Revelation 3:14 - Is Jesus the Beginning, Ruler or Beginner of Creation?

Did Jesus Need To Be Uncreated To Pay For The Sin Of The World?

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" -- John 1:29.

The claim is made that Jesus must not have been created, since, according to this reasoning, 'nothing created could pay the penalty of sin for everything was created and subject to corruption.' Many have stated this or something similar: "Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt." Thus the conclusion is that Jesus is the uncreated God.

Many say this as though such was written in the Bible. Actually, such a thought is not in the Bible at all. In reality, this thought has to imagined and assumed totally beyond what is written in the Bible. — 1 Corinthians 4:6.

On the other hand, if Jesus had to be the Most High in order to obey the Most High, then rather than condemning sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3), Jesus justified sin the flesh, for he would have proved that in order to obey the Most High, Adam would have needed to have been the Most High. Such, in effect, condemns the Most High for demanding of a being that is not the Most High obedience to the Most High. It would further imply that a sinless, incorrupt, yet corruptible, man could not possible have obeyed the Most High, and thus the Most High was unjust in demanding the death penalty for his disobedience.

However, what does the scripture actually say? Does it say that Jesus had to be the Most High in order to pay the price for sin? Absolutely not! “For since through man is the death, also through man is a rising again of the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:21, Young’s Literal Translation) It was “the man [not God], Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:5,6) Only could an incorrupt sinless man, as was Adam before Adam sinned, actually prove that such a mere man could obey God, and provide the offsetting price – antilutron – for sin (1 Timothy 2:5,6), thereby condemning sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3) Not only that, unlike Adam, Jesus proved that such a man can put on incorruption (Greek, Aphtharsia; 1 Corinthians 15:54), having overcome even the possibility of dying the second death (Revelation 2:11; 3:21), thereby bringing life and incorruption (Aphtharsia) to light for man. — 2 Timothy 1:10.

How could one man pay the offsetting price for sin? Because all were condemned in one man, who was once incorrupt, but was corrupted through sin (Romans 5:12-19), and thus only one fully faithful incorrupt sinless man — not God — was needed to buy back that which was lost. — 1 Corinthians 15:21,22.

Jesus was not born of this world (John 8:23), the offspring of Adam that has been corrupted through the sin of Adam and Eve. (Romans 5:12-19; 2 Peter 1:4) Adam was not created corrupted; he was created incorrupt, upright, straight. (Ecclesiates 7:29) On the other hand, neither was Adam created incorruptible, for such would have meant that it would have been impossible to Adam to sin. Adam was created incorrupt, but he was created corruptible, that is, it was possible for him to become corrupted through sin.

Jesus was begotten of the holy spirit in the womb of Mary. (Matthew 1:20) His body was specially prepared by God. (Hebrews 10:5) Thus, he was not born under the condemnation of Adam , but he took upon himself the penalty of that condemnation, and suffered as though he were under that condemnation, as though he were under the bondange of corruption (Greek, phithora -- Strong's #5356), in order to pay the price as an offering to his God (Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 9:14) to release man from that condemnation. Only in this manner is God found to be just, and yet the justifier of sinners. — Romans 3:26; 8:3,20-22; 1 Timothy 2:5,6.

Isaiah 57:15 – Examining The Hebrew Word ‘Ad

Isaiah 57:15: “For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

This is one of scriptures that is often used to show that Jehovah is eternal, to which we agree; however, it is often claimed that, by the usage here, that this proves that the Hebrew word ‘ad means eternity, not simply as meaning something different than eternal past, present and future, but it is often claimed that eternity exists outside of time altogether. Although eternal past is implied here, the Hebrew word ‘ad does not, of itself, necessarily mean this, as one can easily determine by looking up the how it is used in various verses.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/kjv/ad.html

Some read into Isaiah 57:15 that Jehovah exists outside of time; whether Jehovah actually dwells outside of time or not is not given in the Bible, nor is there anything in the Hebrew to warrant this conclusion. The Hebrew word ‘ad cannot be used to make such claim.

The Hebrew word ‘ad (Strong’s 5710) is also used of the dwelling of the righteous on earth in Psalm 37:29, where no thought would be placed in dwelling outside of time. In Numbers 24:20, the word ‘ad there certainly does not mean eternity outside of time, but it does refer to Amalek as having perished referring to future time? In the Bible, the Hebrew word ‘ad is usually used pertaining to future time.

In Psalm 41:13, 90:2; 93:2, Jehovah is said to be “from everlasting.”  These verses are often cited in connection with Isaiah 57:15. The word used in these verses, usually translated as “everlasting’, is not ‘ad, but rather the word often transliterated as ‘olam or ‘owlam. Does ‘owlam, of itself, designate eternal past, present and future, or an eternity outside of time? We have discussed this word elsewhere*, and have shown from the scriptures that it does not inherently mean either. The word can take on the meaning of eternal past or eternal future, depending on context. The very wording of the verses (Psalm 41:13, 90:2; 93:2) under discussion, however, indicates that it is not being used to mean eternity outside of time, since the time elements of “from” (past time) and “to” (future time) are given related to its use. Of itself, however, the Hebrew word ‘olam does not designate either eternal past or eternal future; the contextual usage in this verse, however, as applied to Jehovah, does give it the meaning of eternal past and eternal future.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/kjv/owlam.html

Nevertheless, returning to Isaiah 57:15, the New American Standard renders Isaiah 57:15 as: “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever.” The Hebrew word translated “lives” (Strong’s #7931) simply means to dwell, reside. The Hebrew is simply saying that Jehovah dwells forever, He continues to abide forever, that is, that he lives into the future without end.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/kjv/shakan.html

Nevertheless, “eternity” is claimed to be a supposed incommunicable attribute of Jehovah, and thus no one else should have it. We concur that having an eternal past only belongs to Jehovah, the "one God of whom are all" (1 Corinthians 8:6), the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. (John 17:3; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3) On the other hand, to live forever (as pertaining to the future) is not an incommunicable attribute of Yahweh. We gave Psalm 37:29 which shows that humans will dwell for eternity (‘ad) upon the earth; this certainly doesn’t mean that they will dwell in an eternity outside of time, or that they will share an incommunicable attribute of Jehovah. — See also: Psalm 21:4,6; 22:26.

Zechariah 11:12,13 – Thirty Pieces Of Silver

{Zechariah 11:12} I said to them, "If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them." So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
{Zechariah 11:13} Jehovah said to me, "Throw it to the potter, the handsome price that I was valued at by them!" I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter, in the house of Jehovah. -- Restoration Light Improved Rendering

According to many trinitarians and some others, Zechariah offers convincing proof that Jesus is Jehovah. One states: “In the passage beginning with Zechariah 11:4, “the LORD my God” said, “So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” It is claimed that in Zechariah 11:13, God says that 30 pieces of silver was paid for for him, but it is claimed that New Testament shows that thirty pieces of silver were paid for Jesus (Matthew 26:15; 27:3,9), and thus this comparison of scriptures is offered as proof that Jesus is Yahweh.

Let us break this down so as to ascertian who is speaking in Zechariah’s prophecy.

Zechariah 11:4
Thus says Jehovah my [Zechariah’s] God: “Feed the flock of slaughter.”

Zechariah is instructed by Jehovah to feed the flock that was to be sold for slaughter.

Zechairah 11:12
I [Zechariah] said to them [the shepherds of Israel and Judah], “If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them.” So they weighed for my [Zechariah’s] wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Jehovah said to me [Zechariah], “Throw it to the potter, the handsome price that I [Jehovah] was valued at by them!” I [Zechariah] took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter, in the house of Jehovah.

This scripture is often vaguely used to support the trinity doctrine, although there is nothing there about three persons in one God. Since Jesus was priced at 30 pieces of silver, and since Jehovah here says, “I was valued at by them,” they conclude that Jesus is here called Jehovah, and evidently this is supposed to give support to the trinitarian philosophy of three persons in one God. Let us look at this closer.

The above is all part of a prophetic dramatization. which has its fulfillment in the New Testament days. In the context the prophet takes two shepherd’s staves, named Beauty and Bands, and breaking them, shows the cessation of God’s pastoral relationship toward Israel. The staff, Beauty, depicts the cessation of his exclusive covenant relationship with them, while Bands indicates the deterioration of the relationship between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern monarchy of Judah. The prophecy of the potter’s field is a part of the former. It was this act, brought about by the treachery of Judas, that marked the termination of the law relationship to “them that believed”. — Colossians 2:14; Romans 10:4.

It was Zechariah, as Jehovah’s prophet, and thus the representative of Yahweh, who is depicted as asking for wages from the shepherds of Israel. The shepherds of Israel measured out for Zechariah thirty pieces of silver, for the care of the flocks. (Zechariah 2:7) The thirty pieces of silver was the price which, by the Mosaic law, a man was condemned to pay if his ox should gore a servant (Exodus 21:32), which, evidently fell far short of the price that would actually be due to for such care. In other words, the shepherds of Israel failed to pay the proper wages due for the job done, but instead insulted the prophet of Jehovah by paying the price of a gored bond-servant. By valuing the prophet of Jehovah as such, they were, in effect, valuing Jehovah in the same way.

Of course, all of this was done to provide a prophetic dramatization. The price paid to Judas for Jesus, the sacrifice for all mankind, was paid for out of the temple-money, destined for the purchase of sacrifices. He who “took on himself the form [outward appearance] of a slave”, in likeness of sinful flesh, (Philippians 2:7; Romans 8:3,21) was sold at the legal price of a bond-servant. Since Jesus was a prophet who had come in the name of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 18:15-22; Psalm 118:26; Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 12:13; Acts 3:17-26), this is also considered as being done to the God and Father of Jesus. — John 5:23; 15:23; See also: Matthew 10:40; 25:40; 18:5; Mark 9:37,48; John 13:20.

If in the prophetic drama of Zechariah, the price valued is fulfilled in Jesus, and if this would prove that Jesus is Yahweh, we would need to consider the rest of the prophecy in the same manner. In the prophecy, it is Zechariah, representing Yahweh, who asks for the wages — “give me my wages”. In the fulfillment, however, who actually asked for the wages? Matthew records it was Judas: “What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?” (Matthew 26:15, World English) According to the reasoning often presented in trying to prove that Jesus is Yahweh through use of Zechariah 1:12,13, this would, in effect, prove that Judas is Yahweh.

Additionally, Matthew 27:5 says of Judas, “He threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary…” Since in the fulfillment it was Judas who actually threw the pieces of silver in the sanctuary, should we then conclude that Judas is Zechariah, or if Zechariah represented Jesus (as some commentators claim), should we conclude that Judas is Jesus? No, for the prophetic drama does not have actual person-for-person correspondences, but rather prophetically depicts the events to occur.

However, actions are often attributed to Jehovah even though Jehovah himself does not carry out the actions. For instance, we read in Exodus 7:17 where Jehovah says He Himself will smite the waters with the rod in His own hand. Yet, it was Aaron that held the rod (Exodus 7:19,20). Should we conclude from this that Aaron is also Jehovah? And we read in Exodus 12:51 that Jehovah brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and in Deuteronomy 32:12, we read that Jehovah alone led Israel. However, we also read that “Moses led Israel” (Exodus 15:22) Does this mean that Moses is Jehovah?

Despite the claims, there is nothing in Zechariah 11 that offers any proof that Jesus is his God. There is certainly nothing anywhere in Zechariah, or anyplace else in the Bible, that ever presents the conept that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is more than one person, or that Jesus is a person of such a God.

Romans 11:36 - Is All of Jesus or God?

Romans 11:36

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen. -- World English.

For of him, and by him, and in him be all things. To him be glory into worlds [of worlds]. Amen. -- Wycliffe.

This scripture is claimed by some to apply to Jesus, with the argument that Jesus is the Creator, the Almighty God. Nevertheless, the context shows that it is God who is being spoken of, not Jesus. Verse 2 (Romans 11:2) shows that this is referring to the God of Israel, whom Jesus spoke of as his Father. (Exodus 3:6,15,16; Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37; John 8:54) Verse 34 (Romans 11:34) is an indirect quote from Isaiah 40:13, which reads: "Who has directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counselor has taught him?" All through Romans "God" is spoken of as both the Father of Jesus, and also as the God of Israel.

Taken in isolation, and with the rendering of the Greek words ta panta as "all things", and in comparing Colossians 1:16, one could think that Paul is saying that this is speaking of creation. However, "ta panta" does not necessarily refer to "all things" created. "Ta panta" literally means "the all," and what is included/excluded in this "all" is usually determined by context and common evidence. Of course, God is the source of all creation, but specifically Paul here attributes God as the source and provider of wisdom, knowledge and unsearchable judgments, as shown in the context by verses 33-36, although Paul is probably referring to all that is implied as related to these things, that is, God's entire plan of salvation from beginning to end, which results will be to the glory of God. The application of all this is from God, through God to Jesus now and the church reckonedly now, and actually in the age to come, and to the world after the glorification of the church, and all of this is to God, to his glory.

The Greek word "dia," however, can have slightly different applications, depending on context.

Thayer's Definition:

1. through

   a. of place

       1. with

       2. in

  b. of time

      1. throughout

      2. during

   c. of means

      1. by

      2. by the means of

2. through

   a. the ground or reason by which something is or is not done

      1. by reason of

      2. on account of

      3. because of for this reason

      4. therefore

      5. on this account

Strong's Definition:

A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal or occasional). In composition it retains the same general import: - after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) . . . fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through (-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general import.

Mounce's Definition:

(gen.) through, by means of; (acc.) because of, for the sake of, therefore

https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/greek/1223.html

Thayer lists Romans 11:36 under the subheading:

1. of one who is the author of the action as well as its instrument, or of the efficient cause

https://biblehub.com/greek/1223.htm 

However, the Greek word, dia, is often rendered as "through" in this verse, probably because of its genitive usage, which usually denotes instrumentality, the use of an agent. Scholars develop their "rules of grammar" based on a study of how words are often used. To think that the Bible writers followed such rules rigidly, however, would simply be an assumption. Obviously, since no agent is presented here, dia is not being used in the sense of "through", but in the sense of "on account of" or "because of". If this sense is applied to its usage in Romans 11:36, we would have:

For of him, and because of him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.

This application actually fits the context better.


Colossians 1:16,17 and Romans 11:36

Some also claim that the same wording is used in Colossians 1:16,17, where is it applied to Jesus. There we read that "all have been created through him, and to him." The wording is not the actually the same as Romans 11:36, but it is similar. However, what is important is not the actual wording itself, but how it is being used.

Thayer does not place 1 Corinthians 1:16 under the same category as he does Romans 11:36, but he places it under:

III. of the Means or Instrument by which anything is effected; because what is done by means of person or thing seems to pass as it were through the same (cf. Winer's Grammar, 378 (354))....

2. of the instrument used to accomplish a thing, or of the instrumental cause in the stricter sense: — with the genitive of person by the service, the intervention of, anyone; with the genitive of thing, "by means of with the help of, anything; 

https://biblehub.com/greek/1223.htm 

Abbott states concerning "dia" in Colossians 1:16:

By him; by his agency or instrumentality.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/colossians-1.html#16

In the context of Colossians 1:16,17 we find that both God, Jesus and the church are being spoken in relationship to each other. The church is to increase in knowledge of God, be strengthened with all power, giving thanks to the Father, who made them fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who delivered them out of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son. (Verses 10-13) Then Paul gives attention to Jesus, and describes him as the image of the invisible God (spoken of in verses 10-13). So we have a relationship shown in these verses that indicates that God, by means of Jesus, created "the all" being spoken of , so all these things have been created through him, and to him. Thus, we believe this scripture is speaking of these relationships with respects to creation being spoken of, and is not speaking of the same thing as recorded in Romans 11:36, where God is spoken of, and in in the context of his wisdom, knowledge and judgments.

1 Corinthians 8:6 and Romans 11:36

It has been claimed that dia in 1 Corinthians 8:6 should be considered the same as dia in Romans 11:36.

It should be obvious that 1 Corinthians 8:6, dia, applied to Jesus, is with the meaning of "through", not "on account of," since Jesus is being contrasted with the Father, who is being presented as the first cause. With this Thayer agrees. Thayer places 1 Corinthians 8:6 under the subheadings:

III. of the Means or Instrument by which anything is effected; because what is done by means of person or thing seems to pass as it were through the same (cf. Winer's Grammar, 378 (354))....

2. of the instrument used to accomplish a thing, or of the instrumental cause in the stricter sense: — with the genitive of person by the service, the intervention of, anyone; with the genitive of thing, "by means of with the help of, anything; 

 He lists it this way:

in passages relating to the Logos: πάντα δἰ αὐτοῦ (i. e., through the Divine Logos (cf. Winer's Grammar, 379 (355))) ἐγένετο or ἐκτίσθη: John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6 (where he is expressly distinguished from the first cause: ἐξ αὐτοῦ (Winer's Grammar, 419 (391).

https://biblehub.com/greek/1223.htm 

Exodus 20:2,3 - Who Wrote This?

The claim is made that the Law given to Moses was that which the Lord JESUS CHRIST wrote with HIS own finger saying: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:2,3

Actually, there is no form of the Hebrew words for "Lord" in Exodus 20:2,3. Many translations falsely present the Holy Name as being "the LORD," but that is not correct.

See:
The Holy Name of God

Exodus 20:2-3 - I am Jehovah your God, who has brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.[3] You shall not have any other gods before Me. -- Green's Literal.

Evidently, the thought is that "Jehovah" who spoke through the prophet Moses is the Lord Jesus Christ. If so, this would mean the Lord Jesus Christ is He who spoke through the prophet Moses. and is thus the one person who is God in Hebrews 1:1, and that the Lord Jesus Christ now speaks through the son of the Lord Jesus Christ, as spoken of in Hebrews 1:2.

Actually, He who spoke through the prophet Moses is the same one person who is the "one God" in 1 Corinthians 8:6, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of that one person. Jehovah, the "one God" of 1 Corinthians 8:6 now speaks through Jehovah's Son, and Jehovah's Son is not Jehovah, but the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom Jehovah has anointed and made "Lord". -- Isaiah 61:1; Acts 2:36.

The "Living God" Scriptures

Below are scriptures that contain the expression "Living God" in the American Standard Version of the Bible:

Deuteronomy 5:26 - For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

Regardless of the instrument God used, the living God spoken of here is the same one person who is God who spoke through the prophets of old as recorded in Hebrews 1:1,2.

Joshua 3:10 - And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite.

Joshua was not claiming that the "living God" had become a man of flesh and blood in order to dwell among the children of Israel, nor is there any reference in this verse to the one identified in the New Testament as the Son of the living God."

1 Samuel 17:26 - And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

1 Samuel 17:36 - Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

2 Kings 19:4 - It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

2 Kings 19:16 - Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to defy the living God.

Psalms 42:2 - My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?

David was not speaking of thirsting for the Messiah, although later it is revealed that the only way to be reconciled to God is through the Messiah. -- John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:10,12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; 2 Corinthians 5:18,19; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 2:9; 1 John 2:2.

Psalms 84:2 - My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah; My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God.

The Psalmist here refers Jehovah, the God of the Messiah (Micah 5:4), as the living God. Jesus, however, is said to have cried out to his God who was able to save him from death. (Hebrews 5:7) Thus, the one whom the living God anointed and sent is distinguished from being the anointed one who was sent. -- Isaiah 61:1,2; John 17:1,3.

Isaiah 37:4 - It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

Isaiah 37:17 - Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to defy the living God.

Jeremiah 10:10 - But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation.

Jesus identified the "living God" -- "the true God" -- here as being his Father who had sent him. -- John 17:1,3.

Jeremiah 23:36 - And the burden of Jehovah shall ye mention no more: for every man's own word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of Jehovah of hosts our God.

Daniel 6:20 - And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Daniel 6:26 - I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed; and his dominion shall be even unto the end.

Hosea 1:10 - Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living God.

This prophecy was fulfilled in the Messiah, for those who recognized and accepted him became the sons of the living God. While this was initially only offered to the natural Israel, later the door was open for Gentile believers to become sons of the living God. -- John 1:12; Romans 1:16; 10:12; Galatians 3:26.28.

Matthew 16:16 - And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Peter definitely identified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and not as being the living God.

Matthew 26:63 - But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God.

Here the high priest did ask Jesus if he was living God, but rather if he was the Christ, the Son of [living] God.

Acts 14:15 - and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from these vain things unto a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is.

Romans 9:26 - And it shall be, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, There shall they be called sons of the living God.

2 Corinthians 3:3 - being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables [that are] hearts of flesh.

2 Corinthians 6:16 - And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

1 Timothy 3:15 - but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

1 Timothy 4:10 - For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe.

2 Timothy 3:12 - Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Hebrews 3:12 - Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God.

Hebrews 9:14 - how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:31 - It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 12:22 - but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels.

Revelation 7:2 - And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea.

One should note that the Living God is always presented as being one person, not more than one person. The term, "living God" is never applied to Jesus in the Bible. Jesus is differentiated from being the "Living God" in Matthew 16:16.

Matthew 28:18 - Jesus and All Power

Matthew 28:18 – Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.”

Matthew 28:18 is often quoted as proof that Jesus is Jehovah by advocates of both the trinity and oneness doctrines. Some translations read “all power” instead of “all authority”; the Greek word, however, refers to “all authority”. It is from the standpoint, however, of those who cite this scripture in an effort to support the idea that Jesus is the Almighty that we in this study are examining what this would mean.

One of the “oneness” believers states concerning this that if Jesus has “all power” then nobody else can have any. This, of course, is absurd. Taken as the thought is given, it would deny that anyone else can have any power at all! You have no power to stand, walk, talk, write a letter, or perform your any work to make a living. And, according to this statement, Satan no longer has any power! The angels no longer have any power! The demons no longer have any power! The God and Father of Jesus no longer has any power! Human rulers no longer have any power to rule! If taken to the extreme, it would mean that no living thing has any power to walk, to eat, to work, to think, breath, etc. We highly doubt, however, that this is what the writer had in mind in stating that “all power” given to Jesus means that no one else had any, but we are just giving the logical conclusions that can be drawn from such a statement. The oneness writer stated this, we are sure, in an effort to support the claim that in some vague way Jesus is or became the Father (the only true God — John 17:1,3), an idea that we do not find anywhere in the entire Bible. Matthew 28:18 shows that this "authority" was given to Jesus from someone else who is not Jesus.

The idea that Jesus was claiming no one else has any power at all has to be assumed and added to what Jesus said. Paul does not so assume, for he says that it is “evident” that the One who subjected all things to Jesus is excepted from the “all” that has been subjected to Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:27)  Thus the God and Father of Jesus did not, has not, nor will he ever, give to Jesus the power and the glory that only belongs to the God and Father of Jesus, the being of the only Most High God Almighty. (Genesis 14:22; 17:1; Exodus 6:3; Isaiah 42:8) When Jesus stated, however, that all power has been given to him, he is not saying that no one else has any power, but that the power that has been given to him, as the one sitting next to the Most High, exceeds the power that has been given by the Jehovah (whom Jesus sits at the right hand of — Psalm 110:1) to anyone else, so that all things are made subject to him. In this relationship, it is evident that all the power given to Jesus by Jehovah does not include the being of Jehovah, on whose right hand Jesus has been made to sit. — Ephesians 2:20-22.

Often trinitarians as well as oneness believers will present a long list of scriptures which they claim supports or proves the trinity or oneness doctrines, and they will often include Matthew 28:18 in that list. Usually no real explanantion is made of the scriptures, but rather the trinity doctrine or the oneness doctrine is presumed upon the scriptures.

Many seem to be absorbed with the expression “all power” in Matthew 28:18, and thus appear to overlook the word “given”; some trinitarians try to explain that the power given here is not the eternal power of the (alleged) second person of the (alleged) trinity, but a special power given from the (alleged) first person of the (alleged) trinity to the (alleged) second person of the (alleged) trinity. If this is so, then there is nothing in this verse that offers any proof of the trinity. Actually, there is nothing in the scriptures at all about a triune God, or that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or that Jesus is a person, mode, etc., of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is always presented as being one person, and is never presented as being more than one person.

We also need to examine the word that is render “all” regarding “all” power that is given to Jesus, which is transliterated as “pasa”. It is a form of the Greek “Pas” (meaning: all, every, whole, etc.), and all forms of this word look to context as well common evidence for what is included or excluded. As in English, "all" is always limited to the "all" being referred to. As shown above, it is evident that the God and Father of Jesus is excluded, as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:27. A Biblical study of this word all through the New Testament shows that, even when our translators add the word “things” to it, it rarely refers to absolutely “all” things in the whole universe, which would include the Most High Himself. It is always qualified by the context and common evidence. Although regarding Matthew 28:18, we can see from other scriptures that the “all power” that has been given to Jesus does include the subjection of all power in the whole created universe, but it does not include the Supreme Power of the Creator Himself.
http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=3956

Trinitarians, likewise, like to refer to Matthew 28:18 as proof that Jesus is God, but, as yet, we have not seen any genuine explanation as to how this is claimed to support their position. Much that we have stated above also applies to the trinitarian arguments that use this scripture to support their doctrine.

It is often listed as proof that Jesus is alleged to be “omnipotent“. They seem to want Jesus to say: “Since I am the Most High, I have all power in heaven and earth”, while ignoring that this power is given to Jesus from someone who is not Jesus. Some claim that the power is given from the Father to the Son, but, if this power is meant to prove that Jesus is God, or omnipotent, then the scripture would mean that before being given all this power, the Son was not God, and was not omnipotent (as many alleged Jesus to be), until this power was given to him. If they say that this power was given to Jesus as a man, and yet still use this scripture as proof that Jesus is God, then, in effect, they would be saying the human being Jesus became the God being. It would declare the flesh of Jesus as being the alleged “God nature” that they claim Jesus has. It would declare that flesh of Jesus is with the glory that higher than the angels. The word man, in the Bible, when applied to humanity, refers to a glory that is a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5,6; Hebrews 2:7-9), to a glory that has fleshly, earthly, substance, not celestial, spiritual substance. -- 1 Corinthians 15:39-41.

In actuality, Jesus, in saying his words in Matthew 28:18, offers proof that Jesus is not his God, never has been his God, and never will be his God. Jesus is, and always will be, the Son of the Most High. He will never be the Most High of whom he is the son. — Genesis 14:22; Psalm 7:17; 83:18; 92:1; Luke 1:32; John 13:16.

While both trinitarian and “oneness” believers continue to present long lists of scriptures alleged to prove that Jesus is Jehovah, yet in reality, one has to assume, add to, and read that thought into all of the scriptures presented.

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Ronald R. Day, Sr. -- Restoration Light Bible Study Services (ResLight)

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