The Trinity on Trial An in-depth examination of a doctrine

Titus 2:13


"Awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearing
of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."


The Issue: The validity of the Trinitarian translation and the Trinitarian interpretation


The Trinitarian Claim

Trinitarians claim, along with an appeal to the Granville Sharp Rule, that Jesus is here being identified as "our great God and Savior."


What the Evidence will Show

The facts will show that Jesus is not being identified as "our great God and Savior" but is being described as "the glory of our great God and Savior" and as such the meaning of the verse is that Jesus is the glory of the Father.


Examination of the Evidence


Trinitarian Translations Inconsistencies

Let us first look at how some other major translations, translate this passage:

looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (ASV)

Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Douey-Rheims).

the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ. (NAB)

Carefully note how the above translations do not describe Jesus as "God." They instead refer to Jesus as "our Savior" in distinction from "our great God." Although we will show here in this article that the words "our great God" and the word "Savior" do not refer to Jesus in this particular passage, we can see clearly that many Trinitarian scholars do not believe that Paul had any intention of identifying Jesus as "God" in this verse. And now also notice how the above Trinitarian translations are quite different than the following Trinitarian translations.

looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. (NASB).

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (KJV).

awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (RSV).

while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (NIV).

The literal Greek text says, "awaiting the appearing of the glory of." Unlike the majority of these translations, the KJV and NIV actually go to the pitiful lengths of changing the noun "glory" to the adjective "glorious" and have it modify the word "appearing." This completely changes the meaning of the passage from believers eagerly awaiting the appearing of the glory of our God and Savior, to believers eagerly awaiting the glorious appearing of our God and Savior. One translation has us waiting for the glory; the other has us waiting for God. These are two completely different ideas. It already becomes evident that some Trinitarians are tendentiously playing games with the Scriptures.

The Greek Grammar and Structure

The literal Greek structure is key to a proper interpretation and translation of this passage.

prosdecomenoi thn makarian elpida kai epifaneian thV doxhV
prosdechomenoi ten makarian elpida kai epifaneian tes doxes
awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory
 
tou megalou qeou kai swthroV hmwn ihsou cristou
tou megalou theou kai sothros emon iesou christou
of the great God and Savior of us Jesus Christ


Notice Paul's literal words. The passage does not say, "the glorious appearing." The verse says we are awaiting "the appearing of the glory of." By changing the word "glory" to the adjective "glorious" in order to modify the word "appearing," some Trinitarian translations totally change the meaning of Paul's words.

The Context

Carefully note the context of the passage:
"That they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing Salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, awaiting the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us."

In verse 10, we see God the Father is identified as "our Savior." Now notice what Paul says in verse 13. He says we are awaiting the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. The passage does not say we are waiting for our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. It says we are waiting for the "glory of" our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. And that is just what Jesus is - the glory of our great God and Savior, the glory of the Father.

"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels" (Matthew 16:27).

The Granville Sharp Rule

Now before we go any further we need to mention a very key issue that you will hear Trinitarians shouting about. They will most certainly go on and on and on about something called the Granville Sharp rule and insist this rule governs a proper interpretation of the text. However, they only can do this when they are trying to refute an understanding different than the one we presented above. The understanding of this verse that says Jesus is the glory of the Father does not violate their beloved rule. The two terms "our great God" and "Savior" both refer to one referent - God the Father.


Summation of the Facts


  • There is a marked inconsistency among major Trinitarian translations which reveals to us that Trinitarian scholars do not agree this verse refers to Jesus as God


  • The verse literally reads, "awaiting the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."


  • God our Savior has just been mentioned in verse 10 and it is obviously a reference to God the Father.


  • It is then clear that Paul does not intend to say Jesus is "our great God and Savior" but is the "glory of our great God and Savior," that is, the glory of God the Father. Indeed, this understanding fits perfectly with Matthew 16:27 where we are told Jesus will come again in the glory of his Father.



Call for Discernment

When we realize that Jesus is going to come again in the glory of his Father, the truth of the matter becomes quite clear. In the immediately preceding context we find Paul discussing "God our Savior," a reference to God the Father. And at verse 13, Paul is here telling us that we are awaiting "the appearing of the glory of of our great God and Savior." We are appearing the glory of God the Father and that glory is Jesus Christ.

"Awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels" (Matthew 16:27).
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