CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Greek Study on the Deity of Jesus Christ: titus two thirteen

I would like to start a series on the Deity of Jesus Christ, by digging into the original Greek text of selected passages from Scripture. The more I study the original Greek, the more meaning I see hidden by our modern English translations! Ministering specifically to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses has forced me to better understand the text, because they can too easily take verses out of context and twist them to fit their worldviews! So, to start this series off, I'd like to dig into Titus 2:13.

Here it goes! In the King James version, Titus 2:13 reads as follows:


"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; "

Although there is obviously nothing wrong with this version, it is lacking something from that Greek that makes it easy to twist. Interestingly enough, the Joseph Smith Translation, which Mormons use and is based on the KJV and not the Greek, reads the same. The New World Translation, which the Watchtower uses and is also based on the KJV and other obscure translations, and not the Greek, reads as follows:

"while we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of [the] Savior of us, Christ Jesus,"

You see, the problem with the KJV is that it could be read that God and the Savior Jesus Christ are two separate beings. Christians, Mormons, and Witnesses can all agree that Jesus Christ is the Savior. The thing that separates Christians from the others, is that we believe what Scripture trully reveals about Jesus Christ, that he is the One and Only, True Living God! This verse in the New American Standard reads a little better as follows:

"looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,"

The NASB helps a lot by placing the comma after Savior, to point towards Christ Jesus as being the great God and Savior. What I love about the Greek, is that the text becomes so absolutely clear that there is no way to deny what it is saying! First, the word endings, in the Greek, of the words God, Saviour, and Jesus Christ, are all possessive, meaning they are all sharing or possessing the same thing, which in this sentence is the Glory. So, this means that Jesus Christ, the Savior, is sharing the same Glory with God. My first question then becomes, how can they be sharing the same Glory unless the are the same Being?

Second, the way this sentence is constructed in the Greek, it reads weird translated word for word in the English, but leaves no room for error. Word for word, the sentence should read like this:

"looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and Savior our Jesus Christ,"

When read this way in the original text, it absolutely reads that our Jesus Christ is the great God and Savior. Truly amazing!

Mormons use the Joseph Smith Translation to say there are two separate beings or gods, and the Witnesses use the New World Translation to say there are also two separate beings, but God is the only God, and Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel. But, when confronted with the original text, there is no denying the Triune Deity of of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

I hope this has and will be helpful to you in your endeavors to defend the Faith! God Bless you all!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Scene Five

Here is my latest correspondance with my freind Josephine from Atlanta. Enjoy!


Josephine,


Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, but here it is! I would like to respond to just this one email for the time being. I will talk more about this at the end of the email. So, as promised, here is my response to the following:

I've decided that maybe we shoud start with simple, concrete questions concerning this issue.

I somewhat agree with your decision, but will also address this as the very end of the email.

You believe there to be one God as three personages...okay that's cool, but have you ever asked yourself why? Why would God morph into three persons to spread this gospel. Why would He send Himself? Why would he inspire Jesus to say okay I am the son, but not the Father, but I am GOD, but I do my Father's will and not mine? WHY? What purpose does this serve?

This response has been one of my biggest struggles in corresponding with you. You keep asking me to think of the existence of God in “human” terms and logic. I absolutely will not do that! I have shown and proved to you with several verses in the Bible why God is one Being with three distinct Personages, and instead of once responding to any of these verses, you have repeatedly asked me to try to explain it in my own logic. And again, I have never once said God morphs Himself…………that is Modalism! Also, I refuse to sit here and question God’s purpose that has clearly been displayed throughout Scripture. Romans 9: 20 says:

“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”

Although this verse in context is specifically speaking about those God has chosen to save and those He has not, you get the point. Why would we question God’s purposes, who is all-knowingly in control of everything? Why were you born? Why has God allowed you to come in contact with me? Why would His Word clearly demonstrate that He is one Being and three distinct Personages? What purpose does that serve? Are you questioning God’s Word? This is my point, every point I make, I make from the objective Truth, the Word of God. I presuppose the Bible as the foundation for all truth. You do not. Every point you make is from your own subjective point of view. You presuppose your own thoughts, feelings, and emotions as the foundation of truth. I test claims by Scripture. You test claims by an appeal to your emotions. Why did God choose to reveal Himself through Scripture like He has, I cannot answer that, but I can assuredly say that He has, and that is truth.


WHY would he allow PROPHETS TO WRITE THAT THEY SAW TWO PERSONAGES SIDE BY SIDE?

This my friend, is an excellent question! Why would He? My response, is that He did NOT! My next question would be, which of the ten different First Vision Accounts are you referring to? Is it the very account from 1927 when a spirit came to Joseph and then turned into a toad (see http://www.irr.org/mit/first-vision/1827-account.html ) ? Or is it the one from 1834 when an angel appeared to Joseph (see http://www.irr.org/mit/first-vision/1834-35-account.html )? Or maybe you are referring to the “official” First Vision Account, where Joseph saw the Father and the Son together. Have you ever sincerely looked into this? Please do! Now, despite the several varying accounts, Exodus 33:20 says:

“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”

Obviously it is physically possible to see Christ if He chose to reveal himself, but, according to this verse, how could Joseph have seen the Father and lived? Again, I believe this to be further proof that Joseph’s account was not true!


Why would He yell from heaven? Does this matter not confuse you AND everyone else?

I believe you are referring to Matthew 3:16-17 which says:

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

First, let me say that I do not believe the Father had to yell. Secondly, this is not at all confusing. I know many Christians who have no problem understanding this. The reason it is not confusing, is because it perfectly coincides with what Christians believe and what the Bible teaches. This is a perfect display of the Triune God! The Father speaking from Heaven, the Son being Baptized, and the Holy Spirit descending as a Dove. One Being, three distinct Personages. In fact, the only people I know that find this confusing are those who deny a Triune God. You cannot make sense of it!


WHY WOULD HE SEND PROPHETS BEFORE and AFTER CHRIST? WHY? WHAT do prophets serve as their purpose?

Once again, great question! My response would be that we no longer need a prophet. There were prophets before Christ because that is how God chose to reveal Himself to His people then. Christ coming to earth ended the Old Covenant. We now have God’s Word as His way of revealing Himself to us. 1 Timothy 2:5 says:

“For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

We no longer need a prophet, because Christ is the only mediator between us and God. This verse cannot be any clearer on this issue!


IF the spirit is a personage HOW DOES IT ENTER EACH OF US? WHY CALL IT A SPIRIT IF IT IS A PERSONAGE? WHY?

Again, you are thinking in “human” terms. The Spirit is a Personage, but still a spirit, just as the Father has a spirit body. How does He enter all of us? Again, I have no idea, but this is how He has been revealed to us. How can God be all-knowing? I do not know that either, but probably the same way he can enter us all if He so chooses. I don’t believe you would disagree that God is all-knowing, would you?

Why allow Jesus to pray and teach about A FATHER when HE IS ANOTHER FORM OF THE FATHER? WHY? WHY DISTINGUSH? YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING? NO WHERE!


I absolutely do see where this is going; as another attack on Modalism! Attack it all you want! Jesus is not another form of the Father. I never said He was. Separate Personage, yes; different form, no!

You say that when we are baptized that we do not join a church...WRONG!Maybe YOUR church, but this act is what qualifies one to become a MEMBER…IT IS A MUST….maybe you just never attended these faiths. Baptist believe they are right, Methodist sprinkle and believe they are right, Catholics believe they are right and also sprinkle, some baptize children and believe THEY MUST OR WILL GO TO HELL…they feel they are right….the list goes on…Also, how does an infant place faith in Christ when they don’t even know who they are or their name? WHY IS THIS ACT NECESSARY??? IT IS EITHER ALL OR NOTHING!! So are you saying Catholics and Methodist are not Christian? IF not, HOW CAN THE BODY OF CHRIST DIFFER ON BASIC CORE DOCTRINE…again don’t dodge the inevitable.

You are not accurately quoting what I said about Baptism. Baptism is nothing more than an act we are commanded to do AFTER placing our faith in Christ, as an outward expression to the world saying that we have spiritually died and have been raised to life with Christ. It is an image of His death and resurrection. We are also commanded to take communion to remember Christ’s death for our sins. These two acts do not qualify us for nor save us. They are done after salvation has occurred. Now, if there are groups that claim to be Christians, but practice baptism for salvation, then they are not true Christians, because they preach and practice a false Gospel! Yes, baptism is definitely a core doctrine, and if it is practiced for salvation, then it is not Christian or from the Bible! And yes, different true Christian denominations do differ on how to do it, but they also agree on the Gospel, as faith in Christ alone for salvation, and baptism as an ordinance. Does this clarify? And I’m not dodging anything at all.

YOU can't say CHRISTAINS without acknowledging that each and every sect accept a different doctrine...WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION....WE ARE? GOD WANTS THE SAME CONSISTENT DOCTRINE...PERIOD! THIS IS ALL THE MORE REASON WHY HE WOULD SEND A PROPHET...to clarify with AUTHORITY!!! IF not, AUTHORTY would not have been such an issue during John's Baptism issues....read...you will see that they did not even receive the Holy Ghost and infact did not even know what that WAS!! WOW!! Talk about confusing the doctrine of God! BELIEVE ME, THERE IS A DIVINE PURPOSE FOR EVERYTHING AND the trinitarian doctrine seems to serve no purpose....what do you gain from believing it when you have to justify every verse that states otherwise?

Well, let me first say that, yes there are different denominations of the true Christian church, and yes there are several heretical sects that claim to be Christian. The point that you are missing here, is that the denominations that are truly Christian, are those that all agree on the Gospel of the Bible, which I will state one more time for clarity: That we as sinners must put our faith alone in Jesus Christ, that He is the True and living God, that he died, was buried, and rose again on the third day, and that we cannot do anything to be saved. Any Gospel different form this is a false one (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)!

What amazes me, is that generally speaking, Mormons try to say that the LDS Church is the only true church because you are all the same, and all believe the same thing. Is this not what you are saying? The problem with this statement, is that it is completely false! There are over 200 different sects of Mormonism! 200! Do you mean to tell me that all 200 plus all believe the exact same thing? It is impossible, or there wouldn’t be that many. What about the polygamous sects in Utah that still practice the original Mormonism of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young; that say you must be polygamous to become a god one day. You don’t believe that do you? You see, again, only Scripture can be a true test of Christ’s church!

I’m not really sure what baptism issues and event regarding the Holy Ghost that you are referring to. If you elaborate, I will give you a response.

Yes, I agree that there is a Divine purpose for everything, but I’m not sure how that disproves a Triune God. You also hit the nail right on the head. You’re right in saying that I have to justify everything with Scripture! Amen! That is the whole point I am getting at. Do you see it? I will not use any subjective logic to try and defend my beliefs. Sola Scriptura!


Again, I do not believe anything was CREATED IT WAS ORGANIZED BECAUSE IT HAS EXISTED FROm THE BEGINNING AND WILL HAVE NO END....MAN TRANSATED "CREATE" IN THE BIBLE...it is not original....if something has no end how can it have a beginning....its eternal right? therefore how is it created at all?

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure where you get this doctrine from, unless it’s something from Joseph. The only thing not created is God, consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are the only thing that has existed eternally. Everything else has been created. I believe you are referring to the word “created” in Genesis 1:1, which states:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Now, I believe you are referring to Joseph Smith claiming that the word “created” does not actually mean create, and that somehow he got the Council of the Gods out of this verse. That is not at all correct. Joseph had no authority, training, or wisdom in translating any language, let alone Hebrew. The Hebrew word here for “created” is, “bara,” which literally means, “to create, shape, form.” There is no other way to translate it. Also, if “bara” means something different, are you then claiming that the Jews, after all these years, have erroneously also believed that God created the heavens and the earth? I don’t think you really believe that.

I know we covered this before, but in reference to Christ, the image of the invisible God, Colossians 1:16 says:

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

After reading this verse, how can you say that everything existing eternally? Christ clearly created everything!

Now, I mentioned that I would talk about your decision to, “start with simple, more concrete questions,” more at the end. I do agree that maybe we should just tackle one topic, or even verse at a time. Part of my frustration in corresponding with you, and I don’t say this at all to be offending, is that I have spent a minimum of six hours on each email I have sent you, and I do not feel that you are putting the same time and diligence in responding to me. I have responding to every one of your emails point by point, with very specific and elaborate answers, and for the most part, you have responded by either cutting and pasting numerous verses or quotes, by sending my links to videos, by making up silly stories, or by offering up your subjective opinion. I have asked you very pointedly on several occasions, very specific questions to verses, that you have not given me responses for. If you truly want to justify your beliefs as the honest truth, then you sincerely need to dig down deep and validate what you are saying with the objective Word of Truth! I have another six or seven emails from you that will take me many hours to respond to. And I am all for it if need be, however, this is what I propose to you: Let’s take one verse(s) at a time. Please, please, explain to me how you can justify John chapter one with what you believe. Like I mentioned before, I have asked many Mormons to rationalize this verse with the teachings of Mormonism, and I have never received any answer at all. I sincerely implore you to read and provide an explanation to me for the following verses from John 1:1-16:

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend[
a] it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.[b] 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own,[c] and His own[d] did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” 16 And[e] of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,[f] who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

Please answer this: If Jesus is not God, then why does this say He is? If everything has always eternally existed, then why was Christ at, “the beginning?” If Christ and John have always existed spiritually as brothers, then how did Christ exist before him? This is where I will leave it. My hope and prayer is that you will earnestly look into this. I look forward to receiving your reply. God bless you!


In Christ,


Luke