“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:5, NIV)
1. Using this verse, some Trinitarians try to make Christ into God by what is known as the “Granville Sharp Rule.” The following explanation is lengthy, but it is necessary to show that this “rule” has been properly analyzed and shown to be invalid for proving the Trinity. Granville Sharp was an English philanthropist, who began to study the grammar of the New Testament in order to demonstrate that his Trinitarian beliefs were correct and that Christ was God. From his study of the New Testament, he declared that when the Greek word kai (usually translated “and”) joins two nouns of the same case, and the first noun has the definite article and the second does not, the two nouns refer to the same subject. This is the principle behind the “rule,” but there are a large number of exceptions to it that must be noted.
There are problems with the Granville Sharp “Rule.” First, it is impossible to prove that it was a rule of grammar at the time of the Apostle Paul. Nigel Turner, a Trinitarian, writes:
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Author: BiblicalUnitarian.com
Keywords: trinity, trinitarian, triune, three persons, three persons in one God, trinitarianism, Granville, Granville Sharp, Granville Sharpe, Granville Sharp rule, Granville Sharpe rule
Bible reference(s): Ephesians 5:5, Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1
Source: “The Granville Sharp Rule,” biblicalunitarian.com
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