August 27, 2009

Romans 9:5: Christ is God over all blessed forever!

I did a little study of Romans 9:5 concerning the Deity of Christ tonight. I looked up the Strong's numbers with the Greek on my e-Sword program, then wrote down my own translation from what I could understand.

Here is my English translation from the Greek (literal word for word and in the original order): Romans 9:5:

Whose the fathers and from whom the Christ (Anointed) the according flesh the is over all God blessed into the forever. Amen.

There is an important phrase in this verse referring to Christ as God. However, because ancient Greek had no punctuation marks, there are different possible ways to arrange the word order and punctuation when translating in English. I tried to reword/organize the last half of this verse in these three different ways (emphasized):

1. "To whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all God blessed forever. Amen." (Where the last phrase is not as specific. Is Christ over all God, or over all God-blessed? Or is it both?)

2. "To whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." (This wording more accurately ascribes Deity to Christ, calling Him "God over all.")

3. "To whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, the blessed God forever. Amen." (This phrase fits with the Jewish tradition of blessing God whenever speaking His name.)

In either case, Romans 9:5 contains a crystal clear declaration that Jesus Christ is in fact God Almighty, and at the same time human.

Here are some popular translations (emphasis added):
KJV: Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

NKJV: of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

ESV: To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

NLT: Their ancestors were great people of God, and Christ himself was a Jew as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

NIV: Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

NASB: whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. (Note: most translations above list this wording used in the NASB as an alternative, either one works in the Greek)

RVR1960: de quienes son los patriarcas, y de los cuales, según la carne, vino Cristo, el cual es Dios sobre todas las cosas, bendito por los siglos. Amén.

LBLA: de quienes son los patriarcas, y de quienes, según la carne, procede el Cristo, el cual está sobre todas las cosas, Dios bendito por los siglos. Amén.

Amazing verse! Use it whenever you encounter someone who tries to say that Jesus Christ is not God, or that Christ is not equal with the Father. Clearly, we have an infinite, unfathomable, yet intensely personal God, who has sent His Son into the world in human flesh, that we might be reborn in His resurrection image and likeness. Truly God is amazing!

2 comments:

Ryan Fishel said...

Thanks a lot for the verse!! Often when I hear Romans 9 mentioned it is only when brothers want to debate Covenant theology--again. I almost shy away from Romans 9, thinking I already understand the basic premises, and would rather dig deeper into other areas of Scripture, perhaps more profitable. But you've pulled out a diamond here and rekindled a desire to get back into Romans 9. Thanks for the edification!!

Penn Tomassetti said...

You're welcome Ryan... I'm glad you were inspired to keep studying Romans 9, and all Scripture for that matter. This verse just stuck out at me so clear, I felt I had to share it.

So I see you are a missionary!! Well, you've come to the right blog, because by God's grace I'm learning mission/evangelism work in Philadelphia. Thanks for the comment.