A Closer Look At Christianity

Are Jesus and God the same?

I have already talked about this topic in the second chapter, and showed the difference between God and Jesus. If you have not read that yet please do so.

Let us see what Jesus himself says

One of the scribes asked Jesus, Mark 12:28***“…Which is the first commandment of all?”*** Clearly from the question the man wanted to know the first of all commandments, and the most important one. Jesus replied to him in the following verse:

Mark 12:29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mark 12:30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

• Jesus was not talking to this man only, but he made sure to call the attention of all Israel***“Hear, O Israel.”*** This indicates the importance of this message.

• Jesus says, “the Lord our God.” This clearly indicates that God is not only the God of the people Jesus is talking to, but He is also Jesus’ God (“our”).

• Jesus continues to say,“is one Lord.” This clearly indicates the Oneness of God.

• Finally, in Mark 12:30 Jesus reiterates that this is the first commandment***“this is the first commandment .”*** A commandment before all others.

Jesus in these verses showed how important this message was by calling the attention of the Israelites, and when he talked about the Oneness of God he excluded himself from that***“Oneness”*** when he said,“our God.” He stated that this One God is his God as well as every one else’s. Had he been one of the three mentioned in John (according to John) then he would not have said***“the Lord our God,”*** but he would have said “the Lord your God.”

Then it continues in Mark after Jesus told the second commandment:

Mark 12:32And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

Mark 12:33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Mark 12:34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

When the scribe reiterated the message Jesus delivered, and said,“there is none other but he” (Mark 12:32), Jesus told him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. Certainly the scribe understood that there is only one God, and had his understanding been wrong, Jesus would have told him, or Jesus would have clarified to all who were listening that it is really three in

one. This was supposed to be an important commandment. It was the commandment that came before all others.

According to my understanding the verse in I John 5:7***“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one,”*** is the only record of the idea that God is three in one rather than One and only One. The rest of the Bible is filled with verses indicating the absolute Oneness of God, and they carry no record of the idea of John in such way.