Objections Handling - MidEast. Objection Four

OBJECTION 4: The Trinity; “How can Jesus be God and separate from the Father?”

Other phrasings might include, “How can Jesus be God and human at the same time?” or “The Trinity doesn’t make sense.” This one usually also includes the argument that God would not limit himself, cannot get tired or hungry, cannot die, etc. These assumptions may all need to be dealt with at some point. The simplified response below will touch on them, but point back to Jesus and starting a story group.

OPTION 1 (Abraham; emphasizes God’s history of ‘becoming human’)

Steps:

Say, “This is a great question. I can share a story with you that is a good place to start. You know that Abraham was a great prophet and God spoke to him many times, promising to make him a guide to bless all nations. And you know that nothing is impossible for God. Do you agree with this?”
Say, “Great. One time, the religious leaders were criticizing Jesus and asked him, ‘Have you seen Abraham? Are you greater than him?’ And Jesus responded, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’” And the religious leaders were shocked. But we have a story in the Tawrat that helps explain this. Can I share it with you?” (If they say no, no worries! Move along. They’re not yet a person of peace.)
Share Genesis 18:1, 7-10, 33. (If you have time, read Genesis 18:1-15 together.)
Say, “In this story, God puts on a human form, and He talked to Abraham personally. So according to the Tawrat, it is not impossible for God to put on human form. You have heard that Jesus is a ‘Word’ from God. And it says that the Word of God became flesh.”
Share John 1:14.
Say, “So this story also helps us understand what Jesus meant when He said, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ He is God, and He actually had dinner with Abraham! So why would God become flesh in a special way? Just like your words reveal your nature and plans to others, the Word of God reveals His nature and plan.”
Ask, “Would you want to study stories from the Tawrat and Injil that explain God’s plan and how Jesus both revealed and fulfilled it?”
If they say yes, find a time to start the More than a Prophet story track with them.

OPTION 2 (Shorter; Genesis 1 / John 1; emphasizes Jesus’ divinity)

Steps:

Say, “This is such an important question. Like you, we believe that there is only One True God, as it says in the Tawrat.”
Share Deuteronomy 4:6 and Exodus 20:3.
Say, “And the Tawrat also says that God created the world and everything in it (Genesis 1:1).”
Say, “But you’re right, we do say that Jesus is God, but Jesus calls God ‘Father.’ So how does that work? You have heard that Jesus is a ‘Word’ from God. Just like your words reveal your nature and plans to others, the Word of God reveals His nature and plan. The Injil refers to Jesus the same way and says that Jesus actually created all things.”
Share John 1:1-5, 14. (If you have time, read John 1:1-18 together.)
Say, “So Jesus is God, and He is with God. Jesus was not created. Actually, He created everything. And then God ‘became flesh’ to live with us and to reveal His nature and plan to us, like a son also looks like and represents his father. This is what we mean when we talk about Jesus. There is only One God, and we can only know Him fully through Jesus, His Son and His Word. This is why Jesus said, ‘The Father and I are one’ (read John 10:30).” (Did I avoid heresy here?)
Ask, “If this is true, it is a big deal, and it makes us ask, Why would God become flesh? Would you want to join me to study stories from Holy Books to explore that question?”
If they say yes, find a time to start the More than a Prophet story track with them.

Objection 4 Example Dialogue (hybrid)

YOU:

“This is a great question. I can share a story with you that is a good place to start. You know that Abraham was a great prophet and God spoke to him many times, promising to make him a guide to bless all nations. And you know that nothing is impossible for God. Do you agree with this?”

FRIEND:

“Yes, of course.”

YOU:

“Amen. So one time, the religious leaders were criticizing Jesus and asked him, ‘Have you seen Abraham? Are you greater than him?’ And Jesus responded, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ And the religious leaders were angry and tried to kill him for this. But we have a story in the Tawrat that helps explain. Can I share it with you?”

FRIEND:

“Sure.”

(If they say no, no worries! Move along. They’re not yet a person of peace.)

YOU:

(Open to Genesis 18:1-14, 33, and ask them to read it; or, share the simple version below.)

In the Tawrat, it says that God appeared to Abraham one day. Abraham was sitting outside his tent when he saw three men coming. He begged them to stay a while and eat with him, and he had his wife Sarah quickly prepare good food for them. And his three guests ate the food she made. Then God said, ‘I will come back in a year, and by that time, Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was listening from inside the tent, and when she heard this, she laughed. She knew she was too old to have children. But God asked Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for me to do?’ And after he had finished speaking to Abraham, God left and went on His way.”

YOU:

“And this is a true story from the Tawrat. In the story, who appeared to Abraham?”

FRIEND:

“God did.”

YOU:

“What did Abraham see?”

FRIEND:

“He saw three men. Who were the other two?”

YOU:

“The rest of the story tells us that they were angels (see 18:22 and 18:33-19:1). What does the story say God did with Abraham?”

FRIEND:

“He talked to Abraham and ate food with him.”

YOU:

“So God appears to Abraham in a body, he looks human, and he eats food with Abraham. And he also asks, ‘Is anything too hard for me to do?’ Did God stop being God when he appeared to Abraham?”

FRIEND:

“No, I guess He was still God.”

YOU:

“Right! He is still God. Then remember what Jesus said to the religious leaders: ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’

“You have also heard that Jesus is a Word from God (Sura 4:171). The Injil also uses this name for Jesus, and it says that, ‘The Word which was God became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14). So if God can do anything, and the Tawrat shows that he appeared in a human body to Abraham; and the Injil says that Jesus is the Word of God in flesh; and Jesus said that he was ‘before’ Abraham, then is it not possible for Jesus to be the Word of God, both God and human, at the same time?”

FRIEND:

“I guess so. Yes, that makes sense.”

“I’m not sure.”

“I don’t agree. I still have questions about the Trinity and how Jesus could be God.”

YOU:

(No matter their previous answer, you can respond this way:) “This story helps us start to understand how Jesus and the Father are both one God. But also, we believe in the Trinity because it is the best explanation of all the stories in the Bible together. If you read everything that Jesus did and said, there is no other possible explanation. So to really answer your question, we should study more of these stories together and see what makes the most sense. Would you like to read more of these stories with me sometime to see how Jesus shows that He is more than a prophet, but He is really God in human flesh?”

OR, we can go a different direction:

“If Jesus really is the Word of God in human flesh, our next question should be, why would God become human? What purpose did Jesus have? And, thankfully, the Scriptures tell us why. Would you want to explore that question together by studying what the Tawrat and Injil have to say about it?”

Check Here! Objection Five

Check Here! Objection Three

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