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In my last blog, I explained misunderstood verses that directly use the English word “God” in reference to Yeshua. This blog will address verses that are misunderstood to refer to Yeshua, but in reality do not.

• John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

While this verse seems to call Yeshua (Jesus) “God”, in reality it does not. It is wrongly assumed that the “Word” refers to the preexistent Son. This is because people break a major hermeneutical rule by reading into the text what is not there. This text does not say the “Word” was the Son or that Yeshua is God. 

Since Yeshua is called “The Word of God” in Revelation 19:13, the translators of the KJV assumed the “Word” of John 1:1 was also Yeshua and therefore, capitalized the word “word” and used the pronoun “him” in reference to the “word.” The Greek for “Word” is “logos” and it  means “the spoken word” or “something said (including the thought).” In that sense the word is an “it,” not a person but a thing. The great English translator William Tyndale renders it that way in his 1525 version as does the Matthew’s Bible of 1537, the Great Bible of 1539, the Geneva Bible of 1560, and the Bishop’s Bible of 1568. Verse 3 should read, “All things were made through it; and without it was not anything made that was made.” In other words, Yahweh spoke creation into existence. This understanding agrees perfectly with passages such as Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,14, 20, and 24 all of which begin, “And Elohim said.” Yahweh spoke and it was done. Psalm 33:6,9 says, “By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made; and all the host by the breath of his mouth. . . For He spoke and it was; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Not only did Yahweh speak creation into existence, but He also spoke His Son Yeshua into existence; “And the word (Yahweh’s spoken word) was made flesh” (John 1:14). Yeshua did not become the “Word of [Yahweh]” until his birth as a flesh and blood male child.

• Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”

The RSV and many other versions correctly translate this verse as follows;

“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.”

This verse does not say Yeshua IS God, but that he was in the “form of God”. As a child, Yeshua “waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of Yahweh was upon him” (Luke 2:40). Even at that time Yeshua knew who he was, knew who his Father was (Luke 2:49), and knew what he had to do. By the time of his baptism he was so filled with wisdom, knowledge, Spirit, and power that Paul says he was “in the form (or likeness) of God.” It does not say he “was God”. Yet, Yeshua did not allow that power and wisdom to corrupt him. Nor did he, for one moment, consider himself Yahweh’s equal. He knew his Father was greater than himself (John 10:29; 13:16; 14:28).

• Titus 2:13 ” Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Yeshua Messiah;”

This verse was translated differently in many other versions. Here is the ASV translation:

“looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

The word order in Greek which includes the words “of the” after “appearing” is correctly translated in the ASV and other versions. Paul is not calling Yeshua “the great God”. He is saying that Yeshua is “the glory of the great God”. When Yeshua returns/appears, he will come in his Father’s glory:

Matthew 16:27  “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds.”

Paul was no doubt referring back to these words of Yeshua.  The glory of the Father IS His Son Yeshua.

Paul wrote of this glory as well:

2 Corinthians 4:6  “Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Yeshua Messiah.”

Yeshua is the express image of his Father, Yahweh. Yeshua’s face reveals the glory of God.

• 1 Timothy 1:16,17 ” Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Yeshua Messiah might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

There is only one eternal being, Yahweh, the Father of Yeshua. All other beings came into being at some point in time. Therefore, Yahweh is the “King eternal”. He is the only one that has inherent immortality and who is invisible because He is Spirit. Yeshua, the Son, was clearly visible before and after his resurrection. There is only one wise Elohim (God), that is Yahweh. Yeshua cannot be the “only wise God” because Yeshua’s Father is not only the “only true God” (Jeremiah 10:10; John 17:3), but He is wise. Paul wrote of Him in Romans 16:27  “To the only wise God, be glory through Yeshua Messiah for ever. Amen.”

• 1 Timothy 6:14-16 “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Master Yeshua Messiah: Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

1 Timothy  6:15-16  “Which in his (Yeshua’s) times he (Yeshua) shall show (Yeshua is going to show something. What? He is going to show what follows), who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” (Everything from “who is the blessed” to “Amen” refers to the Father, Yahweh. Men have seen the Son, but they have not seen the Father. Strong’s says the word “immortality” means “deathlessness” and Thayer’s says it means “undying”. Yeshua died, Yahweh cannot because He is immortal.

• 2 Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Yeshua Messiah, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Yeshua Messiah:”

In the opening of Peter’s first epistle he writes:

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Yeshua Messiah: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Master Yeshua Messiah, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Yeshua Messiah from the dead, (1 Peter 1 :2-3) 

Peter is making a clear distinction between the Father (God) and the Son (Yeshua Messiah). He makes that same distinction in 2 Peter 1:2:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Yeshua our Master,

In fact, throughout Peter’s two epistles, he makes a clear distinction between the Father (God) and the Son (Yeshua). To Peter, God raised Yeshua from the dead. Therefore, to force 2 Peter 1:1 to say that Yeshua is God in order to support a man-made trinity doctrine is unwarranted.

2 Peter 1:1 is translated in several ways as seen below. However, the translation that best fits the context of that chapter and of both Peter’s epistles is choice number 1.

1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ: (ASV)

2. Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: (NASB)

3. Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: (KJV)

There is also the possibility that the word “theos” (God) is being used in its lesser sense as pertaining to mighty men as in John 10:34-35. Yeshua is our “theos”, “elohim” or our “god” (mighty one).