The Trinity and John 2:19-22
HAROLD L. FLEMINGS
July 1992
From time to time, the argument is advanced that John 2:19-22
proves that Jesus and Jehovah are one and the same being. For convenience, let
us place these verses before us:
"Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up.' The. Jews then said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this
temple, and will you raise it up in three days?' But he spoke of the
temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples
remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word
which Jesus had spoken." (Revised Standard Version)
Jesus' words: "I will raise it up" are set side by side with verses like
these:
"...Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, by him this man is standing before you well." (Acts 4:10) (Revised
Standard Version)
"This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses." (Acts 2:32)
(Revised Standard Version)
Now, if Jesus raised himself and also God raised Jesus, then it
appears Jesus must be the God that raised him. At first glance, this seems to be
the case. Nevertheless, it turns out that the scriptures frequently append the
direct cause of an action to a source prior to the direct cause. Let us
explore this more.
At Matthew 10:8, Jesus instructed his twelve disciples:
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without pay, give without pay." (Revised Standard Version)
Probably every Bible believer would agree that the disciples,
themselves, could not possibly do these things. It required God working through
them to accomplish these noble but difficult tasks. If the disciples made
themselves available and went forth as Jesus Christ commanded, then it was
certain that the dead would be raised, lepers cleansed and the sick healed.
The first action (obedience to Christ) guaranteed the second action
(God's healing) and the desired result. In that sense the disciples
healed and raised the dead.
Turning to James 5:19, 20, we discover another example:
"My bretheren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." (Revised Standard Version)
Now is it literally possible that the rescuing Christian
can 'save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins' or is that something
only God can do? Isn't it true that if Christian "A" rescues the wandering
Christian "B" and steers him in the right direction, he is thus in position now
for God to save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins? The
first action (Christian "A" redirecting Christian "B") guaranteed the
second action (God's deliverance and forgiveness). In that sense, Christian "A"
saves the soul of Christian "B" and covers a multitude of sins.
There is example after example of the principle enunciated above. The
reader may wish to consider these, just to cite a few more: 1 Corinthians
9:22; 1 Timothy 4:16; Jude 22, 23. These are all illustrations of the following
written formula: If action "A" guarantees that action "B" will occur, resulting
in "C", then "A" is indirectly the cause of "C" and may in common conversation
be said to be the cause of "C".
If Jesus was faithful to God unto death, his resurrection was
guaranteed and thus, in this sense, he could say he resurrected himself. Because
of this fact, it cannot be argued that Jesus is God.
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