Objection: “We Jews believe in one God, not three.”
Jewish Q&A About JesusJewish Questions and Answers About Jesus
Dr. Michael Brown
Dr. Michael L. Brown is founder and president of ICN Ministries, devoted to taking the message of repentance and revival to Israel, the Church, and the Nations. He has preached throughout the United States and in numerous foreign countries, emphasizing radical discipleship, holy living, and the visitation of the Spirit. His books, articles, and messages have been translated into more than a dozen languages. In 1996, he became part of the ministry of the Brownsville Revival, holding weekly sessions for leaders and heading up the revival’s intensive two-year School of Ministry. Dr. Brown is now President of the FIRE School of Ministry located in Charlotte, NC.
As a Jewish believer in Jesus, Dr. Brown is active in Jewish evangelism
and has debated rabbis on radio, TV, and college campuses. He is also a
published Old Testament and Semitic scholar, holding a Ph.D in Near
Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University. In 1997, he
was appointed Visiting Professor of Jewish Apologetics at Fuller
Theological Seminary School of World Mission and has been affiliated with
Regent University Divinity School as an Adjunct Professor of Old Testament
and Jewish Studies.
Objection: “We Jews believe in one God, not three.”
Followers of Jesus also believe in one God, not three. Most Jews recite the Shema, the Jewish confession of faith, “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God the Lord is one.” However, the translation of the New Jewish Version, recognized as the most accurate English translation produced by Jewish scholars, states: “Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” The point of the Shema is to demand absolute faith in the LORD alone, with no gods before Him. The Hebrew word “echad,” translated “alone” here, means “one” in the sense of “that one alone.”
In the twelfth century, Moses Maimonides, writing to counter Christian and Muslim beliefs, compiled his thirteen articles of faith, recited by observant Jews daily. One of the articles states that Jews must believe that god is yachid— “absolute unity.” But this is unscriptural, since the Hebrew Bible gives clear indications of God’s composite unity.
Genesis 19:24 states that “the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.” In other words, the LORD, who had been on the earth talking to Abraham (read Gen. 18:1-33 very carefully), rained down fire and brimstone from the LORD out of the heavens.
The Spirit of God came upon many people in the Scriptures. For instance, Isaiah 61:1 states, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me….”
And, finally, who is GodÂ’s Son in Proberbs 30:4?
Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!
Isaiah 42:1 speaks of God’s servant (that is, the Messiah) upon whom God places His Spirit so that “he will bring justice to the nations.” Here in one passage is a reference to the LORD (the Father), the Messiah (the Son), and the Spirit.
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
(All Scriptures from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. NIV ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.)