WHO IS JESUS FOR DUMMIES
By Juan Baixeras
(by CHRISTgospel THIS IS A MUST READ!)
This paper deals with the subject of the Trinity, specifically, in relation to Trinitarian claims that Jesus is fully God and fully man at all times, his divinity being inseparable from his humanity.
Many Trinitarians will probably stop right here. The reason is that since their faith in this doctrine is so weak to start off with, they try to avoid reading anything that contradicts their beliefs. At least that was my excuse. But what have you got to lose? If you read this paper and still believe the Trinity is Biblical, then your faith will be even stronger because it will be based on fact, and not just blind faith. If on the other hand you find that the Trinity is not Biblical, then your faith will also be stronger, because you will have removed a false teaching from your beliefs. It is a win win situation.
This short paper is not going to deal with all the arguments against the Trinity. It is specifically going to cover several verses which I consider to be the clearest verses on this topic that do not have any other ways of being interpreted. This is going to be about as easy as it gets.
This paper is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus (who Trinitarians claim is God at all times) has a God himself. It is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus died and the Bible says that God is immortal. It is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus was tempted and the Bible says that God cannot be tempted. It is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus is not omniscient, yet the Bible says that God is all knowing. It is not a going to deal with the history of the Trinity and its development. And it is also not going to deal with explanations to all the verses that supposedly support the Trinity.
This is not a scholarly work, it is for anyone with an I.Q. above 70. It is enough information to make you kick-start your curiosity about this Doctrine. Let us begin.
First I have to make something crystal clear. I am going to list some verses, some very easy verses. None of these verses are disputed verses in which different people have different interpretations for them. I am just going to write them out for you and let you think about them, with a comment or two from me of course. Please just read them like you would read the morning paper. JUST READ. Do not try to guess a hidden meaning in them, just read what they say. For a few of these verses we do need to understand a couple of meanings. Dont worry, theyre easy.
YHWH In the Old Testament this is the name of God. It has no vowels, thus it is unpronounceable. People later added vowels to come up with Yahweh so that they could pronounce it. Some English Bibles translated YHWH as Jehovah, but most English Bibles instead of writing YHWH, just put "the LORD." Notice that "LORD" is in capital letters when it refers to YHWH. This only applies to the Old Testament.
Christ This is not Jesus last name. It is his title. Christ is English for Messiah. Messiah means anointed. Jesus Christ means Jesus the anointed. Anointed by what you may ask? Anointed by the Spirit of God.
Lord (kyrios) - Most people when they hear this title think immediately of God Almighty. As we covered earlier, Gods name is YHWH. This should not be confused with the title kyrios (Lord), which was used for Jesus throughout his whole ministry. Trinitarians will argue that this title of Jesus confirms his divinity, but even before his resurrection people addressed him as Lord. Why? For the same reason that many other people in the Bible and in his day were addressed as Lord. It was a title of authority and respect. Moses is referred to as lord in Numbers 32:27:
"The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, Your servants will do as you command, my lord."
1 Samuel 1:26 "Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here."
1 Samuel 24:9 "David stepped out of the cave, calling to Saul, My lord and my king."
As Scripture proves, Moses, Eli, and Saul are referred to as lord, but this does not mean that they are God. It is a title of authority and respect. There are many more verses like these.
By Juan Baixeras
(by CHRISTgospel THIS IS A MUST READ!)
This paper deals with the subject of the Trinity, specifically, in relation to Trinitarian claims that Jesus is fully God and fully man at all times, his divinity being inseparable from his humanity.
Many Trinitarians will probably stop right here. The reason is that since their faith in this doctrine is so weak to start off with, they try to avoid reading anything that contradicts their beliefs. At least that was my excuse. But what have you got to lose? If you read this paper and still believe the Trinity is Biblical, then your faith will be even stronger because it will be based on fact, and not just blind faith. If on the other hand you find that the Trinity is not Biblical, then your faith will also be stronger, because you will have removed a false teaching from your beliefs. It is a win win situation.
This short paper is not going to deal with all the arguments against the Trinity. It is specifically going to cover several verses which I consider to be the clearest verses on this topic that do not have any other ways of being interpreted. This is going to be about as easy as it gets.
This paper is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus (who Trinitarians claim is God at all times) has a God himself. It is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus died and the Bible says that God is immortal. It is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus was tempted and the Bible says that God cannot be tempted. It is not going to deal with the fact that Jesus is not omniscient, yet the Bible says that God is all knowing. It is not a going to deal with the history of the Trinity and its development. And it is also not going to deal with explanations to all the verses that supposedly support the Trinity.
This is not a scholarly work, it is for anyone with an I.Q. above 70. It is enough information to make you kick-start your curiosity about this Doctrine. Let us begin.
First I have to make something crystal clear. I am going to list some verses, some very easy verses. None of these verses are disputed verses in which different people have different interpretations for them. I am just going to write them out for you and let you think about them, with a comment or two from me of course. Please just read them like you would read the morning paper. JUST READ. Do not try to guess a hidden meaning in them, just read what they say. For a few of these verses we do need to understand a couple of meanings. Dont worry, theyre easy.
YHWH In the Old Testament this is the name of God. It has no vowels, thus it is unpronounceable. People later added vowels to come up with Yahweh so that they could pronounce it. Some English Bibles translated YHWH as Jehovah, but most English Bibles instead of writing YHWH, just put "the LORD." Notice that "LORD" is in capital letters when it refers to YHWH. This only applies to the Old Testament.
Christ This is not Jesus last name. It is his title. Christ is English for Messiah. Messiah means anointed. Jesus Christ means Jesus the anointed. Anointed by what you may ask? Anointed by the Spirit of God.
Lord (kyrios) - Most people when they hear this title think immediately of God Almighty. As we covered earlier, Gods name is YHWH. This should not be confused with the title kyrios (Lord), which was used for Jesus throughout his whole ministry. Trinitarians will argue that this title of Jesus confirms his divinity, but even before his resurrection people addressed him as Lord. Why? For the same reason that many other people in the Bible and in his day were addressed as Lord. It was a title of authority and respect. Moses is referred to as lord in Numbers 32:27:
"The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, Your servants will do as you command, my lord."
1 Samuel 1:26 "Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here."
1 Samuel 24:9 "David stepped out of the cave, calling to Saul, My lord and my king."
As Scripture proves, Moses, Eli, and Saul are referred to as lord, but this does not mean that they are God. It is a title of authority and respect. There are many more verses like these.