Some Christian theologians explain the Hebrew word “ECHAD” for “one” as a collective, composite or united “one” and not as an absolute “one”. From the time of Moses when the Torah was first written until today the Jews had never interpreted “ECHAD” as anything else other than
an absolute “one”. The Trinitarian theology that defines the One True God as three separate but co-equal Persons
and yet is not three gods is an enigma to the Christian religion. The use of
the non-biblical terminology “three Persons” is confusing and it has caused the Jews and the Muslims to reject
the Trinity that they consider as polytheistic. The Lord Jesus Christ believed God is the absolute One and recited the Shema as He taught the simple truth of the One True
God.
“Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had
answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD
is one.” (Mk. 12:29)
The One True God created Man
in the Image of Jesus Christ
“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: I am the LORD, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth
by Myself;” (Isa. 4:24)
“I have made the earth, and created man on it. It
was I – My hands that stretched out the heavens, and all the host I have commanded.” (Isa. 45:12)
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” (Gen. 1:26)
Some
teach that God is more than one Person because of the plural form “Us” in ‘Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness;” but Isaiah 4:24 clearly shows the One True God “stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads
abroad the earth by Myself.” There are at
least four other sound biblical explanations to Genesis 1:26 that does not violate the integrity and truth of the One True
God, and still be able to prove the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator.
1. “Our image, according to Our likeness” most certainly
refers to and includes the Lord Jesus Christ. God is Spirit therefore He is invisible
(Jn. 4:24; 1 Tim. 1:17). The Lord Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Col 1:15) Jesus is the “express
image” of the One True God (Heb. 1:3). “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (Jn. 1:18) The
Lord Jesus Christ said to Philip: “. . . He who has seen Me has seen the Father. . .” (Jn. 14:9)
There is no Biblical verse that states our Lord Jesus Christ existed in the flesh during the time when God created
Adam. He was not born until four thousand years later. The word of God reveals how Adam was created in Jesus’ image even though He was not born yet. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined
to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom. 8:29) Let me explain it this way. It is like the architect
who foreknew how the building looks like before it is actually built. He already
has the preconceived image of it in his mind. Although it is only a concept yet
he can still build a prototype model of it. Building developers build model homes
for their potential buyers to have an idea how their future homes might look. In
the same way the Great Architect of the Universe created Adam according “to
the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” “But
when the fullness of the time had come (about 4,000 years later), God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the
law.” (Gal. 4:4) “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust
- Adam, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man - Jesus Christ (1
Cor. 15:49).
2. “Our image” and “Our likeness” refers to the multiple image of God such as His physical, spiritual
and intellectual aspects regardless of gender. Genesis 1:27 states: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He
created them. (Gen. 1:27) Let us see how God created the first
man Adam. He created only one man, not three.
Here is how He created Adam. “And the LORD God formed man
of the dust of the ground (body), and breathed into his nostrils the breadth of life (spirit); and man became a living being
(soul).” (Gen. 2:7) Man is composed of three elements –
spirit, soul and body (1 Thes. 5:23).
3. “Our image” and “Our likeness” has reference to the angels who were present when God created Adam. “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with
glory and honor.” (Psm. 8:4-5)
4. There is also the intellectual image
of God. “Then the LORD GOD said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one
of Us, to know good and evil.” (Gen. 3:22) When God said “become
like one of Us” He could also have referred to the knowledge of good and evil of the angels. After He sad this “He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, . . .” (Gen. 3:24)
The Lord Jesus Christ is
the Creator of the Universe
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through
Him, and without Him nothing was made.” (Jn. 1:1-3) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:14)
“The
Word” is the key to solving all the mysteries, controversies, questions and doubts concerning the
divinity and pre-existence of the Lord Jesus Christ. “The Word” is the English
translation of the original Greek “logos” ( logoz , 3056 ) that denotes (1) “the expression of thought” – not the mere name of an object – as embodying a conception
or idea, (2) a saying or statement by God, and (3) the revealed will of God (very frequent in the Old Testament), is used of a direct revelation given by
Christ.” – Vines Complete Expository Dictionary.
When an integral component of a key is altered, distorted, added or discarded it cannot be used as originally intended. The devil is the master of deception. He
placed one small word - the article “a” in John 1:1 and its whole meaning
changes altogether. In the New World Translation of the Bible that is published
by the Jehovah’s Witnesses they made this change “. . . and the Word was a god.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses use their New World Translation to show that the Lord Jesus Christ is not
really the One True God. Here is their note on the key verse John 1:1.
"In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was a god."
[emphasis added] "...that is the Word was a powerful godlike one. Clearly, Jesus is not Almighty God." (Ibid.,
p. 40).
Here is another misinterpretation and distortion of Scriptures in John 20:28 by
the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They interpret Thomas’ words “My Lord and my God” after seeing the resurrected Christ was nothing
more than an exclamation of surprise, and they also say that it was directed at the
Father and not Jesus Christ. Some even ridiculously suggested Thomas was just
exclaiming “Oh, my God!” like some people do when they swear or use expletives:
But if that were the case, as a Rabbi the Lord Jesus would have rebuked Thomas for breaking the third commandment (blasphemy). He would not have responded, "Thomas,
because you have seen Me, you have believed: Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) . Thomas’ confession showed that he truly believed Jesus is the Almighty God.
People
who have been deceived by this erroneous and fraudulent New World Translation would not recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as
the One True God. The Lord Jesus Christ calls Himself “the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8; ref.
Isa 9:6). How can the Lord Jesus Christ be not “the Almighty God” when all authority
has been given to Him in heaven and earth? (Mt. 28:18) No one reading the correct
translation of John 1:1-3 can deny that the Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God and also the Creator. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made.”
It is important for us to clearly understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator even
though He did not exist in the flesh at the time of Creation, but He truly existed as “the Word” and we know that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.” It stated very clearly “The Word” was the One True God Himself. At the time of Creation
the Lord Jesus Christ existed as “the Word”, and four thousand years later ”the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
NOTE: The
original Majority Greek text of the New Testament does not have 1 John 5:7 that states: “. . . the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”
This verse was added in the King James Version because King James, who authorized
the printing of the Bible, believed in the doctrine of the Trinity. Many recent
Bible translations have omitted this verse.
The Lord Jesus Christ is clearly described as God and also as the Creator in the New Testament.
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on
in the world, received up in glory.” (1 Tim. 3:16)
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not
consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation taking the form of a servant, and coming in the
likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and
became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8)
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through
Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
(Col. 1:15-17)
The Lord Jesus Christ is God
and the Only Savior of Mankind
“’You are My witnesses,’ says the LORD, ‘And My servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there
was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides
Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there
was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses, says the LORD,
‘that I am God.’” (Isa. 43:10-12)
“Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior.” (Isa. 45:15)
“Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For
I am God, and there is no other.” (Isa. 45:22)
“Your shall drink dry the milk of the Gentiles, and shall milk the breast of kings; You shall
know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Isa. 60:16)
“For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior.” (Isa. 63:8)
From the prophecies of Isaiah alone we can see there is no room for anyone else besides the
One True God who can be the Savior of mankind. But how does God save mankind? He looked down from heaven and saw humanity’s horrible condition.
“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There
is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the way; they have together become
unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10-12)
“. . . Then the LORD saw it and it displeased Him that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, Therefore His own arm brought salvation for
Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him.” (Isa. 59:15-16)
In order to save mankind from sin God requires an intercessor, someone who reconciles man to
Him. God’s plan of salvation requires a sinless Man who would be the sin-bearer,
takes man’s place in death and also shed His blood to remit sin. Since
God could not find anyone on earth who is without sin therefore He had to become the Savior by manifesting Himself in the
flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the One True God and the only
Savior of mankind.
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS (YAHSHUA in Hebrew), for He
will save His people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:21)
“Then the angel said to them. ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Lk. 2: 10-11)
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior
.” (Tit. 3:4-6)
“. . . . Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. . . .”
(Tit. 2:13)
Here is the clear scriptural evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God and Savior.
