Response: There are a few verses that refer –or seem to refer– to Jesus as God. Trinitarians assume –incorrectly– that there are only two options: Jesus must be true God or he is a false god. However, there is another option: A few times the scriptures uses the word God TO REFER TO SOMEONE THAT IS ACTING AS GOD’S REPRESENTATIVE.
In the NET Bible, a translation made by trinitarians, Exodus 7:1 reads, “So the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.’” In the Hebrew text of this verse the word “like” does not appear, the footnote explaining,
The word “like” is added for clarity, making explicit the implied comparison in the statement “I have made you God to Pharaoh.” The word ‘elohim is used a few times in the Bible for humans (e.g. Pss. 45:6; 82:1), and always clearly in the sense of a subordinate to GOD – they are his representatives on earth…. — www. netbible. com.
So here the LORD is calling Moses “God” because Moses has been commissioned as His representative.
At Psalms 82:6 God [Hebrew, elohim] Himself refers to Israelite judges as gods [Heb., elohim]. Concerning this verse Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., a trinitarian, wrote,
[God] is addressing the earthly judges and administrators of his law whom he has set up to represent him… But there is no hint of a belief in many gods and goddesses. Nor does God thereby imply they have the divine nature exclusive to the Trinity. It is simply a case where one term, elohim, must do double duty, referring not only to God but also to his special servants appointed for the unique tasks described in these contexts. –HARD SAYINGS Of The BIBLE
A ruler can commission a representative with full executive authority. Pharaoh did this with Joseph; his being given the signet ring was like being given the ability to sign Pharaoh’s signature. Nebuchadnezzar did similarly with Daniel. (Genesis 41:39-44; Daniel 2:47-49) And God has done this with His Son. This is shown at Matthew 28:18 where Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”[1]
And this is what is meant at Colossians 2:9 where it says that in Christ
“all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily.” The meaning of this verse is best demonstrated by an illustration: Suppose that the President of the United States became temporarily incapacitated so that he could not perform the duties of his office, the Presidency. The Vice President would take over those duties and have the full power of the Presidency at his disposal. However, when history records the roster of Presidents, the Vice President’s name would not be included because he was not actually President. Similarly, Jesus has been granted the full power of Deity, the office of God; but he is not personally or literally God. [2] But as God’s commissioned agent JESUS IS GOD IN A REPRESENTATIVE SENSE.
Under the Jewish concept of agency, one’s agent is as oneself. To understand this concept, consider a couple of passages of Scripture.
At Luke 10:16 Jesus tells is disciples,
“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me.”
And at Matthew 25:40, 45, Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. / …just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”
An event which illustrates the concept of agency is recorded in Acts chapter 9. Saul (the apostle Paul before he confessed Jesus as the Messiah) encountered the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus. There Jesus asked him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” The account continues, “[Saul] asked, ‘Who are you, Sir?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’” Prior to this occasion Saul had never even met Jesus, much less persecuted him. However, Jesus could speak of Saul’s persecution of him in a figurative sense because Saul was literally persecuting his disciples (his agents). Similarly, Jesus, as God’s foremost agent, can figuratively be called God. But this does not mean that he is literally God any more than Jesus’ disciples are literally Jesus. – Acts 9:1-5
Is Jesus equal to God? Go back to our comparison with Joseph and Pharaoh: Invested with the signet ring Joseph was functionally equal to him, but not positionally equal; people had to obey him as if he were Pharaoh, but he was not Pharaoh. Likewise, Jesus, having been invested with “all authority in heaven and on earth,” is functionally equal to his Father, but not positionally equal. He should be obeyed as if he were God, but he is not literally God. (Consider John 5:23.) Please note, any verse which calls Jesus God should be understood in this representative sense. [3] — Matthew 28:18
After Saul’s (aka Paul) conversion the scriptures say that he “began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God’” and that he proved that “Jesus was the Messiah.” Shouldn’t he have been proving that God is a trinity and proclaiming that Jesus was the second person of that trinity? In fact, the book of Acts records nine sermons to unbelievers, NOT ONE OF WHICH REVEALS THAT GOD IS A TRINITY OR THAT JESUS IS LITERALLY GOD IN THE FLESH. [4] If such a teaching were vital Scriptural truth and the cornerstone of salvation surely Peter would have mentioned it in his Pentecost sermon and in his sermon to Cornelius and friends. But he did not. – Acts 9:20, 22; 2:14-40; 10:34-43; 3:12-26; 7:2-56; 13:16-41; 17:22-31; 22:1-21; 24:10-21; 26:2-23 [5]
Doesn’t the fact that almost all Christians accept the doctrine of the trinity prove that it is true? Consider, two thousand years ago the vast majority of the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah; did this prove that he was not the Messiah? Of course not.
What is important is what the scriptures do –or do not– say, not what the majority choose to believe. The scriptures explicitly states that the Father is the one God; and Jesus explicitly identified his Father as our Father and his God as our God. He also explicitly said that his Father is the “only true God.”
NOWHERE DO THE SCRIPRUES EXPLICITLY SAY THAT GOD IS A TRINITY.
Considering these facts one must wonder, why don’t trinitarian Christians believe the plainly spoken words of Jesus? — 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; John 20:17, 17:1-3
[1] That Jesus “has been given” this authority shows that he did not have it previously, and, therefore, could not have been God. (See also 1 Corinthians 15:27.) [Prop # 1]
[2] Ephesians 3:19 speaks of Christians being “filled with all the fullness of God.” Here the more personal word ‘God’ is used (not the impersonal term ‘Deity’ –or ‘Godhead’– used in Colossians 2:9). When a Christian becomes ‘filled with all the fullness of God’ does he become God? If not, why conclude that Jesus’ being filled with all the fullness of the office of God means that he is God literally? Colossians 2:9 means that he is functionally like God; it does not mean that he is personally God.
[3] This concept of agency is known to some trinitarians. It is mentioned in chapter 7 of Lee Strobel’s book The Case For Christ, under the subheading “I and the Father Are One” where Strobel quotes professor Ben Witherington, III, both of whom are trinitarians. Failure to appreciate this concept’s application to Jesus explains many misunderstandings by trinitarians. [Prop # 1]
[4] If the apostles were preaching to the Jews that Jesus was God in the flesh, there would have been huge controversies between them concerning the claim. The Christian Testament reports no arguments on the subject. (By way of contrast, circumcision for Gentile believers was hotly debated!)
[5] If the apostles were preaching to the Jews that Jesus was God in the flesh, there would have been huge controversies between them concerning the claim. The Christian Testament reports no arguments on the subject. (By way of contrast, circumcision for Gentile believers was hotly debated!)