Land and Bible

I participated in two more podcasts with Sean Finnegan. In the third of four podcast discussions we examined these misunderstood texts and issues of Scripture: Is the trinity speaking in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our image"?  Does Isaiah 9:6 show the deity of the Messiah ? "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus must be God because Jesus is worshiped? Does Romans 9:5 call Jesus God? In the fourth and last podcast of the series, we take a look at Trinitarian claims concerning: Philippians 2.5-6 Colossians 2.9 Revelation 1.17 And the question, "If Jesus is not God, then how can his sacrifice pay for man's sins?"

Many people have said to me the last months that Jesus had to be God to atone for our sins. My challenge is to show me Scriptures that say so. If such a claim is true, it should be explained in the Scripture from front to back, from one side to the other. If there is no Scripture that says that, then we should rethink our theology before making such a claim. Perhaps that claim is a creation of the human mind (satanically inspired?). The claim in effect is telling God the conditions under which we will accept Him and His Messiah. It is telling God, “I won’t accept you unless  You  die”. But we shouldn’t tell our Maker what He must do. Israel tried that numerous times. It never worked (e.g., Isa. 45:9-10). We don’t make the rules for forgiveness of sin, atonement, or for any of our relationship with God. God tells us what is necessary. God said to man “You will die”. Satan says “Man, you won’t die.” Man thinks and says, “I (my real self, my spirit) won’t die, but God...

Do verses in the Gospel of John declare that God is a Trinity, three "God-persons" in one? Does the Gospel of John declare that one of those three "God-persons" has two natures, a God nature and a human nature? If not, do verses in the Gospel of John at least declare the "deity" of Jesus?  On these two podcasts (below) Sean Finnegan and I discuss how neither the Trinity nor the deity of Jesus are declared in verses like John 1:1 ("In the beginning was the word..."), John 5:18 ("made himself equal with God"), John 8:58 ("before Abraham was, I am"), John 17:5 (glory that I had with you"), John 20:28 (Thomas' statement: "My Lord and my God"). Podcast 1: John 1:1, 1:14, 1:18, 5:18, 8:58 Podcast 2: John 10:30-33, John 20:28, 1 John 5:20 Here is a one hour teaching dealing with the statement in John 5 that Jesus made himself "equal with God".  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loac2l3_GF4&t=889s ...

The biblical phrase “Son of God” does not describe the essence of a person. To call someone the “Son of God” does not mean that someone is God or is a deity. Rather “Son of God” in the Bible relates to the relationship or status that a human being has with God. Orthodox Christianity of the last 1700 years or so, including Catholicism and Protestantism, has tragically misunderstood the title Son of God in the manner of essence , making Jesus “God”. Trinitarianism claims it was “God the Son” in Jesus. The Bible says that it was God the Father (the only God) who was in Jesus (John 10:38). Trinitarianism says that when you see Jesus, you see “God the Son”. The Bible, including Jesus himself, say that when you see Jesus you “see the Father” (John 14:9-10). There is no such thing as “God the Son”.

A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Sean Finnegan on his Restitutio podcast . I'm looking forward to meeting Sean and among others, Dale Tuggy, Lord willing, at the theological conference in Atlanta next week. Dale was formerly a philosophy professor at a New York university. On his recent "Trinities" podcast, Dale discusses the "Biblical Words for God and His Son". Here is the YouTube version , which includes slides. Good stuff!

After listening to my lecture on the "Son of God in the Bible" (see previous post) a facebook friend asked me: " With charity and love for you, may I ask you to express your convictions for why your argument for the non-deity of "the Son of God" (with the definite article), should be respectfully received when for twenty-three-plus years you have publicl y espoused His deity? Here's my answer, slightly edited: In short, indeed, it is the study of Scripture that has brought me to understand that “For us there is one God, the Father … and one Lord, Jesus the Messiah…”(I  Cor. 8:6). “For there is one God , and there is one mediator between God and men, a  man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Verses like these are all over the Bible. In the talk on the Son of God, you can see that I am approaching the topic from a biblical perspective. What does the Bible say? People can speculate that Son of God has some other, to quote trinitarians, “ontological” meaning, but ...

"Son of God" is a name, title, and position defined in the Bible. The title in the Bible always refers to created beings, particularly humans. Unfortunately, "Son of God" has been re-defined in Greek philosophical terms beginning about the middle of the 2nd century AD, that is, 100s of years after Jesus lived on earth. Biblically, the name does not imply deity. In the Bible, there are a number of humans called the Son (or Sons) of God. In the Old Testament, this is especially the case for the nation of Israel and of a descendant of King David whom the LORD God appoints as Messiah King. The title finds it's the fullest meaning in the uniquely begotten Son of God, Jesus the Messiah. I've posted a video lecture called the "Son of God in the Bible ." It's time we return to the biblical understanding of such an important concept and person as "Son of God", and not rely on a definition created by philosophically-Greek-thinking Gentiles in ...