But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:10-14)
We have to back up a couple of verses and start again. A week ago, a couple nice women stopped by my house to share with me about a big conference coming up more than a thousand miles from here. I don’t quite understand the logic of cold-selling a conference for members of an organization, but part of the conversation turned on the claim they made that Jesus is a created being.
Now, yes, I’ll grant that He had a physical body that was created, and yes, they agree that He will reign at God, the Father’s right hand, but not that He was and is God. And, of course, at the time, my brain stalled out. I couldn’t come up with the verses I wanted – like today’s verses.
According to the author of Hebrews, God says to God. According to Genesis, God speaks to God, “Let Us make man in our image…” Some will say “royal plural” but there is nothing in the text that says it could not also refer to a plurality of deity. Those who object refer back to the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). To say that God is two, or three means polytheism. It’s blasphemy.
Do I understand the Trinity? If at all, it’s only in the vaguest sense. But I do know that Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6.) He said, “I and the Father are one,” which some discount as meaning only “one in purpose,” but if that’s the case, why did the Jews try to kill Him? And He said, “before Abraham was, I am.”
Are these comments made by a sane, honest man? Only if He is very sane and completely honest, and understands something that we do not.
And to this trilemma (as C. S. Lewis described it) the only claims are “Lord, Liar, Lunatic” or – the new one – “some nasty folks came along a few hundred years later and added all this stuff in.” The problem is that the Bodmer Papyrus II dates to 150-200 AD, which is at least hundred thirty some odd years before the wicked Constantine and his cronies could have added to it all that is claimed, and it contains most of the book of John. What’s more important is the fact that there is no actual evidence that Constantine or his cronies changed history to suit their purposes.
Mind you, they provide no actual proof of these changes. Yes, over the years, various councils have said “no” to some divergent beliefs. Some folks assume that this was done so those who said “no” could have power. I’d like to see proof of that.
He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:10-14)
We have to back up a couple of verses and start again. A week ago, a couple nice women stopped by my house to share with me about a big conference coming up more than a thousand miles from here. I don’t quite understand the logic of cold-selling a conference for members of an organization, but part of the conversation turned on the claim they made that Jesus is a created being.
Now, yes, I’ll grant that He had a physical body that was created, and yes, they agree that He will reign at God, the Father’s right hand, but not that He was and is God. And, of course, at the time, my brain stalled out. I couldn’t come up with the verses I wanted – like today’s verses.
According to the author of Hebrews, God says to God. According to Genesis, God speaks to God, “Let Us make man in our image…” Some will say “royal plural” but there is nothing in the text that says it could not also refer to a plurality of deity. Those who object refer back to the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). To say that God is two, or three means polytheism. It’s blasphemy.
Do I understand the Trinity? If at all, it’s only in the vaguest sense. But I do know that Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6.) He said, “I and the Father are one,” which some discount as meaning only “one in purpose,” but if that’s the case, why did the Jews try to kill Him? And He said, “before Abraham was, I am.”
Are these comments made by a sane, honest man? Only if He is very sane and completely honest, and understands something that we do not.
And to this trilemma (as C. S. Lewis described it) the only claims are “Lord, Liar, Lunatic” or – the new one – “some nasty folks came along a few hundred years later and added all this stuff in.” The problem is that the Bodmer Papyrus II dates to 150-200 AD, which is at least hundred thirty some odd years before the wicked Constantine and his cronies could have added to it all that is claimed, and it contains most of the book of John. What’s more important is the fact that there is no actual evidence that Constantine or his cronies changed history to suit their purposes.
Mind you, they provide no actual proof of these changes. Yes, over the years, various councils have said “no” to some divergent beliefs. Some folks assume that this was done so those who said “no” could have power. I’d like to see proof of that.
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