The Bible tells us that Yeshua was
the very first creation by Yahweh God (Yahweh became the Father at
that point). Being the first (and only direct) creation by Yahweh
makes Yeshua "the firstborn of all creation" (Col.
1:15), and the beginning of the creation of God" (Rev.
3:14), and "the only-begotten Son" of God (1
John 4:9).
Furthermore, Yahweh made all the rest
of creation through Yeshua, his firstborn Son who is the
Master Worker. The proper understanding of the NT Greek word dia ("through")
clearly tells the whole story.
To illustrate: Suppose the one all-powerful ruler of the land decided to build
a nice little palace out in the wilderness. He sends for his servant, the
Master Worker, and commands him to build that palace. The King provides whatever
materials are necessary for the Master Worker and tells him in great detail
exactly how he wants it built.
The Master Worker sends for the chief
stone mason, the chief carpenter, the chief artist, etc., tells them what their
assignments are, and oversees their work.
It is clear that the king built the
palace through his servant the Master Worker. It was at
the command (and because of the will) of the King that the palace was created
through the Master Worker (also through the stone mason, through the carpenter,
etc.). This does not mean the King and his servant both together, somehow, make
up a mysterious two-in-one King!
The fact that both the King and his
servant, the Master Worker, built the palace can be clearly explained by the
word "through." The King built the palace through his
servant, the Master Worker. There is no mystery here. The King can properly
say, "I built that palace;" the Master Worker can
properly say, "I built that palace;" and even the
stone mason can properly say, "I built that palace."
The word "through" can clear up any possible confusion there might be
from these apparently conflicting statements.
Certainly the carpenter, stone mason,
and even the Master Worker would not, in any way, intend to hint that they were
equally the King! That honor can go only to the one person whose command and will caused
the palace to be built. Certainly the faithful Master Worker would say,
"not by my will but by your will,
O King." - Luke 22:42, John 4:34.
We can see that, in the ultimate
sense of "source" or "originator," there is only one person
whose will, command, design, and supply of building materials allow him to be
called "the only one who created the palace." - See
the Beginning - Wisdom - Firstborn study.
Notice how "through" solves
any possible confusion in the following Scriptures. Even though the Law was
spoken of as "the Law of Yahweh" - 1 Chron. 16:40, and
"the law of the God of heaven" - Ezra 7:12, and we are specifically
told "there is only one Lawgiver ..."
- James 4:12, NASB, we still see another person "giving the
law"! Is that person, then, also equally God?
Yes, the inspired scriptures also
tell us, "Did not Moses give you the law?" - John
7:19 NASB. And the same "Law of Yahweh" is
also called "the Law of Moses" - Malachi 4:4. Must we
conclude then, Trinitarian-style, that Moses is Yahweh
the God of heaven? Of course not!
Even if we were unable to figure it
out on our own, Scriptures such as John 1:17 ("The law was given [from
God] through [dia] Moses") clearly explain
it.
The Greek word dia is
a "primary preposition denoting the channel of an
act; through"[see note at end] - Strong's Exhaustive Concordance,
#1223. There should be no confusion when Paul says:
"I will not venture to speak of
anything except what Christ has accomplished through [dia] me
in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done" - Ro.
15:18 NIV.
Certainly no one is
so dense as to say: "This Scripture shows that Christ has
caused the Gentiles to obey God. And Paul, by his words and deeds,
has caused those same Gentiles to obey God. Therefore, Paul IS Christ!"
Even if we were gullible enough to fall for this type of dishonest argument, surely
we would understand what was intended here by Paul simply by his use of the
word dia ("through")!
Because of the many changes in the
English language in the last 400 years, the English rendering for dia in
the King James Version is frequently misleading
in modern English. What was translated "of" in the Elizabethan
English of the KJV may mean "by" in modern English.
And what was translated "by" in the KJV may mean
"through" today. (Of course "by" sometimes includes the
meaning of "through.")
For example, the meaning intended by
the KJV translators is shown in modern translations of Matt.
1:22 as "spoken by the Lord through the
prophet." - NASB. However, in the English of 1611, that very
same meaning was expressed by these words: "spoken of the
Lord by the prophet." - KJV. This has
a very different meaning in today's English. It sounds to us today as if
the KJV were saying that something was spoken about the
Lord by the prophet. This is not what was intended in the
language of 1611. - see any modern translation.
Keeping in mind, then, the clear
distinction shown by the word dia ("through" in
modern English) and the example of the king whose will and
spoken command caused the palace to be created, carefully
analyze the following scriptures:
Ps. 33:6, 8, 9 - "By the word of
Yahweh were the heavens made" "For he spake, and it was
done; He commanded, and it stood fast." - ASV.
Also see Ps. 103:20, 21.
Ps. 148:5 - "Let them praise the
name of Yahweh; for he commanded, and they were created."
- ASV.
Rev. 4:11 - "because of
thy will [the will of the Lord God Almighty who is
seated on the throne when Yeshua, the Lamb, approaches him (5:6, 7)] they were,
and were created." - ASV.
Malachi 2:10 - "Have we not all
one Father? Hath not one God created us?"
Acts 4:27 - "Thy holy servant Yeshua"
- Yeshua is the Father's servant.
Rev. 3:14 - "[Yeshua] the beginning of
the creation of God." - ASV.
Prov. 8:22-30 - "Yahweh [Yahweh] created me when his
purpose first unfolded, before the oldest of his works." And, "I was
by his side, a Master Craftsman ['Master Workman' - ASV],
delighting him day after day." - Jerusalem Bible (JB).
This scripture (Ps. 8:22-30) has been understood to represent
"Wisdom" as the pre-existent Yeshua Christ by the majority of Christians
since (at least) the time of the Apostle Paul. - See the Beginning - Wisdom - Firstborn study.
Col. 1:15, 16 - "He is the image of the unseen God ['no
man has ever seen God' - John 1:18] and the first-born of all
creation ... all things were created through [dia] him
and for him." - JB.
1 Cor. 8:6 - "yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are
all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Yeshua Christ, through [dia] whom
are all things and through whom we exist." - RSV
Even the Trinitarian The New
International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1986, Zondervan, (which
attempts to show that "Sometimes ... dia seems to
express ... the sole cause" and "may be emphasizing the
agency, rather than the mediator") has to admit: "On the other hand,
in 1 Cor. 8:6 the function of God the Father as
the source of creation is distinguished from Christ's
role as mediator of creation." - p. 1182, Vol. 3.
John 1:3, 10 - "through [dia] him [the
Word] all things came to be ..." and "He was in the world that had
its being through [dia] him." - JB.
We see, then, that just as all things
must go up to God (the head of Yeshua - 1
Cor. 11:3) through Yeshua (man's head - 1 Cor. 11:3), so too
all things have come down from God through Yeshua.
So how does Gen.
1:26 ("Let us make
man in our image") provide any real evidence for a
three-in-one God? (Does Is. 1:18 prove Jews are God?)
Isn't it obvious at Gen. 1:26 that Yahweh was speaking to
his Master Worker, the first-born of all creation (and,
possibly, to the rest of the angels also), who were also made in God's image,
before commanding him to make man? It is still Yahweh God alone who created
man through his Master Workman, Yeshua!
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"Let Us Make Man in Our Image" (Gen. 1:26)
Before we discuss the above-quoted
use of plural pronouns by Yahweh at Gen. 1:26, we must fully understand the use
of the word "through" (dia in NT Greek) and Yeshua'
role in the creation of man.