PLURAL APPLICATION OF GOD TO 1 CORINTHIANS 8:6
I will be comparing 1 Corinthians 8:6 to the Hebrew to which Paul is referring to in Deuteronomy 6:4. The reason for first quoting Deuteronomy 6:4 is to show where the Greek words θεός (theós|G2316) translated as God and κύριος (kýrios|G2962) translated as Lord come from and their application to "one God" and their duel application in 1 Corinthians 8:6 and it's application to one God with the Greek from Hebrew translation of Lord. Lets start by looking at the scriptures..
- DEUTERONOMY 6:4 4, Hear, O Israel: THE LORD OUR GOD is ONE GOD
- 1 CORINTHIANS 8:6 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.
WORD MEANING ORIGINS FROM HEBREW TO GREEK TO ENGLISH
1.
Lord translated from Greek to English in 1 Corinthians 8:6 comes from the Hebrew word יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhôvâh | YHWH; yeh-ho-vaw' H3068)
2. Lord is in context is referring to
God in the Hebrew is אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîym|Adonai Elohim H430) and this is where the Greek word from Hebrew translates as God θεός (theós|G2316) in 1 Corinthians 8:6
3.
One coming from the Hebrew word אֶחָד (ʼechâd | ekh-awd' - H259) translated in the Greek as εἷς (heîs|hice G1520) also having plural application like echad.
So when reading the Hebrew Scriptures it would be vocalized as Adonai, the word for Lord God. Because of that, our English translations use an all-uppercase LORD in place of the name YWHW or Jehovah. The word translated as God in this verse is elohim. This is somewhat of a generic word for God. And it is used also to refer to the gods of the nations as well as the God of Israel. In the Greek Septuagint, the Bible of the early church, YHWH, is translated as kyrois. This is a word that means Lord and is synonymous with the Hebrew Adonai. And elohim is translated as theos, the generic Greek word for God. So in Hebrew, the expression ‘YHWH Elohim’ is pronounced as ‘Adonai Elohim’. In Greek, it is ‘Kyrois Theos’. And in English, it is ‘LORD God’. These are the words being used in the Greek scripture in 1 Corinthians 8:6.
CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT
1 CORINTHIANS 8:1-7 1, Now as touching things offered to IDOLS, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. 2, And if any man think that he knows any thing, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3, But if any man love God, the same is known of him. 4, As concerning therefore the EATING OF THOSE THING OFFERED AND SACRIFICED TO IDOLS WE KNOW THAT AN IDOL IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD AND THAT THERE IS NONE OTHER GOD BUT ONE. 5, FOR THOUGH THERE BE THAT ARE CALLED GODS WHETHER IN HEAVEN OR EARTH AS THERE BE GOD'S MANY AND LORDS MANY 6, BUT TO US THERE IS BUT ONE GOD, THE FATHER, OF WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, AND WE IN HIM; AND (parallel)' AND ONE LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, AND WE BY HIM. 7, However, there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol to this hour eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
FROM THE SCRIPTURES
NOTE: The context to the Corinthians believers is that of food offered to idols and that idols are nothing but false Gods and Lords that are many. While 1 Corinthians 8:6 is saying BUT TO US... that is Christian there is only
one (εἷς (heîs|hice G1520 from the Hebrew ʼechâd | ekh-awd' - H259 also meaning singular or plural unified) God, the father of who are all things and one Lord Jesus Christ who are all things and we by him.
1. 1 Corinthians 8:6 tells us that the father is God creator of all things
2. One God, beside having singular application also has plural application one in unification as used in other Hebrew and Greek scriptures
3. The application of Lord is to God applied to Jesus who is also creator of all things
So what do we see we see the application of one God with singular and plural meaning to God the father as creator of all things and to Jesus as Lord God as creator of all things in parallel application with God the father. Paul is saying that the Father is God (plural) and creator and that Jesus is Lord God (YHWH, Jehovah) the God of the old testament scriptures and also creator!
This further agrees with the creation account of the scriptures here...
ONE GOD OR ONE IN UNIFICATION?
Compare with these scriptures here (there are more but we can use these as examples)...
- GENESIS 2:24 24, Therefore shall a MAN leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his WIFE: and THEY SHALL BE ONE FLESH.
- GENESIS 11:6 And the LORD said, BEHOLD, THE PEOPLE IS ONE, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
- GENESIS 34:15 16, Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and WE WILL BECOME ONE PEOPLE.
- EXODUS 12:49 49, ONE LAW shall be to him that is home born, and to the stranger that sojournes among you.
Are in harmony with...
- MATTHEW 28:19 9, Go ye therefore, and TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST
- 1 JOHN 5:7 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and THESE THREE ARE ONE."
NOTE: the one thing that all these scriptures have in common is that the context and the Hebrew show a plural application and meaning to the English word translated as one (singular). The Hebrew word used here for "one" here is אֶחָד (ʼechâd | ekh-awd' - H259) which is a derivation: a numeral from אָחַד; its meaning is properly,
united, i.e.
as one; or (as an ordinal) first
KJV: a,
alike, alone,
altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), [phrase] eleven, every, few, first, [phrase] highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some,
together.
So beside having a meaning of one (singular) like the English definition, unlike English it can also be used in
plural application depending on the scripture contexts.
Now plural application to the Hebrew word one has been proven. Let's look at the Genesis account of creation and God's Words as they are written in creation and see how these are also are not supportive of one singular God but God as plural unified application like the examples provided from the scriptures above...
1 CORINTHIANS 6:8 ONE GOD (plural) AT CREATION GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS AS CREATORS?
God reveals himself throughout scripture as one in unification as shown in the scriptures above and also in the creation account and in other scriptures here...
- GENESIS 1:26 26 And God said, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
- GENESIS 3:22 “Then the Lord God said, BEHOLD, THE MAN HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”
- Genesis 11:7 “COME, LET US GO DOWN AND CONFUSE THEIR LANGUAGE so they will not understand each other
- Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and WHO WILL GO FOR US?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
NOTE: You will note above that "let us, "our image" or "our likeness" or "one of us" or "for us" is first person plural application in the Hebrew words use here. It is not a singular application to God in any references provided from the Torah. So the collective scripture as well as word meaning, context and use here is that when the term one is used it does not always mean singular application but can also mean plural application based on the scripture contexts. The scripture context provided in this post prove that the term "one God" is an application to a plural God that are unified and as "one people" as "one flesh" as highlighted in the scriptures in the previous section while the God of creation is is also plural application to "us or our".
This shows why your interpretation of the scriptures you provided earlier to a singular God is in error and also shows how the scriptures you provided in your last post are harmonized and do not contradict each other. In 1 Corinthians 8:6 Paul ascribed to Jesus the personal name of God (YHWH, Jehovah) that is used in the Old Testament. This is also testified to by Jesus himself when he says to the Jews that before Abraham was I AM (see John 8:58 from Exodus 3:14). The name I AM is a reference to the God of the old testament from the burning bush and a name of the God of Israel.
In Paul's address in 1 Corinthians 8:6 the first is God the Father and the second is the Lord Jesus Christ. But when you look at the Greek, a language he was very familiar with, and the language spoken by the Corinthians, you find something else. The Shema affirms there is one YHWH Elohim (Deuteronomy 6:4). Paul says there is one Theos (the Greek translation of Elohim), the Father. And there is one Kyrois (the Greek translation of Adoni, the word spoken in place of YHWH the God of the old testament) in Jesus Christ.
The LORD God of the Shema becomes God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Not two distinct entities. But together, the LORD God. Over and over in Paul’s writings, he refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. And each time he does, he is affirming the divinity of Jesus. That he is connected with the YHWH of the Old Testament.
There can be little doubt that Paul viewed Jesus, the Son, as closely connected with God, the Father. That they were not two distinct individuals said to be the creators of the heavens and the earth and all mankind but that together, they were the one God unified in creation of heaven and earth as shown in Genesis 1:26 and elsewhere in the old testament and new testament scriptures. This is why Jesus also ways in John 10:30 I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.
Take Care.
