Page 24 - November 2022 - Truth & Tidings

e’ve looked at two texts now for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus
in which Jesus is called Lord Christ, through whom are all things and
Win a way that identifies Him as through whom we exist.”
Yahweh. We all know there’s only one In two parallel lines, this verse identifies
1
Yahweh. So if the Bible identifies not only the one God as the Father, and the one
the Father as Yahweh, but also the Son and Lord as Jesus Christ. Anti-trinitarians take
Spirit, this would prove that the triunity the first line in an exclusive way. When
doctrine is scriptural: one God in three Paul names the one God as the Father,
distinct Persons. he’s firmly excluding the Son, they say.
What anti-trinitarians need, then, is a The Father is the one God; the Son is not.
text that reduces the significance of Jesus’ But to be consistent, they must also do
being called Lord, and they have it, they the same with the second part of the verse:
think, in 1 Corinthians 8:6. After stating the Son is the one Lord; the Father is not.
that there is only one God (v4), Paul goes The problem is that the NT elsewhere
on to identify this one God as the Father: affirms that the Father is Lord, and that
3
“For us there is one God, the Father” (v6). Jesus is God. 4
2
Paul does not say that the one God is the So push the problem back across the
Son, nor that He is Father, Son and Spirit. table. If anti-trinitarians insist from this
No, the one God is the Father. How can text that the Father is the one God to the
you get a triune God out of that? exclusion of the Son, they must also insist
As if that wasn’t damaging enough that the Son is the one Lord to the exclu-
to the triunity doctrine, Paul goes on sion of the Father. “True, the Son is Lord,”
to say that there is one Lord, the Lord they’ll acknowledge, “but the Father is
Jesus Christ (v6b). To some this implies Lord of all.” But then why shouldn’t a
that “Lord” isn’t such a significant name trinitarian do the same with the first part
or title for Christ after all. It must mean of the verse (“True, the Father is God, but
something less than “God,” and thus it so is the Son”)? Also, if the Son is Lord and
cannot mean that Jesus is Yahweh. the Father is Lord, what are we to do with
But once again, a text often cited to the statement that there is only one Lord?
disprove the Trinity strengthens the case Doesn’t one plus one equal two?
for the Trinity when we look carefully at Shema the Shema
what it has to say about Christ. Deuteronomy 6:4 was the Jews’ John
Shift the Problem 3:16. They knew it backwards and for-
In fact, the real problem is for those wards, reciting it daily. It is called the
who deny the triunity of God. Here’s the Shema (“Hear”) after the first word in the
verse in full: “Yet for us there is one God, verse: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God,
the Father, from whom are all things and the LORD is one.” Our second response
¹ Rom 10:13; Php 2:5-11 ³ Act 17:24; 1Ti 6:15; Mat 11:25; Rev 4:11
² Scripture quotations in this article are from the ⁴ Joh 1:1,18; 20:28; Rom 9:5; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:8;
ESV. 2Pe 1:1

344 TRUTH kTidings November 2022