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Why Unitarianism is Unbiblical

Unitarianism Defined

Unitarianism is a catch-all term for those who reject the Deity of Christ, yet affirm Monotheistic Christianity. They believe that Jesus was the Savior, and an exalted creation, but not God. They also reject the personage of the Holy Spirit, attributing His work to some aspect of the Unitarian God.

Because the Scriptural proof for the Deity of Christ is so voluminous, this article will follow a reference list format, with brief explanations below each item.

Reference List & Explanations

  • Jesus bears the exalted attributes of God
    • He had no beginning (Hebrews 7:3) and is outside of time (Micah 5:2)
    • He has all power in Heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18)
    • He listens to and answers prayers (John 14:13-14: 1 John 5:12-15)
    • He is present whenever people gather in His name (Matthew 18:20)
    • He can be with millions of individual believers simultaneously (Matthew 28:20)
    • He created and sustains all things (Colossians 1:16-17, John 1:3, Hebrews 1:2)
    • He can give mankind commandments and call them "my commandments" (John 14:15, John 13:34)
    • He can forgive sins (Matthew 9:2-6, etc.)
    • He can give people Eternal Life (John 10:28)
    • He will judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1, John 5:21-22)
    • He has the keys of Hell and of death (Revelation 1:18)
  • Jesus is put in place of the Lord (YHWH)
    • Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12 with Revelation 1:17-18, 22:13
      • Yahweh is "The First and the Last", Jesus is "The First and the Last"
    • Revelation 22:12-16 with Revelation 1:8
      • Jesus calls himself "The Alpha and Omega". The same title in the same book is applied to the "Lord Almighty"
      • Jesus existed from eternity past, prior to the Incarnation (John 1:1-2, 8:57-58, 17:24, etc.)
    • Isaiah 10:20-21 with Isaiah 9:6
      • Yahweh is "The Mighty God". Jesus is "The Mighty God"
    • Psalm 93:1-2, Habakkuk 1:12, Isaiah 63:16 with Micah 5:2
      • Yahweh is "from everlasting". Jesus is "from everlasting"
    • Isaiah 43:11, 45:21, Hosea 13:4 with Philippians 3:20, Titus 3:6: 2 Peter 3:18, etc.
      • Yahweh is the "only Savior". Jesus is given the title Savior
    • Proverbs 24:12 with Matthew 16:27, Revelation 22:12
      • God will reward every man according to his work. Jesus says He will do so
    • Deuteronomy 32:39 with John 10:18
      • Just as God has power over life and death, Jesus had power over life and death
    • Isaiah 44:24, Acts 17:24, with Colossians 1:16-17, John 1:3, Hebrews 1:2
      • Yahweh says He made all things, including the earth, "by himself". Everything was created by Jesus
    • Isaiah 41:14, 48:17 with Galatians 3:13, Revelation 5:9
      • Yahweh is the Redeemer. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer
    • Isaiah 10:20, 41:14, 48:17 with Luke 4:34, Psalm 16:10, Acts 2:27, 3:14
      • Yahweh is "The Holy One". Jesus is "The Holy One"
    • Psalm 23:1 with John 10:11, 10:14
      • Yahweh is the Shepherd, Jesus is the Good Shepherd
    • Genesis 17:1 with Revelation 1:8
      • God is The Almighty. Jesus is The Almighty
    • Job 9:8 with Matthew 14:25-26, Mark 6:48-49, and John 6:19
      • God alone walks on the sea. Jesus walks on the sea
    • Zechariah 12:10 with John 19:37, Revelation 1:6-8
      • Yahweh will be be pierced by Israel, and they will realize their transgression. Jesus was pierced by Israel, and they mourned, and will mourn, over that
    • Exodus 3:14 with John 8:57-59, Revelation 11:17
      • Yahweh is the I AM. Jesus is the I AM
    • Isaiah 43:10 with John 8:24
      • Yahweh says "I am He". Jesus says "I am He"
    • 1 Samuel 2:6 with John 5:25
      • Yahweh raises the dead. Jesus gives life to the dead
    • 2 Samuel 22:3, 22:47, Psalm 18:2, 18:46, 62:2, 62:6, 89:26, 95:1 with 1 Corinthians 10:4: 1 Peter 2:4-8, Matthew 21:42-44, and Romans 9:33
      • Yahweh is "The Rock". Jesus is "The Rock"
    • Isaiah 8:13-14 with 1 Peter 2:6-8, Romans 9:33
      • Yahweh is the "Rock of Offence". Jesus is "The Rock of Offence"
  • Matthew 19:16-17, Mark 10:17-18 and Luke 18:18-19
    • Christ says that only God is good. This has to be goodness in the absolute sense, meaning perfect, as the Bible calls many people "good" (Luke 23:50, Acts 11:24, etc.), yet Christ says here that only God is "good", in the sense He is referring to. This, then, is the absolute sense of "good" used in Psalm 14:1-3, Ecclesiastes 7:20, and Romans 3:10-12.
    • At the same time, the Bible says that Jesus was perfect, and utterly without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15: 1 Peter 2:21-22: 1 John 3:5). Therefore, He satisfies the criteria which He himself declared only God could satisfy - absolute goodness. The "good shepherd" (John 10:11, 10:14), then, is God, and He was teaching the rich young ruler this through rhetoric.
  • Matthew 2:11, 8:2, 9:18, 15:25, 20:20, 28:9, 28:17, Mark 5:6, Luke 24:52, John 9:38
    • Jesus frequently accepts worship, never once rebuking someone for doing so, after telling people that only God is to be worshipped or served (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8, in accordance with Exodus 34:14). Accordingly, note that Daniel 7:14 says of the Messiah "that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him".
    • Peter rebukes people for worshipping him (Acts 10:25-26), and so does an angel (Revelation 19:10, 22:8-9), demonstrating that such behavior for a mere mortal, or even an angel, is inappropriate. Yet, the Lord never does so.
  • John 1:1 with John 1:14
    • The Word was God, and the Word was the incarnate Jesus Christ
  • John 1:3
    • There are two kinds of things - uncreated things, and created things. This verse says that there is nothing that was created, which was not created by Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus is uncreated
  • Hebrews 1:8-9 with Psalm 45:6-7
    • God, the Lord of David, is anointed by God
  • 2 Peter 1:1, Titus 1:3-4, 2:13, 3:4-6 with Hosea 13:4, Isaiah 43:11, and Jude 1:25
    • Jesus is called "Our God and Savior". God says He is the "only Savior"
  • 1 Timothy 3:16
    • God was manifest in the flesh
  • John 20:28-29
    • Thomas calls Jesus "my Lord and my God", and Jesus accepts it
  • Colossians 2:8-9
    • The fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ
  • John 10:28-30
    • Jesus equivocates himself with God, and says that He and God are one
  • Matthew 1:23
    • Jesus is called "God with us"
  • 1 John 5:20 with 1 John 5:11, John 14:6
    • Jesus is God, and Eternal Life
  • John 5:16-18
    • Jesus makes himself equal with God
  • Acts 7:59
    • Stephen "calls upon God", then speaks to Jesus, and asks Him to do what God does (Psalms 31:5)
  • Philippians 2:5-6
    • Jesus, before the Incarnation, was in the form of God, and equal with God
  • Hebrews 3:1-4
    • Jesus had more honor than Moses because He made Moses. God made all things, and Christ made all things (Colossians 1:16-17, John 1:3, Hebrews 1:2)
  • Acts 20:28
      God purchased the Church "with His own blood"
  • Job 19:25-26
    • Job's redeemer was alive when he was speaking, and would stand upon the earth, and would be God