Jesus Had To Be A Man
This is not meant to be an exhaustive consideration of this topic. I refer you to other Biblical Unitarian writers, all of whom back up from Scripture their view that Jesus is the Son of God and not God. It is important to recognize who he is, since his identity as the promised Messiah is part of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom, the acceptance of which is the key to eternal life.
History and Development
Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and not God the Son. His belief about God reflected the central tenet of Jewish faith, that God is One.
In recent months, I have been examining more closely what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. Many people profess to be “Christians,” yet their words and deeds seem so far from Jesus’ example for us. When we do not truly reflect the image of Christ to others, we become stumbling blocks for other believers and for those who have not yet chosen to believe in Him and His coming Kingdom to the earth. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” I yearn to be an ambassador for Christ, effective in persuading people to get right with God (repent, believe in the Gospel of the Kingdom, and be baptized, then choose to live an obedient life to God)! Yet, it begs the question, how can I represent Jesus in a better light? How can I see more of God’s Spirit dwelling in me? How can I have an increase in love for others?
Where is the Proof?
Trinitarians know that the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. When this is pointed out, they will sometimes respond that this doesn’t prove anything because, “The word ‘Bible’ isn’t in the Bible either!” But in fact the word Bible is from the Greek word biblos meaning ‘book’ and does in fact appear in the Bible, referring to the written Scriptures. Yet, even if that word weren’t used, the idea of written Scriptures is certainly present, and described by other good words, such as “scripture,” “writing,” and the oft-repeated phrase, “It is written.”
God’s Agent
Part of the reason westerners don’t understand the relationship between God and His Son is because they don’t understand the Hebrew concept of agency. In that culture, when an agent represented a principal, the agent was viewed as, and even addressed as, the principal. An agent speaking on behalf of another was looked on as if he were the person whom he represented. This is especially true of the Angel of the Lord representing God.
Exodus 23:
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
Someone once sat on my living room couch and told me that if I did not believe that Jesus was God, then my sins were not forgiven.
Most modern day, Trinitarian churches believe this, and assume you believe this also. But, is this so? Is this what Scripture truly teaches? Let’s investigate to see if this is true or not.
I believe this man’s beliefs were based on a passage found in Mark 2, where we enter the picture and find Jesus about to heal a paralytic. Instead of saying, “Arise and take up your pallet and walk,” Jesus said “My son, your sins are forgiven.” But the scribes who were sitting there hanging out, were thinking, ‘Who does this guy think he is? He’s dissing our God! Who else can forgive sins, but God alone?’
Is Jesus Called God?
Time after time in the Scriptures, Jesus is referred to as the Messiah, the Son of God. There are only a handfull of verses that even seem to call Jesus God, and most of those are questionable on textual and grammatical grounds. Only two verses unquestionably call Jesus God, and we shall see in what sense they do so. The vast amount of Scriptures refer to Jesus as the Son of God, though.
“And as he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and began asking him, “Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Mark 10:17-18.
I would call this a ‘rabbit trail.’ When the subject presented is ‘how should this man inherit eternal life’, which Jesus does eventually answer, Jesus’ attention is first zeroed in on the word “good” that the man used. Okay, so you’re wondering who cares? Why do we care that Jesus takes this one simple, descriptive word “good” that the man probably used haphazardly, without a single thought, yet Jesus takes the time to pause and reflect upon it? What’s the big deal?
FYI . . . over at Parchment and Pen, Rob Bowman just announced that he will be having a “debate” with Christadelphian Dave Burke concerning the doctrine of the trinity. The date is a ways off (April). Notice that Kingdom Ready is represented in the resource section of the post. They are limiting themselves to 5,000 words per post–that’s probably less than some of the recent posts on this site. I’m not familiar with Dave Burke. Any one know about him?
Lately the old arguments about the Trinity have surfaced once again. In light of that I will be posting a series from my website. Topics to be covered will be:
Part 1 - Overview
Part 2 - Is Jesus Called God?
Part 3 - God’s Agent
Part 4 - Where is the Proof?
Part 5 - History and Development
Part 6 - Jesus Had To Be A Man
Overview
Throughout the Old Testament, there were prophecies and promises of One who was to come. When Jesus of Nazareth came preaching the Gospel, he declared that he was that Messiah. The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiyach, while the word Christ comes from the Greek word christos. Both words mean the same thing: the anointed one. How ironic that many people who call themselves “Christian” don’t know the meaning of the word “Christ.”