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The famous Philippians 2 hymn known as the Carmen Christi is one of the earliest creedal statements in Christianity. Believers throughout the history of the church have echoed Paul’s climactic Philippians 2:11 confession that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” But what exactly does this confession entail?

April 26, 2022

Tagged Apostle Paul, Carmen Christi, Deity of Christ, Every knee shall bow, Isaiah 45:23

Is Jesus Called YHWH in Philippians 2:11?

In his book Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ, Robert Bowman argues that the word “Lord” in this verse stands for the divine name “YHWH.”¹ Thus, claims Bowman, Philippians 2:11 actually announces that “Jesus Christ is YHWH.” He offers two reasons to think this is the case:

First, Paul states categorically that Jesus has ‘the name that is above every name’ (v. 9). In a Jewish context, that name, of course, would be YHWH, and the immediately following affirmation that Jesus is “Lord” (kurios) confirms that to be the name. Second, Paul’s statement alludes to a passage in Isaiah about YHWH.²

At first blush these reasons seem plausible. But upon closer examination, serious problems emerge. We will consider each of Bowman’s claims in turn.

1. “The name that is above every name” must be YHWH.

Bowman assumes that the only possible name Paul could be thinking of here is the divine name, YWHW. The rather significant problem with this assumption is that the next verse tells us otherwise:

(9) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (10) so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Nevertheless, Bowman claims that we not told “the name that is above every name” until we reach verse 11 and encounter the word Lord (kurios), which allegedly stands for the proper name YHWH. This claim is based upon the fact that the New Testament replaces the name YHWH with the word Lord (kurios) when quoting Old Testament passages that use the divine name. One such example is found in Romans 9:29, which quotes Isaiah 1:9. The OT verse has the name YHWH, but when Romans 9:29 quotes it, YHWH is replaced with Lord.

However, in the case of Philippians 2:11, which quotes Isaiah 45:23, the word Lord is not a direct substitution for YHWH. We know this because the name YHWH does not appear at all in the original Hebrew of Isaiah 45:23. Rather, Paul has inserted a completely new phrase – “Jesus Christ is Lord” – into his citation of Is. 45:23, and Bowman has made a subjective judgment about what that insertion means.

By implication, Bowman’s interpretation has Paul saying something that would have been more than a little confusing to his first century audience – every tongue will confess “Jesus Christ is YHWH to the glory of YHWH the Father.” This neglects the fact that Paul applies the word Lord to Jesus as a title rather than a proper name throughout the rest of Philippians (e.g. “the Lord Jesus Christ” in 1:2, 3:20, and 4:23, and “Jesus my Lord” in 3:8). This fact, taken together with Paul’s explicit statement in Phil. 2:10, confirms that the name in view is not YHWH but Jesus.

Let us now expand our investigation to see how Bowman’s claim fares in light of other related Biblical data.

The Ephesians 1 Connection

Ephesians 1 provides additional insight into the Philippians 2 elevation of Jesus’ name.³ According to Eph. 1:20-22, Jesus has been seated at the right hand of the Father, which is a position “above every name that is named.” But we are also told in Eph. 1:17 that the Father is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here the word Lord (kurios) is clearly both distinct from and beneath YHWH, who is the God of that Lord.

The point in both Phil. 2:10-11 and Eph. 1:21, then, is that the name of Jesus underwent a change in status from humiliation at the crucifixion to exaltation at the ascension. God elevated it above every other name in the created order, which is another way of saying that he gave Jesus total authority over the created order. But the name in question is still Jesus, and according to Paul, Jesus is still subject to his God YHWH.

The fact that Jesus is seated at the “right hand” of God in Eph. 1:20 confirms this distinction between Jesus and YHWH; it’s a direct allusion to Psalm 110:1, the quintessential passage used to stake out the Lordship of Jesus over 20 times the New Testament.⁴ Psalm 110:1 depicts a human Lord seated at the right hand of YHWH, thereby explicitly distinguishing him from YHWH.

New Testament scholar Darrell Bock puts it bluntly: “[T]here is no question that the Hebrew text of Ps. 110 clearly distinguishes between God and this figure; the terms are distinct in Hebrew.”⁵

Thus the immediate context in Philippians and the wider context of the New Testament both confirm that the phrase “Jesus is Lord” in Philippians 2:11 does not identify Jesus as YHWH. It identifies him as the Ps. 110:1 Lord seated beside YHWH.

This permanent right-hand enthronement has established the name Jesus as “the name that is above every name” in the created order. In Pauline thought, however, the plain exception to “every name” is the name of Jesus’ own God (cf. Eph. 1:17), much like the plain exception to “all things” placed under Jesus’ feet is God himself (cf. 1 Cor. 15:27).⁶

2. The speaker in Isaiah 45:23 is YHWH, but Paul applies it to Jesus.

For Bowman, the allusion to Isaiah 45:23 in Philippians 2:10-11 seals the deal. He illustrates Paul’s Old Testament allusion with the following comparison table:⁷

Isaiah 45:23 LXX	Philippians 2:10-11
“to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear.” kampsei pan gonu kai exomologesetai pasa glossa	“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend [pan gonu kampse], in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess [kai pasa glossa exomologesetai] that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Before we consider this in more detail, it should first be noted that Paul expressly distinguishes Jesus from God just prior to the passage Bowman cites: in vss. 5-9, Jesus is the obedient servant who submits to death on a cross, while God is the one who responds by exalting Jesus to a position of authority.⁸

Yet most interpreters simply assume that Paul is applying Isaiah 45 to Jesus alone. Based on this presupposition, they infer that Paul must be identifying Jesus as YHWH. But in the LXX, Isaiah 45:23 is only the beginning of a sentence that continues on into the next verse. And in that verse we find another crucial parallel to Paul’s commentary:⁹

Isaiah 45:23-24 LXX (NETS)	Philippians 2:10-11 (ESV)
(23) By myself I swear, “Verily righteousness shall go forth from my mouth; my words shall not be turned back, because to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall acknowledge God, (24) saying, Righteousness and glory *[doxa]* shall come to him, and all who separated themselves shall be ashamed.”	(9) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (10) so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) *and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory [doxa] of God the Father*.

The glory given to YHWH in Isaiah 45:24 parallels the glory received by God the Father in Philippians 2:11. Thus Paul has identified YHWH, the speaker in Isaiah 45, as God the Father. The honor given to Jesus is ultimately directed to YHWH God – a figure whom Paul portrays as both distinct from and above Jesus. We find confirmation of this in yet another allusion to Isaiah 45:24 that appears in Philippians 1:¹⁰

Isaiah 45:23-24 LXX (NETS)	Philippians 1:10-11 (ESV)
(23) By myself I swear, “Verily righteousness shall go forth from my mouth; my words shall not be turned back, because to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall acknowledge God, (24) saying, *Righteousness [dikaiosune] and glory [doxa] shall come to him,* and all who separated themselves shall be ashamed.”	(10) so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (11) filled with the fruit of *righteousness [dikaiosune] that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory [doxa] and praise of God*.

Here Paul reveals that the righteousness destined to come to YHWH (Is. 45:24) does so through Jesus (Phil. 1:11).¹¹ In other words, YHWH is the recipient of the righteousness, while Jesus is the agent who delivers that righteousness to him.

These two allusions make it clear that Paul is applying Isaiah 45:23-24 to both Jesus and the Father. But he identifies the Father as God, while he identifies Jesus as the subordinate Lord. In the previous section of this article we showed that the word Lord here refers to the human Lord seated at the right hand of YHWH (Ps. 110:1).

How Paul Applies Isaiah 45 to Jesus

If Paul is not identifying Jesus as YHWH, why does he apply Is. 45:23 to Jesus? The answer is found within the book of Isaiah itself. Indeed, scholars widely consider the Servant of the Lord passages in Isaiah to be a strong candidate for the OT background of the Carmen Christi.¹²

One such example occurs in a passage that expands upon Isaiah 45 in significant ways. Isaiah 49:4-5 describes the Messianic Servant calling upon his God YHWH for vindication in the face of rejection. YHWH then replies in vss. 6-7 with the following declaration that aligns with the salvation described in Isaiah 45:22-24:¹³

Isaiah 45:22-24 LXX (NETS)

Isaiah 49:6b-7 LXX (NETS)

(22) Turn to me, and you shall be saved, you who are from the end of the earth! I am God, and there is no other. (23) By myself I swear, “Verily righteousness shall go forth from my mouth; my words shall not be turned back, because to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall acknowledge God, (24) saying, Righteousness and glory shall come to him (YHWH), and all who separated themselves shall be ashamed.”

(6) …See, I have made you (the Messiah) a light of nations, that you may be for salvation to the end of the earth.” (7) Thus says the Lord who delivered you, the God of Israel: “Sanctify him who despises his own soul, who is abhorred by the nations, the slaves of rulers; kings shall see him (the Messiah), and rulers shall stand up and do obeisance to him for the Lord’s (YHWH’s) sake, because the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen you.”

Isaiah 49 unpacks the soteriologial plan further by explaining how the salvation will be accomplished: YHWH will first grant salvation to his own righteous servant (Is. 49:8), and then make his vindicated servant the mediator through whom that same salvation will be extended to the rest of the world (Is. 49:6).

It should be carefully noticed that the nations do not worship this exalted servant as YHWH himself. Indeed, we are told in Is. 49:4-5 that YHWH is the God of this servant. The nations instead worship the servant “for YHWH’s sake” (Is. 49:7). That is, they honor and obey him because they know he is YHWH’s chosen human king who now rules on his behalf. In so doing, they acknowledge YHWH as the supreme God – precisely as Is. 45:23 states.¹⁴

Paul deftly inserts this Suffering Servant soteriology into his modified Isaiah 45:23-24 allusion through the succinct statement “Jesus Christ is Lord” (which also calls to mind the key Messianic Lordship text of Ps. 110:1). In this way, the story of YHWH’s salvation is condensed into a memorable creed that highlights the humble sacrifice and subsequent exaltation of the Lord Jesus, yet ultimately magnifies his God YHWH, the one God of Israel, above all.

Conclusion

These two claims used to argue that Jesus is identified as YHWH in Philippians 2:9-11 regrettably fail the test of careful Biblical scrutiny. Upon closer examination, we find that neither the phrase “the name that is above every name” nor the application of Isaiah 45 to Jesus suggests that Paul is calling Jesus YHWH in Phil. 2:11. To the contrary, throughout his letter to the Philippians the apostle consistently distinguishes YHWH God from Jesus Christ, whose faithful obedience was rewarded with an exalted seat at YHWH’s right hand.

Robert Bowman, Putting Jesus In His Place, p. 165-166. ↵
Bowman, pp. 166-167. ↵
He acknowledges the connection between these two passages on p. 131. ↵
http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/texts/ps110-list.html ↵
Darrell L. Bock, The Gospel of Luke 9:51-25:53, p. 1639. In the Hebrew Masoretic Text, all 194 OT occurrences of the word adoni (used of the second lord in Ps. 110:1) refer strictly to humans or occasionally angels, and never once to YHWH. Some apologists claim that the LXX translation of the second Lord in Ps. 110:1 as kurios mou allows for the possibility that the original Hebrew in the first century was adonai (typically a divine reference) rather than adoni. For a thorough refutation of this assertion, see Jaco van Zyl’s paper “Psalm 110:1 and the Status of the Second Lord –Trinitarian Arguments Challenged”. ↵
This aligns Paul with the exalted Lord Jesus, who is careful to distinguish “the name of my God” from “my own new name” in Rev. 3:12. In Rev. 19 we are told that Jesus is given the name Word of God (19:13) and King of Kings and Lord of Lords (19:16). Both of these “names” are actually titles, much like the title Lord is associated with the name Jesus in Philippians 2:11. Neither of these two titles in Revelation identifies Jesus as YHWH, for even in this book he is still identified by the proper name Jesus, and is depicted at the right hand (Rev. 5:7) of YHWH, who remains his God (Rev. 3:2,12). ↵
Bowman, p. 167. ↵
An exposition of the passage that contrasts Jesus “in the form of God” vs. the “form of a servant” (Phil 2:6-8) can be found in this excellent article. ↵
The NETS version of LXX Isaiah can be downloaded here: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/33-esaias-nets.pdf ↵
Paul also uses the Is. 45:24 keyword “ashamed“ (aischunomai) in the same eschatological sense in Phil. 1:20: “it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed (aischunomai), but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body.” Furthermore, Paul cites Is. 45:23 almost verbatim in Rom. 14:11, and within the same pericope (comprised of Rom. 14:1-15:7) we find the Is. 45:24 keyword “righteousness“ (dikaiosune) in vs. 14:17, and the keyword “glory” (doxa) in vs. 15:7. ↵
In Phil. 1:11, the righteousness first comes through Jesus to believers via the Holy Spirit, so that believers may be presented to God as righteous in the eschaton (cp. 1 Cor. 15:24, 49). ↵
Gordon Fee writes: “Paul and the early church were quick to see that Christ’s “servanthood” was ultimately fulfilled in the “pouring out of his life unto death” (Is. 53:12) for the sake of others. It is hard to imagine that early Christians, therefore, would not rather automatically have heard this passage (Phil. 2:5-11) with that background in view, especially since that passage begins (Is. 52:13) the way this one ends, with the Servant’s exaltation by God.” Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, p. 262. ↵
Scholars have noted the likelihood that Paul alludes to Is. 49:4 (“I have labored in vain”) in Philippians 2:16 (“so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain“). See, e.g., Ralph P. Martin, TNTC Philippians; Peter T. O’Brien, NIGTC Philippians. ↵
This recalls the prophecy in Is. 45:14 where the nations bow before corporate Israel, recognizing that YHWH God himself is fighting for them. We find a similar example in 1 Chron. 29:20, where Israel worships both God and King David at the same time. They are not identifying David as God but rather recognizing him as God’s chosen ruler. ↵

The Evolution of the Doctrine of the Trinity

Church History

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1331
3 years ago
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Modern Christians owe a debt of gratitude to the early church. Her legacy of courage under persecution stands to this day as a bold testimony of faith. However, this legacy tends to overshadow the devastating impact of false teachers who crept into the fold shortly after the ascension of Christ. These purported Christians, better known as Gnostics, subtly twisted scripture using pagan Greek philosophy.

April 20, 2022

Tagged Alexander of Alexandria, Athanasius, Church History, Constantine, Doctrine of the Trinity

Who is the One God in Matthew 28:19?

Prooftexts

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653

3 years ago

The baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 is often thought to be obvious evidence of God’s triune nature. In this passage, Jesus commissions his apostles to baptize people “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The singular noun name, we are told, implies that all three figures share the same name, which in turn implies a shared essence or being.

March 1, 2022

Tagged Baptism, Baptismal Formula, Deity of Christ, Matthew 28:19

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Who is the One God in Matthew 28:19?

The baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 is often thought to be obvious evidence of God’s triune nature. In this passage, Jesus commissions his apostles to baptize people “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The singular noun name, we are told, implies that all three figures share the same name, which in turn implies a shared essence or being.

Thus it is alleged that Matthew 28:19 presents the One God of Israel as three persons. But what if it turns out that Jesus, the apostles, and the early church all exclusively identify the One God of Jewish monotheism with just one of the figures in this famous baptismal list? Three significant facts show that this is indeed the case.

1. Jesus came in the name of the Father and called him the “Only True God.”

The idea that Jesus referred to a single name shared by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 28:19 runs headlong into conflict with the rest of the New Testament. There we find Jesus routinely distinguishing his name from his Father’s name, and repeatedly emphasizing that he came in the name of the Father alone:

John 5:43 — I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

Matthew 23:39 — For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’

Jesus identified himself as one who came in the name of the Father. That is to say, Jesus claimed to represent Yahweh by speaking and acting on his behalf. This follows the precedent of Israel’s prophets who had gone before him. For example, the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the people “in the name of the LORD” (Jer. 44:16) and David confronted Goliath by announcing that “I come to you in the name of the LORD of Hosts” (1 Sa. 17:45).

To say that you come in the name of someone is to acknowledge that you are not that someone. You are instead that someone’s designated agent. In Deut. 18:18-19, God foretold that the Messiah would be just such an agent who would “speak in my name.” ¹ God and his Messiah are by definition two distinct beings, for you cannot be the one whom you send to speak on your behalf. It is therefore unsurprising that Jesus identified the Father — in distinction from himself — as Israel’s One God:

John 17:1, 3 (ESV) — When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

The New Testament portrays Jesus and Yahweh as two distinct beings with two distinct names. The name Jesus is applied exclusively to the Messiah. But the name Yahweh is, in the words of the exalted Jesus, “the name of my God” (Rev. 3:12). This confirms that Jesus was not presupposing a shared name in Matt. 28:19; rather, he regarded the Father alone to be Israel’s One God in this famous baptismal list.

2. The apostles didn’t use a trifold formula when they baptized.

The baptisms recorded in the book of Acts give us a window into how the apostles perceived the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19. If indeed Jesus was introducing a triune formula, we would certainly expect to find the apostles repeating it. But surprisingly, Acts reports that they performed baptisms in the name of Jesus alone:

Acts 2:38 (ESV) — And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:48 (ESV) — And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Acts 19:5 (ESV) — On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The full Matthew 28:19 formula is never once stated at any baptism recorded in scripture. This makes it very unlikely that it was ever meant to be repeated verbatim, let alone considered a technical formula describing the nature of God.² But neither did the apostles think that baptism in the name of Jesus alone somehow suggested that he was one member of a multi-personal God – Paul recognized that Israelites had previously been baptized into Moses (1 Cor. 10:1-2) and later into John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-3).

Indeed, when we consider the evangelistic messages delivered by the apostles just prior to performing a baptism, we find that they identify Jesus as a human being and expressly distinguish him from God, whom they identify as the Father. A prime example comes from Peter’s evangelistic sermon in the book of Acts:

Acts 2:22-38 (ESV) — 22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst…32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing…37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…

Contrary to the practice of most modern protestant churches, the apostles never once repeated a technical formula such as “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” They simply explained in their gospel presentation how each figure participated in the plan of salvation. And in these explanations, God is never once said to be three-in-one, triune, multi-personal, or anything remotely similar. Rather, he is identified as a singular personal being otherwise known as the Father.

3. The apostles and early church identified the Father alone as the One God.

All mainstream protestant denominations agree that there is only one true God. In this respect they acknowledge the significance of ancient Israel’s foundational creed known as the Shema: “Hear O Israel, the LORD [Yahweh] our God, the LORD [Yahweh] is one” (Deut. 6:4).

Yet according to Trinitarian theology, Matthew 28:19 squeezes the Father, the Son, and the Spirit into this One God. But such an assumption must be read into a verse that never actually says anything of the sort. Moreover, the remainder of the New Testament explicitly upholds the ancient definition of the One God as the Father alone:

John 17:1, 3 (ESV) — Father…this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

1 Corinthians 8:6 (ESV) — …yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ…

Ephesians 4:4-6 (ESV) — There is one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV) — For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…

The second and third century church fathers understood the One God in exactly this way. Despite their evolving philosophical speculations about the nature of the Son, they invariably identified the One God of Israel as the Father and clearly distinguished him from Jesus Christ:

“[T]here is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son.”

— Ignatius to the Magnesians, ch. VIII

“Let all the nations know that you are the only God, that Jesus Christ is your servant, and that we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.” — 1 Clement 59:4

“To the only God, invisible, the Father of truth, who sent forth unto us the Savior and Prince of immortality. . .” — 2 Clement 20:5

“Both the Lord [Jesus], then, and the apostles announce as the one only God the Father. . .” — Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Bk. IV, Ch. XXXVI

“[The apostle Paul] avoids inculpating the regular mysteries of the faith, and affirms that there is, notwithstanding, but one Christ and His one God. . .”

— Tertullian, Against Marcion, Bk. V, Ch. XX

“. . .those who, being taught in the school of Jesus Christ, have rejected all images and statues, and even all Jewish superstition, that they may look upward through the Word of God to the one God, who is the Father of the Word. . . .”

— Origen, Against Celsus, Bk. VII, Ch. XLI ³

The remainder of the New Testament is crystal clear in its presentation of the One God as the Father alone. This understanding continued into the first three centuries of the church, before the novel idea of a three-in-one God was put forward in the fourth century. Thus there is no basis for supposing that the apostles or the ante-nicene church thought the One God in Matthew 28:19 was anyone other than the Father.

Conclusion

The evidence discussed in this article confirms that the phrase “in the name of” in Matthew 28:19 is not attempting to radically redefine how many persons constitute the One God of Israel. But how then should it be understood? A more reasonable answer draws upon the Hebraic principle of agency whereby one who comes “in the name of” someone comes “in the power of” or “in the authority of” that person.

The list given by Jesus is arranged in hierarchical order. The Father – that is, the One God of Israel – is the sole source of all power and authority. He permanently bestowed this upon Jesus at the exaltation, and Jesus then exerted it in the world by means of the Holy Spirit. Nothing about this arrangement of delegated authority requires the foreign notion that all three figures constitute the same being.

Moreover, rather than being perceived as a Triune formula, the Biblical and historical evidence unanimously indicates that Matthew 28:19 was originally understood as follows: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the One God and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Cp. Acts 3:22-26 ↵
For this reason, and because the ancient church historian Eusebius (300’s AD) quoted Jesus as saying only that the disciples should baptize “in my name,” some have concluded that Matthew 28:19 is a corrupted text. However, the Greek manuscript evidence shows no variation whatsoever in this particular verse, and the passage is quoted in several very early Christian writings such as the Didache (100 AD), Justin Martyr’s First Apology (180 AD), and Irenaeus’s Against Heresies (200 AD). For a fuller examination of this subject, see the helpful article Is Matthew 29.19 a Forgery by Sean Finnegan. ↵
Origen consistently identifies the One God with the Father throughout his works. However, in one unique case found in Dialogue with Heraclides, Origien says that the Father and Son are one God. But as Dr. Dale Tuggy has shown, upon close examination it becomes clear that Origen is not referring to a oneness of ontological being. This is clear by the fact that he compares their oneness to Adam and Eve’s oneness, as well as man’s oneness in spirit with Christ. In other words, Origen believes the Son to be a second divine being who is distinct from (and subordinate to) the Father. https://trinities.org/blog/podcast-270-origens-one-god/ ↵

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