D-42. WHAT Does 2 Corinthians 3:17 TRULY MEAN? DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. D-42. WHAT Does 2 Corinthians 3:17 TRULY MEAN? In other words, does 2 Corinthians 3:17 mean that the Holy Spirit is ALSO Lord, as in, the THIRD Lord of a Trinity Godhead as some Trinitarian Christians claim? A dear sister in our Lord Jesus Christ sent me a quote from a devotional book she was reading and she asked me for my thoughts. Here is that quote. The emphasis is mine. What I highlight in green is to show MISLEADING words. “‘The LORD’ is the most common way of referring to God in the Old Testament. When written in capitals, this word translates the Jewish covenant name for God, *YHWH*. Out of respect for God, Jews do not use the word. Historically, we have often pronounced the word as ‘Jehovah’, when in fact it sounds more like ‘Yahweh’. When the Old Testament was first translated into Greek (c.250 BC) the name *YHWH* was translated as *Kurios* (the Lord). This translation is then reflected in the New Testament. The New Testament gives us a more Trinitarian understanding of ‘The LORD’. It makes the remarkable claim that *Jesus is* *the Lord*. In fact, whether someone can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ becomes the test of Christian authenticity (1 Corinthians 12:3). It also makes the claim that the Holy Spirit is Lord: ‘Now *the Lord is the Spirit*, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Corinthians 3:17). God the Father is Lord. God the Son is Lord. God the Holy Spirit is Lord. But there is only one Lord: ‘One Lord… one God’ (Ephesians 4:5–6). The one Trinitarian God is Lord. The New Testament understanding of the Lord helps us interpret the Old Testament use of ‘The LORD’. The Old Testament enriches our understanding of what the New Testament means when it speaks of ‘The LORD’.” First of all, out of the 728 times that the word “Lord” is used in the New Testament, it is only written in ALL capital letters as LORD five times. And in one of those five times, found in Revelation 19:16, the WHOLE sentence is written in ALL capital letters. Revelation 19:16. “And he (Speaking of the now GOLRIED highly exalted Son of MAN, Jesus) has on his vesture and on his thigh a NAME written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” And according to Revelation 3:12, Philippians 2:8-11, and the PROPHECY in Isaiah 62:2, the Son of MAN, Jesus, was GIVEN a NEW NAME that is ABOVE every other name. Please read the two part study called D-23. WHAT is the NEW NAME of Jesus? Part 1. And the other four times that the “title” LORD is written in ALL capital letters in the New Testament are found in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42.43, and Acts 2:34-35. So let us go ahead and read all four of these verses of Scripture where Jesus and his disciples quote the PROPHECY in Psalm 110:1. Matthew 22:44. “The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit thou on MY right hand, TILL I make your enemies your footstool?” Mark 12:36. “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to My Lord, Sit you on My right hand, TILL I make your enemies your footstool.” Luke 20:42,43. “And David himself said in the book of Psalms, (Psalm 110:1) The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit you on My right hand, 43. Till I make your enemies your footstool.” Now, in all three of these verses of Scripture, Jesus himself is quoting the PROPHECY in Psalm 110:1. And a “prophecy” is the FORETELLING of a FUTURE event that Yahweh said the He would PERFORM or bring to pass. Therefore, that was only ONE Yahweh in ONE person in the eternity past. For you see, The Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us in Acts 2:36, along with many other passages of Scripture, that Yahweh MADE the Son of MAN His Lord AFTER the cross and resurrection. So let us now read Acts 2:-38 to get some CONTEXT. Acts 2:32-38. “This Jesus has God (Speaking of Yahweh has) raised up, whereof we all are WITNESSES. (Witnesses of WHAT? And they beheld his GLORY as of the only BEGOTTEN Son. You see, Hebrews 2:5-10 teaches us that the Son of MAN, Jesus was CROWNED with GLORY and HONOR) 33. Therefore, being by the right hand of God EXALTED, (In other words, the Son of MAN, Jesus, was EXALTED by his God and Father TO BE by the right hand of his God) and having RECEIVED of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear. (In other words, it PLEASED the Father that ALL of the FULNESS of the Godhead should now DWELL in the Son of MAN, Jesus, to be MADE His Lord. And God MADE His human Son a QUICKENING Spirit, which means that God GAVE Jesus all power and AUTHORITY to use His Holy Spirit) 34. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he said himself, (Or David PROPHESIED in Psalm 110:1) The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit you on My right hand, 35. UNTIL I make your foes your footstool. 36. THEREFORE, let all the house of Israel KNOW ASSUREDLY, that God has MADE that same Jesus, (Speaking of the Son of MAN, Jesus) whom you have CRUCIFIED, both Lord and Christ. (Now, the Son of MAN, Jesus, was not actually made the Savior until AFTER the cross and resurrection. Yes, Jesus was called Christ BEFORE the cross, but the Greek word translated as Christ ALSO means ANOINTED. So BEFORE the cross Jesus was ANOINTED with a PORTION of the Eternal Spirit as Yahweh’s helping hand to EMPOWER His HUMAN Son, Jesus. And it was AFTER the cross and resurrection that it PLEASED Yahweh to GIVE the FULLNESS of His COUNTENANCE to His human Son to be MADE His Lord to rule FOR Yahweh in the NAME of Yahweh UNTIL the end of the 1000 years in the world to come. And then, Jesus will step down from ruling as Lord over the earth and commit the ruling of the Kingdom back into the hands of his LORD and Father) 37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the NAME (Speaking of the NEW NAME) of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” So then, in the LIGHT of the Son of MAN, Jesus, being MADE Lord by his God and Father it is DECEIVING for Trinitarian Christians who KNOW this truth to argue that the New Testament makes remarkable claims that Jesus is LORD, as in THE LORD Almighty God Himself. Let us read that Trinitarian quote again and we will cover the other verses that they reference as their so-called proof text. Again, the emphasis in mine. And this time I will add some of my comment in brackets “The New Testament gives us a more Trinitarian understanding of ‘The LORD’. It makes the remarkable claim that *Jesus is* *the Lord*. [Yes, it is remarkable that God MADE His human Son a Lord over the whole earth, but that is NOT a so-called “Trinitarian” understanding of Yahweh in the Old Testament. For you see, Isaiah clearly teaches us that Yahweh was ALONE and by Himself when He ALONE created the heavens and the earth. And thus, there was NO My Lord in the eternity past as Trinitarian Christians CLAIM] In fact, whether someone can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ becomes the test of Christian authenticity (1 Corinthians 12:3).[Yes, EVERY knee will bow down to the NAME and confess that Jesus is Lord TO the GLORY OF Almighty God the Father who MADE the Son of MAN, His Lord to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels. But that does NOT mean that Jesus is Yahweh Himself in the flesh as Trinitarian Christians CLAIM] It also makes the claim that the Holy Spirit is Lord: ‘Now *the Lord is the Spirit*, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Corinthians 3:17). God the Father is Lord. God the Son is Lord. God the Holy Spirit is Lord. But there is only one Lord: ‘One Lord… one God’ (Ephesians 4:5–6). [Yes, and verse 6 clearly identifies the ONE God as being the FATHER. And other passages of Scripture such as 1 Corinthians 8:6 clearly teach us that the ONE God is the FATHER and the ONE Lord is Jesus Christ. And Jesus is NOT the Father. Therefore, the Lord is NOT one and the self-same person a the LORD in all capital letters] The one Trinitarian God is Lord. The New Testament understanding of the Lord helps us interpret the Old Testament use of ‘The LORD’. The Old Testament enriches our understanding of what the New Testament means when it speaks of ‘The LORD’.” I was shocked when I first read this Trinitarian article because I used to be a Trinitarian Christian. I was shocked because even as a brand new Trinitarian Christians I KNEW that the word LORD in the Old Testament was Yahweh and the word Lord in the Old Testament could be referring to Yahweh or it could be referring to a lesser Lord or lord. So to ME, the last paragraph in the Trinitarian article above is very DECEPTIVE to imply that the word Lord means THE LORD. Now, I did not put any comment in brackets after the Scripture reference 2 Corinthians 3:17 because that is what this study is all about. For you see, this particular Trinitarian article is CLAIMING that 2 Corinthians 3:17 means that the Holy Spirit is the THIRD Lord in a Trinity Lordhead so to speak. Let us read that quote again, but by itself this time. “It also makes the claim that the Holy Spirit is Lord: ‘Now *the Lord is the Spirit*, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Corinthians 3:17). God the Father is Lord. God the Son is Lord. God the Holy Spirit is Lord.” Now, let us read 2 Corinthians 3:17 in its CONTEXT to learn its TRUE SOUND Biblical meaning in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 2 Corinthians 3:6-18. “Who also has made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: (So then, the SUBJECT of the CONTEXT of verse 17 is the GLORY of Yahweh’s COUNTENANCE on the FACE of Moses being COMPARED to the GLORY GIVEN to the Son of MAN, Jesus. In other words, the GLORY of Yahweh is His NOW GLORIFIED Son, Jesus) 8. How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? 9. For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10. For even that which was MADE glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels. (In other words, the GLORY on the face of Moses which was MADE by God’s countenance does not even come close to the now GLORIFIED Son of MAN, Jesus) 11. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious. 12. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13. And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14. But their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away IN Christ. (In other words, the hidden things written in the Old Testament are revealed to those saved IN Jesus Christ. But the unsaved cannot correctly understand the Scriptures) 15. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. 16. Nevertheless when it (The hearts of the unsaved) shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. (The Bible itself teaches us that Jesus is the WAY TO the Father and the ONLY way to the LORD, who alone is the Father is by faith in His Son Jesus. So the Lord in verse 16 is referring to Almighty God the Father) 17. Now the Lord (Speaking of the Father) is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the GLORY of the Lord, are changed into the SAME IMAGE (Of the INVISIBLE LORD) from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” So yes, the Lord in verse 16 is the Eternal Spirit, but NOT a SEPARATE Spirit from the Father as Trinitarian Christians CLAIM. There is but ONE Spirit and God is that Spirit who is the FATHER, according to Jesus himself in John 4:23,24. John 4:23,24. “ But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him. 24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.” In other words, the Father seeks to be worshiped by those IN whom His Holy Spirit DWELLS, because no man can enter the Kingdom without being BORN-AGAIN. And since there is only ONE Spirit and the ONE God is called the Father, then the ONE Spirit is the Father. Please read the study called M-5. WHY the HOLY SPIRIT is the FATHER? Also, please know and understand that Jesus is NOT a spirit, according to Luke 24:39 Luke 24:39. “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit has NOT flesh and bones, as you see me HAVE.” So if Jesus is NOT a Spirit, then what does 1 Corinthian 15:45 mean when it says that Jesus is a quickening Spirit? We already talked a little about this verse at the beginning of this study when reading the CONTEXT of Acts 2:36 in verse 33. But let us go ahead and read Acts 2:33 again. Act 2:33. “Therefore, being by the right hand of God EXALTED, (In other words, the Son of MAN, Jesus, was EXALTED by his God and Father TO BE by the right hand of his God) and having RECEIVED of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear. In other words, it PLEASED the Father that ALL of the FULNESS of the Godhead should now DWELL in the Son of MAN, Jesus, to be MADE His Lord. And God MADE His human Son a QUICKENING Spirit, which means that God GAVE Jesus all power and AUTHORITY to use His Holy Spirit. So to say this another way, the FLESH profits nothing, because it is the Spirit who gives LIFE. Please read John 6:63. “It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” In other words, the gospel of salvation is the POWER OF God, in that, God, who is Spirit, with PERFORM His spoken words. It is NOT the words themselves, but rather, it is the Spirit who PERFORMS His words to give LIFE. And NOW, after the cross and resurrection, the Son of MAN, Jesus has been GIVEN all power and authority to now give ETERNAL LIFE by the Eternal Spirit who DWELLS in him, according to John 5:22-27, and Matthew 28:18. But after all who will be saved are saved and given eternal life, there will be no more need for ALL of the fulness of the Godhead to dwell in Jesus. Please do NOT misunderstand what I am saying. Jesus will always be Jesus after the Millennial reign of Jesus. Jesus will still have eternal life and all of the blessings that come with being a Son or daughter of Almighty God. The only difference that I can see is that Jesus will no longer be God over the earth after the 1000 year reign has ended. God MAY set us all as rulers over other planets in the Universe. Or we all MAY remain BEFORE Yahweh’s throne for all eternity. Or we might be free to travel and explore the entire Universe. But FIRST we must be found WORTHY to hear the words of Jesus say, Well done my good and FAITHFUL servant ENTER into the JOY of your Lord. So yes, Jesus is Lord to the GLORY of THE LORD who alone is Yahweh the Father. And Jesus is NOT the Father. Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. So, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading >>>D-0. THE BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of JESUS!<<< And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading >>>C-0. THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH!<<< This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED!
To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY is according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>N-0. WHO is JESUS ACCORDING to the BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>U-0. VERSES used for THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>V-0. VERSES used to TEACH that Jesus PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL of the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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