In the following post, GRANVILLE SHARP AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST

I discussed how Granville Sharp’s first rule conclusively establishes that the following texts are describing Jesus Christ as our great God and Savior: 

“looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou megalou Theou kai Soteros hemon, ‘Iesou Christou), who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Titus 2:13-14

“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou Theou hemon kai Soteros, ‘Iesou Christou):” 2 Peter 1:1

In this post I will show that the only way that Jesus could be described as such is if he is Jehovah God Almighty in the flesh since the God-breathed Scriptures testify that there is no other great God and Savior besides Jehovah.

For instance, Jehovah is said to be both God and Savior all throughout the Old Testament. In fact, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, commonly known as the Septuagint (LXX), routinely employs the nouns Theos and Soter for Jehovah:

“And ye have this day rejected God, who is himself your Saviour (ton Theon… hymon soter) out of all your evils and afflictions; and ye said, Nay, but thou shalt set a king over us: and now stand before the Lord according to your tribes, and according to your families.” 1 Samuel 10:19 LXX

“He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour (Theou soteros autou).” Psalm 23:5 LXX

“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art God my Saviour (ho Theos ho soter mou): and I have waited on thee all the day.” Psalm 24:5 LXX

“[[A Psalm] of David, before he was anointed.] The Lord is my light and my Saviour (soter mou); whom shall I fear? the Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?… Turn not thy face away from me, turn not thou away from thy servant in anger: be thou my helper, forsake me not; and, O God my Saviour (ho Theos, ho soter mou), overlook me not.” Psalm 26:1, 9 LXX

“For he is my God, and my saviour (Theos mou kai soter mou); my helper, I shall not be moved very much… For he [is] my God and my Saviour (Theos mou kai soter mou); my helper, I shall not be moved.” Psalm 61:3, 7 LXX

“[Thou art] wonderful in righteousness. Hearken to us, O God our Saviour (ho Theos, ho soter hemon); the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them [that are] on the sea afar off:” Psalm 64:6 LXX

“Help us, O God our Saviour (ho Theos, ho soter hemon); for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us; and be merciful to our sins, for thy name’s sake.” Psalm 78:9 LXX

“Behold, my God is my Saviour (ho Theos nou ho soter mou); I will trust in him, and not be afraid: for the Lord is my glory and my praise, and is become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2 LXX

“Because thou hast forsaken God thy Saviour (ton Theon ton sotero sou), and hast not been mindful of the Lord thy helper; therefore shalt thou plant a false plant, and a false seed.” Isaiah 17:10 LXX

“For thou art God, yet we knew [it] not, the God of Israel, the Saviour (ho Theos… soter)… If they will declare, let them draw nigh, that they may know together, who has caused these things to be heard from the beginning: then was it told you. I am God (ho Theos), and there is not another beside me; a just [God] and a Saviour (soter); there is none but me.” Isaiah 45:15, 21 LXX

“For behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say ye to the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy Saviour (ho soter soi) has come to thee, having his reward and his work before his face.” Isaiah 62:11 LXX

“But I will look to the Lord; I will wait upon God my Saviour (to Theo to soteri mou): my God will hearken to me.” Micah 7:7 LXX

“yet I will exult in the Lord, I will joy in God my Saviour (to Theo to soteri mou).” Habakkuk 3:18 LXX

These next examples are noteworthy:

“So Jacob ate and was filled, and the beloved one kicked; he grew fat, he became thick and broad: then he forsook the God that made him, and departed from God his Saviour (Theou soteros autou)… Behold, behold that I am [he], and there is no god beside me: I kill, and I will make to live: I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my hands… Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him; rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him; and the Lord shall purge the land of his people.” Deuteronomy 32:15, 39, 43 LXX

“The praise of a Song by David.] Come, let us exult in the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to God our Saviour (to Theo to Soteri hemon). Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God (hoti Theos Kyrios), and a great king over all gods: for the Lord will not cast off his people. For the ends of the earth are in his hands; and the heights of the mountains are his. For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and fall down before him; and weep before the Lord that made us. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, according to the day of irritation in the wilderness:” Psalm 94:1-8 LXX

Astonishingly, Christ ascribes to himself the very functions and characteristics that the foregoing texts attribute to Jehovah. I.e., believers are Jesus’ sheep that are in his protective hand who are to hear his voice and to whom he grants everlasting life, with none being able to deliver out of Christ’s hand!

“‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.’ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?’ The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’” John 10:27-33

Christ is also the One whom all of God’s angels worship!

“But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’” Hebrews 1:6

The Hebrew Scriptures also describe Jehovah as the great God:

“Thou shalt not be wounded before them, because the Lord thy God in the midst of thee [is] a great and powerful God (Theos megas kai krataois).” Deuteronomy 7:21 LXX

“And the house which I am building [is to be] great: for the Lord our God [is] great beyond all gods (hoti megas Kyrios ho Theos hemon para pantas tous theous).” 2 Chronicles 2:5 LXX

“And Esdras blessed the Lord, the great God (ton Theon ton megan): and all the people answered, and said, Amen, lifting up their hands: and they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their face to the ground.” Nehemiah 8:6 LXX

“And now, O our God, the powerful, the great, the mighty, and the terrible (ho Theos hemon ho ischuros ho megas ho krataios kai ho phoberos)…” Nehemiah 9:32 LXX

“O God, thy way is in the sanctuary; who is a great God as our God (tis Theos megas hos ho Theos hemon)?” Psalm 76:14 LXX

“For thou art great, and doest wonders: thou art the only [and] the great God (megas… Theos monos).” Psalm 85:10 LXX

“Granting mercy to thousands, and recompensing the sins of the fathers into the bosoms of their children after them: the great, the strong God (ho Theos ho megas); the Lord of great counsel, and mighty in deeds, the great Almighty God (ho Theos ho megas, ho pantokrator), and Lord of great name: thine eyes are upon the ways of the children of men, to give to every one according to his way:” Jeremiah 39:18-19 LXX

“… the great God (ho Theos ho megas) has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Daniel 2:45b LXX

“And I prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed, and said, O Lord, the great and wonderful God (Kyrie ho Theos ho megas)…” Daniel 9:4a LXX

This next example is noteworthy since it describes Jehovah as the Lord of lords:

“For the Lord your God, he [is] God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great, and strong, and terrible God (ho Theos ho megas kai ischuros kai phoberos), who does not accept persons, nor will he by any means accept a bribe:” Deuteronomy 10:17 LXX

And yet the inspired Christian writings identify Jesus as the Lord of lords:

“that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which HE will manifest in HIS own time, HE WHO is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, WHO alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, WHOM no man has seen or can see, to WHOM be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:14-16

“These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:14

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16

To sum up our discussion:

The New Testament identifies Jesus as the great God and Savior.

According to the Hebrew Bible, there is no other great God and Savior besides Jehovah.

This means that Jesus is being described as Jehovah God Almighty in the flesh.

At the same time, the NT writings personally distinguish Jesus from both God the Father and the Holy Spirit.

This means that Jehovah God Almighty exists as a Tri-Personal Being, with one of those divine Persons entering into his own creation in order to become the man Christ Jesus: 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19

“And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Mark 1:10-11

“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:30-35

“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:29-36

“The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:36-38

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

“elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:” 1 Peter 1:2

Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible.

FURTHER READING

The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity

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