Is Jesus Christ Yahweh God in the flesh? (Part 3)

Researched, compiled, and written by Dr. Dave A. Schoch, Th.D., NT Theology

October 15, 2020

Continuing: 3. Jesus indirectly claims to be Yahweh God in the flesh:

Romans 9:5^* whose are the fathers, and out of whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, inherently worthy of praise forever. Amen.

Some play with the punctuation in this text, trying to change Paul’s Greek from a descriptive clause about Christ’s divinity, into a doxology of God, but the doxological formula in Scripture is always “Blessed be God…” and not “God…be blessed.” There is no evidence for a doxology here, only a statement of naked truth, that Christ is fully human and also God in the flesh. Any such doxology here in the text would be out of step with the wording of the text. The facts of the text suggest anything but a doxology.

Who is over all, God blessed for ever (ho on epi pantōn theos eulogētos):

A clear statement of the deity of Christ following the remark about his humanity. This is the natural and the obvious way of punctuating the sentence. To make a full stop after sarka (or colon) and start a new sentence for the doxology is very abrupt and awkward. [Robertson’s Word Pictures, electronic version]

Alford and Wuest agree:

Further grammatical reasons for rejecting the idea of a doxology here are as follows: (1) Without one exception in Hebrew or Greek, the predicate eulogētos (blessed) precedes the name of God. Here the word order is theos eulogētos (God blessed), the descriptive word “blessed” follows the name “God.”

     (2) The present participle on would be altogether superfluous if we understood the words to be a doxology having reference to God rather than a descriptive clause speaking of the deity of the Lord Jesus. The construction in Greek is as follows: After speaking of ho Christos, the Christ coming as to His human nature out of Israel, Paul adds ho ōn, the article pointing back to ho Christos and the participial form of the verb of being, the Greek reading “the One being above all,” or in good English diction, “the One (Christ) who is above all.” The sense then follows, “The One (who is above all), who is God.”

     (3) The doxology would be unmeaning and frigid in the extreme. It is not the habit of the apostle Paul to break out into irrelevant ascriptions of praise; and certainly there is here nothing in the immediate context requiring one. If it be said that the survey of all these privileges bestowed on his people prompts the doxology, then such a suggestion ignores the grammar of the text, and the construction of the sentence, and causes the idea to be most unnatural.

     (4) The expression “blessed forever” is twice used by Paul, and each time unquestionably not in an ascription of praise, but in an assertion regarding the subject of the sentence. In 2 Cor. 11:31 we find the same construction, ho ōn, and there it refers to the subject of the sentence.

     (5) The interpretation which holds that the clause is not a doxology, but descriptive of the Christ, is the only one permissible by the rules of Greek grammar and arrangement.

     (6) It also admirably suits the context: for, having enumerated the historic advantages of the Jewish people, he concludes by stating one which ranks higher than all, that from them sprung, according to the flesh, He who is God over all, blessed forever. The Amen implies no optative ascription of praise, but is the accustomed ending of such solemn declarations of the divine Majesty.

     Thus does the devout scholar, Henry Alford, demolish the position of the present-day Liberal who would fain take out of the Bible as much of the testimony to our Lord’s absolute deity as he can, changing Paul’s Greek from a descriptive clause to a doxology. [Wuest’s Word Studies, electronic version]

Furthermore, there are no (none) variant readings of the text in any ancient manuscripts, this reading is thoroughly true in all extant versions of the Scriptures – neither do any of them give adverse punctuation (that which differs from the punctuation previously discussed above) to give any hope or help to those who claim that the punctuation herein is wrong or in error. Those who make such an argument do so with absolutely no evidence to support their ill claims, as well as doing so when all of the evidence demonstrates the error of their claims.

Further evidence that Paul did not break out in doxology, is found in two other similar texts by him where he basically says the same thing, which are NOT doxologies:

2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

Romans 1:25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

In conclusion on this text, Paul does whole heartedly proclaim that Jesus Christ “is God over all,” and adds to the collection of passages that clearly claim that Jesus is Yahweh God in the flesh.

II Corinthians 4:3-6^*And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Master, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1. “the image of God” – Verse four ends with, “Christ, who is the image of God.” The words here in their grammar, speak of the sameness that Christ is with God, His nature and essence. Yahweh is the bon-fire and Christ is the living flame out of that bon-fire – one in essence and nature, the same and yet one is wholly spirit and the other has added to His nature that of human flesh. He is Yahweh in the flesh, His very image in human flesh.

The word for “image” here is eikon, which basically means a representation, resemblance, likeness, or image, whether a reflection or copy. As a copy, the word literally takes on the meaning of “a living copy,” “embodiment,” or “manifestation.” It can also mean an appearance of something, not as a revelation, but something beforehand invisible now appearing (making an appearance) in a physical manifestation [TDNT Vol. 2, pg. 388].

Furthermore, eikon carries with it the idea that this copy or image is not a weakening or a feeble copy of something, but it directly implies the illumination (revelation, manifestation) of the original’s inner core and essence [TDNT Vol. 2, pg. 389] – “The peculiarity of the expression is related to that of the ancient concept, which does not limit image to a functional representation present to human sense but also thinks of it in terms of an emanation, of a revelation of the being with a substantial participation in the object (copy).” [TDNT, abid.]

Thus, in this text and in others such as Colossians 1:15, eikon means that Christ is the one and only ‘copy’ of God in which He actively participates in. Yahweh God embodied, manifested, copied by His own choice and participation, in human flesh. Furthermore, this word also has a religious meaning in Greek completely separate from the Jewish ideology, in that “the copies have the same powers and the same capacities of feeling and action as the original” from which it is a copy of [TDNT, pgs 389-390].

“When Christ is called the eikon of God…all the emphasis is on the equality of the eikon with the original,” that which the copy is made and originates from [TDNT, pg. 395]. Jesus is Yahweh God in the flesh according to Paul and his use of the words and grammar in this text. As far as I can find, there are no textual variants of this passage; the only way to get around what Paul says here is to call him a liar, as well as the Holy Spirit who moved upon him to write this text.

2. “Jesus as Kurios” – Verse five says, “Jesus Christ as Master” which is kurios; and according to our earlier study on kurios as a title of both Yahweh and Christ, Paul is here basically saying in English, that “Jesus Christ is God.”

For all of the details on that study, see pages 14-16. Paul, speaking from the point of view of a reader and quoter of the LXX, where Yahweh (for the pious Jews’ sake) was substituted with kurios, calls Jesus “kurios” which is the Lord or Master of creation – Yahweh God.

3. “the glory of God in the face of Jesus” – The last part of verse 6 is the whole reason for the creation of mankind and the new covenant gospel, leading back to God’s purpose and desire hinted at in the Garden and in His response to Moses:

Exodus 33:18-23 Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” And God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name ‘Yahweh.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

How can God have intimate relationship with man when man cannot look upon His face because of His glory, without dropping dead on the spot? Hence the reason for God coming into the world in human form in Christ, so that we could look upon Him and engage Him in relationship and fellowship on a personal basis.

But, as verse six further teaches, the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who not only cannot see the gospel, but neither which can see the Scriptural fact that Jesus, as the “image of God” in human flesh, is indeed and in fact Yahweh Himself. They cannot understand because their minds cannot be illuminated because of the false ideologies that they hold to, that Jesus is in fact Yahweh God in the flesh. Why? Because satan does not want them to become saved, and Scripture (even Jesus Himself) tells us that unless we believe that He is Yahweh in the flesh, that we cannot be saved.

Believing that Jesus is Yahweh God in the flesh, is one of the criteria for getting saved. This is one reason why the devil fights so hard in people’s minds to keep them from seeing the truth of Christ’s identity.

Galatians 4:6-8 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.

First, the Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God – if God shares His Spirit with the Son, then the Son is as much deity as is the Father.

Second, Paul here is contrasting the deity (God-ship, Godhead) of the Son (Christ) to those whom the Galatians were at one time under bondage to in worshiping demons, which “by nature are not gods.” Paul is comparing Jesus, who by nature was God in the flesh, against the false gods who “by nature are not gods.”

Philippians 2:5-8^*Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, continuing to be in the form of God as a man, He did not regard being equal with God in nature as robbery, but He divested Himself, and took upon the form of a servant, in the likeness of men; and having become fashioned like as a man. He humbled Himself by entering into a new state of being in human form, and was obedient unto death – even death upon a cross.

Textual facts:

1. “continuing to be in the form of God as a man” from the word huparcho (uparcw), which means “to be” in an absolute sense, the same as eimi (to be). In verse 6, it is in the Present Active Participle, meaning continuous action that is being accomplished by the subject, in this case “who,” which is Christ Jesus from the previous verse. Furthermore, in this specific case from the grammar, huparcho directly implies continuing to be that which one was before – Christ continued being what He always was even as a man (continuance of an antecedent condition). Nothing appeared that was not an objective reality from before He ‘continued.’

2. In this passage, morphe (form) appears with schema (external appearance, fashion, appearance) in verses 6 and 7, respectively. The use of both words together in the same sentence implies that an appearance of what was previously invisible has been made in a visible form and fashion.

Here they presume an objective reality – no one could be in the form (morphe) of God who was NOT God. Nothing less than God Himself can have equality with God, which is why the Jews wanted to stone Christ at least three times in the gospels.

3. These facts of the text give clear evidence that Christ was the incarnation of deity (Yahweh in the flesh), in taking on the form (morphe) of a servant by taking upon Himself the shape (schema) of humanity. The schema, shape or fashion, is the outward form having to do not only with His essential being, but also with His appearance. The eternal, infinite form of God took upon Himself human flesh.

4. The “He” in verse 8 is still addressing Christ from verse 5, telling us that God humbled Himself by coming into a new state of being (ginomai – to begin to be, a change of state or being) through taking on human form through birth; unlike when God simply made Himself a physical body when He appeared to people in the OT, like He did with Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 17:1; 18:1), Isaac (Genesis 26:2 and 26:24), and Jacob (Genesis 35:9).

5. Furthermore, taken in context, verses 1-4 address things that cause division in the church; selfish ambition, conceit, pride and selfishness, which Paul then leads into an example found in Christ of living and doing for others rather than for yourself. God did what He did not have to do, but He did it for our benefit. Furthermore…

     The use in Philippians 2:7 is of great theological importance. It refers to Jesus Christ as emptying Himself at the time of His incarnation, denoting the beginning of His self-humiliation in verse eight. In order to understand what is meant by Jesus’ emptying Himself, the whole passage (Philippians 2:6-8) must be examined.

     The two states of the Lord Jesus are spoken about here. In verse seven, the state of His humiliation is referred to as having taken “the form [morphḗn {acc.}] of a servant,” and having become “in the likeness [homoiṓmati {dat.}] of men {gen. pl.}].” In contrast to this, we have His preincarnate, eternal state spoken of in verse six as “being in the form [morphḗ] of God,” and “equal [ísa] with God.” The truth expressed here concerning His preincarnate state is that He had to be equal with God in order to have the form of God. He could not be God the Son without being Deity. He who showed us the morphḗ of God, the form of God, the essence of God, had to be equal with God Himself.

     The fact that Christ in His human form showed us God presupposes His being God at all times. He never claimed to be something without really being that in His essence. If He had, He would have been making a false claim.

     As to the use of the subst. harpagmós, robbery or plunder, see the verb harpázō, to seize, catch, pluck or pull. As a subst., harpagmós is used only in Philippians 2:6. It refers to Christ’s not taking that which did not belong to Him by being in the form of God. His whole life was characterized by being (hupárchōn) that which He always was. Prior to His incarnation He was in the form, the essence of God, and after His incarnation He was still in the form of God in spite of His voluntary humiliation…

     The use of the aor. act. part. labṓn (lambánō, to take), having taken (with reference to the form of a servant), indicates that humanity did not displace deity in His personality. Rather He took upon Himself voluntarily, in addition to His preincarnate condition, something which veiled His deity. [The Complete Word Study NT Dictionary; Zodhiates, on-line version; entry for G2758, kenoo.]

Colossians 1:15-19^* He is the image of the invisible God, preeminent over all creation; because all things were created by Him, whether in the heavens or upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities; all things have been created by Him, and for Him; and He is preeminent in all things, and He holds all things together. And He is the head of the body, the Church: Who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; for the purpose that in all things He would continually be first. Because it was pleasing to the Father to cause the totality of His fullness to dwell in Christ;

1. “The image of the invisible God” – The words here in their grammar, speak of the sameness that Christ is with God, His nature and essence. Yahweh is the bon-fire and Christ is the living flame out of that bon-fire – one in essence and nature, the same and yet one is wholly spirit and the other has added to His nature that of human flesh. He is Yahweh in the flesh, His very image in human flesh. The last part of the sentence is literally, “of the God, the invisible,” wording which emphasizes the idea of the manifestation of the essence which is invisible, the adjunct tou aopatou (the invisible) is of the utmost weight to the understanding of the idea expressed here, particularly in the predicate.

The peculiarity of the expression is related to that of the ancient concept, which does not limit image to a functional representation present to human sense but also thinks of it in terms of an emanation, of a revelation of the being with a substantial participation in the object (copy). [TDNT, abid.]

2. “all things were created by Him…all things have been created by Him” – that is, Christ Jesus created all things. “Created” from ktizw meaning to create out of nothing, the equivalent of the “ex nihilo” creation of God in Genesis 1. Here again is a hint at who Jesus really is, because what being lesser than God can create anything out of nothing? “Created by” where en means “by” instead of “in,” which is one of its standard possible meanings (in, on, at, or by).

The second re-phrasing of the creation aspect, while seemingly not having much difference in English, carries with it in the Greek a far greater and weightier meaning; here ektistai is in the perfect passive indicative, carrying with the implication “to stand created” or “to remain created,” which basically means that after the initial creation He is holding the creation together, bolstering the claim in verse 17, which is echoed in Hebrews 1:3. Furthermore, in this second re-phrasing, Paul uses dia instead of en (“created by Him”), which carries with it the meaning of “efficient cause,” – that Christ (Him) is the cause of the creation. In effect, Jesus is the Creator…another title that can only rest with Yahweh Himself as God.

How do we know that “Him” refers to Christ and not Yahweh? The beginning of verse 15 says “He” referencing Christ, saying that He is the image of God…there is no doubt that “He” in the verse is Jesus Christ. Verse 16 follows upon the description of Christ as “the preeminent over all creation,” again – references Christ, not God. The same obviousness is also found in verse 19, because “the Father” was pleased to cause all of His fullness “to dwell in Him.”

The text refers to God and “Him,” in the text two different persons – not in their nature or essence, but in their personages. It is obvious that Paul has two individual persons in mind in the text, and that in his text he says that the two are of one essence and nature, which is more forcible in the Greek than it appears in English.

3. “the fullness of God…dwells in Him” – while there is no word in the text for God or Father, the verb calls for either one as the subject of the sentence. In other words, it is implied by the text that Paul is speaking about the fullness of God. Paul begins the sentence with “oti” (for or because), for the simple fact that oti is causative and as such, is a term of explanation. Paul is telling his audience the reason why Christ is preeminent over all things – because He is Yahweh God in the flesh.

paV (all or totality) means without exception, without deficiency or lack of some attribute of God. Again, all that makes God what He is, dwells in Christ – the God-man. Yahweh is deity, and Jesus was of the same essence and nature of Yahweh – God.

The word rendered as “dwell” is katoikeo (katoikew), which reads as a certain, fixed, permanent inhabiting, as one lives in his house. It is distinguished from the only alternative word, paroikeo, which is a transitive, temporary dwelling place. Paul is telling his audience that the fullness of God dwells permanently, certainly, and fixedly in the person of Jesus Christ.

The word translated as “pleasing” means much more than simply pleasure in something; here eudokew (eudokeo) means “to think well of something by understanding not only what is right and good, as in dokeo, but stressing the willingness and freedom of an intention or resolve regarding what is good” [The Complete Word Study NT; Zodhiates, electronic version]. In other words, God did not just sit by and think this was a good idea, He participated in, and determined, was resolved in Himself, to bring about the incarnation.

The “fulness of God” is just what it says, the very fullness of God, that which makes God what He is in nature and essence, as well as personality and character. All that God is, dwells in Christ in bodily form (Col. 2:9); thus, “it was pleasing to the Father to cause the totality of His fullness to dwell in” Christ.

Colossians 2:8-9^*Be on your guard so that no one might destroy your relationship with God through a philosophy void of the demonstration of the Spirit and power, seducing and destructive, according to the traditional doctrines of men, according to worldly understanding and not according to Christ. Because in Him dwells all the fullness of Divinity in bodily form,

First, the whole reason why Paul pens verse 9, is found in verse 8. People were trying to convince the church in Colossae that Jesus was not God – through philosophical arguments and deceit, according to human carnal rationality and the elemental spirits (demons) of the world behind their false teachings (Paul gives the same warning to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:1). The Gnostics were teaching that matter was evil and wicked, and that God would not have entered into such a physical world. What Paul says in verse 9 about the deity of Christ was his answer to their heretical doctrine.

Second, Paul says that Jesus had the “fullness” of God within Him…He didn’t have only a piece, or a portion, or a slice of God – He had the fullness of God. What makes Yahweh a deity, was also found in Christ. Zodhiates says, for this verse specifically (as well as in John 1:16 and Ephesians 3:19), figuratively it means “plentitude of the divine perfections” [The Complete Word Study NT Dictionary, electronic version).

paV (all or totality) means without exception, without deficiency or lack of some attribute of God. Again, all that makes God what He is, dwells in Christ – the God-man. Yahweh is deity, and Jesus was of the same essence and nature of Yahweh – God. The word translated as “divinity” is theotes, which specifically means deity or Godhead, the nature or state of being God [Thayer; Zodhiates; Moyer; the TDNT: vol. 3, pg, 119]. It speaks of Christ’s divine nature, not His divine attributes. Paul states very deliberately and specifically here that Jesus is the very nature and “state of being” as Yahweh God.

The word rendered as “dwell” is katoikeo (katoikew), which reads as a certain, fixed, permanent inhabiting, as one lives in his house. It is distinguished from the only alternative word, paroikeo, which is a transitive, temporary dwelling place. Paul is telling his audience that the fullness of God dwells permanently, certainly, and fixedly in the person of Jesus Christ.

And finally, the word rendered as “bodily form” is somatikos, which means in bodily form substantially, really, truly. It speaks of a physical body, in direct opposite to pneumatikos (spirit). It means here that what makes Yahweh God (deity) resided certainly, and fixedly inhabited the human form (body) of Christ. This text teaches that Jesus Christ is Yahweh God in the flesh; it teaches the deity of Christ.

Titus 2:13 continuously waiting for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Greek grammatical rule, which has come to be called the “Granville Sharp’s rule,” says that when there are two nouns in the same case connected by ‘and’ (kai), and the first noun has the definite article (the = Greek word ten), and the second noun lacks the definite article, then the second noun refers to the same thing as the first noun and serves as a further description. Thus, the blessed hope is the appearing of the glory of our God. This verse actually has this same grammatical rule in operation twice (the second occurrence we will discuss below).

The second occurrence of this grammatical rule is found in the phrase, “τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ,” where a single article (tou) modifies two singular substantives (both grammatically and semantically) that are connected by the word “kai” (and), which are personal and common nouns (not proper names or ordinals). Consequently, what Paul is directly implying here, is that God and Jesus Christ are one and the same. (Note: the rule does not apply to two substantives that are in the plural.)

There are many text throughout the NT where this rule is found, but for our purpose and current discussion where this rule applies, there are only two (concerning demonstration of the deity of Christ): Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1. Two examples of those many are…

2 Peter 1:11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

These are just two examples out of many where the rule actually applies (article+single substantive+kai+single substantive) which are never rejected are argued over. The only passages that are ever fought over are Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1 because they give clear evidence of Christ’s identity as Yahweh God in the flesh, and it is only ever disputed by those who deny the deity of Christ…unitarians and such.

This rule has been determinedly confirmed by many scholars since the 1700’s when it was discovered. This principle of semantics holds true in English grammar as well. It must be noted that only unitarians deny this basic rule of Greek grammar, and not because of the grammar but for no other reason than in order to protect their false doctrine that Christ is not Yahweh in the flesh.

Every attempt by Unitarians to discredit this rule, set up a straw man argument by failing to give the FULL description of the rule (in failing to tell their audience that it only applies to singular nouns, NOT plurals), and then giving supposed examples to discredit the Rule which are all in the plural. All this does is demonstrate the underhanded and illegitimate lengths they will take to cling to their biased false doctrines in direct opposition to what the Scriptural facts tell us. The deity of Christ is brought out here in this text by the rules of Greek grammar and composition.

Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful work The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (theos) and “savior” (soter) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. [preceptaustin.org/titus_213-15; and the same sentiment by numerous others]

Furthermore…

Professor Daniel Wallace (NT contextual studies) words it this way: “In native Greek constructions (i.e., not translation Greek), when a single article modifies two substantives connected by καί (thus, article-substantive-καί-substantive), when both substantives are (1) singular (both grammatically and semantically), (2) personal, (3) and common nouns (not proper names or ordinals), then they have the same referent.” [Austin, abid]

Furthermore, with the advent of some manuscripts using the word “Lord” instead of “God,” it must be attended to that the vast majority of manuscript evidence, both internally and externally, give the overwhelming weight of evidence to the reading Christ is Yahweh God in the flesh.

Here, Paul tells his audience that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Contrary to what unitarians claim, there is no wiggle room in the simple construction where the deity of Christ can be argued to not be the point of what Paul is directly stating in the grammar of the text.

Hebrews 4:15^*because we are not in a special relationship with a high priest that cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, because He has suffered in every way that we do, yet He never sinned.

First, in order to grasp the full intent of the point here being made, we need to look at some texts that set the background for that point:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:12^*Therefore, just as through one man sin came into the world, and through sin spiritual death entered therein; so also, death comes upon all men because all have sinned at one time or another;

The point here is that Scripture, and Paul in particular, tells us that no human being has ever not sinned; all people have fallen to sin. There is only one person who lived a human life who never sinned, not once – and that is Jesus Christ the God-man, which is why He was able to walk in the flesh, to be tempted by sin, and yet not ever sin, at all.

If Jesus Christ was just an ordinary man, aside from His virgin birth, then He could not have walked this earth for 33 years without sinning at least one time in His life. This alone is prima facie evidence that He was not just a mere human being, but rather – as He claimed – God in the flesh.

II Peter 1:1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

First, in the Greek there is only one definite article in the text (tou) that modifies both “God” and “Savior.” This grammatical construction demands that we interpret what Peter is saying as the same as that which Paul makes claim of in Titus 2:13 – namely, that God and Christ are one and the same (specifically, that Jesus Christ is Yahweh God in the flesh).

As to the previous discussion on the so-called Granville Sharp’s Rule, the Greek construction of the text, “τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ,” where a single article (tou) modifies two singular substantives (both grammatically and semantically) that are connected by the word “kai” (and), which are personal and common nouns (not proper names or ordinals), then they refer to the same individual, not two different individuals.

Professor Daniel Wallace (NT contextual studies) words it this way: “In native Greek constructions (i.e., not translation Greek), when a single article modifies two substantives connected by καί (thus, article-substantive-καί-substantive), when both substantives are (1) singular (both grammatically and semantically), (2) personal, (3) and common nouns (not proper names or ordinals), they have the same referent.”

This rule has been determinedly confirmed by many scholars since the 1700’s when it was discovered. This principle of semantics holds true in English grammar as well. Every attempt by unitarians to discredit this rule, have all failed in the end.

1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

A mere man could NOT atone for the sins of the human race. Why? Because the only one who could atone for the sins of mankind could not have ever sinned, and Scripture tells us that all men have sinned.

6. The witness of other NT writers (Apollos):

Hebrews 1:1-3^*Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. Christ is the radiance of the glory of God and the precise reproduction of God’s essence in every respect, and upholding all things with the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

“the precise reproduction of God’s essence in every respect” – from charakter (carakthr), originally meaning the tool which made the engraving or impression. Later it came to mean the impression or reproduction itself, whether cut into, stamped upon, marked, signed, etc. It was considered to be the “precise reproduction in every respect” as that which it mirrored, in every detail, not simply a mirrored reflection. This is one of the passages that teaches the deity of Christ as the direct representation of God in human form.

This reflects Jesus’ words in John 14:9 (and others) when He says that those who have seen Him have seen the Father. He is of the same nature and substance as the Father yet separate in manifestation.

The word translated as “essence” is hupostasis, which means that which underlies the apparent, hence the reality, essence, or substance of something. It addresses the essential nature of a thing, in this case, the exact expression of God’s essence or being – what Yahweh Himself is. According to this verse, whatever Yahweh is, Christ is also. Such power is God’s alone (Neh. 9:6; Psa. 33:9, 104:5), Christ is here given the same descriptors as Yahweh, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. This descriptor of Christ attributes to Him omnipotence, an attribute which belongs solely to God.

In the second half of the verse we read that “upholding all things with the word of His power,” which firstly tells us that, like God, who created all things and holds all things together by His power, so, too, Christ does the exact same thing that God is doing. The word for “upholding” is in the present participle, meaning continuous action. The phrase “word of his power” is a Hebraism, and means His efficient command. There could not be a more distinct ascription of divinity to the Son of God than this. He upholds or sustains all things – that is, the universe.

Hebrews 1:8-12 But to the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe You will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.“

1. Some people try to say that the quote in verse 8, specifically “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” is somehow supposed to be read as either in the nominative (“God is your throne”) or as a predicate nominative (“Your throne is God”)…neither one of which make any logical sense at all. The text is actually in the vocative because God is speaking, giving it the rendering, “Your throne, O God.” Even though it is rarely used as such, the nominative can function as a vocative, like it does in John 20:28. This is easily ratified by going back to the verse which Apollos is quoting, Psalms 45:6-7…

Psalms 45:6-7 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions;

Apollos is quoting the Psalm word for word…and it is in the vocative. Those who argue that it is not in the vocative, are doing eisegesis rather than exegesis, and are not being forthright in their claims. Furthermore, while some argue that the text should read one or the other of the “alternative” readings, only “your throne, O God” resonates with the central theme of this section and book.

2. “But to the Son He says” the preposition “pros” means ‘to’ or ‘toward’ (particularly with the accusative of person, such as in this text), but can figuratively mean ‘on account of,’ ‘because of,’ or ‘for’ when addressing the motive, ground, or occasion of an action – which does not fit here with the meaning of the text or context. In other words, the rendering of some translations reading “But of the Son” is in error, not following the rules of Greek grammar.

3. Then, verses 10-12 are directly linked to the Son, by the word “and,” wherein Apollos says (by the Holy Spirit) that God also said of the Son, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning…” which is quoting Psalm 102:25-27:

Psalms 102:25-27 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but You are the same, and Your years have no end.

In both cases, the Holy Spirit through the author attributes these two passages to Christ, directly telling us that He is Yahweh God in the flesh. God is the Creator, Christ is the Creator; God will never end, Christ will never end. God is eternal, and Christ is eternal; because Jesus Christ is Yahweh God in the flesh.

7. His appearance in the Revelation:

Revelation 1:12-18 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. The hairs of His head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

Let us examine the details of the glorified Christ in the above passage:

1. White hair, like wool or snow.

2. Eyes of flaming fire.

3. Feet in appearance like polished bronze.

4. Voice sounding like the roar of many waters.

5. Face shining like the sun in full strength.

Now let us examine in detail how God appeared to Daniel in his visions:

Daniel 10:5-6 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a Man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around His waist. His body was like beryl, His face like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like flaming torches, His arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a multitude.

Daniel 7:9 As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.

1. Face bright as lightning.

2. Eyes burning like flaming torches.

3. Arms and legs like polished bronze.

4. Voice like the sound of a multitude of people all raising their voices at once.

5. Hair as white as wool.

Identical descriptors of five different physical aspects of both God and Christ – identical because they are one and the same in nature and essence; Yahweh. This comparison between God and Christ demonstrates Jesus’ claims to being God in the flesh; that is, they demonstrate that His claims were true.

No mere human being will be in the same glorified state as we see Jesus in, the very image and likeness of God as He appeared to Daniel, after death in heaven. We will receive a glorified physical body, but it will look nothing like the way Jesus appears – in the exact same way that God appears in the OT.

8. How men react to God and the glorified Christ:

Ezekiel 1:26-2:2 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of His waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of His waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around Him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. And when I saw it, I lost strength and fell down on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

When Ezekiel saw the image of God in the vision, he lost strength and fell down to the ground. The word here rendered as “lost strength and fell down” in Hebrew is napal, which simply means to fall down. The Septuagint gives us a little more information; it uses the word pipto, which also means to fall down to the ground, but when used with proskuneo (which here it is not) it takes on the meaning of to fall to the ground in worship. As used in this verse, it means to fall down as if one passed out or fainted.

Daniel 10:5-10 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a Man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around His waist. His body was like beryl, His face like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like flaming torches, His arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of His words, and as I heard the sound of His words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.

Again, we see Daniel’s reaction is the same as Ezekiel’s – he lost strength and fell down to the ground in a deep sleep, describing the potential of passing out or fainting. As with Ezekiel, he didn’t get up until he was touched and regained at least some strength to stay upright.

Now, let’s see how a man reacted to seeing the glorified Christ…

Revelation 1:10-18 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. The hairs of His head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

When John turns around to see who was speaking to him, he sees the glorified Christ Jesus, and just as Ezekiel and Daniel fell to the ground in passing out or fainting, so does John, wording his experience “as though dead.”

If Jesus was an ordinary man, not God in the flesh, then He would not look like God in John’s vision, which clearly identifies Him as such in the visions that the two prophets had in their own rights. The point being, John passes out after seeing Jesus, just as Ezekiel and Daniel passed out upon seeing God in His glory form in their visions.

No mere human being appears in the afterlife in Scripture as glorified as Christ appears, and that appearance is the exact same as Yahweh in the first two appearances. John passed out because he, like the prophets before him, saw God in His glory.

9. The Jews’ reactions to Jesus’ claims:

Mark 2:5-7 And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?“

Luke 5:20-21 And when He saw their faith, Jesus said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

In the two passages above, Jesus says that He can forgive sins and the Jews (Scribes and Pharisees) rightly and correctly respond with, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Their response is understandable and correct – what they miss is that Jesus is here indirectly claiming to be God in the flesh. As Yahweh in the flesh, He does have the authority and ability to forgive sin. The Jews’ reactions here demonstrate that they understood full well what He was claiming, and evidences that He was claiming Godhood.

John 8:58-59 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself from their eyes and went out of the temple.

In this verse, we observe that the Jews’ reaction to what Jesus says demonstrates that they understood full well what He was claiming. They picked up stones to stone Him to death, which was the prescribed punishment in the law of Moses for blasphemy, which they took His claim to be. Their reactions demonstrate without a doubt that Jesus had just claimed the title of “I AM,” the covenant name God gave to Moses on mount Sinai, for Himself, basically a direct claim to being Yahweh God in the flesh.

John 5:18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

In this text, the Jews “were seeking…to kill Him” because, John tells us, Jesus’ claims made “Himself equal with God.” Jesus outright claimed to be divine as Yahweh is divine, yet there is only one true God – therefore, He was claiming to be God in the flesh.

The Jews recognized what He was claiming and so sought a way to put Him to death. Their actions demonstrate that they understood His claim to be God, and they reacted in kind according to the law of Moses.

John 10:30-33^*“I and the Father are one and the same in essence.” Then the Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works have I done among you from the Father; for which one of them are you going to stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, “We are not going to stone You because of a good work that You have done, but because You, a man, blaspheme in claiming that You are God.”

First, see the notes and explanations on this passage that were fully examined earlier. Second, the Jews’ reactions to what Jesus said demonstrates that they understood that He was claiming to be one with God, one in the same essence and being, and to them that was blasphemy. They “picked up stones again to stone Him,” “again” because this was not the first time that they understood His claim to being God in the flesh.

Matthew 26:63-66^*But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “What you have asked Me is a fact. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard His blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

In this passage, Jesus stands before the Sanhedrin and they are trying to find something to accuse Him of so that they can put Him to death, which they have tried a number of times but “His time had not yet come.” The high priest finally gets frustrated and asks Jesus to tell them plainly if He considered Himself to be “the Christ, the Son of God.”

Recall our previous examination of the title “Son of God” and that it means equality with God in person and essence. For Jesus to answer in the affirmative, He knew would sign His death warrant and give the Jews the ‘evidence’ they needed in order to sentence Him to death. Yet He replied in the affirmative, and the high priest’s reaction is telling.

He tore his robes and claimed that Jesus has blasphemed by calling Himself God, which they had already accused Him of in the passages above that we have already looked at in this section. The reactions of the others in the room also demonstrate that they understood full well what Jesus had just claimed by answering in the affirmative.

In essence, the high priest asked Jesus, “Are you Yahweh come as a man?” and Jesus answered him, “Yes, I am.” There is no getting around what this passage states; no getting around what the high priest asks Jesus; and no getting around His reply and their reaction to His reply. They understood Jesus to claim that He was Yahweh in the flesh, and no other answer that He could have given would have incited such a response from these men.

In effect, this passage demonstrates that Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh.

John 19:6-8 When the chief priests and the officers saw Jesus, they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He has made Himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.

This is a “Son of God” statement. What the Jews were telling Pilate, was that they had a law that anyone who claimed to be equal with God, deserved to die. That had been their number one issue with Jesus during His whole ministry – which they tried to stone Him to death for on at least three different occasion, each time giving the reason that He made Himself equal with God.

Also take note that Pilate understood EXACTLY what they were saying when they said that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. As a pagan god worshiper of Roman deities that often had demi-god children, he understood that if Jesus was such an offspring (which He wasn’t), then He would indeed be part god. The difference here was that Jesus was only the offspring of God as to His flesh, but as to His Spirit, according to the whole counsel of God’s Word, He was very God Himself temporarily dwelling in a human ‘meat suit.’

The FACT that the title “Son of God,” that Jesus used for Himself, was a claim to deity, is clearly understood when we take the Jews’ reactions to Him calling Himself by that title. We are all sons of God as to Adam, so I can call myself a son of God in that sense – but that was not the sense in which Jesus used the phrase, and the Jews recognized and understood this completely.

When a person claims that the “Son of God” statements by Jesus does not mean that He was claiming to be equal with God, that person is making the claim that the Jews, all those who heard His claims and teachings, in that day and age, culture, historical setting, etc., didn’t know what they thought they understood. Such a statement is so full of assumption and presumption, based upon no facts at all, so as to make that person’s claims pure emotional bias in action. Scripture evidences those who understood what “Son of God” intended, and their actions back up their clear understanding. They were there, they spoke the language. You were neither. Again, recall our full examination of the title, “Son of God,” which basically means in no uncertain terms, that a person called the Son of God in this manner, is equal with God in nature and essence.

The reason that the Jews wanted Jesus to die, was because they heard Him with their own ears claim to be Yahweh in the flesh, and they took it as blasphemy because they did not know God and therefore did not recognize Him as God when it came down to brass tacks. Their reactions to His claims, again, demonstrates that they understood: (1) that Jesus claimed to be Yahweh in the flesh, and because (2) that was blasphemous to them, they pushed for His execution.

This is the end of part 3, until next time, God bless!

Is Jesus Christ Yahweh God in the flesh? (Part 3)

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Is Jesus Christ Yahweh God in the flesh? (Part 3)

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