You are great, O Yahweh God for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You.
Proof of the Trinity Error
At 1 Kings chapter 1, David is profusely identified as the Lord of Israel. This is highly significant due to a claim made by Trinitarians concerning 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Shema). It is claimed that 1 Corinthians 8:6 states there is only one Lord (kyrios) for the people of God and that means that Lord is the necessarily the same Lord (kyrios) that is mentioned at Deuteronomy 6:4, "the Lord our God the Lord is one." However, the fact that David is the Lord (kyrios) of Israel demonstrates this claim is plainly false. For Israel, their one God Yahweh was Lord while David was also their Lord (two Lords not one). David was not Yahweh and in the same way Jesus is not the one God mentioned at 1 Corinthians 8:6.
The Evidence
At 1 Kings chapter 1 David is identified as Israel's Lord.
1. Israel's Lord King David
Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. 2 So his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my Lord the King, and let her attend the King and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my Lord the King may keep warm.... 11 Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become King, and David our Lord does not know.... 13 Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my Lord, the King, sworn to your maidservant, saying, “Surely Solomon your son shall be King after me.... 17 [Bathsheba] said to him, “My Lord, you swore to your maidservant by the LORD your God, saying, ‘Surely your son Solomon shall be King after me and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 Now, behold, Adonijah is King; and now, my Lord the King, you do not know it. 19 He has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the King and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. 20 As for you now, my Lord the King, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my Lord the King after him. 21 Otherwise it will come about, as soon as my Lord the King sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered offenders”.... Nathan said, “My Lord the King, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?....Has this thing been done by my Lord the King, and you have not shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my Lord the King after him?”.... “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, 30 surely as I vowed to you by the LORD the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon shall be King after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the King and said, “May my Lord King David live forever”....Then King David said...to them, “Take with you the servants of your Lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. 34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and be King in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the King and said, “Amen! Thus may the LORD, the God of my Lord the King, say. 37 As the LORD has been with my Lord the King, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my Lord King David!”.... Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “No! Our Lord King David has made Solomon King....Moreover, the King’s servants came to bless our Lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And the King bowed himself on the bed. 48 The King has also said thus, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”
In this chapter, King David is profusely called "my Lord." He is also called "your Lord" and "our Lord."
Notice that when the God of Israel is in view, the word "Lord" is all capitalized (LORD). This is based on a distinction in the Hebrew text. However, the Trinitarian claim is based on the Greek word kyrios (Lord) at 1 Corinthians 8:6 and this is also what David is called in the Greek translation of 1 Kings 1.
2. 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Deuteronomy 6:4
For us there is one God, the Father, out of whom are all things and we for Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through him.
The one Lord (kyrios) of 1 Corinthians 8:6 is identified as Jesus Christ. Although Paul's point is that we have both one God and one Lord for a total of two, Trinitarians attempt to claim Paul is actually saying there is only one Lord in existence and that necessarily means Paul is referring to the Lord God. By implication they are arguing that the words "one God" and "one Lord" are referring to the same entity and Paul could have said, "there is one Lord, the Father.... and one God, Jesus Christ." Essentially, what they want the text to say is "there is one Lord God, the Father.... and Jesus Christ." But it doesn't so they are attempting to spin an interpretation that somehow would amount to such an idea.
The word "Lord" in this verse is the Greek word kyrios. So Trinitarians claim that Paul is essentially referring to the Shema (Deut 6:4), "the Lord our God, the Lord is one," that is, "the kyrios our God, the kyrios is one. They need to appeal to the Greek text of Deuteronomy 6:4 since they want to associate the Greek word kyrios with Lord of Deuteronomy 6:4. The attempt here by Trinitarians is to claim that Jesus too is the one God as well as the Father by claiming there is only one Lord for the people of God. Now we shall see how 1 Kings 1 demonstrates that their claim is obviously false.
3. The Greek Translation of 1 Kings 1
The Trinitarian claim concerning 1 Corinthians 8:6 rests on the Greek word "kyrios/kurios" (English: Lord) and a comparison to the Greek translation of the Shema (Deut 6:4) which also used the word "kyrios." In Hebrew, the Jews used the word "Adonai" to refer to God instead of uttering his divine name YHVH. Adonai ("Lord") is not a translation of YHVH but a substitution word used in place of YHVH to avoid using the divine name. Humans were called Adon ("Lord") or Adoni ("my Lord"). So a distinction between God and men can be seen when using Hebrew terms for "Lord." However, in a Greek translation the words do not exist in the Greek language to make such a distinction. Both YHVH and a human Lord are called Kyrios which is equivalent to the English word "Lord." English also cannot make a distinction as Hebrew does. YHVH is Kyrios and humans may be called Kyrios. YHVH is Lord and humans may be called Lord. There are several examples of people called "Lord" (kyrios) in the Scriptures.
4. 1 Corinthians 8:6, Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Kings 1
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this is what happens:
Now King David was old, advanced in age; and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. 2 So his servants said to him, “Let them seek a young virgin for my KURIOS the King, and let her attend the King and become his nurse; and let her lie in your bosom, that my KURIOS the King may keep warm.... 11 Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become King, and David our KURIOS does not know.... 13 Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my KURIOS, the King, sworn to your maidservant, saying, “Surely Solomon your son shall be King after me.... 17 [Bathsheba] said to him, “My KURIOS, you swore to your maidservant by the KURIOS your God, saying, ‘Surely your son Solomon shall be King after me and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 Now, behold, Adonijah is King; and now, my KURIOS the King, you do not know it. 19 He has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the King and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. 20 As for you now, my KURIOS the King, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my KURIOS the King after him. 21 Otherwise it will come about, as soon as my KURIOS the King sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered offenders”.... Nathan said, “My KURIOS the King, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?....Has this thing been done by my KURIOS the King, and you have not shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my Lord the King after him?”.... “As the the KURIOS lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, 30 surely as I vowed to you by the KURIOS the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon shall be King after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the King and said, “May my KURIOS King David live forever”....Then King David said...to them, “Take with you the servants of your KURIOS , and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. 34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel, and blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and be King in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the King and said, “Amen! Thus may the KURIOS, the God of my KURIOS the King, say. 37 As the LORD has been with my KURIOS the King, so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my Lord King David!”.... Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “No! Our KURIOS King David has made Solomon King....Moreover, the King’s servants came to bless our KURIOS King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And the King bowed himself on the bed. 48 The King has also said thus, ‘Blessed be the KURIOS, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”
Both the God of Israel, and King David, are referred to as "KURIOS" (Lord). Now look at what it says in the Greek translation of Deuteronomy 6:4 and the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 8:6.
Hear O Israel, the KURIOS our God, the KURIOS is one.
For us there is one God, the Father, out of whom are all things and we for Him, and one KURIOS Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through him.
Do the words "the KURIOS is one" at Deuteronomy 6:4 mean that Israel recognized only one KURIOS? Unless someone wanted to claim David WAS Yahweh, that would be impossible since they also recognized David as their KURIOS. For Israel there was one God, Yahweh, and one Lord, David. Or put another way, there was one God, the Lord God, and one Lord, David. During David's reign as King, Israel recognized two Lords: Yahweh and King David, that is, the Lord God and the Lord David.
These facts show us that the Trinitarian claim at 1 Corinthians 8:6 is false. Their claim is entirely based on the notion that there is only one KURIOS recognized by God's people and since the Father is Lord and Jesus is Lord, that one Lord/ KURIOS must be God. Therefore, Jesus is that one Lord, that one God. But this is easily shown to be false since both Yahweh God and David were Lord/KURIOS of Israel. The Trinitarian would then need to consistently argue David is God for the same reasons they are arguing Jesus is God. But David was not God demonstrating their argument is a farce. There were two Lords in view: Israel's Lord King David and David's Lord the God of Israel. The same situation exists for Christians today. We have the Lord Jesus and we have his Lord, God the Father. This is illustrated by the words, "My Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand...'" Acts 2:30-36. This hardly means "God said to my God, 'Sit at my right hand'" especially in view of the fact that Peter says God made Jesus "Lord" when He raised him from the dead in this same passage. It is absurd to suggest God made him God.
Conclusion
In the Scriptures, the people of God recognize two Lords: the Lord God, and His Christ which is now the Lord Jesus. That is also why the Scriptures tell us explicitly that the Father is the God of the Lord Jesus. The one God mentioned at 1 Corinthians 8:6 is the God of the one Lord mentioned at 1 Corinthians 8:6. And the same scenario was true in the days of King David. There was one God, Yahweh, and one Lord King David. Same thing. And indeed, the Scriptures say that David was God's Anointed One, His Christ, who sat on the throne of God ruling over the Kingdom of God (1 Chronicles 28:5; 29:20,23). Now, the promised son of David is that Lord over the people of God and that one Lord is Jesus Christ. Believers have one God and they also have one Lord through whom God rules and judges just as He did through King David over the people of Israel.
It is an error to read 1 Corinthians 8:6 as if we are to believe there is only one Lord in existence and that one Lord is equivalent to the one God. Given the above facts concerning Yahweh and Israel's Lord King David, this is an impossibility. Paul is clearly telling us that "for us" (believers), there is one God, and in addition to the one God, we have one Lord. His point is that we have one God in contrast to many gods, and we also have one Lord in contrast to many Lords (v. 8:4). This amounts to two entities, not one as Trinitarians are attempting to spin the verse for the sake of their doctrine. For the people of God, there is one God and in addition to the one God there is one Lord, the one God's Christ. Just as Lord David was not the one God, the Lord Jesus is not the one God. Our Lord is one; his God is another. The Lord of 1 Corinthians 8:6 is not the one God; the one God is this Lord's God. The one God of 1 Corinthians 8:6 is the God of the one Lord of 1 Corinthians 8:6.
“Amen! Thus may the Lord/Kyrios, the God of the Lord/Kyrios the King... 1 Kings 1:36
The God of our Lord/Kyrios Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Ephesians 1:7
Created: May 5, 2018 Last Revision/Update: May 7, 2018
