Jesus, The Almighty God (The Jewish Shema)
Overview
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Jesus claimed to be the Almighty God on several occasions by applying to himself the exclusive titles and descriptions of God from the Old Testament. Familiarity with the Old Testament is therefore vital for understanding and recognising Jesus' self-identification as the Almighty God in the New Testament. Jesus' decision to communicate his identity by using the thought categories and religious texts of Judaism makes perfect sense, for Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah and to minister firstly among the Jewish people. Like Jesus, the New Testament authors also describe Jesus as the Almighty God by using the exclusive titles and descriptions of God from the Old Testament.
The following is an example of the Apostle Paul identifying Jesus as the Almighty God (in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit) by applying to Jesus a title or description of God from the Old Testament.
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The Jewish Shema
In the Old Testament, only God is described as existing before anything was created and it is through God that all created things were brought into existence and given life (Genesis 1:1, Job 9:8, Psalm 19:1-6, 33:6-9, Isaiah 44:24, 48:12-13 & Nehemiah 9:5-6). God’s unique identity as the Almighty Creator is why God revealed the ‘Jewish Shema’ to Israel and why the Israelites were expected to remain faithful to its monotheistic declaration (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Israel was to worship God alone as the Almighty Creator and reject the false gods of the pagan nations.
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However, while discussing pagan idol worship with the Corinthian Christians, the Apostle Paul affirms the monotheism of the Jewish Shema but applies it to both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). According to Paul, the ‘God’ of the Jewish Shema is the Father and the ‘Lord’ of the Jewish Shema is Jesus. Paul thus believes that the Almighty Creator and the One God of the Jewish Shema is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is especially seen in Paul’s twin statements that it is from God the Father that “all things came and for whom we live” and it is through the Lord Jesus Christ that “all things came and through whom we live”. Paul therefore attributes the same creative work and divine power to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, thus highlighting their co-creatorship and co-divinity as the One God.
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Despite what some claim, Paul’s inclusion of both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ does not violate the monotheism of the Jewish Shema. This is because the English word “one” in Deuteronomy 6:4 is the Hebrew word ‘echad’ and is often used to convey the idea of unity between parties (a ‘compound unity’). For instance, ‘echad’ is used by God in Genesis 2 when describing the unity that exists between a man and a woman after marriage. After their marital union, God states that “a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one [echad] flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Although two distinct persons, God now expects the husband and wife to live a life of mutual love and concord and to be united in both soul and body. Paul therefore takes this meaning and use of the Hebrew word ‘echad’ and applies it to the unity that exists between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as the One God (in union with the Holy Spirit).
Bible Passages
Genesis 1:1
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(1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.​
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Deuteronomy 6:4-5
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(4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (5) Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
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Job 9:8
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(8) He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
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Psalm 19:1-6
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(1) The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (2) Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. (3) They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. (4) Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. (5) It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. (6) It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
Psalm 33:6-9
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(6) By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (7) He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. (8) Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. (9) For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Isaiah 44:24
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(24) This is what the LORD says - your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself.
Isaiah 48:12-13
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(12) Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. (13) My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
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Nehemiah 9:5-6
(5) And the Levites - Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah - said: “Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. (6) You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you."
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1 Corinthians 8:4-6
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(4) So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” (5) For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), (6) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
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