The Shema
The Shema is the best-known verse in Judaism. It says that Yahweh is our God and the only God. |
“Hear, O Israel!
The LORD is our God,
the LORD is one!”
(Deuteronomy 6:4)
This is called the Shema after the first word (hear), which is shema in Hebrew. In contrast to the many gods of the surrounding nations, it declares that only one true god exists, and His name is YHVH.
1 Corinthians 8:4-6
1 Cor 8:4-6 says similarly that only one true God exists and then identifies that one God as the Father: |
4 There is no God but one.
5 … indeed there are many gods and many lords,
6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and we exist for Him;
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
These verses contrast:
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- Pagan gods with pagan lords,
- The many pagan gods and lords with
the one true God and one true Lord, and - The Father with the Son.
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This verse is a favorite proof text for Unitarians but, recently, Trinitarians have claimed it as support. |
This verse has always been a favorite proof text for Unitarians (as opposed to Trinitarians) for it identifies the Father alone as God, which means that Jesus is not God. But Trinitarians counter this conclusion with the following arguments:
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- Both Father and Son create all things.
- The titles “God” and “Lord” are synonyms.
- The text includes Christ in the Shema.
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(A) Creation
Trinitarians claim it identifies both the Father and Son as Creator. However, it says the Father creates through the Son. |
Since the text says that the Son co-created the universe with the Father, Trinitarians conclude that Jesus must be God. However, our verse, similar to John 1:3, Col 1:16, and Heb 1:2, says that all things are “from” the Father, meaning He is the only Being who exists without cause and the ultimate Cause of all things. In contrast, all things are “through” the Son, meaning He is the Means through whom the Father creates all things. (Read More)
It means that both the Father and the Son have existed for as long as time existed. However, scientists claim that time began 13 billion years ago. Of the incomprehensible reality outside our universe of space, time, and matter, we know nothing. But we do know that the power, energy, and intelligence, that caused our universe to exist, came from that incomprehensible reality. That helps us to understand the distinction between Jesus and God. (Read More)
(B) God and Lord
They argue that when the verse identifies Jesus as ‘Lord’, He is also ‘God’ because these two titles are synonyms. |
They argue that first-century Jews (such as the writer Paul) understood “one God” and “one Lord” as synonymous and interchangeable; both referring to the same divine being, namely Yahweh.
They support this view by noting that Paul, in his many writings, refers to the Father both as “God” and as “Lord.”
Therefore, Trinitarians argue, when Paul described Jesus as “one Lord,” he also identified Him as God. This article responds with two counterarguments:
However, ‘lord’ does not mean ‘God’. It simply means ‘master’. Even some people are described as kurios. |
The word translated as “Lord” (kurios in Greek) means “lord” (e.g., Acts 15:26) or “master” (e.g., Mark 13:35) or “owner” (e.g., Matt 20:8). This title, therefore, may be applied to God and Jesus and a human being without saying that they are all God.
Furthermore, the Father appointed Jesus as Lord of the universe, which means He is subordinate to the Father. |
Although 1 Corinthians 8:6 identifies Jesus as Lord, this does not mean that He is God or equal to God, for God appointed the Son as “Lord.” For example:
At Pentecost, Peter said to the Jews,
“God has made Him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
“God highly exalted Him … so that …
every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil 2:9-11).
“God … raised Him from the dead
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places …
And He put all things in subjection under His feet“
(Eph 1:17-22; cf. Matt 28:18).
(C) Includes the Son in the Shema.
They claim that 1 Cor 8:6, by distributing the words of the Shema between Father and Son, includes Jesus in Yahweh. |
A third proof Trinitarians find in 1 Corinthians 8:6, for the claim that Jesus is God, is to argue that the verse intentionally distributes the words of the Shema between the Father and the Son:
The “God” of the Shema becomes
“One God, the Father.”
The “LORD” of the Shema becomes
“One Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Therefore, Trinitarians propose that this verse includes Jesus in the identity of the Old Testament Yahweh. They don’t claim that Paul presented Jesus as a second God but that he redefined monotheism to say that the unique identity of Yahweh of the Shema CONSISTS OF BOTH the “one God” and the “one Lord.”
However, for the following reasons, Paul did not redistribute the words of the Shema between the Father and Jesus to include Jesus in the Yahweh of the Old Testament:
(1) The verse explicitly identifies the Father alone as God. |
Verse 4 repeats the Shema, saying, “there is no God but one.” Then verse 6 continues by using the titles “God” and “Lord” to differentiate between the Father and the Son, explicitly identifying the Father alone as God:
“For us there is but one God, the Father.”
By implication, Jesus is not God. This distinction between the Father as God and the Son as Lord is a consistent pattern in the New Testament. The article on Colossians, for example, shows that that letter:
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- Uses the title theos always for the Father;
never for the Son and - Uses the title kurios (lord or master) always for the Son;
never for the Father.
- Uses the title theos always for the Father;
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(2) 1 Cor 8:6 is one of several “one God” statements and they all identify the ‘one God’ as the Father alone. |
It would be fair to assume that, with these statements, he applied the Shema within a Christian context. But in all of such “one God’ statements, the Father alone is God, for example:
1 Cor 8:6 is just one of several of Paul’s “one God” statements in which he applies the Shema’s ‘one God” concept in the Christian context, but in all such statements, he identifies the ‘one God’ as the Father alone. For example:
“There is one God,
and one mediator also between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5).
”One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all who is over all” (Eph 4:5-6)
(3) If Jesus was God, Paul would have said so frequently and clearly. But he always identifies the Father alone as God. |
There is only one text in Paul’s writings that possibly refers to Jesus as theos, namely Romans 9:5. (Read More) In every other instance, “God” refers to the Father. For example, Paul opens every one of his letters with phrases that distinguish between God and Jesus and identify God as the Father, e.g.:
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:3).
Elsewhere, we find phrases such as “our God and Father” (Phil 4:19-20) and “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory” (Eph 1:17; cf. 1 Tim 6). (Read More).
(4) 1 Cor 8:4-6 plainly identifies the Son as distinct from and subordinate to the Father. |
While Trinitarians claim that this verse identifies the Father and Son as one Being (Yahweh), by saying that all things are “from” God but “through” Christ, the text identifies them as two distinct Beings, with the Son subordinate to the Father. The Father is the uncaused Cause of all things. The Son is the Means through whom God creates.
The verse also distinguishes between the Father and Son in their titles. While the Father is “God,” the Son is given the lower title “Lord.”
That the Son is subordinate to the Father is a consistent teaching of the New Testament. For example:
“You belong to Christ;
and Christ belongs to God” (1 Cor 3:23). OR
“Christ is the head of every man,
and the man is the head of a woman,
and God is the head of Christ”
(1 Cor 11:3; cf. 1 Cor 15:28).
A further indication of Jesus’ subordination is that the Bible often describes the Father as Jesus’ God. |
Even many years after His resurrection and enthronement, both Revelation and Paul refer to the Father as His God:
“He has made us to be …
priests to His God and Father”
(Rev 1:6; cf. Rev 3:2, 12). (Read More)
“The God of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Eph 1:17; cf. 1 Peter 1:3; Matt 27:46; John 20:17).
Since God appointed Jesus as Lord over all, the Son will always remain subordinate to the Father and the Father will always remain His God.
(5) The Shema says Yahweh is one but Trinitarians interpret 1 Cor 8:6 to say Yahweh is two. |
The main point of the Shema is monotheism, namely that “YHWH, our God, YHWH is one.” In the New Testament, the Father and Jesus are two Persons with distinct minds and wills. For example:
Jesus prayed to His Father. “He spent the whole night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12; cf. John 17:1).
The night before He was crucified, He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
The next day, hanging on the Cross, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me” (Mark 15:34).
To understand 1 Corinthians 8:6 as saying that YHVH is actually two Persons is to contradict the Shema.
(6) If this verse is supposed to teach the Trinity doctrine, why does it not mention the Holy Spirit? |
In the Trinity doctrine, the Father, Son, and Spirit are a single Being.
(7) 1 Cor 8:6 does not apply the word ‘Lord’ in the Shema to the Son because the Shema does not contain the word ‘Lord’. |
Trinitarians propose that 1 Cor 8:6 redistributes the words of the Shema, describing Yahweh, between the Father and the Son, identifying the Son as the “one Lord.” However, the word “Lord” is not in the Shema. “LORD” is in all capitals, meaning it translates God’s name YHVH, pronounced as Yahweh or Jehovah. (Strangely, modern translators seem to follow the ancient Jewish practice of not mentioning God’s name.)
The counter-argument would be that YHVH is translated as Kurios (Lord) in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and that Christians generally used the Septuagint, not the original Hebrew Bible, when Paul wrote. However, HO KYRIOS (the lord) was never exactly synonymous with YHVH. It replaced YHVH when the Jews developed the practice of not mentioning the name of God. Paul was well-educated, and he would have known the difference.
Objections to the Trinity Doctrine
It teaches that Father and Son are one Person. |
The often repeated statement that it teaches three Persons is misleading:
“The champions of the Nicene faith … developed a doctrine of God as a Trinity, as one substance or ousia who existed as three hypostases, three distinct realities or entities (I refrain from using the misleading word’ Person’), three ways of being or modes of existing as God.” (Hanson Lecture) (Read More)
It also teaches that the Son of God did not die. |
Christ’s death saves us. However, in the Trinity doctrine, the Son of God did not die. The Son has two natures. While His human body and mind suffered and died, His divine nature did not and cannot suffer or die because He has the same uncreated substance as the Father. (Read More)
The adoration of Mary as the Mother of God is a natural consequence of the teaching that Christ is God. |
Other Articles
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- Is Jesus God? – List of all articles
- The historical development of the Trinity doctrine – List of Articles
- All articles – List of all article series on this website
The Shema (Deut. 6:4) is the original definition of God, and it defines God as one Person and not three. Jesus affirmed the shema in Mark 12:29
That should settle the issue. If you then say that Paul altered the Shema to include Jesus, then you make Paul contradict Jesus and the Shema.
In 1 Cor. 8:6, Paul intentionally echoes the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), not to exclude Jesus but to integrate Him into the unique identity of Yahweh. The Shema declares:
• “Hear, O Israel! The LORD (YHWH) is our God, the LORD is one.”
Paul reformulates this by assigning the title “God” (Theos) to the Father and “Lord” (Kyrios) to Jesus:
• “…for us there is but one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ.”
This structure preserves the monotheistic framework while incorporating Jesus into the divine identity. In the LXX (LXX), Kyrios is the standard Greek rendering of the divine name YHWH. By applying Kyrios to Jesus, Paul affirms Jesus’ participation in the unique divine identity.
Paul attributes creation to both the Father and the Son, with all things existing “from” the Father and “through” the Son. This echoes passages like John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16, which affirm that the Son is not a mere intermediary but the agent of creation. Since creation is an exclusive divine prerogative (see Isa. 44:24), Jesus’ role in creation establishes His deity. The distinction between “one God” (the Father) and “one Lord” (Jesus Christ) reflects functional roles, not a difference in nature.
Within Trinitarian theology, the Father and the Son are distinct persons who share the same divine essence. The Father is the source (ex ou), and the Son is the agent (di’ hou) of creation. This does not imply that the Son is subordinate in nature but highlights the relational distinctions within the Godhead.
While Kyrios also can mean “lord” or “master” in general contexts, Paul consistently uses Kyrios in reference to Jesus in ways that evoke the divine name YHWH. For example:
o Rom. 10:13 applies Joel 2:32 (“everyone who calls on the name of YHWH will be saved”) to Jesus.
o Phil. 2:10-11 applies Isa. 45:23 (where every knee bows to YHWH) to Jesus.
o 1 Cor. 16:22 invokes Jesus as Marana tha (“Our Lord, come”), a title reflecting eschatological worship of YHWH.
These applications of Kyrios clearly identify Jesus with the divine name and prerogatives of YHWH. Passages like Acts 2:36 (“God has made Him both Lord and Christ”) and Phil. 2:9-11 speak of Jesus being “made Lord” in the sense of His exaltation, not as a change in nature. In His human incarnation, Jesus humbled Himself; His resurrection and exaltation restore His divine status to universal acknowledgment. This is consistent with Trinitarian theology, where the Son’s divine identity is eternal, but His exaltation reflects His vindication in His human nature.
Paul’s distinction between “one God” and “one Lord” is not a separation of nature but an inclusion of Jesus within the divine identity. By reformulating the Shema, Paul expands monotheism to include Jesus without compromising it. This reflects a redefinition of monotheism as “Christological monotheism,” where the Father and the Son are distinct persons but share the same divine essence.
The NT often reserves Theos for the Father and Kyrios for Jesus, reflecting their relational roles within the Godhead. However, this does not deny Jesus’ deity. For instance:
o John 1:1 identifies Jesus as “the Word” who “was God.”
o Colossians 2:9 states that “in Him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
o Titus 2:13 refers to Jesus as “our great God and Savior.”
Paul does not need to explicitly state “Jesus is YHWH” because his writings already demonstrate this through allusions and applications of OT texts. For example:
o 1 Cor. 8:6 reformulates the Shema.
o Phil. 2:9-11 applies worship reserved for YHWH to Jesus.
o Rom. 10:13 identifies Jesus as the one upon whom people call for salvation, a role exclusive to YHWH in Joel 2:32
The early Christians, including Paul’s audiences, directed prayers and worship to Jesus, reflecting their belief in His deity. This would have been unthinkable within Jewish monotheism unless Jesus was understood to share in YHWH’s identity.
The term “one” (echad) in the Shema does not necessarily denote absolute singularity. For example:
o Genesis 2:24 describes a man and woman as becoming “one flesh” (echad basar), indicating a unity of distinct persons.
o Ezekiel 37:17 refers to two sticks becoming “one stick” (echad etz), signifying a composite unity.
Similarly, the Father and the Son are distinct persons who exist in perfect unity within the Godhead. This unity does not contradict the Shema but deepens its theological meaning.
The absence of the Holy Spirit in this particular passage does not undermine the Trinity. Paul’s focus in 1 Cor. 8:6 is on the relationship between the Father and the Son in the context of creation and redemption. Elsewhere, Paul includes the Holy Spirit in Trinitarian formulations (e.g., 2 Cor. 13:14, Ephesians 4:4-6).
In the LXX, Kyrios consistently translates YHWH. Paul’s Jewish audience, familiar with the LXX, would understand Kyrios in 1 Cor. 8:6 as referring to YHWH. By applying Kyrios to Jesus, Paul identifies Jesus with the divine name. As noted above, Paul repeatedly applies OT texts about YHWH to Jesus, affirming His inclusion in the divine identity.
So, while the Shema says God is one, you believe it actually means that God is two! And if what you say is right, where is the Holy Spirit?
I think, to say that Paul intentionally integrated the Son into the unique identity of Yahweh is speculation. And even if he did, please note that 1 Cor. 8:6 still says that the Son is distinct from God and subordinate to God. In this verse and all other such verses, the Son is the subordinate agent of the Father in creation.
You say: “Within Trinitarian theology, the Father and the Son are distinct persons who share the same divine essence.” That is false. In the Trinity doctrine they are not distinct Persons because they share a single mind. See here. If you believe that the Son has a distinct mind, you are not following the orthodox Trinity doctrine.
I would like to understand why people are so eager to have the Son equal with the Father that they ignore all the many indications of His subordination. Is that perhaps part of mankind’s wish to be God himself?