Titus 2:13
(Who is the Great God and the Savior?)
“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13 NKJV, Emphasis mine)
TITUS 2:13 IS ONE of the New Testament’s most critical proof texts among Trinitarians to prove the deity of Jesus Christ. Debate has long raged over whether this verse calls Jesus Christ God. As important as this question is, it has so monopolized the study of this text and has obscured other Christological implications that lead people farther away from the biblical truth.
From the cited verse above, it has been claimed by those who believe in Christ’s deity that the phrase “great God” refers to the “Savior Jesus Christ.” However, a closer examination of this verse will prove that it does not teach that Christ is God.
TWO, NOT ONE
The phrase “great God” in Titus 2:13 does not refer to Jesus Christ. This is more easily understood by comparing other versions of the Bible:
New American Bible
“as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ.”
Moffat Translation
“awaiting the blessed hope of the appearance of the Glory of the great God and of our Saviour Christ Jesus.”
1599 Geneva Bible
“Looking for that blessed hope, and appearing of that glory of that mighty God, and of our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Catholic Public Domain Version
“looking forward to the blessed hope and the advent of the glory of the great God and of our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Mace New Testament
“in expectation of that desirable happiness, the glorious appearance of the supreme God, and of our saviour Jesus Christ.”
Geneva Bible of 1587
“Looking for that blessed hope, and appearing of that glorie of that mightie God, and of our Sauiour Iesus Christ.”
Coverdale Bible of 1535
“lokynge for that blessed hope and appearynge of the glory of ye greate God and of oure Sauioure Iesu Christ.”
Tyndale Bible of 1526
“lokinge for that blessed hope and glorious apperenge of ye myghty god and of oure savioure Iesu Christ.”
(*Emphasis added to context)
The proof that God the Father and Jesus Christ are two in number was not only clearly expressed by the above translations but by Christ Himself. Let us read:
“And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
(Reference: John 8:16-18, NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
THE FATHER IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD
In Jesus’ prayer to the Father, Jesus Christ further revealed the identity of the one and only true God:
“After Jesus had said this, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father…
“And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.”
(Reference: John 17:1 and 3 ISV, Emphasis Mine)
This was also the teaching of the Old Testament prophets, such as Malachi:
“Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us?”
(Reference: Malachi 2:10, NIV, Emphasis Mine)
In other words, the Bible teaches strict monotheism or the belief in only one God, who is the Father. If we were to accept that Jesus Christ is the One being referred to as the “great God,” then we would have to accept that there are two Gods, God the Father and God the Son—a direct violation of biblical teachings.
GREATER GOD, LESSER GOD?
Furthermore, if we were to accept that the Son is also God, then there would be a greater God and a lesser God because Christ taught that He is not equal to the Father:
“You heard Me tell you, I am going away and I am coming [back] to you. If you [really] loved Me, you would have been glad, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater and mightier than I am.”
(Reference: John 14:28, ABCE, Emphasis Mine)
Note that the Father and the Son are not coequal, for the Father is greater and mightier than the Son. This supremacy of God over Christ was also taught by Apostle Paul:
“But I want you to understand that Christ is supreme over every man, the husband is supreme over his wife, and God is supreme over Christ.”
(Reference: I Corinthians 11:3 GNT, Emphasis Mine)
In addition, on the day of Judgment, Christ, the Son, will place Himself under God’s rule:
“For the scripture says, ‘God put all things under his [Christ] feet.’ It is clear, of course, that the words ‘all things’ do not include God himself, who puts all things under Christ. But when all things have been placed under Christ’s rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him [Christ]; and God will rule completely over all.”
(Reference: I Cor. 15:27-28 GNT,
Emphasis Mine)
SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
Titus 2:13 mentions that Jesus Christ is the Savior. However, some erroneously conclude that Christ is God because Isaiah 43:10-11 states that besides God, there is no savior. Let us read:
“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. 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.”
(Reference: Isa. 43:10-11 NIV, Emphasis Mine)
Because of the statement that God declared, “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior,” proponents of the Jesus-is-God argue that since God is Savior and Christ is Savior too; therefore, Christ is God. The error of such an argument is revealed by further inquiry as to how Christ became Savior. Is He inherently Savior? Apostle Peter clarifies:
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
(Reference: Acts 5:30-31, NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Jesus Christ became our Savior because He was exalted by God to be so. This means that the Father made Christ Savior and Christ was not inherently a Savior, unlike the Father, who is inherently a Savior. It is important to note that the Lord Jesus Christ, who was exalted, is different from God who exalted Him. If the one who exalts is God, and Jesus Christ who was exalted is also God, then there would be two Gods, one God who exalted another God, an absurdity that contradicts the biblical teaching of the Oneness of God. Furthermore, the Bible states that Christ, the Savior, also has a Savior, a problematic passage that Trinitarians face. Let us read:
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
(Reference: Heb. 5:7 NIV, Emphasis Mine)
Given the true definition of the Doctrine of the Trinity, this passage would be preposterous to suggest that Christ, who is considered God, would plead and cry with tears to another God to save him. This would imply the existence of two Gods, with one God supplicating to another God. This passage poses a serious problem for Trinitarians as to how to reconcile that Christ has a Savior when their belief is that each person of the Godhead is 100% equal to each other.
In addition, Christ also said:
“But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.”
(Reference: John 8:40 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
The fact that Christ not only declared that He is a man but also stated that he had heard the truth from God. If Christ were the true God, he would not have to hear the truth from God, for He is allegedly God! This would make TWO GODS! One God was hearing the truth from another God! If Christ were truly God, He would have already known the truth, for the true God is all-knowing (I Jn. 3:20). Moreover, Christ being a man also proves that He is not God because God is not a man nor a son of Man as He declared:
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.”
(Reference: Numbers 23:19 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Christ Himself said He is the Son of Man which the true God declared in the above passage that He is not:
“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am’?“
(Reference: Mathew 16:13 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
IN CONCLUSION
1
Titus 2:13 does not teach that Christ is God. To believe so would result in many biblical contradictions. The great God in this verse refers to the Father as had been made clear by Apostle Paul in the beginning of his letter to Titus clearly referring to TWO separate beings ― “God the Father” and the “Lord Jesus Christ our Savior”:
“as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:13 NAB, Emphasis Mine)
2
Furthermore, if we were to accept that the Son is also God, then there would be a greater God and a lesser God; this not only contradicts the definition of those who support the Trinity, but Christ Himself taught that He is not equal to the Father by declaring that “the Father is greater and mightier than I am.” In addition, God is Supreme over Christ, and on the Day Of Judgment, Christ will be placed under God’s rule, and God will rule completely over all, even above our Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:28, ABCE), (I Cor. 11:13 GNT), (I Cor. 15:27-28, GNT).
3
In addition, to accept the false interpretation that Jesus is God, the conundrum Trinitarians face is that Christ Himself has a Savior — His Father; He pleaded with his Father God to save him from death (Heb. 5:7, NIV), a difficult position that the proponents of the Christ-is-God are battling their heads in with their corrupted theology.
4
It is crucial to understand that Jesus was not inherently a Savior but rather was made and appointed as Savior by His Father – the true God. Unlike Jesus, who is not inherently a Savior, His Father will always be inherently Savior (Acts 5:30-31, NKJV). Hence, God saves us through His Son Jesus Christ, the very reason He was appointed as Savior to save those who belong to His Son Jesus Christ.
WE KINDLY EXTEND our visitors an invitation to explore the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Christ and His apostles as they were taught in the first-century Church Of Christ:
The Truth about God and Jesus Christ
SUPPORTERS OF THE BELIEF in the divinity of Christ, also known as the Christ-is-God or the God-man doctrine, assert that God exists as a trinity consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although they are three in nature and considered distinct beings, proponents maintain that they form a single God. The concept of the Trinity lacks explicit biblical endorsement; thus, proponents often argue that it represents a profound mystery beyond human comprehension and should be accepted by faith alone.
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