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How did the apostle teach about the deity of your lord jesus christ?
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
In apologetics today a common argument against orthodox Christianity is that if the God of Israel, the God taught in the Shema is
only one then how can Jesus Christ also be God? They will then point to two different texts Deut 6:4 and then to 1 Corinthians 8:6 they will say," see it clear says Jesus is Lord and not God". This does appear to be the case to anyone who has no biblical background. With a little context I believe we can answer this question.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
In ancient times the Jews believed the Name of God, Yahweh, to be so utterly sacred that that they would not speak it or even write it out. However, they still needed to refer to God by His proper Name, so they devised what is called the Tetragrammaton which when transliterated is YHWH. Every place they wished to say Yahweh they would substitute YHWH in its place.
So Deut 6: would read Hear, o Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one. Our English bibles have substituted the title LORD in all capital letters for YHWH. So anytime you see LORD in our English bible, the underlying Name is Yahweh.
Before Christ Alexander the great helped koine Greek to become the common language among most of the known world, and by the time of Christ almost everyone including the Jewish leaders would have predominantly read and spoken Greek. This was possible in part due to the fact that in roughly 285 bc a group of 70 Jewish scholars assembled in Alexandra, Egypt to translate the Hebrew scripture into koine Greek. Almost 300 years before Jesus of Nazareth walked the hills of Galilee the many prophecies of His coming had been verifiably recorded in history in what is called the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament).
When translating the Hebrew to Greek the translators who were Jewish had the same issue with the Name of God, so the used the Greek word Kyrios which means Lord. So every time a Jew would read YHWH in the Septuagint, it would read as Kyrios. This meant that anytime a Jew would read that word Kyrios they would automatically do what they had done their entire lives and mentally replace it with YHWH or Yahweh.
Fast forward to the New Testament and the writers had to have a way to say that the Father and the Son are both God, that they are both of one essence, but not the same in person. Sound difficult? Well God had planned this all from before the foundation of the world, so it wasn't.
In 1 Cor 8:6 when Paul says, "But to us there is but one Theos (God), the Father", he has identified the Father as Theos, and to say that Christ is also Theos would be to say that Christ is also the Father which is incorrect and confusing. Paul being a first class scholar knew that Jews would identify Kyrios as YHWH when they read it in his writings because of its use in the Septuagint. So Paul used Theos for the Father and Kyrios for the Son. This made sure that no one would mistake the Father for the Son and vice versa.
With this context we see that when Paul a Jew wrote Kyrios, he meant us to read it as Yahweh. This is evident in his application of O.T. stricture to Christ in Romans 10:13 Paul writes, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Reading a couple of verses before this gives us context and tells us who Paul is identifying as the Lord that needs to be called on in verse 9, " That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Paul knowing the relationship of YHWH and Kyrios from the Septuagint would never had used Kyrios in Romans 10:13 because he would know that in the Tanakh in the book of Joel it said, " And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered"
Following clear logic we say that Paul meant for us to see Jesus of Nazareth as the God of Israel YHWH.
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Did the apostles taught in the name of Jesus Christ?
Yes the apostles did teach and heal in the name of Jesus Christ.
What does the name Jesus Christ teach us about Jesus?
The name Jesus means, "He will save his people: and the word Christ or messiah means he is the great deliever from God.
Who are speciallly entrusted today to teach what christ taught?
the disciples of Jesus
Who did Matthew the Apostle preach for 15 years?
According to tradition, Matthew the Apostle preached in Judea for 15 years before traveling to other regions to spread the teachings of Jesus.
What did Jesus Christ teach?
Jesus taught us to love, even our enemies , and to forgive again and again.And believe that Jesus died for our sins.
What were the prophets mission in the bible?
to preach, and teach about the gospel of our lord and savior jesus christ.
In what countries do they not teach about Jesus Christ?
Lots of third world countries like China and Turkmenistan
Who was the founder of Christianity Jesus Christ?
Christianity came around after Jesus' Accsention. After Jesus had led his life showing people that he was the "Christ" his belivers and his disciples began to teach people about the word of God. Thats basically how it came about
What does Jesus teach you about the church?
Our Lord Teaches us that it is Built upon St. Peter the Apostle.
What was Paul's relationship to Jesus?
Paul did not have a direct relationship with Jesus during his lifetime. He converted to Christianity after a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus and became a prominent apostle and missionary in spreading the teachings of Jesus.
Why Every human being created is in the image of god and redeemed by Jesus Christ?
Christians believe that the Scriptures clearly teach that every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ.
What is the meaning of 'Apostle'?
First, there is a difference between "apostle" and "disciple". Disciple means one who followed after and was taught by whomever they were following. The disciples of "Christ" were followers of and taught by Jesus Christ himself. While "apostle" means that they have actually seen the person who they are now teaching others about. There were 12 main disciples whom Jesus selected to be closer to him and learn more from him. These 12 would have also been apostles as they obviously saw him too. Paul (also known as Saul before he converted) is not a disciple, but is only an apostle. This is because he did not follow Jesus and his teaching before Jesus death and resurrection from the dead. However, when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul was converted and believed all that Jesus said and did. He then went on to teach others about who Jesus was, thus making him an apostle. Additional Answer: The answer is true, however not entirely accurate. Yes, Paul is an apostle not just because he went on to teach about Jesus. He was made an Apostle of Jesus, by the will of Jesus. He made this clear at the beginning of all his letter (Romans, I Cor, II Cor, Ephesians, etc.). He stated, "Paul, made an apostle by the will of Christ Jesus." This was made possible because Jesus chose him as His vessel to reveal to him all things that he needed to know and the things that he must suffer for Christ's sake (Acts 9:15-16). Jesus wanted Paul to present Him to the Gentiles, that they would now be able to recevie God's word and promise of life everlasting (Acts 11:1-18). An apostle by definition is a messenger of God's word and a first hand witness (as the previous answer sets forth, one who saw Christ and witnessed His work). Paul was not an Apostle by definition, because he didn't walk with Christ and witness His works and persecution, but He was an apostle because he was willed by Christ to be such, through revelation. Paul is indeed a discple of Christ (an imitator of Jesus as the term means). Paul is a disciple because he subscribes to and has faith in the teachings of Christ. Anyone that learns from another directly or through the trickle down effect, is a disciple of the teacher. Paul was given revelation of the gospel by Christ, therefore he became a disciple of Christ (Gal 1:11-12); he was then charge to preach the word (Acts 9:15). He's an Apostle by both definitions: a messenger and an eye witness (through Christ revealing it to him not because he walked with Christ). So Paul is both an Apostle and disciple. However, people today can only be disciples through study and learning and following the Christ teachings, but no one can claim apostleship, as in the sense of eyewitness. Understand that we are all given apostleship by Christ, to be messengers of His word, as told by Paul to the Romans (Rom 1:1-5), but by the second definition of apostle we cannot attain. In Romans 1:1-5, Paul used the word "apostle" in two ways, by its two meanings. In verse 1, called to be a witness as well as a messenger, and in verse 5 merely messengers. Another View: Peter's definition of an apostle clearly precludes the possibility that Paul could have ever served as one, since he did not witness Christ's earthly ministry "beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us." (Acts 1:22). Neither was there an opening within the group of twelve for Paul, since Matthias had filled Judas' position long before Paul's reported conversion. "Lord, . . . [s]how us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles." (Acts 1:24). Therefore, the apostolic authority asserted by Paul throughout his ministry lacks credibility, since his claims deny God's choice of Matthias as witness to Christ's resurrection. Additional Comment: An Apostle means 'one sent forth' with the Gospel of Christ message of the Kingdom of God. They supervised and proclaimed that message to the world by means and persons other than themselves - think of Timothy sent by Paul as an example. Apostle's had supervision over all the local congregations/churches (1 Corinthians 16:1). The Apostle Paul had oversight over the churches of the Gentile world (2 Corinthians 11:28).
