Great God Jesus: Grammatically Ambiguous

Some traditionalist New Testament (NT) scholars cite 2 Thessalonians 1:12, Titus 2:13, and 2 Peter 1:1 to support their belief that Jesus is God. All three of these passages have a similar syntax (word order), which makes them somewhat ambiguous. Thus, the dispute between traditionalists and non-traditionalists over these three passages concerns only a phrase and its grammar. Yet many traditionalists who cite Titus 2:13 to support their view that Jesus is God deny that 2 Thessalonians 1:12 and 2 Peter 1:1 do too.

Traditionalists claim that Titus 2:13 is their second-best Pauline text which supports that Jesus is God, with Romans 9:5b being foremost. The entirety of Titus 2:13 reads as follows in the King James Version (KJV): “Looking for that blessed hope, and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” But this verse reads differently in the New American Standard Bible (NASB): “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”

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Author: Kermit Zarley

Keywords: Trinity, Trinitarian, Deity of Christ, Deity of Jesus, great god

Bible reference(s): Titus 2:13

Source: “Is Jesus God in Titus 2:13?” The Restitution of Jesus Christ, 2008.

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