Throughout the Bible, God (the supreme Being Who created the universe) is given many names and titles. Along with His personal name, “Yahweh”, and His title “God” (Elohim or θεος), He is called the Lord, the Father, Most High, the living God, God of gods, the only true God, and more. But is this God of scripture the same as the “triune” God of Christianity, who is one being in three Persons (the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit)?
The Father
In the Old Testament, Yahweh is called “the Father” figuratively, in terms of His relationship with His covenant people Israel (Exod. 4:22; Hos. 1:10; Ps. 103:13; Isa. 63:16). In the New Testament, He is called “the Father” in a much more personal sense, by virtue of His Fathership of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God because of the virgin birth (Luke 1:35). Through the Spirit of God which indwells believers, God also can be called our Father (Rom. 8:14-17).
This leads us to the first defining characteristic of Yahweh, the “living and true God”. He is the Father of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is His son (1 Thess. 1:9-10). Not only is He the Father of Jesus, but He is also the God of Jesus (John 20:17; Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3, 17; Col. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3; Rev. 1:6; 3:12). However, according to the Christian doctrine of trinitarianism, Jesus is also one and the same as Yahweh and God. This leads to a logical absurdity:
Premise 1. Jesus Christ is Yahweh and God.
Premise 2. The Father is the God of Jesus Christ (see above).
Conclusion. There is a God above Yahweh (contra Exod. 20:2-3).
And another logical absurdity:
Premise 1. Jesus Christ is Yahweh and God.
Premise 2. Jesus Christ is the son of Yahweh, the living God (Matt. 16:16, 1 Thess. 1:9-10).
Conclusion. Jesus Christ is the son of Jesus Christ.
I could go on further, but these examples of reductio ad absurdum clearly demonstrate that it is, biblically, impossible to suggest that Jesus is one and the same as Yahweh and God. Furthermore, and rather unfortunately, this means that anyone who worships a “triune” God has turned away from the “living and true God” (who is the Father of Jesus), so by definition, they are worshipping idols (1 Thess. 1:9).
Objection: It is possible for Jesus to simultaneously be God and the Son of God, because He is simultaneously a man and the Son of Man (for example, see Matt. 18:11 cf. 1 Tim. 2:5).
Answer: This common trinitarian argument fundamentally misunderstands the meaning of each of these terms. The title God, when used in reference to Yahweh, refers to a singular Being (Deut. 6:4), whereas the title “man” refers to any being that is part of humanity.
As an analogy, imagine a man named John Smith and his son, James Smith. The son could be called “the son of John”, but not “John” himself, because the name “John” refers to a specific person. However, he could be called both “the son of Smith” and “Smith”, because the name “Smith” refers to a group of people. In the same way, Jesus, being both the human Messiah and the son of God, can be called “the son of man”, “man”, and “the son of the living God”, but not “the living God” (because that refers to a specific Being who is Jesus’ Father).
Objection: Jesus is called “God” in the Bible, and therefore He must be one and the same as Yahweh.
Answer: Actually, there are only two places in the entire New Testament where the Greek text is unambiguous in calling Jesus “God” (John 20:28 and Hebrews 1:8), and one in the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:6), in contrast to over one hundred places where the Father is unambiguously called “God”. This is in line with the ancient Jewish idea of representational deity, in which those who work out the will of Yahweh on His behalf can be called “God” in a secondary sense.
For example, when Moses was told that his brother Aaron would speak on his behalf to the pharaoh of Egypt, Yahweh told him that he would be God to Aaron (Exod. 4:16), and again in Exodus 7:1, Moses and Aaron are said to be God to the pharaoh. In Psalm 82:1, 6, God tells the human judges of Israel that they are elohim (gods) because of the authority which He has given them. Even Satan is called ο θεος του αιωνος τουτου (“God of this age”) in 2 Corinthians 4:4, because he has been given authority over unbelievers in this age (Luke 4:6).
With this in mind, it may be asked, how could Jesus not be called a god in scripture? After all, Yahweh gave to Him all the authority both in heaven and on the earth (Matt. 28:18), over the dead and the living (Rom. 14:9), and made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36; 5:31), so the notion of representational deity certainly applies to Him. In fact, in one of the only two places in the New Testament where the Greek text is unambiguous in calling Jesus “God”, it is explicitly said that God anointed Him to become a god:
unto the Son: “Thy throne, O God, [is] to the age of the age; a scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of thy reign; thou didst love righteousness, and didst hate lawlessness; because of this did He anoint thee — God, thy God — with oil of gladness above thy partners“ (Heb. 1:8-9)
Therefore, the fact that the title “God” is applied to Christ does not mean that He is the living God or the only true God (titles which apply to the Father alone; see John 17:3), because this title is used in the secondary sense as referring to someone to whom authority was given by Yahweh.
Objection: Jesus calls Himself the “I am”, which means that He is one and the same as Yahweh according to Exodus 3:14.
Answer: This argument, although common, is actually inexcusably misleading. Jesus used the phrase εγω ειμι to describe Himself, a phrase which means “I am [He]”, but this is not the same as the title used by God in Exodus 3:14. The LXX translates God’s title in Exodus 3:14 as Ο ΩΝ (essentially meaning “the self-existent Being”), not as εγω ειμι, so Jesus’ audience would not have recognized εγω ειμι as being a divine claim. Furthermore, the Hebrew of Exodus 3:14 would likely be better translated as “I will be what I will be”, which makes any connection with εγω ειμι even more tenuous.
So what did εγω ειμι mean to the Jews? It was often used as a simple identifier, like how the beggar who was healed by Jesus states “εγω ειμι” in response to a question about whether he was the one who had been blind (John 9:8-9). Elsewhere, εγω ειμι is likewise used to answer a question about one’s identity (Mk. 14:61-62; John 18:4-6). Occasionally, Jesus uses εγω ειμι where the implied predicate is “Messiah” or “Son of Man” among other titles that belong to Him (Mk. 13:6 cf. Matt. 24:5; John 4:25-26; 8:28; 13:18-19).
Essentially, the only reason to believe that Jesus’ statements of εγω ειμι were divine claims is if one already believes that Jesus is Yahweh, in which case the implied predicate is “I am [Yahweh]”. However, there is no obvious connection between εγω ειμι and any title of God in the Old Testament, and so these statements by themselves do not show that Jesus believed Himself to be the God of the Old Testament. Instead, it is far more likely that the majority of the time Jesus stated εγω ειμι, the implied message is “I am [the Messiah]”, which better fits the context of these statements.
The living God
Another important title of Yahweh is “the living God”. This title represents the fact that “life”, as a property, is inherent to God Himself and that He is the source of all life (Gen. 2:7, Num. 27:16; Acts 17:28). If God ceased to be alive, then He would not only no longer be “the living God”, but He would no longer be Yahweh (a name which is often assumed to describe God’s self-existence). As noted already, the title “living God” is often used to distinguish Yahweh from false idols, such that anyone who does not worship a God who is “the living God” is worshipping an idol (Jer. 10:10-11; Acts 14:15; 1 Thess. 1:9).
However, according to trinitarian forms of Christianity, Yahweh is a “triune” God that includes the Person of Jesus Christ, such that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. This means that while Jesus was dead during the period between His crucifixion and resurrection, according to Christianity, Yahweh was dead. This means that, if Christianity worships Jesus as Yahweh and God, they are worshipping a God who is no longer “the living God”. Consider the following logical argument:
Premise 1. Life is a state, or property, of existence which is directly opposite to and incompatible with the state of death. (Although this should be obvious, see my article on soul sleep for a defense of this position, or simply read Ecclesiastes 9:4-10.)
Premise 2. Life as a property is inherent to God, by virtue of which He may be called “the living God”, and because of which David was able to write that “[God’s] years shall have no end” (Ps. 102:27), and Paul wrote that God is incorruptible (Rom. 1:23; 1 Tim. 1:17).
Premise 3. Between the time of His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus was in the state of death.
Conclusion 1. Between the time of His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus was in a state which is directly opposite to and incompatible with the property of life which is inherent to God [P1 - P3].
Conclusion 2. Jesus Christ is not the living God.
If anyone worships Jesus Christ as the supreme God, Yahweh, then they are worshipping a God who is not “the living God”, and therefore they are worshipping an idol.
Objection: Jesus Christ did not die, at least, His divine nature stayed alive while His human nature was dead. Therefore, He can still be “the living God”.
Answer: I challenge anyone who makes this claim to find a single passage that says or implies this. On the contrary, there are a vast number of passages that say that Jesus indeed died. In fact, it is fundamental to Paul’s gospel, which means that anyone who believes that Jesus did not die cannot be in the body of Christ. Since the biblical definition of death is a lack of consciousness, to say that any part of the person who was Jesus Christ remained alive between His crucifixion and resurrection is a denial of this gospel.
Objection: Jesus received worship many times in the New Testament, and we are commanded to worship Him and told that one day everyone will worship Him (Php. 2:9-11). Therefore, worshipping Jesus as the supreme God cannot be idolatry.
Answer: This is a fallacious argument because the conclusions do not follow from the premises. Jesus did indeed receive worship (Matt. 28:9, 17; Lk. 24:52; John 9:38) and will yet receive worship at an even more exalted level (Php. 2:10-11; Rev. 5:8-14), but this does not mean that He is to be worshipped on the same level as His God and Father, Yahweh.
In fact, throughout both the Old and New Testaments, some humans are worshipped (since the word ‘worship’, translated from shachah and προσκυνεω respectively, simply means ‘to bow down’ as a sign of respect), and this practice is never condemned. The only time that it is wrong to ‘worship’ someone is if they are evil (as in false gods and demons), or if they are on the same level as you (Rev. 22:8-9); however, it is perfectly fine to ‘worship’ someone who is on a higher level (Gen. 23:7; 42:6; 1 Sam. 24:8; 2 Sam. 14:22; 1 Kings 1:23, 53; etc.) It is in this sense that Jesus ought to be worshipped, and all our worship towards Jesus in this manner ultimately goes to the glory of the Father (Php. 2:11).
However, when ‘worship’ is used to mean reverence and praise toward a divine being, we are only supposed to worship the Father. In John 4:23, we are told that true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Likewise, when Jesus taught us how to pray, He specifically said to pray to the Father (Matt. 6:6-9). Therefore, although Jesus is supposed to receive worship (as in paying homage), it is not with the same level of divine reverence that we are to worship God the Father, the living God. If we worship Jesus as the supreme Deity, then we are placing an idol of our own creation above the living God.
The only true God
Another title which is given to Yahweh in the New Testament is “the true God” (1 Thess. 1:9; 1 John 5:20), the “only true God” (John 17:3), “the one God” (Mark 12:32; 1 Cor. 8:6), and other variations on this title. What did Jesus have to say about this title? Let’s see:
Jesus answered him — “The first of all the commands [is], Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God out of all thy heart, and out of thy soul, and out of all thine understanding, and out of all thy strength — this [is] the first command”... And the scribe said to him, “Well, Teacher, in truth thou hast spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He“... And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk. 12:29-30, 32, 34)
We see here that the correct interpretation of the Shema (“Yahweh is one”), the interpretation which Jesus Himself endorsed, is the traditional Jewish understanding that God is one being and one person (not a “triune” God). But who is the “one God”, of which there is “none other but He”? Well, as Jesus said elsewhere,
These things spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to the heaven, and said — “Father... this is the life age-during, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send — Jesus Christ” (John 17:1, 3)
Jesus believed the title of “only true God” to apply to the Father alone, and distinguished Himself from that title. Therefore, if the Father alone is the “one God”, and there is “none other but He” (a statement which Jesus Himself agreed with), then Jesus cannot be the supreme Deity along with the Father.
As Paul also said,
Concerning the eating then of the things sacrificed to idols, we have known that an idol [is] nothing in the world, and that there is no other God except one; for even if there are those called gods, whether in heaven, whether upon earth — as there are gods many and lords many — yet to us [is] one God, the Father, of whom [are] the all things, and we to Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom [are] the all things, and we through Him (1 Cor. 8:4-6)
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who [is] over all, and through all, and in you all (Eph. 4:5-6)
Again, the title of “one God” is twice applied to the Father alone, and distinguished from the Lord Jesus Christ. This demonstrates conclusively that the “one God” apart from whom there is no other is the Father alone, and Jesus Christ cannot be part of a “triune” God along with the Father. Again, this demonstrates that the trinitarian God of Christianity is actually an idol:
Premise 1. Any God who is not the “one God” or “the only true God” is, by definition, a false god and an idol, except when the word “God” is used in a representational sense as with Jesus Christ.
Premise 2. The titles of “one God” and “only true God” belong to the Father alone (John 17:3, 1 Cor. 8:4-6).
Premise 3. The triune God of Christianity is not the Father alone.
Conclusion. The triune God of Christianity is not “the one God” or “the only true God”, and is therefore, definitionally, a false god and an idol.
This logical argument demonstrates conclusively that the God of Christianity is not the “only true God” of the Bible, and is instead a false god.
Objection: Paul says that there is only “one Lord, Jesus Christ”, and yet the title of Lord applies to the Father as well. Therefore, although Paul says that there is “one God, the Father”, the title of God could still apply to Jesus Christ.
Answer: This trinitarian argument ignores the immediate context of Paul’s statement. In the full passage quoted above, it can be seen that Paul is contrasting the “many gods and many lords” of the pagans with the “one God” and “one Lord” of Christianity. Although the title of “Lord” applies to the Father as well, Jesus Christ (being the one human leader of the body of Christ) is a far better contrast to the many human leaders of the pagans.
As my fellow unitarian believer, Aaron Welch, wrote in this article of his,
The Father is not the “one Lord” of v. 6. In fact, the very thing that allowed Paul to refer to Christ – but not the Father – as the “one Lord” in v. 6 is that Christ doesn’t have the same divine status as the Father. By virtue of not having divinity, Christ can’t be contrasted with the “many gods” of v. 5. Only the Father (who possesses divinity) is a suitable contrast to the “many gods” of v. 5. And yet Christ can be contrasted with the “many lords,” because he is the only non-divine person (i.e., the only person subordinate to the one God) who is our Lord.
It must also be remembered that Christ’s Lordship was given to Him by God (Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:36; Phil. 2:9). Because Christ’s Lordship needed to be given to Him, whereas God’s Lordship is by virtue of His very being (Acts 17:24), they cannot be the same “one Lord”. And if they are not the same “one Lord”, then they are not the same “one God” either.
Objection: But David called both God and the Messiah “Lord” in Psalm 110. Doesn’t this mean that they are the same “one Lord”, and therefore, the same “one God” as well?
Answer: As a matter of fact, no, they are not the same “one Lord” in that verse. David used the divine name Yahweh to refer to God; but to describe the Messiah, he used the title adoni, a word which was often applied to human leaders but never God, in contrast to the title Adonai which was applied to God. The fact that David used adoni and not Adonai to describe the Messiah is actually strong evidence against the position that David viewed the Messiah as divine, not evidence for this position.
Furthermore, although some Christians have falsely believed that the fact that Jesus is called “the Lord” makes Him the same as “the LORD” (Yahweh) of the Old Testament, this is simply false. In the Old Testament, both Adonai and adoni were indiscriminately translated by the LXX as κυριος (“Lord”). This is therefore not a title of divinity, but a title of authority that can be applied to both humans and God (and actually, there are subtle differences in the way it is applied to Jesus as opposed to God). Unfortunately, most translations obscure this fact by translating κυριος as “Lord” when used in reference to Jesus and God, but merely “master” or “sir” when used in reference to other humans.
Conclusion
The God of Christianity, who is a “triune” God (one being in three ‘persons’: the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is very certainly not the God of the Bible. The God which Christians worship (at least trinitarian forms of Christianity) cannot properly be assigned the titles “Father”, “living God”, or “only true God”, which means that, definitionally, the God of Christianity is a false god and an idol. In contrast, Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is the Father alone, and Jesus Christ is His Son, the human Messiah.
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