In this episode I dialog with Sam Tideman’s “Transfigured” Podcaston John 1:14.
Sam reviewed the previous One God Report podcast (#148) called“The Word became Flesh (Sustenance): A Metaphorical Interpretation of"Flesh".
In this current podcast I dialog with Sam about two of hismain points:
1. Is the “became flesh” language of John 1:14 to be associated with mainstreamChristianity’s “Eucharist”
and
2. Should or could John 1:14 be understood and translated as“the Word became flesh and dwelt IN us”, that is, not “among us”.
Resources:
The Word became Flesh(Sustenance): A Metaphorical Interpretation of "Flesh" https://youtu.be/A87VcXKCWBM
Transfigured Podcast, "TheWord became flesh" - A eucharistic interpretation of John 1:14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfQKfthc2wA&t=2847s
The short statement in John 1:14 that“the Word became flesh” is understood by mainstream Christianity to be adeclaration that the difference between who God is and who man is was breached,that God became man. Anyone interested in considering the many and variousproblems with the “G/god became man” interpretations of this verse can see thearticle/podcast #39 “The Word became Flesh? Why John 1:14 does NOT say that God becameman”.[1]This present podcast presents my developing understanding about what “the Wordbecame flesh” does mean. Let me first state that when I say that “became flesh”in John 1:14 most likely should be interpreted metaphorically, I don’t meanthat Jesus was not a real flesh and blood human being. The New Testamentpresents Jesus as a real human being of flesh, blood and bone, a man who toldthe truth that he heard from God.
[1] https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-word-became-flesh-why-john-114-does.htmlor, audio
https://youtu.be/z4HepHkyujk
Does the Bible Declare that “Jesus a God-Man”?
We compare mainstream Christian belief with the biblical declarations and find a big difference.
Some Scriptures from this episode:
John8:40: “I am a man who told you the truth that I heard from God…”
Acts2:22: "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attestedto you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through himin your midst, as you yourselves know-
Acts17:31: “because He (God) has fixed a day on which he will judge the world inrighteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has givenassurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Romans5:15: "For if many died through the trespass of one man, much more havethe grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christabounded for many."
Romans5:19: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by oneman's obedience many will be made righteous." 1 Corinthians 15:21: “Forsince death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came througha man”
1 Cor.15:21: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection ofthe dead.”
1Timothy 2:4-6: God "…desires all men to be saved and to come to aknowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator betweenGod and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself"
The straight-line connectionsbetween statements in the Prologue to the body of the Gospel of John show thatthe Prologue is introducing the human person Jesus of Nazareth. The man Jesusand his ministry are described with the same terms in the body of the Gospelthat are introduced in the Prologue.
These parallels between the Prologue and the lifeof the human person Jesus as described in the body of the Gospel are evidencethat John 1 is not describing Genesis 1 but is introducing a new beginning inthe man Jesus Christ.
Full text: https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-prologue-of-john-in-body-of-gospel.html
By comparing Genesis 1:1-18 with John 1:1-18 we can understand that the two chapters are describing different events.
There are a few words that are common to both Genesis 1 and John 1, like "in, beginning, light, and darkness", but the words have a different meaning than in Genesis.
Many key words which are in Genesis 1:1-5 which are not in John 1:1-5: created, heavens, earth, waters, face of the deep, spirit of God, hovering, evening, morning, day, night, first day
Many key words in John 1:1-5 which are not in Genesis 1:1-5: word, with God, he (that one) was in the beginning with God, all (things), through him, life, light of men, overcome/comprehend.
Then, in verses 6-18, everything is different.
John 1 has a different context, describes different events, than Genesis 1. https://www.youtube.com/@billschlegel1
"In the beginning was..." Or, John 1:1 is not about the Genesis Creation. https://youtu.be/b8sKQC63ESY
A Non-Genesis Creation Interpretation of John 1:3-4
https://youtu.be/N3rcP42KWhc
The world is full of lies. Political and religious lies abound.The Bible cuts through all those lies and declares that our heavenly Father (יהוה) is the only true God and that the human person Jesus is the Lord Christ.
The Bible declares that there is no mystery about how many God is. There is no identity confusion about who or how many God is.
Humans can know that the Father is the only God, that there is no other besides Him.
But people refuse to believe.
But a remnant does believe. Believers in One God, the Father, take courage.
The Mystery of the Trinity: Solved! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUqWXumvcp5ooVFOM6INeL0_D1tw-R4p4
“Jesus Can’tBe a Mere Human” https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUqWXumvcp5rLIOHUtJWBc6Sg8HQf4sfL
One GodReport, Bill Schlegel https://www.youtube.com/@billschlegel1
Does Philippians 2:5-11 describe an eternal pre-incarnate God the Son humbling himself to become man?No.Philippians 2:5-11 is about the decisions, actions and attitude of the man Christ Jesus, and his eventual exaltation by his God.Philippians 2: Did God become Man?https://youtu.be/ntg8KvZ2pSQDeity of Christ Interpretations Dishonor the Man Jesus Christhttps://youtu.be/R2VOKEvGqAwFull text here:https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2020/03/did-god-become-man-philippians-25-11.html
Ever since I’ve come to believe that God is the Father, and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that the spirit is the Spirit of God, people have said – actually Christian people have said - that I’m part of a cult. They mean it, of course, in a derogatory, pejorative sense.
If the belief in the Trinity, three divine persons in one essence, and the belief in a fully-god-fully-man-Christ, a Christ who is a divine person with two natures – if these beliefs are developments made after the New Testament was written, made in places like Alexandria Egypt, Athens Greece, Constantinople and Cappadocia Turkey, and Rome Italy -- then these beliefs are aberrations, “cultish” if you will, not the real God nor the real Christ of the Bible.
Is the Trinity in the Bible? If So, Where? https://youtu.be/POVaZX3urdc
If the Bible is Right, God is NOT a Trinityhttps://youtu.be/S1-qBYVrkdU
HIGH Costs of Deity of Christ Interpretationshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUqWXumvcp5o5e2TeBnpzLE7XLJgwh_tp
Dr. Kegan Chandler, Cult Rhetoric and Unitarian Christologyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwQFRabqSqE&t=2s
Isaiah 42:8 I am YHVH (Yahweh, Yehovah), that ismy name; my glory (cavod, כָבוֹד) I give to no other,nor my praise to graven images.
Deityof Christ theologians claim that since Jesus has (God’s) glory, or was given glory by God, he must be God, because God doesn’t give His glory to anyone else.
That claim is a philosophical, rationalistic kind of claim that no one in the Bible makes. It’s kind of an end around claim that runs into dead ends. For instance, if Jesus is God, why did God have to give him glory? Can God lose his glory and than someone else who is God give it back to him.
This kind of claim really reveals a certain kind of biblical ignorance, or a willing ignorance. It’s the kind of claim that reveals a desperate search for some evidence to make Christ into God. It’s contrived “evidence”.
To understand what Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11 are really saying, all we have to do is look a bit at the context of the statements. There are two parts to that context that shows that deity of Christ claims about these passages completely miss the point.
The statement in Isaiah 42:8 “I give my glory to no other” are in the context of Israel’s idolatry.
1. God DOES NOT give His glory AS GOD to anyoneelse. Specifically, God does not share His glory with other gods or idols. God will not allow Israel to believe that someone or something else is their god.God warned: “I the LORD your God am a jealous God” (Exo 20:5).
2. God DOES give glory to others the nation of Israel, notto show that these others are God, but to show that the God who gives the glory is their God, the only God.
Deity of Christ interpreters totally miss the meaning of these passages in the Book of Isaiah.
Note to listeners: After I publishing the podcast, I see that the quote, translation and interpretation of Romans 5:2 is not as clear-cut as the translation I quoted (RSV). The Greek is more ambiguous. The Greek does not have the word "sharing". The Greek is more literally "we boast(glory) in(with) hope of the glory of God".
Because of the ambiguity, the RSV supplied "sharing". But it should be italicized that "sharing" is not in the text. I see another translation (CJB) supplies "experiencing the glory of God". Most translations, which is probably better, just render "we rejoice in the glory of God".I feel I over-stated the case after seeing that word "sharing" is not in the Greek. I would edit that section, but YouTube won’t allow editing since it apparently has already made the video available in other languages (?). So, I’d just encourage people to think about what Paul meant by writing “we rejoice with hope of the glory of God”.The other famous verse in Romans about us having something to do with God's glory is Rom. 3:23, "we all fall short of the glory of God". This verse suggests some human participation or expectation of believers in/with God's glory. Romans 2:7 says we "seek for glory and honor and immortality". 2 Cor. 4:6 describes the "knowledge of God's glory".Unfortunately, most translations are inconsistent (probably with theological bias) on Psalm 84:11. Instead of translating "the LORD (YHVH) God gives grace and glory", English translations make it "favor and honor". But the second word is the same word cavod כָבוֹד as Isaiah 42:6.Another point I would make about “giving glory”: In the Bible to give glory is often an idiom for giving recognition where recognition is due. This is why God won’t give glory to idols in His work of creation or with Israel.
This episode continues the contrast between the biblicaldoctrine of the hope of resurrection of the dead compared to the common mainstreamChristian expressions about death being only the separation of the soul fromthe body and so-called promise of going to heaven.
Whilethe New Testament emphasizes the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the futureresurrection of believers, many Christians today speak of the dead asimmediately entering heaven as disembodied souls. The personnever really dies. But we see that many Scripture passages – we will look at afew in just a moment (Acts, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Thessalonians) – that highlightthe hope of resurrection at Christ’s return, not immediate ascension to heaven.
Incontrast to the biblical hope of resurrection, popular phrases such as “went toheaven” or “is now in a better place” reflect a Greek, Platonic view of thesoul's separation from the body at death—an idea rooted in Plato’s Phaedo,where death is seen as liberation of the soul from the body. MainstreamChristianity has drifted from the early Christian hope in resurrection toward aless real and disembodied afterlife.
Additional Resources:Where do we go when we die? Interview with Pastor Sean Finnegan https://youtu.be/w8rgs85dBtkConditional Immortality (Restitutio podcast)https://restitutio.org/2019/02/14/164-theology-3-conditional-immortality/ Challenging Conditional Immortality (Restitutio podcast)https://restitutio.org/2019/02/21/165-theology-4-challenging-conditional-immortality/ #bible, #gotoheaven, #deityofchrist
Fuel, Church of God General Conference Youth Camp, July 13-18, 2025. North Manchester, IN
https://register-online.org/FUELRedirect.php
What is Fuel Youth Conference Like?
https://youtu.be/l7VPCLbVDD0
UCA International Conference, July 24-27, 2025, Denham Grove Hotel, Uxbridge, (London), UK
https://sites.google.com/unitarianchristianalliance.org/ucaukintconference2025
Converge, August 1-3, 2025 Hiram College, SE of Cleveland, OH https://www.eventleaf.com/e/converge
Many mainstream Christians claim that at death, only thebody dies while the soul lives on, consciously entering the presence of God. In this view, believers never really die—they skip over death entirely by transitioning instantly into eternal life.
There is no place in the Bible that defines death as the separation of the soul from the body.
So where did this concept come from?
Plato’s Influence: Not the Bible
The idea that "death is the separation of the soul from the body" comes from Greek philosophy, especially Plato.
In his dialogue Phaedo (also called On the Soul), Plato, through the voice of Socrates, taught that:
“Death is the separation of the soul from the body... and the state of being dead is the soul’s being alone by itself, apart from the body.”— Phaedo 64c, 67d
In this podcast we explore some implications of the Platonic "death is the separation of the soul from the body" claim on mainstream Christianity.
Full text here: https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-big-lie-death-is-separation-of-soul.htmlAdditional Resources:
Where do we go when we die? Interview with Pastor Sean Finnegan https://youtu.be/w8rgs85dBtk
Conditional Immortality (Restitutio podcast)
https://restitutio.org/2019/02/14/164-theology-3-conditional-immortality/
Challenging Conditional Immortality (Restitutio podcast)
https://restitutio.org/2019/02/21/165-theology-4-challenging-conditional-immortality/
#bible, #gotoheaven
Doctrinal Statements of Trinitarian Seminaries, Universities and Churches have problems, such as:
1. The first two statements often contradict each other. Protestant institutions declare the Scriptures are the sole authority for belief and practice, and then in the next breath describe and eternal multi-person god who is never described in such terms in the Bible.
2. Doctrinal statements off refer to God with the singular pronouns he/him/his, but then suddenly describe god as multi-persons, whose pronouns should be they/them/theirs.
#trinityevangelicaldivinityschool, #libertyuniversity, #southernbaptist #trinity, #Jesus, #deityofchrist, #bible#trinity, #Jesus, #deityofchrist, #bible
In this podcast we take a closer look at the historical context in which 1st century readers of John’s Gospel would have understood this Gospel to be about a new beginning.
We will also see how other New Testament authors saw in Jesus a new beginning, the beginning of God’s new creation.
Finally, we will note one big problem with the typical “deity of Christ” interpretation of John 1:1.
For full written text of this podcast click here.
https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-gospel-of-john-historical-context.html
Previous podcasts referred to in this podcast:
-
#7) "What about John 1:1?" (Part 2) - Jesus is the Beginning of God's New Creation
https://anchor.fm/onegodreport-podcast/episodes/7-What-about-John-11--Part-2---Jesus-is-the-Beginning-of-Gods-New-Creation-eaqlk5
-
15) More New Creation in the Gospel of John: Why John's Prologue Should be Interpreted in the Context of New Creation
https://anchor.fm/onegodreport-podcast/episodes/15-More-New-Creation-in-the-Gospel-of-John-Why-Johns-Prologue-Should-be-Interpreted-in-the-Context-of-New-Creation-edv8kr
Many Trinitarians claim the Trinity is "biblical". This episode presents two reasons why that claim is faulty:
1. The Trinitarian methodology - how they arrive at believing that the one God is multi-persons - is not biblical.
2. The language used, in fact needed, to describe the Trinity and the "deity of Christ is is not biblical.
#trinity, biblicalunitarian, #deityofchrist
In this current podcast we discuss another HIGH cost to payfor any deity of Christ interpretation of Scripture. All deity of Christ claims not only dishonor the Father, but they also dishonor the Christ, the man Jesus of Nazareth, the Jew who was born in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. In fact, all deity of Christ claims in the end deny that the human person Jesus Christ ever existed.
Deity of Christ Interpretations of the Bible Dishonor the Father, the Only True God
If Jesus is God, then God the Father is not the one true God. The claim that “Jesus is God” becomes the main building block used by humans to construct a multi-person god. If Jesus is one member of a multi-person (or a Triune god) then the multi-person god is the one God, and the Father is not.
Mainstream Christians agree that there is one God. “Weare monotheists. We believe in one God”. But for mainstream Christians, the one God is made up of three persons.
Either the Father, a singular self, is the one true God, or a multi-person god is the one God.
But if the Father is the one true God, then the claim that “Jesus is God” (that God is multi-persons) is an attempt to denigrate the only true God -- the Father. What deity of Christ and Trinitarian interpreters are doing is attempting to put another god on the face of and in the place of our God and Father.
The HIGH cost of any “deity of Christ” interpretations is an attempt to claim that the Father is not the one, the only true God. Christians need to decide: who is your God. Either the Trinity, or the Father alone. Your God can’t be both.
For full text of the podcast, see here:
https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-high-cost-of-deity-of-christ.html
#deityofchrist, #biblicalunitarian, #billschlegel
In previous episodes, we saw that no one in the Bible - notJesus, not Moses, not Isaiah or any other prophet, not Peter, not Paul or any other apostle – no one proclaimed or described that God is three in one. Rather, we saw specifically that God is the Father alone, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We looked at Paul’s description of God and the Lord Jesus Christ in Ephesians 1.To Paul, God is not the Trinity, but the Father alone. And, Paul says the LordJesus Christ has a God. The Lord Jesus Christ’s God is the Father. The LordJesus Christ is not God since he has a God and Jesus is someone other than God.
Previous episodes:If the Bible is Right, God is NOT a Trinity (Part 1) https://youtu.be/S1-qBYVrkdU
If the Bible is Right, God is NOT a Trinity (Part 2) https://youtu.be/2x81JF9sKqc
It is simple reading comprehension. When reading the Bible, nowhere is God a Triune being. I want to make one more simple reading example in the Bible where, in this case, we will see if the Apostle Peter believed that God was a Trinity, or that the Lord Jesus Christ was God.
Through simple reading comprehension, we will be able understand that the Apostle Peter’s God was not the Trinity, and the Lord Jesus Christ was not Peter’s God.
Peter DID NOT declare that “God is a Trinity”.
Peter DID NOT declare that one must believe that God is a Trinity.
Peter DID declare that someone else other than the Lord Jesus Christ is God, that is, that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God.
Peter DID declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
We look at a couple of corroborating statements from Peter in the Gospels and one of his epistles, but focus on Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Acts Chapter 2.
Acts 2:2224
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you throughhim, just as you yourselves know– 23this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge ofGod, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. 24 But God raised him up…
In this text, is God triune? Is Jesus God?
Acts 2:30-33
“So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandonedto Hades, nor did his body experience decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear.”
Acts 2:36
Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."
Mark 8:29, He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ."
Luke 9:20, Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
Matt. 16:16, Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,the Son of the living God." (Mat 16:16 NET)
1 Peter 1:3,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 20-21
He (Christ) was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Peter never describes God as being triune, and never declares that Jesus is God.
If the Bible is right, God is not a Trinity.
If Peter is right, God is not a Trinity.
If your God is the Trinity, you have a different God than Peter.
00:00 God is Never a Trinity in the Bible.
03:14 God is always referred to with singular pronouns.HE did great things through Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is someone else, a different “person and being” thanGod.
04:18 Typical Responses from the Previous podcast,and why they fall short. No one showed a place in the Bible where God is described or revealed to be a Trinity. Trinitarian apologists construct their god.
Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, Genesis 1:26?
06:26 So much confusion in Trinitarian responses. Theimmediate “default” is to go to a few verses that Trinitarians think show that “Jesus is God”.
10:14 Trinitarian scholars who describe that theTrinity is not revealed in the Bible. “Can’t just rifle through the pages of the Bible in forming the doctrine (of the Trinity)”
11:55 Assembling the Trinity, the methodology is faulty. No one in the Bible does this.
14:08 Similarity between Trinitarian and modern “woke”usage of pronouns. Denying reality and insisting on using a pronoun that does not apply.
16:07 Who to believe: Trinitarians or the Bible? Stick with the Bible.
#trinity, #deityofchrist, #biblicalunitarian, #fredsanders, #jameswhite
Other RelatedPodcasts:
If the Bibleis Right, God is NOT a Trinity (Part 1)
Is the Trinity in the Bible? If So, Where?
Trinity, Preferred Pronouns: He/Him (Woke-ism in Trinitarian Thought and Language)
God is He, not They (one minute short)
https://youtube.com/shorts/f9f0-9NwgDk
In the Bible, God is never a trinity. Neither in Hebrew Scriptures, nor the New Testament is God ever a Trinity.
God is never declared to be triune by anyone in the Bible: not by Moses, the prophets, Jesus or the apostles. No one in the Bible ever mentions the “mystery” about the Triune nature (persons) of God. The Bible never records any opposition to the Triune nature of God being proclaimed – because no one in the Bible proclaimed God as triune. The claim that God is “three-in-one” comes from centuries after the time of Jesus.
As a sample of the Biblical view of God, we read some of Ephesians 1.
Who is God in the passage? Never the Trinity.
Note the singular pronouns used of God. God is never more than one self.
Note the differentiation between God and the Lord (Adon) Jesus Christ.
Note that the Lord Jesus Christ has a God. The Lord Jesus Christ’s God is the Father.
For the Apostle Paul, the one God was not the Trinity. The one God was the Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6).
Other related podcasts:
Is the Trinity in the Bible? If so, Where?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POVaZX3urdc
How and When was the Trinity Revealed?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HaqhjicWv8
The Trinity is NOT Revealed in the Bible (one minute short)
https://studio.youtube.com/video/r8uOyHDqUvY/edit
The Mystery of the Trinity: Solved!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPK-_kVHnB0&t=498s