Category: Jehovah

One God, the Truth That Is Foolish to Deny

On By TimIn 1 Corinthians 08, Jehovah, Jesus, Triune GodLeave a comment

But for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist. And there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.  (1 Corinthians 8:6, MEV)

The theology in the New Testament comes from the Tanakh. It is not new theology at all. Consider the verse above as a starting point. Paul is using a profound truth from the Old Testament as It spoke of Jesus Christ. To understand that will require a look under the hood, that is to look at the underlying mechanics of translation from Hebrew to Koine Greek, then finally English.

Paul says God is One, the Father. The Greek word Theos is translated to the English word God. In other words, he is saying Theos is the Father.

Paul goes on to apply the term One to the Lord Jesus Christ. The English word Lord comes from the Greek word Kyrios. That is, there is one Kyrios, not multiple ones… And He is Jesus Christ.

Putting it together, reveals the simple truth. There is one God, the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, how did this theology come about?

In the time that Jesus walked the Earth and during that first century when the New Testament was written, the Scriptures commonly used by Israelis was a translation called The Septuagint. It is a translation of the Tanakh. The title conveys the idea behind he it came to be, The Translation of the Seventy. It was actually 72 Israeli translators who worked to convert the Hebrew and Aramaic into common (at that time) Koine Greek. The work was done in the third century BC by request of Ptolemy II.

Why is that important?

Paul would have been very familiar with the Septuagint. In fact, many quotes from the Old Testament in the New Testament are from the Septuagint. Paul, like every Israeli, knew the Shema… Shema Yisrael… Literally “Hear, O Israel.” This is found in Deuteronomy.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4b, LES)

That citation is from an English translation of the Septuagint. It uses exactly the same English words as the translation of the Bible that I use. (One caveat when using to Septuagint: chapter and verse divisions won’t match the traditional Old Testament in Bibles today.)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God. The Lord is one!  (Deuteronomy 6:4, MEV)

Referring to the Septuagint’s use of the Koine Greek, connect it to the original Hebrew.

First, in Deuteronomy 6:4, the English phrase The Lord usually indicates that the original Hebrew word translated from is YHWH, the Tetragrammaton. Generally, I use Jehovah for that. The 72 translators used the Koine word Kyrios as the Hebrew YHWH. Kyrios is used twice in that verse.

Next, in the phrase our God, God comes from the Koine word Theos. Theos is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim.

Finally is the word one. It comes from the Koine word heis. That word provides a hint to the reality of what Paul is saying and Jesus said Himself. Heis conveys the idea of a unity of parts. It is a cardinal number. It is translated from the Hebrew word echad, which means one, as in a unity.

Putting it all together reveals a profound truth that is obvious in the New Testament.

The Kyrios is Theos. Kyrios is a unity.

In other words…

Jesus Christ is God the Father. Jesus Christ is the unified One.

That is why Jesus said:

My Father and I are one.”  (John 10:30, MEV)

Which leads to another theological truth that is derived from that idea. One that Jesus expounded on in John 10, pointing back to Psalm 82.

God is elohim. One One Elohim is God.

Jesus did clearly say, He is Jehovah God.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”  (John 8:24, MEV)

Everyone Who Calls on the Name of the Lord Shall be Saved

On By TimIn Jehovah, Romans 10, SalvationLeave a comment

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is based on the law: “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness which is based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down), or, ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” This is the word of faith that we preach: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed.”

Romans 10:5–11

In the passage from the epistle to the Romans, Paul cites Deuteronomy 30. He is contrasting two points. Two important things that are relevant to understand.

This commandment which I am commanding you today is not hidden from you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?” It is not beyond the sea, so that you should say, “Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?” But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, so that you may do it.
See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, and death and disaster. What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, so that you may live and multiply. Then the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Deuteronomy 30:11–16

Knowing context, this portion of the text from Moses follows the prophecy he gave of Israel being scattered among the nations for their disbelief. It comes in the promise of restoration. It is not a promise of entering the land from the Exodus.

We who are alive today are a privileged people. We witness the beginnings of this restoration. The return of the Jewish people to their homeland is happening now. It is not a return after the Exodus because they hadn’t yet arrived to the Promised Land from the Exodus. This is a prophecy of both diaspora and a return from it. As astute readers and by virtue of being alive today, we are extended both the privilege to witness it and participate in it during our lives.

Being drawn by God Himself, these disbelieving Israelis will be gathered into the land. They will become the all Israel that is saved when they believe.

As the text in Deuteronomy declares, the idea of believing is not just for a future time and place. In verse 11, Moses tells them that the commandment to believe is available to any whom would have it. They don’t have to go anywhere to get it. They don’t have to wait for some future date to be saved. The word is in their mouth. In other words, salvation doesn’t come by what one does, keeping law, the sprinkling of water on babies, or listening to some pastor. Salvation comes by personal acknowledgment of Jehovah God. A Kinsman Redeemer Who died and rose again, and a personal profession in Him.

Which is exactly what Paul cited in Romans 10. As he is speaking to his Jewish brothers in Rome. He is juxtaposing the inadequate righteousness that comes by law keeping with the Gospel. Keeping law doesn’t save. Believing the Gospel does. That is, salvation doesn’t come by law-keeping. It comes by personal belief and profession issuing forth the “treasures of the heart.”

 But if your heart turns away, so that you do not obey, but are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, then I declare to you today that you will surely perish and that you will not prolong your days in the land which you are crossing the Jordan to go in and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witnesses against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

Deuteronomy 30:17–20

There are consequences to not believing. Some are temporal, but the worst is eternal. One dies in their sins. That is why Paul encourages everyone to call upon the name of the Lord.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is generous toward all who call upon Him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:12–13

The future of the world is Jewish. It will be ruled by a rightful Jewish King.

Jesus Christ, Whom You Have Sent

On By TimIn Jehovah, Jesus, John 17Leave a comment

This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

John 17:3

This is one text taken from the prayer that Jesus offered to God on the night before He was crucified. The real need for people is to have eternal life. Many use the term being saved, but that term has some baggage. Eternal life is a gift given to believers by God Himself. That gift comes by knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ.

There is a point often debated, “Did Jesus really say He was God?“

Yes. He certainly did.

The idea is clearly laid out in His Own words. As it is said, oftentimes the Pharisees lets us know when He does that. They took up stones to kill Him.

This eternal life is knowing God and Whom He sent… Jesus Christ. Back during Jesus’ ministry, there was one of those episodes where the Pharisees took up stones. It was then that Jesus said:

My Father and I are one.”

John 10:30

The Jewish leaders tell us exactly what Jesus said:

Again the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, claim to be God.”

John 10:31–33

The Pharisees have verified Jesus’ saying He is God. Look back up to the introductory text from John 17. Keeping that in mind, I want to consider other ways that plainly show Jesus as God. To know God is to know Jesus, Whom He sent and it is to have eternal life.

Jesus often used words that echoed those expressed in the Tanakh. I know that might be shocking. Yet Jesus knows the words of the prophets, and He knows the writings of Isaiah.

Listen to Me, O Jacob
and Israel, whom I called:
I am He;
I am the First, and I am the Last.
My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth,
and My right hand has spanned the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand up together.
Assemble, all of you, and listen.
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord has loved him;
he will do His pleasure on Babylon,
and His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
I, even I, have spoken,
and I have called him;
I have brought him,
and his way will prosper.
Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there I am.
And now the Lord God has sent me
and His Spirit.

Isaiah 48:12-16

Already, it may be clear to see some familiar phrases that we know are applied elsewhere to Jesus. I will start with the first, “I am He.” Jesus said that.

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

John 8:24

In the context of this passage, Jesus is speaking of the Father Whom the Jewish folk know as God. The text is clear, that unless one believes “I am He,” they do not have eternal life. For clarity, those that do not have eternal life will perish in their sins. Jesus is unequivocally saying, that one cannot have eternal life unless that person believes He is God.

The next has many witnesses. Here is the first…

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and “What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Revelation 1:10–11

While in exile, the apostle John is caught up in a vision where he meets God. God calls Himself Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. Most know that this Person is Jesus Christ.

Part of the reason for this post comes from a conversation over whether Jesus is now God. He is, but the protagonist in the conversation believes Jesus was God and is not now because of His location at the right hand of God. I get that these types of discussions are difficult for our minds to comprehend. God is like no other. That is why, there are none like Him. We have no frame of reference except what He says of Himself. It then becomes important to understand Him as He reveals Himself.

We know Jesus is Alpha and Omega. He offers something else about His identity. These are the key things to remember.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though I were dead. Then He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, though I was dead. Look! I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Revelation 1:17–18

This Person addressing John says, “(T)hough I was dead, Look! I am alive forevermore.” This is an indicator to identity. He identifies Himself again as First and Last. Putting both together with He died and rose again, there is only One Person that matches. It is Jesus.

Which leads to another objection that my protagonist scoffs at. He denies the idea that God has died. Clearly, Jesus as God says He died and lives forevermore.

There is one more witness from Revelation to examine.

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

Revelation 22:12–13

Once again, this Person identifies Himself as Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, First and Last. It has already been established Who is speaking. Yet another witness to identity is this One is coming again. We know the One Who returning to Earth again is Jesus Christ!

Back in the passage of Isaiah 48 above, it says I am He, the First and Last. From the context, Jehovah is being spoken of in third person. Yet clearly the One narrating is God. Israelis in the day would know this well. They were very familiar with the Tanakh. Note, when connected from Isaiah to the Gospel of John and then Revelation, the idea coalesces. It is clearly conveyed that when Jesus says “I am He,” He is saying He is God.

But as it is in the Bible, things get a bit blurry…

Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there I am.
And now the Lord God has sent me
and His Spirit.

Isaiah 48:16

This is the same invitation from Jesus in the New Testament. The God of the Tanakh is the same God that Jesus is. And He is this same God that sent Jesus Christ. Keep in mind, the same God that sent Jesus is the First and the Last.

In my mind, it seems there can only be One Who identifies as Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. The phrase leaves no room for others. That’s God and He is Jesus.

Jesus is not-so-secretly declaring that He is Jehovah. That same Jehovah Who sent Him!

This testimony of the Alpha and the Omega in the last book of the Bible connects it to one of those books in the rough middle of It, Isaiah. The text seems to draw the reader to closely examine the beginning. It is there that yet another witness identifies that Jesus is indeed Jehovah God.

All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created.

John 1:3

John testifies that all things were created by Jesus. And God testifies in Isaiah that He spoke very clearly from the beginning. What does that mean?

Well, if all things that were created were created by Jesus… Jesus is not created. Which means He is the One Who created all things. Once again, in my mind that leaves no room for another creator.

Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and his Maker:
Ask Me of things to come
concerning My sons,
and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.
I have made the earth
and created man on it.
I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and I have ordained all their host.
I have raised him up in righteousness,
and I will direct all his ways;
he shall build My city,
and he shall let My captives go,
neither for price nor reward,
says the Lord of Hosts.

Isaiah 45:11-13

Thus says Jehovah, that is the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) translated as Lord. He testifies He has made the Earth. All this was spoken by the Lord of Hosts (Jehovah of Hosts.) That’s the military title of Jesus Christ. He is Jesus, the Son of God, and He is God.

It is like everything is pointing to the beginning. It might just be beneficial to check it out.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

I assume most are familiar with this verse. What many may not know are the not-so-secret things hidden just behind the translation into English. Here is the verse in transliterated Hebrew.

Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz

I tend to be a bit nerdy. I’m no Hebrew scholar. But I’m certain many see the word Elohim. It is well known as one of the names of God.

It is that two-letter word et, which is not translated into any English Bibles. There is much controversy over what the ‘word’ means. I am one that does not think it is a word, but is more of am identifying signature.

See, that two-letter et, in the Hebrew alphabet is also two letters, those being the aleph and the tav. The significance of those two letters is like the signature. It is as if it is literally saying, “In the beginning created God Aleph-Tav.”

The aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The tav is the last letter. Has God spoken not in secret from the beginning?

Yes!

Jesus the Son, is the Creator God. The same Elohim Aleph-Tav Alpha-Omega Who spoke creation to be. The same God Who died and lives forevermore!