rrobs
Well-Known Member
Two of the mainstay verses Trinitarians use to support Jesus being God are in the Gospel of John and the book of Exodus. Rather than blindly accepting tradition, regardless of the age of that tradition, we need to investigate to see what the scriptures actually say about themselves. I believe that these two verses are in no way connected in such a way as to prove the trinity or that Jesus was God.
I will begin with the Gospel of John.
John 8:58,
Trinitarians say that Jesus was claiming to be God based on a verse in Exodus (3:14) where God supposedly claimed to be “I AM.” But that is a bad translation of the Hebrew texts which I will cover shortly. For now, let’s look at John to see what Jesus was saying.
The words “I am” are the Greek words “ego eimi.” They are correctly translated. Jesus did indeed say, “I am.” That phrase, ego eimi, is used 89 times in the NT. It is simply a way to identify oneself as somebody who did or was something. Who was he claiming to be? He was reminding them of the promise God made to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15. He was saying he was that promised seed, the redeemer. Of course that promise was made some time before Abraham was born and that is what Jesus brought to the Pharisees’ attention. They were claiming that Abraham was their father and therefore was held in high esteem. Jesus told them that God had already planned the coming of Jesus, their savior, long before Abraham lived.
Next I'd like to look at Exodus.
Exod 3:14,
God was identifying himself by name in Exodus. It was but one of many others He used of Himself. Why did He use many different names to identify Himself?
Regarding names, Robert L. Reymond said in his book, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith: 2nd Edition:
I believe the bold text speaks for itself. So what characteristic of Himself was God holding forth in Exodus?
“I am That I am” are the Hebrew words ehyeh asher ehyeh and they are better translated as “I Will Be What I Will Be.” While the NIV, the NLT, and the ESV use the phrase "I AM" in the text of Exodus, they all offer an alternate translation in a footnote similar to the following:
The phrase “I am” in the last part of Exodus 3:14 is the Hebrew word ehyeh, which means “I will become” as the same Hebrew word means in the first part of the verse.
A much better translations is found in Rotherhams’ Emphasized Bible.
Exod 3:14,
God was simply describing His character as including the ability to do whatever needed to be done to free Israel from Egyptian Slavery. He was assuring Moses that nothing was beyond His ability to fulfill His promise. God was telling Israel He would do whatever needed to be done to accomplish the mission of freeing them from slavery in Egypt. Whatever it would take to get them safely through the wilderness into the land of milk and honey, He would do. They need not fear that God would somehow get stuck and be unable to get them out of whatever situation they might encounter along the way. Indeed, it would have been a most precarious journey, fraught with troubles at every turn. They needed reassurance that God could get them through and that is exactly what God was giving them.
In John 8:58 Jesus simply identified himself as the promised redeemer of Genesis 3:15, which promise God certainly made before Abraham existed. Jesus did not say anything about becoming whatever he needed to become as God declared about Himself in Exodus 3:14. Therefore, there is no connection at all between these two verses. Jesus was not identifying himself as God. Indeed, he consistently identified himself as the son of God. He is called the “son of God” 47 times in the scriptures. The words “God the Son” do not appear anywhere in the scriptures.
I will begin with the Gospel of John.
John 8:58,
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Trinitarians say that Jesus was claiming to be God based on a verse in Exodus (3:14) where God supposedly claimed to be “I AM.” But that is a bad translation of the Hebrew texts which I will cover shortly. For now, let’s look at John to see what Jesus was saying.
The words “I am” are the Greek words “ego eimi.” They are correctly translated. Jesus did indeed say, “I am.” That phrase, ego eimi, is used 89 times in the NT. It is simply a way to identify oneself as somebody who did or was something. Who was he claiming to be? He was reminding them of the promise God made to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15. He was saying he was that promised seed, the redeemer. Of course that promise was made some time before Abraham was born and that is what Jesus brought to the Pharisees’ attention. They were claiming that Abraham was their father and therefore was held in high esteem. Jesus told them that God had already planned the coming of Jesus, their savior, long before Abraham lived.
Next I'd like to look at Exodus.
Exod 3:14,
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
God was identifying himself by name in Exodus. It was but one of many others He used of Himself. Why did He use many different names to identify Himself?
Regarding names, Robert L. Reymond said in his book, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith: 2nd Edition:
“To the Western mind very little (if any) significance is attached today to the meaning of a child's given name, the determining factors most often being the parents' personal preference or its phonetic compatibility with the family name. But this was not the case in the ancient Middle East. A given name often commemorated some great historical or religious event or denoted the parents' hope for or assessment of a child's character (see, e.g., Gen 4:1; 4:25; 5:29; 17:5; 15:1; 1 Sam. 25:25). In keeping with this last instance, that is, where a name reflects a person's character, God in his revelation in Scripture progressively selected titles and names reflecting aspects of his diving character.”
I believe the bold text speaks for itself. So what characteristic of Himself was God holding forth in Exodus?
“I am That I am” are the Hebrew words ehyeh asher ehyeh and they are better translated as “I Will Be What I Will Be.” While the NIV, the NLT, and the ESV use the phrase "I AM" in the text of Exodus, they all offer an alternate translation in a footnote similar to the following:
“I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” as an alternate translation.
The phrase “I am” in the last part of Exodus 3:14 is the Hebrew word ehyeh, which means “I will become” as the same Hebrew word means in the first part of the verse.
A much better translations is found in Rotherhams’ Emphasized Bible.
Exod 3:14,
And God said unto Moses, I Will Become whatsoever I please. And he said––Thus, shalt thou say to the sons of Israel, I Will Become hath sent me unto you.
God was simply describing His character as including the ability to do whatever needed to be done to free Israel from Egyptian Slavery. He was assuring Moses that nothing was beyond His ability to fulfill His promise. God was telling Israel He would do whatever needed to be done to accomplish the mission of freeing them from slavery in Egypt. Whatever it would take to get them safely through the wilderness into the land of milk and honey, He would do. They need not fear that God would somehow get stuck and be unable to get them out of whatever situation they might encounter along the way. Indeed, it would have been a most precarious journey, fraught with troubles at every turn. They needed reassurance that God could get them through and that is exactly what God was giving them.
In John 8:58 Jesus simply identified himself as the promised redeemer of Genesis 3:15, which promise God certainly made before Abraham existed. Jesus did not say anything about becoming whatever he needed to become as God declared about Himself in Exodus 3:14. Therefore, there is no connection at all between these two verses. Jesus was not identifying himself as God. Indeed, he consistently identified himself as the son of God. He is called the “son of God” 47 times in the scriptures. The words “God the Son” do not appear anywhere in the scriptures.
