Rebuttal #9 to Reason #9 (Part One)

I would hope that after reading both part 1 and part 2 of the rebuttal #8 to reason #9, most readers would recognize that the arguments of Asher Norman in Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jewish People Don’t Believe in Jesus are incorrect … non-sensical … wrong.  However, I am going to go on and finish this book because there are other reasons Norman postulates which must be rebutted.  Part One of Rebuttal #9 to Reason #9 is one of those postulates.

Reason #9 for Norman is the argument that God cannot become a man and that Jesus is not the Son of God.  For convenience’s sake, let me summarize his arguments (part one will deal with the first two arguments):

1. God cannot be a man or the Son of Man (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hosea 11:9; Psalm 146:3)
2. God is God and He is God alone
3. Messiah will fear God
4. To whom should the expression “Son of God” refer?

Now let me surprise you … perhaps … Norman is almost right on every point.  It is where he is wrong that creates the tragic misunderstanding of recognizing/realizing that Jesus is the Messiah.  So let’s go through every point that Norman makes and correct him in his errors.

God cannot be a man because He is God.  However, God can become man in order to announce his presence to mankind and especially to save humanity.  This is not a New Testament teaching.  The concept of a “theophany” (pre-incarnate manifestation of Messiah Jesus) goes back to the first book of Scripture.  Genesis 18 tells us of the Lord (Yahweh/Adonai) appearing to Abram with two angels.  The two angels go on to Sodom to rescue Lot but the “Angel of the Lord” remains and announces the birth of Isaac.  Another quick example is Jacob’s wrestling match with God in Genesis 32 in which he states that he has seen God (Elohim) face to face (panim el panim).   These two passages along with many others (i.e., Shadrach, Meschach, and Abedinego in the fiery furnace) tell us that while God is not man He can become man in order to accomplish His will.  Hence the signifiance of Isaiah 7:14 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call his name Immanuel (God with us in a very literal sense)” and Isaiah 9:6 and the four descriptors of this child:  (1) wonderful counselor; (2) mighty God; (3) everlasting Father; and (4) prince of peace.  These four descriptors could only refer to God himself.  In no sense of the word could you refer to a common human as “mighty God” as this is blasphemy.  However, this child is a child who was born and should be understood as the realization and fulfillment of all the Old Testament theophanies … God is with us in the Incarnate form of Messiah Jesus.

Now what about those verses tha Norman uses.  Let’s look real quick and give an overall synopsis of them all.  Norman is right … to a point.  God is not a man that can sin but as He is God he can become human in order to suffer for us because we cannot suffer for ourselves.  Isn’t that the point of Hebrews 4:14-18?

The second point is much like the first one but deals with the aloneness (uniqueness of God):

Again God is God alone.  On this issue we can agree; however, Norman fails to understand the nuances of the uniqueness and aloneness of God.  First, the Shema itself explains the fact that God is one but just what does “echad” really mean in “Shema, Yisrael, Adonai (Yahweh) Elohenu, Adonai (Yahweh) echad“?  “Echad” is one but more than just the old Three Dog Night song.  This one defines as unit much like an egg is yolk, shell, white but it is one egg.  Much like the Trinity states that God is one as Father, Son, Spirit. 

This misunderstanding of God alone is not Scriptural but based in the “un” teachings of Moses Maimonides (Rambam).  Rambam taught that God was unknowable, unapproachable, untouchable.  This “un” God is not what God wants to be in our lives and previous posts detail this fact in much more detail.  God is not ”Un-Cola” but the real thing.  He is alone in the sense of uniqueness but that does not mean that He cannot reveal Himself to us as either Father, Son, or Spirit.  He can.  He does.  And that is what makes our salvation possible (1 Peter 1:1-2) because all three manifestations of God worked out our salvation for us because we could not do it ourselves.  Wow!  What a unique and wonderful God!

Stay tuned for part two of the rebuttal for Reason #9.  It should be ready by the end of this week.  God bless.  Shalom!