בס”ד

Parashat B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:1-6:8

Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5-43:10

This Shabbat we return to the book of Genesis to begin once more the reading of the Torah for the year 5775. The opening chapters of Genesis deal of course with creation. The Gospel of John also speaks in its first chapter concerning creation. There the WORD is mentioned. The WORD was not created but HE existed prior to creation. In fact, there was never a time that the WORD did not exist. In other words, HE is eternal. Who is this WORD? The next truth that John reveals is that “the WORD was with G-d….” When was this WORD with G-d? The answer is always! How can such a statement be made? The answer is found at the end of John 1:1 which states, “And the WORD was G-d.”

Again, one must ask the question, “Just Who is this WORD?” Verse 2 states that this “Same One was in the beginning with G-d.” Furthermore, verse 3 states that “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not made anything that was made.” It is clear from the context that this One is Messiah Yeshua. Also Paul states that “By Him were all things created.” (See Colossians 1:16). Hence, Yeshua created all things. This poses an interesting question. Is it proper to say that Yeshua is G-d? The answer is yes indeed. Can one assert that Yeshua and the Father are one? Once again the answer is yes! Then can one conclude that the Father and Son are the same? The answer is no!

Along with the Holy Spirit, Who is also mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis, the Scriptures reveal that These Three; Father, Son and Holy Spirit are a unique union. In regard to this union, it is acceptable to say that These Three equal One and the One equals Three. A person may state that this is hard to comprehend. It should be! When an individual begins to try to understand the G-d who transcends all things, then it will obviously be difficult to perceive this One True G-d. Why is this doctrine, commonly referred to as the Trinity, so important? The answer is that failure to embrace the Trinity causes a person who accepts the New Covenant to believe in more than One G-d. Let us return to John’s Gospel.

If Yeshua is not G-d then John 1:1 poses a great problem. It has already been stated that Yeshua is clearly the WORD to which John chapter 1 is referring. This being the case, the last part of this verse reads, “…and the WORD was G-d.” There are some who want to understand this phrase as, “…and the WORD was a G-d.” This means that Yeshua is not the G-d, but simply a god. Such a rendering (if it were true, which it is not) causes the New Covenant to violate Monotheism. When a person pays close attention to the text it is necessary to take into consideration the sentence before the one in question. This section states,

“And the WORD was with the G-d, and the WORD was G-d.”

Although this is the correct rendering, it is important to note that in the Biblical language the order of the words is different in regard to the final part of the verse. The word “G-d” actually comes before the phrase, “The WORD.” The parts of speech compel a person to translate the sentence as was done above. However, in the Biblical language the word “G-d” appears twice, side by side, which reveals that John is not talking about One G-d Who is different than the other, but the same True G-d, Who is expressed differently.

Shabbat Shalom