King James 2000 Bible
And God said, Let US make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. Gen 1:26
King James Bible
Go to, let US go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. Gen11:7
Notice the “us” in these verses. It is obvious that God is the one talking. God is talking to Himself. This may seem like a ludicrous statement because in Jewish theology it is thought that the Father was talking to Angels; That is impossible because only God can create
Deityhood of Christ:
King James Bible
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John1:1
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14
For the sake of Iglesia ni Manalo readers I quote this from an INM website:
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Interesting Questions-31
“Divinity, pre-existence, and incarnation”
Letter to the Editor:
GOD’S MESSAGE, February 2008, p.4
AMONG THE FOUR Gospels, that of John is the most explicit in teaching about the deity of Christ. Its very first statement (John 1:1) provides the key to the correct understanding of the Lord’s true state of being: that He is God (“and the Word was God”), and that He pre-existed with God the Father (“in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”). Verse 14 reveals another truth about Him: that God took on a human nature and became a real human being like you and me (“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”). Why is it that your religion does not teach these three basic doctrines (divinity pre-existence, incarnation) about Christ?
Ephraim Rifkin
Denver, Colorado, USA
Editor’s reply:
We appreciate your noble intention to get our side regarding the issues you raised in your letter.
What is spoken of in John 1:1, 14 as being with God in the beginning is the “Word.” Hence, in order to understand the real message of John 1:1, 14, we should first clarify the meaning of the term “Word.” Does it really refer to a ‘pre-existent Christ’ as others allege? No. The Holy Scriptures prove instead that the “Word” refers to God’s “promise” to send His Son, which He “announced” before:
“Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:2-3, New American Standard Bible, emphasis ours)
“Which He announced before through His prophets in holy writings—concerning His Son, (who is come of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:2-3, Young’s Literal Translation, emphasis ours)
Moreover, Ryrie Study Bible explains that logos, the Greek equivalent of the term Word” in John 1:1, 14, means a “thought or concept” p. 1599). These terms—promise, announcement, thought, concept—refer to things that are abstract, not yet concrete, or not yet “made flesh” This is similar to a blueprint
for a house, which is only a plan and not yet a constructed material house. Clearly, then, the term “Word in John 1:1, 14 is not Christ Himself but the “foreknowledge’*’ or plan of God concerning Christ:
Foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, he has been manifested in the last times for your sakes.” (I Pet. 1:20, Confraternity Version, emphasis ours)
This pronouncement of Apostle Peter that Christ was “foreknown before the foundation of the world” explains the statement in the Gospel according to John, “In the beginning was the Word.” Hence, what was there in the beginning was not Christ Himself but God’s “Word” or foreknowledge of Him.
“Foreknowledge” is defined by the dictionary as “knowledge of a thing before it happens or exists? (Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, p. 717).
If Christ had already been existing before the foundation of the world, then there would not be any need to “foreknow” Him. Therefore, the fact that Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world disproves His so-called pre- existence.
What does the clause “And the Word became flesh” mean then? The “Word” which was only a thought or plan in the beginning was fulfilled when Mary gave birth to Jesus (Gal. 4;4) who is “truly human” (I Tim. 2:3 , Contemporary English Version”) or “indeed flesh” (Gen. 6:3).
4But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, (Gal. 4:4, Contemporary English Version)
We should not forget that it was the ”Word” which became flesh and not God Himself. John 1:1 & 14 therefore does not in any way teach that God became man or that Christ is God incarnate.
So why then did Apostle John state in John 1:1 that “the Word was God”? It is because God is almighty or powerful (Gen, 35:11), and so are His words (Luke 1:37). Thus, “the Word was God” indeed, but not in the sense that the “Word” is another divine being aside from God, but that it possesses the qualities and attributes of God. In John 1:1 the word “God” in the clause “the Word was God” is used not as a noun but as an adjective. That is why in other renditions of the Bible, such as Moffatt and Goodspeed, John 1:1 states: “The Word was divine”
THE Logos existed in the very beginning, the Logos was with God, the Logos was divine. (John 1:1, James Moffatt New Testament)
In the beginning the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was divine. (John 1:1, Goodspeed New Testament)
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http://www.studyiglesianicristo.com/Questions/intere sting-questions-31.html
Argument Refutation:
The “Word” is clearly Jesus and not the foreknowledge of God. He is the image of the invisible God and firstborn of every creature. The verses below shows Jesus’ preexistence and He’s being truly God the Son.
King James Bible
All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. John 1:3
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Col 1:14-16