# 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 and the Trinity



## Devin (Apr 14, 2006)

1 Corinthians 8:5-6 (NASB)

For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. 



How does one exegete this passage in light of the doctrine of the Trinity?


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## bookslover (Oct 10, 2006)

I'm guessing that you're wondering how to highlight the Trinity in this verse (verse 6), seeing as one Person, the Father, is called "God", and another Person, Jesus Christ, is called "Lord".

Well, there are more than 300 places in the New Testament in which any two Persons of the Trinity are mentioned together, and this verse is one of them. One way of highlighting the Trinity is by pointing out (1) that "all things" are made "from" the Father, and He is the one "for whom" we exist, and (2) those same things are "through Jesus Christ, and it is "through" Him that we exist.

A shorter way to put it is: all created things, and all Christians, exist from God the Father and through Jesus Christ. So, this verse gives us a glimpse of the economic activity of two Persons of the Trinity, showing the subordination of the Son to the Father (ontologically, there is no subordination, of course). Things, and people, exist "from" the Father and "through" the Son. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned in this passage but, since He inspired the passage, He's still there!

By the way, going back to verse 5 and including it with verse 6, I've always been sort of "bugged" by Paul's use of "for us" at the beginning of verse 6 - as if the false gods really existed and were real competition for the one true and living God. The entire passage would seem stronger if verse 6 began "...yet there is one God...". By doing that, Paul would have given a strong challenge to the false gods which were surrounding the Corinthians. But, as I said, the Holy Spirit inspired the passage, and He knows what He's doing!

Hope this helps.

By the way, if my "guess" (see opening paragraph) is wrong, please let me know.


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## Devin (Oct 10, 2006)

My trouble is with how the verse seems to point to the Father as the one God, and then turns to the Son as something other than the one God.

Though, I suppose it is impossible for Jesus to be the one and only Lord if He is not God, because obviously God is Lord as well.

(BTW, thanks for bringing this old topic back up  )

[Edited on 10-9-2006 by Devin]


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