timothy

The scripture in 1Timothy 3:16 refers to Jesus Christ, but the use of “God” in that verse is misleading. Bible scholars have told us that nearly all ancient manuscripts, and all the versions (except KJV and NKJV) have “He who” (referring to Christ) instead of “God” in this verse. The Concordant Bible, page 18, reads:  “in the Sinaiticus, there can be no doubt that it originally read ‘who’ (Greek: hos). a late corrector has added ‘God’ above the line.” The Amplified Bible reads “He (Jesus Christ)” while the NLT and ERV reads “Christ” instead of “God” in that passage. Others read “He”, “He who” or “Who”.

There has been a great deal of controversy over 1Timothy 3:16, so much that a microscope was used to read the line of this verse in a worn-out Codex Alexandrinus. The microscope revealed that someone added the contracted Greek word for Theos (God) above the line, probably to correct or alter the original word which had become almost illegible due to frequent examination of the manuscript. The contracted Greek word for God and other sacred names is called “nomina sacra”. The nomina sacra for Theos (God) is very similar to the Greek words hos (who) and ho (which).

According to Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible under “God” the author  wrote, inter alia, that “It is now generally admitted that the faint line “over” the word [originally written in the manuscript] had been added by some later hand, though not improbably by one who found that the line was nearly obliterated, and who meant merely to restore it …”

In his book, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Professor Bruce M. Metzger (UBS, N.Y, 1975, Page 641) writes: [“He who”] is supported by earliest and best uncials [scripts written entirely in capital letters in the 4th to 8th centuries AD]… no uncial (in the first hand) earlier than the eighth or ninth century supports theos; all ancient versions presuppose hos or ho [“he who” or “he”]; and no patristic writer prior to the last third of the fourth century testifies to the reading theos (God). The reading theos arose either (a) accidentally, or (b) deliberately, either to supply a substitute for the following six verbs [the six verbs that follow in the verse], or, with less probability, to provide greater dogmatic precision [that is, to produce a verse that more clearly supports the Trinitarian dogma].” Although no one, including Metzger, can say that the change was done deliberately, it did increase textual support for the doctrine of the Trinity, a doctrine that was alien to Christ and his pristine apostles.

How the Alteration was done

A stroke made in an Omicron (O) changed it to Theta (θ). When both are followed by the Greek “s” (ç), the words “Oç” hos (who) and “θς” the nomina sacra for θεος Theos (God) get formed. Thus, it was easy for anyone deceived by the Trinitarian dogma to deliberately or naively change the almost illegible  Oς hos (he who or who) in the verse to θς Theos (God).

TrinityTruth.org, in their article with the title ‘Does 1 Timothy 3:16 say Jesus is God?” have the following as part of their write-up: “Now, the Greek word for “who” is the word “hos” which is written in Greek as “Oç”. Notice the similarity between these two words “θç” and “Oç”, and also remember that they were handwritten. With the exception of one pen stroke, the Omicron “O” and the Theta “θ” are nearly identical. So it would be very easy to make a mistake copying from one manuscript to another, which would be excusable if this is what happened. But it would also be easy for an overzealous scribe to execute a forgery by changing the manuscript and the handwritten “O” (Omicron) into “θ” (Theta) with a single stroke of his pen which would completely change the meaning of the verse. It would also be easy to change the word “ho” to “theos” by adding a stroke to an “s”. But it would be a lot more difficult to do it the other way around without getting caught as you would have to remove the stroke”.

The summary of the writings is that a change was made to 1Timothy 3:16 after it had been written and the change is either accidental or deliberate. The change turned the word to Theos (God).

Did God Became Flesh (Human Being)?

As is usual with most KJV Onlyists,  nothing convinces them besides the false Ideas they have  ingrained in themselves. It is therefore not surprising to see some people trying to prove that “God” was what Paul wrote in that place thereby giving textual support for their theory that our Lord Jesus Christ was also a Deity like  the Father. But there are many verses that can be  cited from Paul’s epistles which oppose this claim. A few of them are:

1 Timothy 6:13-16 NIVUK

[13] In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you [14] to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, [16] who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no-one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might for ever. Amen.” (bold emphases added by me).

Colossians 1:15 NASB2020

[15]  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:” (bold emphasis added).

Here, Paul wrote that our Lord Jesus was the firstborn (Greek: arche, the first in the series)of God’s creation. He was the first to be created by God before God created all other things in the heavens and the earth, visible and invisible, through him. See John 5:26. There is no verse in the Bible which gives any iota of suggestion that Jesus self-existed. When Apostle John wrote, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3), the apostle did not imply that Jesus, through whom God made all [other] things, was not himself a creation of God. The apostles clearly understood that there is only one self-existed being (YHWH or Yahweh) who brought all other beings into existence. Our Lord Jesus is one of His creation. Yahweh, the only self-existed being, is the only one called God (without an article) by our Lord Jesus and the apostles. Apostle Paul could not have written God (without an article) in reference to Jesus in 1 Tim. 3:16.

1 Timothy 1:17 NIVUK

[17] “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

The eternal, immortal, and the invisible one, whom no one has seen, nor will ever see with the physical eyes, is the one God.

Hebrews 10:5-10 NASB2020

[5] Therefore, when He [Jesus Christ] comes into the world, He says, “You have not desired sacrifice and offering, But You have prepared a body for Me; [6] You have not taken pleasure in whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin. [7] “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (It is written of Me in the scroll of the book) To do Your will, O God.’ ” [8] After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), [9] then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. [10] By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” (Words in square brackets and bold emphases added by me.)

The clear summary of these and many other texts of the Bible is that God has never been, and will never be, a visible flesh. The one who was given flesh to offer for our sins was Jesus Christ. And the Bible makes it clear that our Lord Jesus Christ was the first of all creation (Col. 1:15 NASB2020). Our Lord Jesus Christ did not self-exist. God gave him life or existence. If he were self-existed like God Himself, he would not be the Son of God. Neither will we be correct to say we believe in only one God. Our Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles never referred to him as God. If Paul called Jesus God in 1 Tim. 3:16, he would have contradicted both Jesus and himself in places where Jesus was identified as the Son of God, that is, one who derived his existence from God. See, for example,  John 10:36; 20:17; Rev. 3:12; Eph. 1:3, 17; 4:6; 1 Cor. 8:5, 6; 1 Tim. 2:5. God could not have been the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ if Jesus Christ himself was a self-existed being like God. The first thing that makes Jesus the Son of God is the fact that he (Jesus) derived his life or existence from God. We should no longer pretend not to understand the clear verses of the Bible which say it is the Son who became flesh, that is, a human being (John 1:1,14; Heb. 10:5-10). Before he became flesh, he had been with God in heaven in spirit form. But for the confusion and delusion caused by Trinitarianism, no Christian who has read the Bible will ever say that God became a human being.