In these posts I will be explaining and defending a particular rule of Greek grammar that relates to the Deity of Christ, commonly referred to as Granville Sharp’s first rule.

THEOS USED FOR CHRIST

There are several places in the inspired Christian writings where Jesus is called God in an absolute sense, not in a secondary, diluted, inferior manner.

For instance, Christ is described as God in the context of being the One the Father appointed to bring all creation into existence, and who actively sustains all things by his powerful word:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (theos). He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people… He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him… And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God (monogenes theos), who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 10, 14, 18 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

“God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God (ho theos), is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.’ And, ‘You, Lord [the Son], in the beginning founded the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment, And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-12

Remarkably, Hebrews has the Father attributing the following Psalm, which glorifies YHWH as the unchanging Creator and Sustainer of all creation,

“A Prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before Yahweh. O Yahweh, hear my prayer! And let my cry for help come to You… But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation… Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” Psalm 102:1, 12, 25-27

To the Son, thereby identifying the Son as that very YHWH who created and preserves the entire created order!

The risen Jesus is also praised for being the Lord God of all true believers,

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand here and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:27-29

As well as that very God who purchased a people by his blood that he shed for their redemption:

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God (tou theou) which He purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28

And yet according to the Hebrew Scriptures, YHWH is the only Lord God that a believer confesses,

“Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, [even] to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho theos mou kai ho kyrios mou).” Psalm 34:23 LXX

And who purchased a congregation for his own possession:

“Yet God Is My King A Maskil of Asaph. Why, O God? Have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.” Psalm 74:1-2

Christ is further described as the eternally praised God who reigns supreme over all creation,

“whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God (theos) over all, blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 9:5

Being that very YHWH,

“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for ‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:9-13

Whose name Joel said a person must confess in order to be saved!

“And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.” Joel 2:32

Moreover, Jesus is that true God and eternal life with the Father who came forth to give mankind an understanding of who and what God truly is:

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1-3

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may 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

This now brings me to the next two examples:

“At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou).” Titus 2:13 Common English Bible (CEB)

“From Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who received a faith equal to ours through the justice of our God and savior Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou).” 2 Peter 1:1 CEB

In both these texts, the inspired Apostles Paul and Peter are employing what has become known as Granville Sharp’s first rule. The following textual note clarifies this rule for the readers:

tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, theos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, sōtēr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4. (New English Translation [NET] Bible https://netbible.org/bible/Titus+2; emphasis mine)

In fact, Peter employs four other examples of Granville Sharp’s first rule in reference to Jesus, the last of which even includes a doxology to the risen Christ:

“for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) will be abundantly supplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:11

“For if they are overcome, having both escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) and having again been entangled in them, then the last state has become worse for them than the first.” 2 Peter 2:20

“that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior (tou kyriou kai soteros) spoken by your apostles… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (tou kyriou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou). To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:2, 18

The only difference in these cases is that Peter employs the word Lord instead of God, and yet they all use the same Greek construction as found in 2 Pet. 1:1.  It is, therefore, inarguable that the inspired Apostle has proclaimed Jesus to be both God and Lord.  

And yet since YHWH is the only great God which the OT recognizes, being the only Savior of the world,

“There is none like to thee, O Lord, among the gods; and there are no [works] like to thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come, and shall worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wonders: thou art the only [and] the great God.” Psalm 85:8-10 LXX

“Declare and draw near with your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has made this heard from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21-22

This means that Peter and Paul are proclaiming that Jesus is YHWH God Incarnate (though not the Father or the Holy Spirit)!

In the next installment I will be addressing an objection raised by Jehovah’s Witnesses and other anti-Trinitarian groups who seek to undermine the force of Granville Sharps’ first rule in order to deny the fact of the NT identifying Christ as God in an absolute, eternal sense.

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