so we have a few a options in the translation... either the Word is God or the Word shares the same nature as God or simply the word is a god option 3 creates many gods this would make God a lier.
THAT'S IT! Thanks harbinger. John chapter 1 makes a lot more sense to me now. I now think I have the correct understanding of this text. The conclusion is that God is a liar! This totally helps me understand these other verses as well:
1. Matthew 16:27-28 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
2. Matthew 24:34 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (2nd coming)
3. Matthew 10:23 "Truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes."
4. Matthew 26:64 "nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Conclusion: If you think Jesus is God then God is a liar. Thanks Harbinger, these verses make a lot more sense to me. Why didn't Jesus come back in the generation of the disciples? Because he is a liar! That makes much more sense than thinking Jesus was linguistically challenged and when he said, "this generation" he really meant "that generation". The fact that Jesus lied about the timing of his second coming makes him a false prophet. Deuteronomy 18:22 states:
"When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously you shall not be afraid of him."
I am so relieved! Now I don't have to "be afraid" of Jesus when he says, "these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence" (Luke 19:27). AWESOME! The bible says that if a prophet is false then I don't have to "be afraid" of him (Jesus).
As Jesus could be rightly depicted as being God or sharing in the nature of God therefore, the actual shared nature makes Him also God.
False. This is a non sequitur. It would not follow that Jesus is the one true God because he shares the nature of Yahweh. The shared human nature that my son has with me does not mean that he is one being with me.
Place 1:1 in context and you see this Word is a person or at the least a personification. However, the Word is refered to as He and Him. ariving at 1:14 the word became flesh taking the whole council of the bible line upon line precept upon precept there is little choice that the word is Jesus who is God. It's not that hard. keep it in context of the whole Bible as well as the whole chapter you found it in.
There is little choice that the word is Jesus who is God????? Then why was/is there so much confusion over the nature of the Godhead throughout Church history? If it is so clear then why would there have to be so many councils and creeds trying to nail down the correct understanding of the nature of God?
You say to keep it in context of the whole chapter of John 1. I say let's "keep it in context" of the whole book of John. There is NOT "little choice that the word is Jesus who is God". Here are just a few verses in John that would contradict the idea that Jesus is the One True God.
1. John 3:16: "...He gave His only begotten Son...".
If the Son is begotten then he cannot be co-eternal with the Father.
2. John 5:27: "He gave Him (Jesus) authority to execute judgement..."
If Jesus is the one true God then He wouldn't have to be given authority.
3. John 5:30: "I (Jesus) can do nothing on My own initiative"
Jesus is not all-powerful
4. John 6:38: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
If Jesus does not have the same will as the one true God then he is not the same "being" as the one true God.
5. John 6:57: "I (Jesus) live because of the Father"
Jesus is not the one true God if He relies on the Father to live.
6. John 8:28: "I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me"
If Jesus has to be taught things then he is not all-knowing like 1 John 3:20 says of God.
7. John 10:18: "This commandment I received from My Father" and John 14:31: "I do exactly as the Father commanded Me".
The one true God does not receive commandments; He gives commandments! Jesus is not the one True God.
8. John 13:16: "Nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him" and John 14:28: "for the Father is greater than I".
Jesus is not co-equal with the Father
9. John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent".
This excludes Jesus from being the one true God unless the verse would read, "...the only true God WHO IS Jesus Christ..."
10. John 20:17: "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God."
Jesus cannot be the one true God because he says here that He has a God. The one true God does not have a God!
So there are verses in John that might include Jesus in the Godhead but there are also many verses that exclude Jesus from being the one true God. So I hope you understand now that it is not clear even in the book of John that Jesus is the one true God.
Furthermore, you might already know that the majority of scholars believe that Mark was the first gospel to be written and then Matthew and Luke stole (and embellished) from Mark. You will be hard-pressed to find that the author of the gospel of Mark thought that Jesus was the one true God. Don't you think that revealing to the readers that Jesus is the one true God is an important bit of information to leave out of a gospel?