Introduction
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge” [Bible, Hosea 4:6]
Vindictive people with little knowledge of Islam and filled with malice try to misguide people by twisting the scripture. One such lslamophobe has drawn a fallacious comparison titled: “COMPARE CHRISTIANITY TO ISLAM”. In order to clear the false propaganda, for the benefit of people of all faiths, it is considered prudent to unveil the reality, this is being presented in a series of articles for convenience and better comprehension. In the previous issues of DJ from July to October 2018, some questions raised through comparison between Christianity and Islam were responded to.
The status of Jesus Christ has been debated extensively during last two millenniums, it continues even now. Throughout the history there has always been groups who considered him to be a prophet of God while others consider him to be son of God, third member of Trinity [Triune God]. Jesus Christ never claimed divinity, his later followers twisted the scripture to extract their desired meanings to prove that he was divine, son of God. The Unitarian Christian groups and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in Trinity or divinity of Jesus Christ. Like early Christians and many other Unitarians Christians, Islam considers Jesus Christ as a messenger of God [Prophet], not divine.
An effort is being made here to highlight various aspects of this most important and controversial issue, even among Christians about divinity of Jesus Christ.
The Claim about Jesus Christ, Comparison of Islam with Christianity
Christianity: “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Bible, New Testament, Philippians 2:10-11)
Islam: Jesus was a prophet. He was not divine. Jesus will bow to Muhammad on Judgment Day. (Quran 5:73-75)
Analysis: 1
Claim: “Jesus was a prophet. He was not divine. Jesus will bow to Muhammad on Judgment Day. (Quran 5:73-75)”
Claim: Has two parts
Part-1″ “Jesus was a prophet. He was not divine. [It is also proved by Bible, details to follow]
Part-2: Jesus will bow to Muhammad on Judgment Day. (Quran 5:73-75)” [False claim attributed to Islam]
Let’s see what Quran says (translation):
“They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary” while the Messiah has said, “O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. (Quran; 5:72)
Bible: “Jesus answered, ”The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” [Mark 12:29-30]
The Word Trinity does not exist in Bible, however Quran mentions: “They have certainly disbelieved who say, “Allah is the third of three.” And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment. (Quran; 5:73)
This verse has been translated by some scholars like Muhammad Asad as:
“Indeed, the truth deny they who say, “Behold, God is the third of a trinity” seeing that there is no deity whatever save the One God. And unless they desist from this their assertion, grievous suffering is bound to befall such of them as are bent on denying the truth. “(Quran; 5:73)
“So will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (74) The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how we make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded. (Quran; 5: 75)
In Verse 5:73,
“if they do not desist from what they are saying” Or “Such of them as are bent on denying the truth” Both translations have similar meanings Nowhere does it say that “Jesus will bow to Muhammad on Judgment Day” a total lie. How maliciously “such of them as are bent on denying the truth” has been changed to “Jesus will bow to Muhammad on Judgment Day”.
Islam forbids bowing to anyone except Goa
“Do not place any other deity alongside God, lest you sit back, c o n d e m n e d, forsaken”. (Quran; 17:22)
“Everyone has a direction towards which they turn in prayer, and none other than the Lord Creator Himself has commanded His believers and worshippers that they turn towards the Kaaba in prayer, wheresoever they may be. The Kaaba is but a location deter mined by the Lord for the believers to turn to in prayer. It is definitely not an object of worship. (Quran; 2: 125, 144, 148)
The Bible says:
Jesus said: “When you pray, say Our Father which art in heaven.’ (Luke 11:2)
“The hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:23)
Prostration is for Allah alone and the law of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the most perfect and most complete of laws, according to which it is not permissible to prostrate to anyone or anything other than Allah, either by way of greeting or by way of worship. As for worship, it cannot be devoted to any except Allah alone, according to all laws and teachings, but in the past prostration was used as a greeting and by way of honouring people, as the parents and brothers of Joseph did, and as the angels did to Adam. This was by way of greeting and showing respect, not by way of worship. But according to the law of Muhammad (PBUH), Allah has for bidden that and has made prostration for Allah alone, it is not permissible to prostrate to anyone else, either the Prophets or others, to the extent that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) forbade anyone to prostrate to him and stated that prostration is for Allah alone.
lbn Maajah (1853) and al Bayhaqi (14711) narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa said: When Mu’aadh ibn Jabal came from Syria he prostrated to the Prophet (PBUH), who said, “What is this, 0 Mu’aadh?” He said, “I went to Syria and saw them prostrating to their archbishops and patriarchs, and I wanted to do that for you. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “Do not do that. If I were to command anyone to prostrate to any one other than Allah, I would have commanded women to prostrate to their husbands. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no woman can fulfill her duty towards Allah until she fulfils her duty towards her husband. If he asks her (for intimacy) even if she is on her camel saddle, she should not refuse.”
Jaabir (R.A) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “‘Eesa ibn Maryam will come down and their leader the Mahdi will say to him: ‘Come and lead us in prayer.’ But he will say: ‘No, one of them should lead the others in prayer, as a sign of honour from Allah to this ummah.’: Narrated by al-Haarith ibn Abi Usaamah in his Musnad. And lbn al-Qayyim said in al-Manaar al-Muneef (1/147): its isnaad is jayyid.
Hence it is a total lie, a fabrica tion to claim that Jesus will bow to Muhammad (PBUH) on Judgment Day.
The Bible on Deceptive Teachings, Corruption of Scripture to Mislead:
“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes made it a lie [Jeremiah 8:8] “Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. “[2 Peter 2:2]
”Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.” [1 Timothy 6:4-5]
Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. [Proverbs 4:24]
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! [Isaiah 5:20)
For those who guide this people are leading them astray; and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. [Isaiah 9: 16)
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. [2 Timothy 3: 13)
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [2 Timothy 4:3-4]
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. [Revelation 22:18-19]
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! [Isaiah 5:20].
And said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? {Acts 13: 10]
“Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead man {Mark 13:6]
“And will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” [2 Timothy 4:4]
Analysis: 2
Christianity Claims: “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
The Epistle of Pau to the Philippians, often referred to simply as “Philippians” is the eleventh book in the New Testament. This letter was written to the church at Philippi, one of the earliest churches to be founded in Europe. Biblical scholars are in general agreement that the letter was indeed written by Paul of Tarsus. It must be understood with saying of Jesus Christ:
Jesus said: “when you pray, say Our Father which art in heaven.’ (Luke 11:2)
“The hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” (John 4:23)
It is in reverence and respect to the great teacher Jesus Christ, not a God or god. It must be kept in mind that:-
1. In the New Testament seven teen passages, wherein the Father is styled one or only God, while there is not a single passage in which the Son is so styled.
2. Son is biblical terminology used frequently for those “dear to God, near to God, loved by God’, servant of God, not biological son as prevalent in Roman/ Greek mythology. In the tour Gospels, Jesus is recorded as saying. “Blessed are the peacemakers; they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew; 5:9). [Thus the whole UN is son of God]
3. There are 320 passages in which the Father is absolutely, and by way of eminence, called God; while there is not one in which the Son is thus called.
4. There are 105 passages in which the Father is denominated God, with peculiarly high titles and epithets, whereas the Son is not once denominated.
5. There are 90 passages wherein it is declared that all prayers and praises ought to be offered to Him, and that everything ought to be ultimately directed to his honor and glory; while of the Son no such declaration is ever made.
6. Of 1,300 passages in the New Testament wherein the word God is mentioned, not one necessarily implies the existence of more than one person in the Godhead, or that this one is any other than the Father.
7. The passages wherein the Son is declared, positively, or by clearest implication, to be subordinate to the Father, deriving his being from Him, receiving from Him his power, and acting in all things wholly according to His will, are in number above 300.
8. “heavenly Father” (Matthew;6:14) was by no means new, for in the Lord’s prayer Jesus is reported to have taught his disciples to address God in this same familiar way : “Thus therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified,” (Matthew;6:9).
Addressed as ‘Lord’ instead of ‘lord, master or teacher’:
The word Lord has been used in New Testament KJV at 736 places, out of this at 73 places word Lord is used as translation of Greek. kurios, lord, master, from kuros (authority 2962), with small ‘I’ not capital ‘L’. Meaning: (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication Mr. (as a respectful title): God, Lord, master, Sir. According to ancient Greek scripts, Jesus has been referred respectfully as; koo’-ree-os, translated as ‘Lord’, whereas it also means Sir, Mr. (as a respectful title} or lord. Hence instead of using Lord for Jesus as one of the meanings of ‘koo’-ree-os’, Jesus could have also been addressed as master, Sir or Mr. as a respectful title.
According to the dictionary, ‘lord’ means: ‘master, lord and Leader, chief, ruler, master, monarch, sovereign, king, emperor, prince, governor, commander, captain, overlord, suzerain, baron, potentate, liege, nobleman, peer, aristocrat, feudal lord, landowner, lord of the manor, seigneur; duke, earl, viscount. Lord is someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler. “Lord of the sea” “lords of the jungle” “our lord the king”. Also used in exclamations expressing surprise or worry, or of emphasis. “Lord, I’m cold!”
Here is an example:
1 Corinthians 8:5-6: “We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), yet for us there is but one God (θεός, theos, God, 2316), the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, (lord, master) (KÜPIOS, kurios, lord, master, from kuros (authority, 2962) Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.”
The Deception in Translation
Here there is a trick played in translation from Greek to English which is exposed through original Greek NASB Lexicon. For God original Greek script uses: theos, God, 2316, and for Jesus Greek script used: kurios, lord, master, from kuros (authority, 2962), with small ‘I’ not capital ‘L’. This has been done deliberately by all the Christian Bible translators to deceive the reader to equate Jesus with God in support of Trinity. Check out at: http://biblehub.com/lexicon/1 corinthians/8-6.htm
‘Lord’ in Old Testament
In the Old Testament , the word ‘Lord’ besides being used as a title for God has also been used as respectable title for husband and a man of authority or a ruler: “And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord (husband) being old also?” (Genesis; 18:12). In Genesis 44:18-20, the brothers of Joseph addressed him ‘Lord’ as a token of respect because Joseph was holding the seat of high authority in the government of Egypt. [‘Lord’, here is the translation of Hebrew; ynda, ‘adown, aw-done, meaning to rule; sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine): lord, master, owner. In Old Testament for ‘The One God’, a special name from Hebrew; hwhy Yhovah, yeh-ho-vaw’; (the) self Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: Jehovah, the Lord’ has been used for example at Genesis; 25:23-24.
Misuse, Mistranslation of Lord or lord?
In translations from Greek to English, Lord with capital ‘L’ has been added to look alike as Lord (God). At five places (Luke; 2:29, Acts; 4:24, 2 Peter;2: 1, Jude; 1:4, Rev;6:10) the word Lord is used as a translation of Greek – despo>thv, des-pot’-ace; meaning an absolute ruler (“despot”) Lord, master. It is mentioned in New Testament that Simeon was a righteous and devout man of Jerusalem; he was looking for the promised comforter of Jews. When child Jesus was brought at the temple, Simeon took him up in his arms, blessed God and said “Lord (des-pot’-ace), now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word ( Luke; 2:29). Richard Francis Weymouth in ‘The New Testament in Modern Speech’ has translated it as: “Now, 0 Sovereign Lord (des-pot’-ace), Thou dost send Thy servant away in peace, in fulfillment of Thy word (Luke; 2:29). Obviously here the word Lord (des pot’-ace) has been used for The God, the Supreme Deity. Similarly the other verses: “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God (theh’-os) with one accord, and said, Lord (des-pot’-ace) , thou art God which hast made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is:” (Acts;4:24 ); “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who shall secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord (des pot’-ace-despoth) that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter; 2:1). “For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation , ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord (des-pot’-ace) God (theh’-os-, deity, God), and our Lord (kurio kurios koo’-ree-os; Mr. as a respectful title, God, Lord, master, Sir) Jesus Christ.”(Jude; 1:4).”And they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, 0 Lord (des-pot’-ace), holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Revelation; 6: 10). It is evident that the Greek des-pot’ ace has been translated as Lord for God, ‘husband’ and ‘man of authority’ in Bible. The Greek koo’-ree-os has also been translated as Lord for more than one meaning including God, the titles of respect like Mr. Sir and master; which has been used for Jesus, hence it does not support the claim of divinity of Jesus.
Let’s examine the verse quoted (Philippians 2: 10-11):
“at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
Now look at the same verse with original Greek words and translations NASB Lexicon which exposes the deception. http://biblehub.com/lexicon/philippians/2-11 .htm
“at the name [ὀνόματι, onomati, a name, authority, cause (3686)] of Jesus every knee will bow [κάμπτω, kampse, to bend (2578)], and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is lord [κύριος; kurios, lord, master (2962)], to the glory [δόξαν, doxan,
Praise, honor, glory (1391)] of God [θεοῦ, theou , God, a god (2316) the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
Hence a possible translation should have been:
“at the cause of Jesus every knee will bend and every tongue will confess with respect that Jesus Christ is lord, (master), to the praise of God, the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
Sir Anthony Buzzard, the renowned Christian theologian has comprehensively explained the difference between Lord and lord in the Bible.
The following information is vital for clear understanding of the Scripture and the all-important issue about who God is and who Jesus is in relation to God. The divine name YHWH (probably pronounced Yahweh) is commonly referred to as the tetragrammaton (four-letter word). Bible translators adopted the practice used in most English versions of rendering that name as “LORD” in all capital letters (nearly 7,000 times in our Old Testament). This was to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered “Lord” (capital L and lowercase letters o-r-d). Adonai means “Lord God,” “the supreme Lord,” and is a synonym for the divine name YHVH. Wherever the two names stand together in the Old Testament
as a compound name for God, they can be rendered “Sovereign Lord,” i.e. Lord God, Adonai YHVH (occasionally YHVH Adonai) .
The name YHVH was intro duced, it appears to Moses but was not known to Abraham and others living before Moses: “As God the Almighty [El Shaddai] I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but my name, LORD (YHVH), I did not make known to them” (Exod. 6:3).
For those reading the Greek, the LXX (= Septuagint, translation by Jews from 300 BC of the Hebrew into Greek):
“And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their God, and my name LORD I did not reveal to them.”
Some of our readers will enjoy the Hebrew of the same verse:
Now notice the Latin translation, the Vulgate, and observe carefully how Jerome the translator knew about the word Adonai (the supreme Lord) in the 4th century: “Qui apparui Abraham Isaac et Jacob in Deo omnipotente et nomen meum Adonai non indicavi eis.’
The essential lesson to be remembered is that the Son of God, Jesus is not YHVH! He is YHVH’s uniquely fathered, generated Son, brought into existence by miracle in Mary (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20: Note, “begotten, fathered in her”). God became the Father of Jesus, the Son at that moment.
Paul summarized, late in his ministry, the essential Christian creed. This verse should be conscientiously memorized by all believers: “There is one mediator between God and human beings, a human, the Messiah Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). All translations are correct here.
The God of the Hebrew Bible is the same God of the New Testament. He is both the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and also the God and Father of Jesus Christ:
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile: The same Lord is Lord of all” (Rom. 10:12).
“God is the God of Jews and Gentiles” (Rom. 3:29).
Now the story becomes very fascinating as we investigate the Bible as a sort of “crime scene.” The rules of capitalization agreed to by most English translations have been violated in one highly significant verse, Psalm 110:1, more often quoted in the New Testament than any other verse and cited by Jesus to silence all argument (Matt. 22:41-46). We introduce the subject with this title:
What Is in a Vowel Point? The Difference Between God and Man
We want now to introduce you to the all-important word adoni (pronounced “adonee”) (not Adonai, Lord God, but lord, master). Professor Larry Hurtado, celebrated author of a classic on Christology: “There is no question but that the terms ADONAI and adoni function differently. The one (ADONAI) a reverent way of avoiding pronouncing the word YHVH and the other (ADONI), the use of the same word [but a different vowel at the end] for non-divine (=non-Deity) figures.”
Facts on the Title for Christ (adoni, my lord, not Adonai, Lord God) in Psalm 110:1
[My explanation for English readers is in square brackets. See further the appendix in our Who is Jesus? Booklet, free in various languages at our site restorationfellowship.org]
Here is the truth about Psalm 110:1, the NT’s master key text, from the entry “Lord” in Whittaker Revised Brown Driver Briggs (standard lexicon of biblical Hebrew used by all scholars). Strong’s Concordance will not show you this critically important distinction.
[Psalm 110:1: ”The LORD
(YHVH) says to my lord (adoni) “pronounced “adonee” = my lord, never a divine title.]
Here we have the biblical usage of the all important title adoni. It has these meanings:
1. Singular. Lord, master
With suffix of 1st person singular [adoni, my lord, Ps. 110:1, 195 times in OT]
(1) ref. to men: my lord, my master
(a) Master
(b) Husband
The Hebrew adoni (“my lord”) is wrongly capitalized in Psalm 110:1 in many versions but not in RSV, NRSV, NEB, JPS, etc. In other words most translations put a capital L on the second lord in Psalm 110:1. This misleads the reader into believing that the second lord is Adonai, the title for the supreme Lord God! In fact the word is adoni (“adonee”), a title which in all 195 occurrences never refers to God, but always to a human superior, occasionally a created angel.
Jesus the Son is the supreme human lord, not God.
This title ( adoni, my lord) is the Messianic title par excellence for Jesus as the lord Messiah (Luke 2: 11). Luke also calls Jesus the Lord’s Messiah (Yahweh’s Messiah: Luke 2:26). Elizabeth was visited by Mary, the mother of “my lord” (Luke 1:43). She was not visited by God but by the lord Messiah (Luke 2:11).
“Our lord David” (1 Kings 1:11, etc.) provides the model for the final David’s title, as “our/ my lord Jesus Christ” (hundreds of times the p roper title for Jesus, the lord Messiah). Jesus is the lord King Messiah. Our/ my lord Jesus Christ.
A professor at Dallas Theological Seminary kindly agreed to change the confusing misinformation in their Bible Knowledge Commentary which reported wrongly the second lord of Psalm 110:1 as Adonai! The word there is adoni.
Paula Frederiksen, Professor of Religious Studies at Boston University, mistakenly and inadvertently reported the second lord of Psalm 110:1 as Adonai, and I suggested that the mistake be changed. She graciously wrote, “Thanks so much for pointing out the error in my reference to Adonai in Ps. 110:1. I grabbed my Tanach [OT] and you are right – the word is adoni, not adonai. We all need each other!”
The supreme importance of Psalm 110:1 has been noted by today’s leading scholar on Christology, Dr. James Dunn:
“The affirmation of Jesus’ lord ship is one which we can trace back at least to the earliest days of Christian reflection on Christ’s resurrection. One of the Scriptures which quickly became luminous for the first believers was evidently Ps. 110:1. The first Christians now knew who ‘my lord’ was who was thus addressed by the Lord God. It could only be Messiah Jesus. The text was clearly in mind in sever al Pauline passages.”
Dunn on 1 Corinthians 8:4-6: “In direct opposition to the tolerant pluralism of Hellenism, Paul affirms, ‘but for us there is one lord Jesus Christ.’ For Paul the risen Christ was simply ‘the Lord’ and he was personally convinced that eventually his lordship would be acknowledged by all. As 1 Cor. 8:5 6 itself implies this was an expression to so much of intolerance as of belief in the uniqueness of Christ, and a corollary of the equivalent uncompromising Jewish monotheism. Jesus is the one Lord just as, and indeed because, God is the one God” (p. 248).
James Dunn: “Should we then say that Jesus was confessed as GOD from the earliest days in Hellenistic Christianity? That would be to claim too much.
“1. The emergence of a confession of Jesus in terms of divinity was largely facilitated by the emergence of Ps. 110:1 from very early on (most clearly in Mark 12:36; Acts 2:34 ; 1 Car. 15:25; Heb. 1:13). ‘The Lord says to my lord’ Its importance lies here in the double use of kurios [lord]. The one is clearly Yahweh, but who is the other? [Note two subjects, two individuals.] Clearly not Yahweh, but an exalted being whom the Psalmist calls kurios [lord].
“2. Paul calls Jesus kurios, but he seems to have marked reservations about actually calling him ‘God.’ (Rom. 9:5 is the only candidate within the main Pauline corpus, and even there the text is unclear.) Similarly he refrains from praying to Jesus. More typical of his attitude is that he prays to GOD through Jesus (Rom. 1:8; 7:25; 2 Cor. 1:20; Col. 3:17). [Paul does give thanks to Jesus, too (I Tim. 1:12)]
“3. ‘Jesus is Lord’ is only part of a fuller confession for Paul. For at the same time as he affirms Jesus as ‘Lord,’ he also affirms ‘God is one’ (1 Cor. 8:5-6; Eph. 4:5-6). Here Christianity shows itself as a developed form of Judaism, with its monotheistic confession as one of the most important parts of its Jewish inheritance; for in Judaism the most fundamental confession is ‘God is one.’ ‘There is only one God’ (Deut. 6:4). Hence also Rom. 3: 30; Gal. 3:20; 1 Tim. 2:5 (cp. James 2:19). Within Palestine and he Jewish mission such an affirmation would have been unnecessary – Jews and Christians shared a belief in God’s oneness [not a Trinity!]. But in the Gentile mission this Jewish presupposition within Christianity would have emerged into prominence, in face of the wider belief in ‘gods many.’ The point for us to note is that Paul can hail Jesus as Lord not m order to identify him with God, but rather if anything to distin-gwsh him from the One God (cp. particularly 1 Car. 15:24-28). So too Jesus’ Lordship could be expressed in cosmic dimensions without posing too many problems to monotheism, since Wisdom speculations provided a ready and appropriate terminology (particularly 1 Car. 8:6, Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:3ff).”
“So far as we can now tell, Jesus thought of himself as Wisdom’s messenger a self-understanding reflected particularly in Matt. 11:25- 27; Luke 7:31-35; 11:49-51. That is to say, there is no evidence that Jesus though at himself as preexistent Wisdom and nothing in the traditions of Q [source of the gospel information] and Mark which implies that the thought of preexistence was present either to Jesus or Mark. The idea of preexistence first entered by way of implication with identification of Christ with Wisdom herself.
[In post-biblical times, preexistence in God’s plan was turned into a literal preexistence of a second Person in the Godhead, thus violating the creed of Jesus, Mark 12:29, agreed with a fellow Jew.]
“Now here we must recall that within Judaism Wisdom was only a way of speaking about God’s action in creation, revelation and redemption without actually speaking about God. Wisdom, like the name of God, the spirit of God, the logos (word) of God denotes the immanent [present with us humans] activity of God, without detracting from God’s wholly other transcendence. For pre Christian Judaism Wisdom was neither an inferior heavenly being (one of the heavenly council) nor a divine hypostasis [=person] (as in the later Trinitarian conception of God). Such a development would have been (and in the event was) unacceptable to Judaism’s strict monotheism [and to the monotheism of Jesus!]. Wisdom in fact is no more than personification of God’s immanence, no more to be regarded as a distinct person within the Godhead than the rabbinic concept or talk of a preexistent Torah.
“The probability then is that Paul in applying Wisdom language to Christ is in effect saying: that which you have hitherto ascribed to Wisdom [or Torah or word], we see most fully expressed and embodied in Christ; that same power and wisdom you recognize to be manifested in God’s creative, revelatory and redemptive purpose, we now see manifested finally and exclusively in Jesus Christ our Lord. Note in connection with the ‘charismatic’ debate that critics of some ‘charismata’ are rightly unimpressed when they are asked to believe that Jesus Christ is present, when only ‘power’ and not wisdom and revealed Truth are present!] This is the reason Paul never used the word Jesus alone for the preexistent one. Jesus was not himself preexistent, he was the man that preexistent Wisdom became” (p. 221).
“Paul does not yet understand the risen Christ as the object of worship; he is the theme of worship Even the title Lord becomes a way of distinguishing Jesus from God rather than identifying him with God (Rom. 15:6; 1 Car. 8:6; 15:24-28; 2 Car. 1:3, 11:31; Eph. 1:3, 17; Phil. 2:11; Col 1:3. Paul was and remained a monotheist” (p. 226). [Jesus and Paul were unitary, not Trinitarian monotheists.]
Professor Biggs: “The Apostles did not identify Jesus with Yahweh. Ps. 110:1 prevented this” (Regius Prof. of Ecclesiastical History, Oxford).
“Echad means one and not two…The words of the Shema take for granted that Yahweh is unique, the Only God (Ecc. 4:8)” (Prof. A.F. Knight, Expository Times).
Did not Jesus command us to accept this creed as the basis of obedient faith? Jesus was not a Trinitarian, so why are you?
“From Justin Martyr to the Council of Nicea, Christians generally built up their interpretations in accord with patterns established in the earlier period. They went beyond the writings of the NT age, principally in two respects: in applying the entire psalm to Jesus and in arguing explicitly for his divinity [Deity] on the basis of its first and third verses” (Dr. Hay, formerly prof. at Princeton, Glory at the Right Hand: Psalm 110 in Early Christian Interpretation, p. 51). (It was, however, proper to apply tile whole psalm to Jesus, as the NT does]
Professor Bateman of Dallas Theological Seminary maintained in an article “Psalm 110:1 in the New Testament” (Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct. 1992) that Psalm 110:1 really could not refer to Jesus since (as Bateman thought) Jesus is God and adoni (my lord, not Lord) never means God. Bateman says “the form ‘to my lord’ is never used elsewhere in the Old Testament as a divine reference.” He presents a strong case for his position, stating that 94% of the 168 (actually 195 occurrences of the forms of adorn apply to earthly lords, with th1 remaining occurrences being “when Joshua, Gideon, Daniel, and Zechariah addressed a angelic being as ‘my lord.”‘
I note this:
The text in Psalm 110:1 absolutely secure. There are no manuscript variations. L’adoni means “to my lord.”
There are 195 samples of adoni (my lord). These include “my lord” (162 times), “against my lord” (twice), “and my lord” (6 times) , “from my lord” (once) and “to/for my lord” (24 times). Total: 195 times.
L’adoni, “to my lord,” appears 24 times. These are found in Genesis, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles and Psalms (110:1). L’adoni is properly translated in our versions, with a lower-case letter on lord, as:
“to my master Abraham” (l’adoni)
“to my lord Esau” (l’adoni)
“to our lord” (Joseph) (l’adoni)
David says to Saul: “to my lord [l’adom] , the LORD’s anointed.”
Abigail says to David: “for my lord [/’adom] who is fighting the LORD’s battles.”
Abigail says, “The LORD shall do for my lord [/’adom] David.”
Abigail says, “The LORD will do well for my lord [/’adom] David.”
Joab says, “May the LORD add to His people a 100 times as many as they are. But my lord king [adoni, David], are they not all my lord’s [adoni] servants? Why does my lord [adoni, David] seek this thing?”
David says, “The LORD said to my lord [l’adom]” (Messiah, Ps. 110:1).
The phrase l’adoni (to my lord) is contrasted with the one LORD YHVH/Kurios both in the Hebrew and in the Greek Septuagint translation from the third century BC. Because l ‘adoni is rendered in Greek as to kurio mou to my lord we have the clearest confirmation that the vowel points are entirely accurate in our Masoretic text. (The vowel points were added in the Hebrew from around 600 AD.) In other words both the LXX (Septuagint, Greek version of the OT) and the NT Scripture translate the l’adoni of Psalm 110:1 as to kurio mou, “to my lord.”
Thus we have testimony from BC times plus the inspired New Testament that the vowel points for adoni have not been altered. There is no basis at all for questioning the accuracy of the Bible at this point.
It is utterly impossible that Psalm 110:1 could ever have read ‘The LORD (Yahweh) said to Adonai (the Lord God)”!! Kurios mou in Greek corresponds to “my lord” and adoni is never a title of Deity.
Psalm 110:1 is the master Christological key to the New Testament. The original meaning of “lord” here has been either ignored by commentators (including Dr. Bauckham who thinks that the Shema was split and divided between God and Jesus) or corrupted in many translations by placing a capital letter on the second lord, which according to the practice of the translations would misleadingly tell you that the word there is Adonai, which it is not. The NASB (edition of 1996) in its margin at Acts 2:34 misreports the facts of the Hebrew text and says that the Hebrew word for “my lord” was Adonai, the Lord God. Adonai is the Lord God in all 449 occurrences. The word as we know, in Ps. 110:1 is not in fact Adonai but adoni, a mere difference between God and man!
I wrote to “the dean” of evangelical scholarship, Dr. Howard Marshall:
“Professor Marshall, may I please venture a comment on your interesting discussion of the all important Christological testimony um from Psalm 110:1. On p. 204 of Jesus the Savior you note the crucial difference between Adonai, the divine title, and adoni, the exclusively human title (195 times). You say that the confusion of the two lords is avoided in the printed versions of the OT which use ‘lord’ both times and print the first lord in caps, LORD for YHVH.
“The problem is that most (not RV, RSV and NRSV) print the second lord with initial capital Lord. Now that form of printing, with capital, belongs in every other case to the Hebrew Adonai, the substitute divine title. This leaves the reader with the false impression that Adonai and not adoni is the word in the original. Thus in many commentaries and some books (even commentaries such as the Dallas Seminary commentary) it is confidently asserted that the Messiah is defined in the Psalm as Adonai, and that is proof of his Deity. The facts here presented in the Psalm, however, place the Messiah in a superior human, royal Messianic category. It is in that sense that the NT recognizes Jesus as Lord (cp. Luke 2:11) and Mary as ‘the mother of my lord’ (Luke 1:43).
“Would it be fair to add that the LXX version shows the difference properly by rendering l’Adonai (to the Lord God) as to kurio whereas l ‘adoni (to my lord) comes over in the Greek as to kurio mou, ‘to my lord’?
“I feel that this Psalm and the careful distinction it displays is only now beginning to get the careful Attention it deserves.”
Dr. Marshall replied graciously:
“Dear Anthony, I agree with what you say about Psalm 110:1. The LXX is translating correctly. The use of the Psalm does not identify Jesus as Adonai.” Dr. Howard Marshall
Psalm 110:1 is the backbone of New Testament revelation about God and His one Messiah, Jesus. It is the New Testament Greek which confirms and endorses the Hebrew text of the Old Testament.
“The oracle of YHVH to adom” (my lord, not Lord!). When translated into Greek in BC times, this came out as the oracle of Kurios (YHVH) to my lord (adoni). The New Testament follows the Septuagint here and confirms the Hebrew. There is a huge difference in meaning between LORD GOD and adoni, my lord. My lord is the Messiah, not God.
It is a worldwide theological disaster to confuse the unique, unmatched position of the God of the Bible, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of Jesus, and thus of Christians. It would be a calamity to suggest that GOD was speaking to GOD! This would immediately signal two GODS, two YAHWEHs. That is not monotheism and is condemned from one end of Scripture to the other. [Extract from Anthony Buzzard]
Bible does not Support Deity of Christ
Let us see some interesting quotes from the Bible that actually rejects from Deity of Christ and shows that Jesus is interior to the Father (“Father” is biblical term used for God being Creator and Lord, not biological father):
(1) “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me.”(John; 5:30).
(2) “And I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks and judges.” (John 8:50)
(3) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21)
(4) Jesus Christ repeatedly preached to worship only God: “And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”(Luke; 4:8),
(5) “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, bore witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape” (John 5:37)
(6) “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18)
(7) “Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine are not Mine, but His who sent me” (John 7:16)
(8) “He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Fathers who sent me” (John 14:24)
(9) “For I have not spoken on my own authority; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49)
(10) “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34)
(11) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38)
(12) “saying, ‘Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me: nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)
(13) “I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me” (John 5:30)
(14) “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28)
(15) “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me” (John 8:42)
(16) ‘To sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20:23)
(17) Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me” (John 7:16
This statement of Jesus still exist in three Gospels
“Then said Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew; 4: 10, Luke; 4:8)
“Jesus said to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” (John; 2017).
In fact there is not a single unequivocal statement in the entire Bible where Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) himself says, “I am God” or where he says, “Worship me”. In fact the Bible contains statements attributed to Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) in which he preached quite the contrary:
Prophet Jesus refuted even the remotest suggestion of his divinity, as evident from the Bible: “And behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none god but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew; 19:16-17).
In a word, the supremacy of the Father, and the inferiority of the Son is the simple, unembarrassed, and current doctrine of the Bible, whereas, that of their equality or identity is clothed in mystery, encumbered with difficulties, and dependent, at the best, upon few passages for support after twisting and manipulation.
Jesus Christ Said
1. “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”(John; 5:30).
2. “And I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks and judges.” (John 8:50)
3. “My Father is greater than I.” (John; 14:28).
4. “My Father is greater than all.”(John; 10:29).
5. Cast out devils by the Spirit of God….” (Matthew; 12:28).
6. “I with the finger of God cast out devils ….” (Luke; 11:20).
Jesus warned:
Matthew 5:19
“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Who broke the laws and taught mothers to do so? It’s Paul!
Romans 10:4
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Galatians 2:16
“Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”
Saint Paul (who never met Jesus Christ, opposed him and much later became self-appointed disciple after many years), says:
“at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
Now look at the same verse with original Greek words and translations NASB Lexicon, which exposes the deception. http://biblehub .com/lexi-con/philippians/2-11.htm
“at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is lord [κύριος, kurios, lord, master (2962)], to the glory of God [θεοῦ, theou, God, a god (2316) the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
Jesus Said: “I tell you the truth,
No servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16). How St Paul can set aside John 13:16, the teachings of Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ, the Prophet of Jews
Jesus Christ never claimed divinity, he called himself a prophet as per all four Gospels.
“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [Matthew 15:24]
“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth , to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,” [Romans 15:8]
Prophet Jesus was sent by God only to the Jews, here styled “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”: by “the house of Israel”, is meant the whole body of the Jewish nation, so called from Israel, the name of Jacob their father, from whom they sprung; and by the “lost sheep” of that house, are more especially designed the elect of God among them: for though all the individuals of that house were “lost” persons, and straying, and could never find their way, or recover them selves from their lost state and by their own transgressions ; but he came to seek, and to save them, and to these his ministry was powerful and efficacious .
The story of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman, further elaborates, that Jesus was on exclusive mission to guide the Israelites: “A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.” [Matthew 15:22-28]
The Misguided
It is astonishing that the clear verses of Bible/ Gospels establishing his prophet hood are ignored and some ambiguous sayings of others are twisted to reject sayings of Jesus Christ and people around him! Some verses are referred here:
The people considered Jesus as a Prophet
• Mark; 6:3: “And they took offense at Him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is without honor only in his home town among his relatives, and in his own household.”
• Matthew 13:57: And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
• Luke 4:24: Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
• John 4:44: Now He Himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
The people recognised him is a prophet
• Matthew; 21:11: “When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The Crowds replied, “this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
• Matthew 21:46: Although they wanted to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they considered Jesus a prophet.
• Luke 13:33: Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.
• Luke 24:19: “What things?” He asked. “The events involving Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet, powerful in speech and action before God and all the people.
• John 6:14: When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
• 7:40: On hearing these words, some of the people said, ‘This is truly the Prophet.”
• John 9:17: So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.
These verse is frequently quoted as prophesy of Jesus Christ:
• Deuteronomy 18:15; The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
• Deuteronomy 18:18: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything Command him.
• Matthew 21:11: The crowds replied, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
• Acts 7:37: This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.’
Jesus Christ in Islam
It is established from the Bible [Old and New Testament] that Jesus Christ was a prophet, the belief shared by Muslims that Jesus Christ was a prophet for the Israelites, “Jesus Christ in Islam” is a big subject to be dealt with in details some time later, in short:
1 Muslims believe that Jesus (Arabic: “Isa”) was a prophet of God, born to a virgin Mary [unlike Jews who ridicule Mary and Jesus in blasphemy] and will return to earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat al Masih ad-Dajjal (“the false messiah”), also known as the Antichrist.
2 Jesus, Mary, and the angel Gabriel are all in the Quran. The story of Jesus’ birth as told in the Quran is also the story of his first miracle to be a prophet of God.
3 Mary (“Maryam”) has an entire chapter in the Quran named for her the only chapter in the Quran named for a female figure. In fact, Mary is the only woman to be mentioned by name in the entire Quran: As noted in the Study Quran, “other female figures are identified only by their relation to others.
4 Just as with all the other prophets, including Mohammed, Muslims recite, “Peace be upon him” every time they refer to Jesus.
5 Muslims believe that Jesus performed miracles: The Quran dis cusses several of Jesus’ miracles, including giving sight to the blind healing lepers, raising the dead, and breathing life into clay birds.
Conclusion
From the Bible and Quran it is clearly proved that Jesus Christ was a prophet, messenger of God sent for the guidance of Israelites. He was not divine. However he was miraculously born to Virgin Mary and performed miracles with the power and will of God. The miracles display the power of God but they don’t prove the divinity of miracle performing prophet. There are many other prophets mentioned in Bible who performed miracles similar to Jesus Christ but are not considered divine. Moses per formed many miracles, Prophet Elijah and Elisha also performed miracles of rising from dead but were not considered divine. Islam is strictly monotheistic faith, bowing down to anyone except God is not permissible. The claim of Jesus will bow to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on Judgment Day is a false claim attributed to Islam.
Next…… “Who Is Jesus?” The status of Jesus Christ is comprehensively explained by world renowned Christian scholar Sir Anthony F. Buzzard, [MA (Oxon.), Math] in his study booklet; “Who Is Jesus?” It is plea for return to belief in Jesus, the Messiah to further the restoration of biblical faith.
References
http://SalaamOne.com/christianity-islam
