I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great grief and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to flesh, the Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from whom Christ according to the flesh who is God over all blessed forever. Amen.
The Trinitarian Claim
Using a translation similar to the above, Trinitarians claim that Paul is identifying Jesus as "God."
Although many Trinitarian scholars do not believe this particular verse identifies Jesus as God, there are still those who try to use this verse to claim Jesus is being identified as "God."
The Claim vs. The Facts
The facts show us that Trinitarians are trying to exploit this text to suit their doctrine. The facts also show us why their claim is untenable.
The Problems with the Claim
1. Trinitarian Scholars vs. Trinitarian Apologists
Some Trinitarian apologists often promote this mistranslated passage because they have somehow convinced themselves that they can make their desires true by creating an argument for it. Even though Trinitarian scholars disagree among each other on this matter, Trinitarian apologists tend to paint a one-sided view of the issues concerning this passage in order to promote their agenda. In other words, they will not tell you that many Trinitarian scholars insist this verse does not identify Jesus as God or that at best, the evidence is inconclusive. And if they do quote a scholar, Trinitarians will cherry-pick quotations that suit them and ignore those scholars who do not. A survey of Trinitarian apologetic statements suggests they argue for their own translation/interpretation of this verse simply because their sole motive is that their personal desires despite disagreement among their own scholars and despite Paul's intent.
2. Punctuation
The Greek grammar of this verse allows for three possible translations and this is admitted by all reputable Trinitarian scholars. The key issue at Romans 9:5 essentially concerns punctuation. Paul did not use the modern punctuation conventions that we use today. He did not provide commas and periods in Romans 9:5 as translators conveniently give us and translators have three options open to them.
1. Christ according to the flesh who is God over all be blessed to the ages. Amen.
2. Christ according to the flesh who is over all. God be blessed to the ages. Amen.
3. Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed to the ages. Amen.
The actual Greek text reads, "kai ex wn o cristoV to kata sarka o wn epi pantwn qeoV euloghtoV eiV touV aiwnaV amhn," and comes out word for word in English as, "and out of whom the Christ according to flesh the one being over all God be blessed to the ages amen." No commas, no periods. The verse can be, and should be, translated as "from whom the Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed to the ages. Amen.", or possibly but not likely, "from whom the Christ according to the flesh who is over all. God be blessed to the ages. Amen." The phrase "God be blessed to the ages" is a Pauline doxology.
Now because Trinitarian scholars themselves admit more than one translation is grammatically possible, the question then becomes what Paul really intended and a right understanding comes from a proper interpretation of Paul's words.
3. The Greek Grammar and Structure
kai
ex
wn
`o
cristoV
to
kata
sarka
'o
and
out of
whom
the
Christ
the [one]
according to
flesh
the [one]
wn
epi
pantwn
qeoV
euloghtoV
eiV
touV
aiwnaV
amhn
being
over
all
God
be blessed
to
the
ages
Amen
In Greek, word order has far less importance than in English. The intended meanings of the words have to do with the inflections of those words rather than the order. The Greek at Romans 9:5 grammatically allows for more than one interpretation of Paul's words and therefore more than one viable translation.
4. Inconsistencies in Major Trinitarians Translations
Not all Trinitarians can bring themselves to promote the translation of Romans 9:5 as the Trinitarian apologetic agenda advances. Many Trinitarian translators and Greek scholars are non-committal and leave it open to interpretation. Other Trinitarian translators simply profess by their own translations that the passage does not refer to Christ as God.
"whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." (NASB)
"whose [are] the fathers, and of whom [is] the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen." (Young’s Literal Translation).
"whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." (ASV).
"Whose are the fathers and of whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed for ever. Amen." (Douey-Rheims).
"Theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen." (NAB)
"to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen." (RSV).
These are major translations by Trinitarian Greek scholars. Carefully note the NAB and RSV translations which do not make it possible to identify Christ as "God." Here we can vividly see that Trinitarian Greek scholars do not think there is only one translation grammatically possible here and reasonable minds can see that the NAB/RSV translation is even most likely. It is not up to us to just choose the translation which suits our theological fancies but to discover what Paul intended under inspiration. Because scholars admit that the grammar allows for more than one understanding of Paul's intent, it is rather clear the intended meaning will not be found in Greek expertise but within the context of Paul's style and vocabulary and the immediate context of the message.
Analysis of the Facts
1. Pauline Terminology: Eulogētos
A review of some similar expressions in the Bible, and especially from Paul, is required so that one can examine his vocabularly, writing style and thought. The first two passages are not Paul's, however, they are included to show that all New Testament occurrences of the Greek word eulogētos ("Blessed be") is used exclusively to refer to God the Father.
"Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One." (Mark 14:61).
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel." (Luke 1:68).
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:3).
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 1:3).
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:3).
"They changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is Blessed to the ages. Amen." (Romans 1:25).
"The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ knows that I am not lying, he being Blessed to the ages." (2 Corinthians 11:31).
"from whom the Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be Blessed to the ages. Amen." (Romans 9:5).
Notice how the above translation of Romans 9:5 harmonizes perfectly with the rest of the Scripture verses while the Trinitarian translation does not. Every single occurrence of the Greek word eulogētos ("blessed be") in the New Testament is a direct reference to God the Father. The Trinitarian apologist would have us believe that Romans 9:5 should be one exception.
The word eulogētos is variously translated as "be praised" or "be blessed." The "Blessed be" is the Jewish berakah, an ascription of praise to God the Father. The phrase appears to be an allusion to Psalm 41:13, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen." And the only instance where Pauls says someone is "over all" in this manner is at Ephesians 4:6 where we find God the Father is the one identified as being "over all."
2. The Father is over all
Also compare Ephesians 4:5 and Romans 9:5:
"from whom the Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be belssed to the ages. Amen." (Romans 9:5).
"one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:6).
3. Pauline Terminology: Paul's Language
Also carefully compare 2 Corinthians 11:31 and Romans 9:1-5 and note how Paul claims he is not lying in each of these passages. It may very well be that Paul wishes to reinforce that he is not lying to his audience by adding the berakah, "God be blessed to the ages."
"I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying.... and from whom Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed to the ages. Amen." (Romans 9:5).
"The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed to the ages, knows that I do not lie." (2 Cor 11:31).
4. Pauline Terminology & the Jewish Berakah
It is well known that the word "Blessed" or "Blessed be" is an ascription of praise used exclusively for God in the Old Testament. Some Trinitarians also often try to claim that the word "blessed [be]" should be placed before the word "God" in Romans 9:5 if Paul had intended it to refer to God the Father and not Christ. This is however a very misguided grasping at straws. The LXX at Psalm 69:19-20 does indeed have it both before and after in the very same passage. We also have firsthand evidence that Paul himself who wrote Romans 9:5 does indeed elsewhere use this phrase to refer to God without placing the word "blessed be" before the word "God" in his sentence structure, as we can see in 2 Corinthians 11:31 where it is placed after the word "God."
"The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed to ages, knows that I do not lie" (o qeoV kai pathr tou kuriou hmwn ihsou cristou oiden o wn euloghtoV eiV touV aiwnaV oti ou yeudomai. (2 Cor 11:31).
5. The Context
Paul recalls the spiritual honors given to Israel: the sonship, the [Shekinah] glory, the covenants, the law, the temple worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and the Messiah himself came out of them in the flesh. He then ends with a common thankful ascription of praise to God for all that He has done for Israel and one of those things was the promised seed of the Messiah through Israel according to the flesh. Paul is here describing Israel "according to flesh" before Christ died in the flesh for them and rose in the Spirit and this is the reason why he emphasizes Christ's descent from Israel according to the flesh (see also 1:3-4). Jesus is the promised covenant seed of Abraham and David, and Paul is about to discuss the promised seed in the verses which follow. In Galatians he explicitly states that seed was Christ. This passage is about Christ the promised seed according to the flesh and Paul concludes by expressing praise toward God for what he has done for them and through them. The Christ came from them in the flesh and God is to be praised for giving Israel that privilege.
Now Paul here is talking about "the Anointed One according to the flesh" who descended from the fathers of Israel. That would be God's Anointed One, God's Christ. So just what exactly is the Trinitarian claiming here? Is he actually claiming that God descended out of Israel? How is that going to make any sense? Will it help him to say this is God the Son according to the flesh? Should we then presume that David is God's father and Abraham is God's father? God now has forefathers? Their claim is self-refuting. Moreover, in Trinitarian doctrine, Jesus is "God" according to the divine nature and Paul is here at Romans 9:5 referring to Christ "according to the flesh."
....concerning His son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, fixed son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 1:3. See 2 Corinthians 5:15; Hebrews 5:7.
The problem is even worse for Protestants who insist it is incorrect to say Mary is the Mother of God (theotokos), the Catholic doctrine that Mary gave birth to God the Son according to the flesh. Romans 9:5 is about Christ descending out of Israel according to the flesh and Mary would be last in line of that descent. But Trinitarians are insisting that according to Romans 9:5, God according to the flesh has descended out of Israel and out of the womb of Mary. So they unwittingly affirm this Catholic teaching at Romans 9:5 while denying the same concept elsewhere - speaking out of both sides of their mouth.
Conclusion
What we want to discover is what Paul really intended to say. His other related passages which he himself wrote grants us the needed insight. We might be able to conclude that Paul intends to say "Christ according to the flesh, he being over all. God be blessed to the ages. Amen." But we certainly have no basis whatsoever in Scripture, and especially in Paul's writings, to translate the passage as "the Christ according to the flesh, he being God over all blessed to the ages. Amen." The more likely translation is "the Christ according the flesh. God who is over all be blessed to the ages. Amen." This is the terminology used by Paul at Ephesians 4:6 and he is also the one doing the writing in this passage. Or we could translate it in the same vein as "the Christ according to the flesh. The One being over all, God, be blessed to the ages. Amen."
No New Testament writer uses the word eulogētos to refer to anyone but God the Father. Paul's vocabulary, structure, style, theological thought, and the immediate context, absolutely demand that we translate this passage as "Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed to the ages." The Trinitarian can offer absolutely no similar evidence whatsoever from Paul's writings for his translation. The only thing the Trinitarian has to offer is his disingenous claims and his own personal desire to have the passage imply that "Jesus is God" simply because that's what he wants it to say. But the facts reveal beyond any reasonable doubt that Paul did not identify Christ according to the flesh as God.
"They changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed to the ages. Amen." (Romans 1:25).
"from whom the Christ according to the flesh. God who is over all be blessed to the ages. Amen." (Romans 9:5)
