Christmas 2011 ~ The Lesser god Thesis

Merry Christmas To All As We Celebrate The Miraculous Birth Of Our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ

We Look Forward To A Blessed And Prosperous New Year!

As we examine the birth if Jesus it is more important for the believer to remember who Jesus was as it pertains to his inception and entrance into the world in a physical form. 

As in mid to late Second Century there was a controversy swirling over exactly how Jesus was divine. At the  Council Of Nicea in 325 AD Arianism was condemned as a heresy. Arius (250-336 AD) taught that Jesus was a "lesser god" and was a created being, a personification of wisdom (Prov. 8:22) whom God the father used as an agent to create the world. In other words all creation was through Jesus but he was not necessarily the architect of creation and no matter how far back his existence was pushed, the existence of the Father preceded his. This whole theology has not only led to a whole host of confusions, but also to one that is called the lesser god thesis by some in theological circles.

Who Teaches The Lesser god? 

Some of the groups that yet hold to forms and variations of this heresy are denominations such as the Jehovah's Witness and the Mormons, to name two of the more popular. Because of the belief that Jesus is a  created being ie: "lesser than God", these organizations and others are rightfully considered to be non-Christian cults. Christians believe that Jesus was equal with the Father. There are no Christians who deny this essential tenet of the faith. Unfortunately, due to media, political and social pressures, this fact and line of reasoning seems to be lost on many individuals. 

Now, notice that the thesis doesn't deny that Jesus is essential, or that he is the most important vessel of creation. It also doesn't deny that Jesus is "a god" (with a small G). However the thesis, in all forms, denies that the preexistent Christ is God and is a being co-equal with the father which is ultimately a denial of the clear claims within scripture and also a denial of the faith once established for all times.

Jesus Is Described As God Within Scripture

John 1:1-3 ~ 1-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2-The same was in the beginning with God. 3-All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

There are many places and arguments that can be made from scripture that will affirm Jesus as God. I'll only deal with a few of them in this article. Feel free to add much more support in the comments section.  

Some of the most controversial scriptures regarding this subject are contained within the Gospel of John. They are controversial because they seem to be so to the point and so clear on the issue that those who dissent must change the translation to suit their beliefs. For example, in the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the identity of Jesus as the Word is revised from the King James Version at the end of the 1st verse to "the Word was a god" instead of "the Word was God". Is there any warrant for this change? I say ABSOLUTELY NOT!  

First, the translation, without warrant assumes that the scripture is speaking of a being less than the Father, calling him "god". This would be an unheard of concept in the first century Jewish society in which Christianity was birthed. First Century Jews were staunchly monotheistic. Remember, the Jews had fought a war over the desecration of their worship system and the worship of multiple gods (The Maccabean Revolt 167-160 BCE)  just a relatively short time earlier. The cultural setting and other evidence within scripture makes the teaching that John was talking about a plurality of Gods highly unlikely. 

The second part to that argument mentioned above regards the absence of the article "the" in front of "God" in the second clause of verse one, but not before "God" in the third clause of verse one. Some critics use the absence of article to denote that Jesus was a "lesser being" and certainly no co-equal with the creator. What is true is that the article "the" (Greek: ho) does not exist in the third clause of the first verse. Let me explain: Borrowing from the book, "Putting Jesus In His Place" ~ Robert M. Bowman Jr. & J. Ed Komoszewski [2007 Kregel Publications] pgs. 140-141 we can outline the 3 clauses of John 1:1 as follows:

1st Clause:

en arche en ho logos

in the beginning was the word

2nd Clause

kai ho logos en pros ton theon

and the word was with "the" God

3rd Clause

kai theos en ho logos

and God was the word 

As Bownam Jr. and Komoszewski point out, the critic asserts that John does not say both that the Word was with "the" God and was "the" God and call it a day assuming that their argument that the Word (which they attribute to being Jesus) was a lesser divine being stands. This is what the scholars state in response to this type of argument: 

"The translation "a god" is especially erroneous, for this very reason. variations in the biblical writings, including those of John, between theos (God) and ho theos (The God) have no effect whatsoever on the meaning of the word theos. If John had meant to signal that ho theos meant "God" and theos meant "a god" the wording in the rest of the prologue(John 1:1-18) is very strange. After verse 2, which summarizes the first two clauses of verse 1. theos appears five times in the prologue, each time without the article, and in the first four occurances everyone agrees it means "God"(vv.6,12,13,18a,18b)" ~ pg. 141 ibid.

In essence the only way that the argument can be supported is if the whole discourse is de-constructed and de-contextualized and all other verses, even those in the same general text, are stripped of their meaning. Following this line of argumentation is not only unsupportable, it is highly unwise if the object is to get to the truth.

Creator Of All Things NOT A Jr. Partner:

Isaiah 37:16 ~ "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth."

This is just one rendering of verses within the Old Testament that affirm that God is the creator of all things. The New Testament continues in this theme but the attribution is to Jesus himself. Here is one verse among many that could be used to support our argument:

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."

At this point the critic asserts that all things are "of" the Father and "by" Jesus Christ, that, at best, it only indicates a working relationship between Jesus and the Father. However, what does that do to the text and the understanding? It creates 2 Gods! Even if one is a lesser god the problem still exists that there is a complete violation of what we understand from the Old Testament that there is only ONE creator of all things!

In the text itself, Paul affirms his dedication to the these that there is by one God, the Hebrew Shema (Deut. 6:4)  in 1 Corinthians 8:4:

 "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one."

He also acknowledges that pagans believe differently in v.5

"For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)"

and then reverts to a strong statement in verse 6 to delineate the difference as referenced above. So this affirms the contextual flow of the verses. 

So what of the "from" (Greek: ek or ex) and the "through" (Greek: dia)? Certainly they must have different objects.

Not necessarily so. We find this in the following scripture:

Romans 11:36 ~ "For of [ex] him, and through [dia] him, and to [eis]  him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." 

Noone can dispute that this scripture is referring to God and his ability to subdue and bring all things and events unto himself. Therefore we understand that God IS the one at work through and in all things. So the question is how does a "lesser being" or "Jr. Partner" achieve these accolades? To render such is an unsupportable argument. 

In addition, please note that EACH of the prepositions used in 1 Cor. 8:6 are present in Romans 11:36 not only that  but they are written by the same person. What is the message?

Jesus is the FOR, the THROUGH and the BY whom all things that exist, exist. This is a strong affirmation of the deity, supremacy and work of Christ, not as a lesser god, or a jr. partner but as God himself, without question and without reservation. 

How does this refer to Jesus and yet Jesus as theantropist or God/Man that never ceases from being one to be the other, maintain and ontological distinction between he and the Father? That is a mystery and also another article, but it is biblical fact as well.

Who Is It That Dwells Among Us?

Isaiah 7:14 ~ "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." 

One thing is for sure, out of all that we don't know, there are some things that we do know. That Jesus, as God, put on the likeness of sinful flesh , was born of a young virgin and came to live among us. It was him that displayed his power over creation, the elements, sin, sickness, disease and death and rose again the third day. He didn't have to become the Son of God over time, neither did he need a committee or council to approve him. He WAS God, he IS God and he lives today.

That's the true and real meaning of Christmas and I hope that everyone comes to know that in this life. 

Merry Christmas and a blessed and Happy New Year!