In the Holy Scriptures, we often notice
frequent usage of the terms of lordship and godhood. In many cases, such
usage is not intended as a literal but metaphorical one, given the
inapplicability of lordship and godhood to those described as “lords” or
“gods” in some positions.
Unfortunately, such metaphorical usage
gave rise to clearly false beliefs among the followers of some Abrahamic
religions, especially Christianity, in the absence of the original
versions of the Gospel or knowledge of the native language of such
versions as well as their usages, be they literal or metaphorical.
The loss of the original versions which must have been written during Jesus’ lifetime or shortly after his Ascension and the consequent distortion and alteration led to big mistakes especially in the Christian creed.
In this article, I will deal with the terms of lordship and godhood both in the Qur’an and the Bible,
especially the New Testament, to indicate which meanings are literal
and which ones are metaphorical. I will begin with the term “Lord” both
in the Qur’an and the Bible.
The Term “Lord”
The term “Lord” (Rabb in Arabic) is used in the Qur’an to refer to the Deity
in all of its usages with a few exceptions. For example, we read in the
second verse of the Opening Chapter of the Qur’an (Al-Fatihah) after Basmalah (the introductory verse: in the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful):
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds (Al-Fatihah 1:2)
We also read:
O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous (Al-Baqarah 2:21)
It is clear enough that the term “Lord” is used here to refer to the Deity.
However, there are a few exceptional
usages of the term “Lord” in the Qur’an which refer to human masters
rather than the Deity. By the way, such a usage was common in classical
Arabic. Old Arabs used to use the term “Lord” to mean a master or an
owner rather than the Deity.
For example, the Qur’an relates the story of Prophet Joseph (Yusuf in Arabic) as follows:
And
she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him. She closed the doors
and said, “Come, you.” He said, “[I seek] the refuge of Allah. Indeed,
he is my lord, who has made good my residence. Indeed, wrongdoers will
not succeed.” (Yusuf 12:23)
The Qur’an here tells us that Prophet Joseph referred to the ruler (Al-Aziz in Arabic) as “my lord”, i.e. my master. He did not intend the Deity.
Similar usages are repeated in the same Qur’anic chapter. The Qur’an also quotes Prophet Joseph as saying:
“O
two companions of prison, as for one of you, he will give drink to his
lord of wine; but as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds
will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both
inquire.” And he said to the one whom he knew would go free, “Mention
me before your lord.” But Satan made him forget the mention [to] his
lord, and Joseph remained in prison several years. (Yusuf 12:15)
And
the king said, “Bring him to me.” But when the messenger came to him,
[Joseph] said, “Return to your lord and ask him what is the case of the
women who cut their hands. Indeed, my Lord is Knowing of their plan.” (Yusuf 12:50)
Since the usages of the term “Lord” as a
reference to other than the Deity is very few in number in the Qur’an,
its metaphorical usage for other than Allah has not led to any dogmatic
problem.
As for the term “Lord” in the Bible, we
notice that it is used to refer to the Deity and Jesus as well. In the
Old Testament, we read: “My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for temptation.” (Sirach 2:1) The term “Lord” here is
intended for the Deity.
In the New Testament, we also read:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your
household.” (Acts 16:31) We also read: “So then, just as you received
Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and
built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and
overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7) In those verses, we
notice that the term “Lord” refers to Christ Jesus rather than the
Almighty Deity.
In many cases, the usage of the terms of
lordship and godhood in the Holy Scriptures is not intended as a literal
but metaphorical usage
However, can the Almighty Deity be the
Lord and Jesus be the Lord literally? The usage of the term “Lord” as a
reference to Jesus is a metaphorical one given the inapplicability of
lordship to him. There are many pieces of evidence for that from the New
Testament itself and the Old Testament as well.
For example, in the New Testament, we read: “But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (John 6:68-69)
Here, an important question should
arise: how can Jesus be “Lord” and “the Son of God” literally at the
same time? Either Jesus is the Lord or the Son of the Lord.
In fact, the literal lordship of Jesus
is negated by virtue of the Bible itself, including the Old Testament
and the New Testament as well. In the New Testament, we read: “The most
important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one.” (Mark 12:29, Matthew 4:10)
Moreover, the Old Testament abounds in
verses confirming the exclusive lordship of the Almighty Deity and
refuting the literal lordship of anyone else. For example, we read:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4;
4:35&39; 32:39) and “Before me no god was formed, nor will there be
one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no
savior.” (Isaiah 43:10-11)
The Term “God”
It is used in the Qur’an only to stand
for the Deity. It is not used to refer to anyone else, either literally
or metaphorically. In the Qur’an, we read:
Or
were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his
sons, “What will you worship after me?” They said, “We will worship your
God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac – one
God. And we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” (Al-Baqarah 2:133)
We also read:
And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. (Al-Baqarah 2:163)
As for the New Testament, Jesus is often
referred to as “the Son of God”. For example, we read: “As soon as
Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven
was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I
love; with him I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17)
We also read: “I have been crucified
with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now
live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
As a matter of fact, references to Jesus
as “the Son of God” are so many in number in the New Testament. Yet, is
Jesus “the Son of God” literally or metaphorically? Literally speaking,
Jesus cannot be the Son of God given the fact that he is not the only
one who is so described in the Bible.
Many persons and beings are referred to
as “the Sons of God” in the Bible. For example, angels are referred to
as the Sons of God (Job 1:6, 1:2 and 7:38; Psalm 29:1 & 6:89; Daniel
3:25) Adam is also referred to as the Son of God (Luke 3:38) The
Children of Israel are also referred to as the Sons of God (Exodus
4:22-23; Deuteronomy 1:14 & 32:5,6,19; Isaiah 43:6,7; Hosea 1:10)
God cannot be considered a father of
Jesus literally simply because David is also referred to as the father
of Jesus in the New Testament though he was not his father literally but
metaphorically. In the New Testament, we read: “He will be great and
will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the
throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32)
It is crystal clear that Jesus cannot be
the son of God and David at the same time. Therefore, this is a
metaphorical rather than literal usage. No wonder, we observe that the
New Testament refers to some people as gods metaphorically rather than
literally. This indicates that metaphorical usage is common in the
Bible.
For example, the Children of Israel are
referred to as gods. In the Bible, we read: “Then the Jews took up
stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I
shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The
Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus
answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If
he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture
cannot be broken (John 10:31-35)
The Old Testament quotes the Almighty
Deity as promising Prophet Moses to be God. In the Old Testament, we
read: “And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to
Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” (Exodus 7:1)
Similarly, we also read: “I said, ‘You
are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’” (Psalm 82:6) What is
more, Satan himself is referred to as a god in the Bible. We read: “The
god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they
cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) All of that proves common
metaphorical usage in the Bible.
The evidence for such metaphorical usage
is found in the Bible itself. It proves that God is Only One and has no
partner, child or son. In the New Testament, we read: “There is only
one God” (Romans 3:30 and 1 Timothy 2:5), “We know that there is no such
thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.” (1
Corinthians 8:4), “God is one” (Galatians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:9;
James 2:19; Ephesians 4:6, Jude 1:25)
In the Old Testament, we read: “See now
that I myself am he! There is no god besides me.” (Deuteronomy 32:39;
Exodus 20:3, 2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Kings 8:60), “You alone are God” (Psalm
86:10 and Malachi 2:10), “This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and
Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart
from me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6 and 9), (Isaiah 45:22, 5-6, 18,
21; 46:9)
Conclusion
To conclude, Jesus cannot be the Lord or
the Son of God literally for he himself negated that and confirmed his
prophethood. He said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law
or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
(Matthew 5:17)
2 Philippians proves that Jesus was a
servant of God. It reads: “In your relationships with one another, have
the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself by becoming obedient to death.” (Philippians 2:5-8)
2 Philippians indicates that Jesus like all other human beings was made in God’s image as it was mentioned in the Old Testament:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in
our image, in our likeness.’” (Genesis 1:26) This is also confirmed by
the following statement of Prophet Muhammad: “God created Adam in His
image.” (Agreed-on hadith)
Had Jesus been the Lord or the Son of
God literally, he would not have made himself nothing, taken the very
nature of a servant or been made in human likeness. He would have rather
deserved worship and called people to it. However, when Satan tried to
tempt him to worship him according to the New Testament, Jesus said to
him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your
God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)
Indeed, Jesus himself worshiped God
according to the New Testament itself. How can he deserve worship? In
the New Testament, we read: “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a
place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over
there and pray … Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the
ground and prayed (Matthew 26:36-39)
In the Holy Scriptures, we often notice
frequent usage of the terms of lordship and godhood. In many cases, such
usage is not intended as a literal but metaphorical one, given the
inapplicability of lordship and godhood to those described as “lords” or
“gods” in some positions.
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