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jcan071
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Date Posted:10/15/2014 3:44 PMCopy HTML

The Shema
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"The LORD our God, the LORD is One." (Deuteronomy 6:4).


The above verse is the simplest form of the Shema. The Hebrew text literally says, "YHVH our God YHVH is one." While we don't know for certain, and the matter is often disputed, the letters "YHVH" are usually understood by most Christian scholars to have been pronounced as "Yahweh" or "Yahveh." The word "Jehovah" is simply an anglicization of Yahweh just as Peter is an anglicization of the Greek name Petros and Jesus is an anglicization of the Greek name Iesous and Aramaic Yashua.

The Shema is a basic confession of Jews and Christians. It declares that God is one. We must ask ourselves a very important question. If God is "One" then in what way is God "one"? Just how is God "one"? What did God intend for us to understand by these words? And when other passages such as "there is no other but He" are considered, how do such words impact Deuteronomy 6:4? More importantly, what did God intend the ancient Jews to understand by these words? Are we to believe the above confession is intended to convey that God is one "substance," or that God is one trio, as Trinitarians want us to believe? Or did God intend to convey that He is one person? Did God want the Israelites to understand the Gentiles had many gods but the Israelite God in contrast was one substance? Is such a proprosal even reasonable?

The Shema identifies the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But just who was the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob? Was Abraham's one and only God just one person? Or was Abraham's one and only God three persons in number? Was Isaac and Jacob's one and only God just one person? Or was Isaac and Jacob's one and only God three persons in number? Just who was Israel's God? Who was Jesus' God? Was Jesus' one and only God a three person being? Or was Jesus' Father alone his one and only God? And if God is a three person being, why does the Bible indicate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had a servant-son named Jesus?

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant-son Jesus (Acts 3:13).

Jesus was an Israelite. He was the King of the Jews. Jesus stressed the vital importance of the Shema:

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear O Israel. The Lord our God the Lord is One' and '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. The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." So the scribe said to Him, "Well said Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."" (Mark 12:28-31).

The Jewish scribe refers to this one God as "He." Now we must ask ourselves just who this Jewish scribe had in mind when he used the word "He." The Lord our God the Lord is one "He" and there is no other God but this one "He." Is it reasonable or or is it disingenuous to suggest this Jewish scribe had a three person being in mind and worshiped a Triune God? Or did he have one person in mind? Well we know from Scripture, and Jesus' own words, that the Jews considered their God to be one person - the Father (John 8:41,54). Are we really to believe this learned Jew was referring to a three person God? Let us also not forget that the statement "the Lord our God the Lord is one" is understood in terms of the words "there is no other but He" (see Deut 4:35). And we must also take very careful note of something Jesus says here. Jesus told this man he had answered wisely. Are we to believe Jesus was being sarcastically coy? We know this scribe was referring to someone he perceived to be one person, the Father. How then did Jesus say the Jewish scribe answered wisely if indeed God was actually a three person being? And when Jesus prayed the above words, as Jews do, just who did he himself have in mind? Did he really have a three person God in mind as Trinitarians would have us believe? Or did he simply have his Father in mind? In Jesus' own mind, just who was that one and only God whom they were talking about? One person, or three? Who was Jesus' one and only God?

"I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17).

Jesus was the son of God. Who is "God" in the term "son of God"? Jesus? A three person being? Or is Jesus the son of the one God who happens to be his Father? Plainly, we are to understand that God is one and Jesus is another and God is Jesus' Father and Jesus is God's son. Does it really make sense to then claim the Son of God is God? Would it make any sense to claim the son of Adam is Adam or the son of David is David or the son of Noah is Noah?

Jesus said he was acending to his God. This was the God that Jesus and the Jewish scribe were discussing and "there is no other but He." And Jesus clearly identifies his one God as his Father, not a Triune God. His Father was his one and only God. Jesus then goes further and reminds us that his God is our God. There is no difference between Jesus' God and our God. And of course there shouldn't be any difference or we would have two Gods/gods on our hands. If indeed there is only one God then Jesus can't have a different God than his followers. Did Jesus worship and serve a three person God? Or did Jesus worship and serve his father as his one and only God? To reasonable people who are honest with themselves, the answer is obvious. Jesus' God was his Father alone. And Jesus tells us that his one and only God is also our God - the Father.

Ask yourself a very important question and try to be reasonable and honest with yourself. Ask yourself, "Who was Jesus' God?" Now ask yourself if this was the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob who sent his servant-son Jesus? Now ask yourself if a Triune God is the same God Jesus served. And if not, ask yourself if this Triune God is another God?


"My God and Your God" - Jesus
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
jcan071 Share to: Facebook Twitter MSN linkedin google yahoo #1
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Re:The Shema

Date Posted:10/16/2014 9:07 PMCopy HTML

 Jesus and a Jewish Scribe

Jesus prayed to his Father and identifies his Father as the only true God:

Father.... this is eternal life, that they may know You, the Only True God and Jesus Christ whom You sent.

The Only True God, Jesus' Father, sent Jesus. In Mark chapter 12, there is an interesting exchange between the Jew Jesus and a Jewish scribe:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and 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.' The second is this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that He is one, and there is no other but He; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any question.

Now let us stop for a moment and ask ourselves a very important question. Just who was this Jewish scribe talking about when he said, "HE is one" and "there is no other but HE"? Is it reasonable to suggest this scribe had a three person being in mind? Or is it more reasonable to suggest he had one person in mind?

[The Pharisees]: "We have one Father: God." (John 8:41).

The Jews never perceived God to be anything but one person. It would be ridiculous to claim this Jewish scribe had anyone but one person in mind. Jesus confirms this fact:

Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, "He is our God (John 8:54).

Jesus confirms that his Father was the God of the Jews. Jesus too was a Jew. Now notice how Jesus responds to the Jewish scribe.

And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that He is one, and there is no other but He; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

Jesus wasn't a Trinitarian either. Both the Jewish scribe and Jesus the Jew had the same idea in mind when they said that God is one - Jesus' Father, one person.

Now it gets even more interesting. Notice how the Jesus said, "The Lord our God the Lord is one" and the Jewish scribe responsed to that statement by saying, "you have truly said that He is one, and there is no other but He." Clearly, the Jewish scribe is emphasizing the exclusivity of the God which they have in mind. He says that Jesus had just said "there is no other but He" indicating this is what the Shema is supposed to indicate. And Jesus confirms this fact by saying he had answered wisely. We find the same idea at Deuteronomy 4:35. We must ask, "there is no other but WHO exactly"? Who did Jesus and this Jewish Scribe have in mind exactly? The honest and reasonable person knows the answer.

Jesus' God was his Father and his Father alone. And it is for this reason that we find Jesus teaching his disciples:

"I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John 20:17).

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was one person, Jesus' Father (Acts 3:13). Jesus' God was his Father. Our God is Jesus' Father. Jesus taught us the truth explicitly when he said, "my God and your God." Let us not serve a different God than Jesus.

Do you thus requite the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your Father, who created you, who made you and established you?....See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God besides ME (Deuteronomy 32:6.29).
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
jcan071 Share to: Facebook Twitter MSN linkedin google yahoo #2
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Re:The Shema

Date Posted:10/19/2014 4:57 PMCopy HTML

 The Only True God


"You, the Only True God." (John 17:3).


Who is the one true God? How does this God portray Himself with respect to His identity? Does He portray Himself as a one person individual? How is he portrayed by others who are inspired by the Holy Spirit of God? Is this God a three person God or the one person Father of Israel and Jesus? What is this God's relationship to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit? Precisely who is YAHWEH God and who is not?

YHVH your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how YHVH your God has borne you, just as a man bears his son, in all the way which you have gone until you came to this place.' (Deuteronomy 1:31).

To you it was shown, that you might know that YHVH is God and there is no other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:35).

Hear, O Israel: YHVH our God, YHVH is One. (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Do you thus repay YHVH, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? (Deuteronomy 32:6).

[YHVH]: He will cry to Me, 'You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of my salvation.' (Psalm 89:26).

YHVH says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." (Psalm 110:1).

[YHVH]:Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My Chosen One in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1).

Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved with whom My soul is well pleased. I will put My Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the nations. (Matthew 12:18).

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.(Matthew 3:16-17)

The Spirit of Lord YHVH is upon me. (Isaiah 61:1).

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. (Luke 4:18; see 3:22).

O YHVH, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter and all of us are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8)

And he (Christ) will arise and Shepherd his flock in the strength of YHVH, in the majesty of the name of the YHVH his God. (Micah 5:4; see 5:2).

Have we not all One Father? Has not One God created us? (Malachi 2:10).

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.... And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." (Luke 1:35).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son. (John 3:16).

But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24).

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. (Luke 4:14; cf. 4:1).

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matthew 12:28).

But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. (Matthew 10:20).

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. (Ephesians 4:30).

When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. (Luke 12:11-12). If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? (Luke 11:13).

You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:17).

I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that comes from the Only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father.(John 5:43-44).

Believe in God; believe also into me. In my the house of my Father are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. (John 14:1).

Father.... that they know You the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3).

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me. (Matthew 27:46).

I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God. (John 20:17).

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit.... Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:32 36).

(YHWH) the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant-son Jesus. (Acts 3:13).

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6).

There is no God but one... For us there is One God, the Father, out of whom are all things and we to him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through him." (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The Head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus. (2 Corinthians 11:31).

For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Corinthians 13:4).

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:3).

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Colossians 1:3).

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory" (Ephesians 1:17).

[There is] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:6).

For they themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a Living and True God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17).

For there is One God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5).

I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the Blessed and Only Supreme Power, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. (1 Timothy 6:14-16).

[God to Jesus]: You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions" (Hebrews 1:9).

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a High Priest, but was appointed by Him who said to him, "You are My Son, today I have begotten you." As He says also in another place, "You are a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him Who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:5-10).

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3).

We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know Him Who is True and we are in Him Who is True, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the True God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20).

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:25).

[Jesus] has made us kings and priests to his God and Father." (Revelation 1:6).

He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. " (Rev 3:12).

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21:7).

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
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