"I Share My Glory with No Other" - - "See, Jesus is God". What?
God: “I am Yahweh, that is my name my glory I give to no other”
Deity
of Christ Believer: “See! Jesus is God”
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Isaiah
42:8 (cf. 48:11) I am YHVH (Yahweh, Yehovah), that is my name; my glory (cavod,
כָבוֹד) I give to no other,
nor my praise to graven images.
Deity
of Christ theologians claim that since Jesus has (God’s) glory, or was given
glory by God, he must be God, because God doesn’t give His glory to anyone
else.
That
claim is a philosophical, rationalistic kind of claim that no one in the Bible
makes. It’s kind of an end around claim that runs into dead ends. For instance, if Jesus is God, why did God
have to give him glory? Can God lose his glory and than someone else who is God
give it back to him.
This
kind of claim really reveals a certain kind of biblical ignorance, or a willing
ignorance. It’s the kind of claim that reveals a desperate search for some
evidence to make Christ into God. It’s contrived “evidence”. Again, no one in the New Testament declares:
“God says he gives his glory to no other. Jesus is God because he has glory.”
To
understand what Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11 are really saying, all we have to do is
look a bit at the context of the statements.
There are two parts to that context that shows that deity of Christ claims
about these passages completely miss the point.
The statement
in Isaiah 42:8 “I give my glory to no other” are in the context of Israel’s
idolatry.
1. God DOES NOT give His glory AS GOD to anyone
else. Specifically, God does not share His glory with other gods or idols.
God will not allow Israel to believe that someone or something else is their god.
God warned: “I the LORD your God am a jealous God” (Exo 20:5).
2. God DOES give glory to others the nation of Israel,
not to show that these others are God, but to show that the God who gives the
glory is their God, the only God.
Deity
of Christ interpreters totally miss the meaning of these passages in the Book
of Isaiah.
1.
God does not give His glory as God to any other gods or idols.
The context
of Isaiah 42:8 (and 48:11) is idolatry. Yahweh doesn’t give נתן (share) his glory as
God with any other supposed idol or god. The glory in Isaiah 42:8 is
specifically “my glory”, Yahweh’s glory as God – God isn’t going to give
glory to some Podunk idol that Israel thinks can help them.
Most
deity of Christ proponents who quote Isaiah 42:8 to claim the verse as a “deity
of Christ” proof text probably can’t quote the last part of the verse. And this
is Hebrew parallelism, with the same truth being stated twice:
“I am
the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other….” Now what is the rest
of the verse? “…nor my praise to
graven images.”
This is
the point. Israel thought some other idol or made up god could take some credit
for what happened to Israel or what would happen to Israel (restoration). “Nope”,
says God, “I’m not going to allow that.”
Look at
all this context which shows that Isaiah 42:8 is about the God of Israel not
allowing what he has done with Israel to be attributed to any idol. No idol
get’s the glory for working in the through Israel. Note the context of Yahweh
verses idols in these passages, and of Yahweh’s claim upon Israel as their only
God.
Isaiah
42:5-9
43:1,
6-7, 12-13, 15, 25
44:6-8,
24
45:5,
14b, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22
46:9
48:9-11
49:3
Note the
personal pronoun, “I” throughout these passages. Not “we do not give our glory
to another.” The speaker is one singular self, which alone should debunk the
Trinitarian claim. If God were mult-persons, he should have said, “We are
Yahweh, that is Our name; We will not give Our glory to another.” (Isaiah 42:8)
YHVH
does not give His glory to idols. Israel belongs to God. Israel was created for
God’s glory. God forgives Israel’s sin. There is no God but YHVH. He created
everything by Himself. There is no God but Him. He has no peer. God is with
Israel. There is no other God but Him. Anyone who trusts in an idol will be
ashamed. He is the true God who form the earth. Those who pray to idols pray to
a god who cannot save. There is no God but Him (are we getting the point?). He
is God, there is no other. “I am God, there is not other”. “I am God, and there
is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.”
The
Father (Isa. 43:6, Exo. 4:22, Deut. 32:6, Hos. 11:1) does not give His glory as
God to a triune god, which is an idol. A triune god did nothing in creating
the heavens and the earth. A triune God did nothing to create and redeem Israel.
In the
Bible to “give glory” is often an idiom for giving recognition where
recognition is due. This is why God won’t give glory to idols in His work of
creation or with Israel.
2.
God does give glory to others, particularly to the nation of Israel and to the
Messiah who represents Israel, but also to other human beings.
Psalm
84:11, “LORD gives (נתן)
grace and glory כָבוֹד;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
John 17:22, “The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one.”
So, there
are places in Scripture that state that Yahweh/God does give glory
to others. Deity of Christ interpreters seem to be ignorant of these Scriptures
when they make there philosophical “I give my glory to no other, Jesus is God”
claim. And often the glory God gives is the same word for glory, cavod כָבוֹד
that Isaiah 42:8 says Yahweh doesn’t give to others (in the Greek text, the
word is pretty much always the same, δόξα).
How can
that be? Yahweh does not give his glory to others, but Yahweh does
give glory to others?
The
answer is not difficult. The glory that Israel, Jesus the Messiah and other
human beings receive from Yahweh is not evidence that they are God; but like
for the nation of Israel, it is a glory received from God that is fitting for
them, and is evidence that their God is God.
Their glory, the glory given to them, glorifies the one God who gives
them glory.
God
Gives Glory to Israel
In
these same chapters of Isaiah, God says that He gives glory uniquely to Israel.
He does not give glory to any other nation (“to no other”) as he
gives glory to Israel (Isaiah 48:11 could be understood that way, see
Trinity Delusion link below).
Yahweh
gives glory to Israel, so that both Israel and other nations can and will know
that Yahweh is God.
In
fact, the Scriptures declare both that God’s glory will be seen upon
Israel (Isa. 60:2), and that Israel is God's glory (46:13). Israel
was created for God's glory and to be God's glory.
Israel has glory because God gave the glory to Israel. This doesn’t make
Israel “God” because God gave Israel glory. The glory is not Israel’s
“innately”. The glory was given to Israel by God and Israel was made God’s
glory because of God’s goodness and as testimony that Israel’s God is God.
Isaiah
43:1-7, “But now, thus says Yahweh, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed
you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by name; you are Mine!... everyone who is called by My name,
and whom I have created for My gloryכְבוֹדִי , whom I have formed,
whom I have made."
Isaiah
44:23, “For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in
Israel.
Isaiah 49:3, “You are my servant, Israel, in
whom I will be glorified.”
Isaiah 46:13, “I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel My
glory תִּפְאַרְתִּֽיδόξασμα
Isaiah
55:5, “Behold, you shall summon nations that you know not, and nations that
knew you not shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy
One of Israel, for He has glorified you” (פאר, in Greek, glorified δοξάζω)
Isaiah 60:1,19, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory כָבוֹד of the LORD has risen upon you.... No longer
will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give
you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your
God for your glory.”
לְתִפְאַרְתֵּֽךְ
Isaiah 60:2 “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his
glory וּכְבוֹד֖וֹ will be seen upon you.”
Isaiah 62:2, “The nations shall see your vindication, and
all the kings your glory כְּבוֹדֵ֑ך; and you shall be
called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.”
Besides
ignorance, there is a kind of sublime antisemitism in the claim, “God does not
give his glory to others”. The adversary does not want to acknowledge that God
gives glory to Israel. God’s glory is seen upon Israel.
God
gives Glory to others
To
Nebuchadnezzar: Dan. 2:37 (7:14), “Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The
God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory.” Aramaic, יקָרָ֖א
Romans
5:2, “Through him (Messiah Jesus) we have obtained access to this grace in
which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” The verse
is
As a
representative of Israel, God gives glory to the Messiah.
Matt.
6:29, The Queen of Sheba acknowledged all the weath and wisdom that YHVH had
given to Solomon, yet “even Solomon (Anointed/Christ) in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.”
The Messiah Jesus was given glory by God, and Jesus gave the same glory to others.
John 17:22, “The glory which you have
given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are
one.”
John
17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me
where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me
before the foundation of the world.”
1 Peter
1:21, “Through him (Jesus) you now trust in God, who raised him from the
dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
Like
with Israel whom the King Messiah is part of and who represents Israel, the
glory that God gives to the Messiah is evidence that Messiah’s God is God. God
formed and worked through the Messiah. No idol can take credit for God’s work
through the Messiah. The Messiah is God’s.
Matt.
16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come in his glory of his Father
with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they
have done.”
Hebrews
1:3, “He (the Son) is the reflection/radiance of God's glory…” Like Israel, God’s firstborn son, reflects
the glory of God. The glory of God is seen on him.
The
glory that Jesus has is given to him; Jesus received the glory from
God. Jesus said over and over again that the glory, power, authority he has was
given to him by God. Deity of Christ interpreters have both ignored and misconstrued
the Scriptures. God gave to Jesus glory not to prove that Jesus is God. Rather,
the reason that Jesus was given glory is the same reason Israel was given God’s
glory. To display that Yahweh their God is God, the only God. No idol deserves
credit for who the Messiah is.
Probably
my favorite verse about God giving glory to others is Psalm 8:4-6, which is
quoted in Hebrews 2, because it shows God’s plan and purpose for all human
beings through the Messiah Jesus.
Psalm 8:4-6 What
is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for
him? 5 Yet you have made him a little
less than God, and have crowned him with glory כָבוֹד and honor הָדָר. 6 You have given him dominion over the works
of thy hands; you have put all things under his feet.”
Psalm 8 is quoted in Hebrews 2:4-5 to
describe the glory that God gives to human beings, epitomized by the glory that
God gave to Jesus the Messiah. God has given glory to the human being, the Messiah
Jesus, and put Jesus at His right hand, above the angels.
Like with Israel, the Adversary doesn’t want
to acknowledge that God has given such glory to a man.
To Conclude: Enough with these philosophical deity of Christ claims that no one in the Bible makes.
No one in the Bible makes this philosophical “God shares his glory with no other” deity of Christ claim.
2.
God does share his
glory with others, particularly human beings. Israel, and the Messiah Jesus are
given God’s glory so that both Israel and the nations will know that Yahweh their
God, is God.
Psalm 84:11 The LORD gives (נתן) grace and glory כָבוֹד ; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Romans
5:2, “Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and
we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Psalm
8:4-5 and Hebrews 2:4-5, “What is man that you are mindful of him…you
have crowned him with glory and honor.”
Another resource: Brother
Kel, Trinity Delusion article and video
https://www.angelfire.com/space/thegospeltruth/TTD/verses/isaiah42_8.html
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