Exodus 3:13,14:

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

The Greek Translation of the Old Testaments, the Septuagint - completed over a century before Jesus' birth through Mary, translated the Hebrew word for "I AM", YWH (Yaweh or Jehovah) with the same word Jesus used in John 8:58: Eimi. The Jews who wanted to kill Jesus understood that Jesus was asserting his eternality and calling himself the same name as the God who brought them up out of Egypt under Moses. His meaning was not lost upon them. Why should we set it aside today?

Let's go to John 10: 24-39. The Passage is as follows:

The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^] no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

Here we again have an example of Jesus saying something that no other human being can say. And again the Jews undrerstood the weight of the words. They understood Jesus claimed to ber God because He claimed to be one with Father. I've heard some folks try to use verses 34, 35, and 36 to say that Jesus denied being equal with God but instead only claimed to be God's Son. This explanation pre-supposes that God's Son has a fundamentally different essence than God himself and I think that we can't say that. The scripture won't hold.

Let's examine some more scriptures. Revelations 1:8 says:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

We can definitely say that God is exactly what verse 8 says. It is God the Father talking. Most People will agree that Revelation 1:17 18 is Jesus talking. Red letter Bible have his words in Red.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

We have Jesus calling himself "First and Last". Sounds like God to me. Look at Revelations 22: 12, 13 which says:

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Jesus refers to himself in the same way God does in Revelation 1. So either we have a contradiction or Jesus is God. and the Holy Spirit is God.

Let's throw in some Old Testament texts from Isaiah. Isaiah 44:6 says

This is what the LORD says—

"Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God."

Whis is echoed in Revelation. This shows that God the Father and God the Son are sharing the same name.

Recall that in Isaiah 9: 6-7, Jesus is prophesied to being called "Everlasting Father".and "Mighty God".

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

If all these names apply to Jesus, then no other conclusion can be drawn other than Jesus is just as much God as the Father.

Wow....I just get on a roll and keep typing. I need to break this post up too. So that it won't be too long. In Part 2b I will continue going over scripture.

Biblical Basics - Trinity: A Positive Presentation Part 1 Introduction

Well here is the post I have been promising concerning the Trinity. This post is intended to be a positive presentation concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. I will do a separate post responding to the comments of Adam Pastor who graciously commented on my posts concerning Jesus' humanity and deity and the "Redux". In a forthcoming post I will respond to the movie that he suggests the people watch, called the Human Jesus. I want to be very clear that while I believe that what a person believes about the "Trinity" is important, it is not a "make it" or "break it" issue. There are some people who believe the doctrine but are not going to make it to heaven. There are some people who do not believe the doctrine will be going to heaven and vice versa. The difference as to whether you go to heaven or hell is not dependent on if you believe the Trinity or not. Your eternal destiny only depends on your belief that Jesus paid for your sins through his death on the cross and justified you before God through his resurrection.

So why discuss the Trinity? What you believe about the nature of God is important. Loving God means wanting to know Him as He has revealed himself. It's kind of like riding a bike and never taking it out of the first gear. I'd like to know as much about God as I can. I know that I don't have it all down at all, so this post is just a way systematize what I have learned so far.

I would state the "Trinity Doctrine" as follows: There is only one GOD - one supreme, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, eternal, sovereign, merciful, loving, and just being; who exists and relates to humanity in three distinct, co-equal, and eternal persons; sharing the same essence and being. Those three persons are The Father, The Son - Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. How does this work? How do they relate to one another? How can 3 distinct persons share the same being? Let me be upfront and honest: I don't know. I have no clue, but this is what the Biblical evidence points to. I can find no other conclusion.

I do know that what confused me most of my life concerning the Trinity is confusing the concepts of "being" and "person". Western culture, by and large, treats these concepts as equal. I know I never saw a difference for most of my life but there is a difference. "Being" speaks to ontological essence and "person" refers to relationship. Considering "being" means asking "what" something is. Considering "personhood" means asking "who" someone is. "Being" and "person" cannot be the same thing. They are not synonyms. If I walked up to you and asked "What are you?" And then another person walked up to you and asked "Who are you?" Would you give the same answer to both questions? I doubt it. What I am is a human being - a man. If you are reading this you are obviously (barring the existence of extra-terresterial life) also human being. Don't you think that explaining who you are is a bit more complicated? Why would we think that who God is would require a simple explanation that our finite human minds can fully grasp when it is difficult for us to understand who and what we are let alone a fellow human being.

This misconception is the reason why Trinitarians are accused to be polytheistic (belief in multiple gods) not monotheistic (belief in one God). It does not help that some early "Christian" art depicts 3 men on 3 thrones or a man with three faces when trying to depict God. It adds to the confusion. I see why God told us not make any images of him because we cannot visualize what God is.

This is going to be a long post so I am going to break it up . The next part I will use Dr Walter Martin's logic to explain how the Trinity is scriptural. I want to take the method taken by the late Dr. Walter Martin on how to show that the Bible teaches the Trinity. Then I want to finish the posts by expounding on a few texts that I had not discussed up to that point. At the end of this article I want to also provide a bibliography.

Biblical Basics - The Deity of Christ - Redux

This post is a follow up to my posts on Jesus' Humanity and Deity and a response to the comments made by Adam Pastor. Brother Pastor agrees with me and all Christians that Jesus is the only way to salvation and that He is the one through whom we are saved when we put our faith in Him. He disagreed with me on my statements on Jesus' deity. So I will restrict my post to only consider his comments against the deity of Jesus Christ.

Brother Pastor wrote:

Jesus Christ isn't just any man;
he is GOD's only-begotten Son, who died for our sins, who was raised by Almighty GOD;
the man whom Almighty GOD made both Lord & Christ, and set him at His own right hand;
making Jesus of Nazareth,
the most exalted human being,
second only to GOD Himself!
[Acts 2.32-36]

Let's look at what Acts 2:32-36 says. Keep in mind that this is part of Peter's first sermon on the day of Pentecost.

"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

I agree that Peter is not denying Jesus' humanity and he is saying that Jesus is glorified and that he is better than David. It's interesting to me that Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 and said that David was a prophet (verse 30). Why is this important? Jesus used this very same scripture to establish his identity. In Luke 20:41-44 Jesus says:

Then Jesus said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"

Jesus used this to show the people who he is. If you deny that Jesus claim to be God, then you have to explain How the messiah can be David's son and David's Lord at the same time. Think of it this way if you look at two "Lords" in Psalm 110:1 they are not the same words. In Hebrew it reads "Yahweh said to my 'adown". "Yahweh" also known as "Jehovah" is the proper name of God. It is the name that God identified himself to Moses. "'Adown" means "lord" or "master". The New Testament quotations of these verse use the Septuagint translations. In that translation the same word is used for "Lord". The word is "Kurios". It was considered a title given to God and to the Messiah.

Brother Pastor also said:

And nowhere does Jesus ever claim to be Almighty GOD!
No rather, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living GOD

Yet Brother Pastor never gave any response to the verse I raised that show that Jesus did claim to be God such as John 8:48-59.

Brother Pastor further wrote:

Hence, yet another proof that Jesus cannot possibly be Almighty GOD;
because GOD ALMIGHTY CANNOT DIE!!

This struck me because it is the same line of argument that Muslims use against Christians. The best way to argue is to use the same argument you would use against a Muslim making the same assertion. One of the best scholars that I have ever heard deal with this issue is James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. Please view the following clips of him responding to Ahmed Deedat.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


I agree with Brother Pastor on his point that Paul taught that there is only one God. So did the apostle John. I would have liked him to respond to my raising of Colossians 1:15,16. It says:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Paul taught that was pre-existed everything. That He created everything. I'll cover how the Bible could say the Father is God and Jesus is God and yet there be only one God when I cover the Trinity in a separate post. At this point, I just want to establish that the Bible declares Jesus' deity.

Another assertion that Brother Pastor made was when he wrote:

John, a monotheistic Jew does not present Jesus as "God" in his Gospel at all.
Not only does he call Jesus "a man" more than the other Gospel writers; John must be allowed to state exactly why he wrote his Gospel, which he indeed does:
(John 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

No argument that John is being correctly presented, but He does also talk about Jesus' deity. How would Brother Pastor explain John 1:1-5:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

We know John was talking about Jesus and calls him the Word - the LOGOS. And the LOGOS was God and through him all things were made. Paul said the same thing. And what about Philippians 2:6:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

Paul said that Jesus was in nature God and that He was equal with God. What else can we do with this scripture along with all the other scriptures that teach about his humanity but conclude that Jesus is both God and man.

As for the Film Brother Pastor suggested I watch I could not get it to play. I think that there is something wrong with the file but I will try again later. One last scripture I want to discuss in this post was also brought up by Brother Pastor 1st Corinthians 8:4 and 6. Verses 4-6 state:

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Nowhere in this text does it say that Jesus is not God. It's a parallel construction describing God as the Father and Jesus. As I understand Greek grammar I am convinced that the verse s are making a comparison to our God verses the idols and false gods of the world. There is one God. The Father "from whom all things came and for whom we live", Jesus "through whom all things came and through whom we live", and the Holy Spirit by whom all things came and by whom we live. The Holy Spirit keeps us.

Biblical Basis - Jesus' Humanity

One of the most important doctrines of Christianity is the fact that Jesus has duel natures. He is 100% man and 100% God. Again, like in the post about Jesus' deity, I will not discuss the Trinity in this post but next week. I'm also skipping the question of Jesus' race. The truth is the color of his skin, while an interesting discussion, has no bearing on a person's identity in a first century context, which is the time Jesus was on earth. It has no bearing on his identity as the Savior of this, his creation.

Instead, I'd like to discuss what the Bible says about Jesus' humanity. One of the gripes some people express about the Gospels is that they do not emphasize the same things. They do not tell all the same stories and when the stories parallel they contain varying degrees of detail and aimed at different audiences. Some folks even try to use these differences to say that the Gospels conflict with one another. I disagree. I can find no contradiction and no conflict. It's important to recognize that each of the four Gospels emphasizes different aspects of Jesus. Matthew was written to Jews and emphasis his kingship and messiah status, focusing on how He fulfills Old Testament prophecies. You can see much about Jewish culture. Mark was written to the Romans and more action oriented. It moves at a more rapid pace and covers nothing of his background before his public ministry and talks more about His deeds. Mark emphasizes Jesus' identity as a Servant. Luke was written to the Greeks. It reads more like what we think of today when we talk about biographies. We see Jesus as a baby, at age 12, and during his public ministry. Luke emphasizes Jesus' humanity. He really was born and had many of the same experiences that we all have to face. In John's Gospel we see Jesus as God. No other Gospel is more blatant on that point. You will notice the John's Gospel contains some of the strongest languages on that point.

Turning attention to Jesus' claim to be fully human, it's important to recognize that his humanity is fundamentally different than ours. Jesus had no taint of sin that permeates the rest of us. He is what God had intended us to be. It is through Jesus and only through Jesus that our humanity can be purely and truly expressed. He always did the right thing and never ever sin. None of the rest of us can say the same thing. Jesus is the second Adam. Paul wrote in Romans 5: 12-19

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobediencee of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

It was only as a man that we could be redeemed from sin and death because it was by a man that we all feel into slavery. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul also wrote:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We see that Paul taught that Jesus is God and voluntarily became a man and then died for us in humble obedience to save us all. It is important to embrace all things that the Bible teaches about Jesus. A whole book could be written about the Humanity of Christ but I will make one last point based on Hebrews 10:1-10 which says:

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' " First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The entire book of Hebrews is apologetic in nature - it brilliantly defends the faith in light of Judaism. By Chapter 10 the author explains why Jesus' sacrifice was necessary and uses a couple of scriptures from the Old Testament to show the Jesus really did have a human body - a life to be laid down only to be picked back up again. The scriptures quoted were Psalm 40: 6-8 in verse 7. The author makes the point that Christ's incarnation is nothing strange to Judaism. Jesus fulfilled this and many other scriptures from the Old Testament and those that are yet to be fulfilled He will fulfill in His second advent.