The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. (Acts 3:13 NRSV)
I recently came across this verse being used against Latter-day Saint Christology on facebook from a Trinitarian. This blog post will be an examination of this verse.
Before we begin, we should note a few things. Firstly, in Trinitarian theology, there is, albeit ambiguously, a tolerance for a distinction between the persons of the Trinity—the Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Spirit; the Spirit is not the Father. However, there is no toleration for a distinction between “God” or any of the divine titles predicated upon deity and any of the divine persons. We will return to this point below.
Secondly, the early apostolic preaching, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, is strongly non-Trinitarian. Notice the following examples:
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which we now see and hear. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:32-33, 36)
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. (Acts 5:31-32)
For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. (John 5:26)
In these texts, Jesus was exalted by the Father post-ascension (cf. Phil 2:9); was made Lord and Christ, and is presented, even in his exalted state, as being subordinate to the Father. Furthermore, not only are there distinctions between the persons of the Father and the Son (serving as strong refutations of Modalism), but also distinctions between “God” (θεος) and Jesus, something not tolerated by Trinitarian Christologies.
Such a distinction is also seen in many so-called “proof-texts” for the Trinitarian dogma, such as Col 1:16 (cf. Rev 4:11) and 1 Cor 8:4-6. In spite of a lot of eisegesis by popular expositors and apologists, as well as modern inventions such as the nonsense of Richard Bauckham’s “divine identity,” the Trinitarian dogma is nowhere to be found in the pages of the Bible.
Now, let us return to Acts 3:13.
Again, as with many other New Testament texts, there is a distinction, not just between the persons of the Father and the Son, but a distinction between "God" and Jesus. The Greek text refers, not to the being of the Trinity, but the person of the Father as ο θεος (lit. "the God") to the distinction of the Son. Acts 3:13 is presenting Jesus as the "suffering servant" of the book of Isaiah. In Isa 52:13-53:12, the Fourth Servant Hymn, there is a distinction between "God" (Yahweh) and the servant (Jesus). Notice the following key texts:
Behold, my [Yahweh's] servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. (Isa 52:13)
He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my [Yahweh's] righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isa 53:11)
In addition, the Father is said to have "glorified" Jesus. Why is this problematic? In Trinitarian Christology, Jesus retained the same glory He had in his pre-mortal state; he only "veiled" it during the incarnation. However, Acts 3:13, and a host of other texts (e.g., Phil 2:9) that present Jesus as having received greater exaltation than his previous (mortal and pre-mortal) states. This verse makes nonsense of the Hypostatic Union.
Some may suggest, as this critic did, that this verse is problematic to LDS theology as the Father is presented as being the Lord (Yahweh) of the Old Testament, not Jesus.
It is true that, in the past century, there has been an absolutisation of sorts, where Jesus is presented as being the Yahweh (Jehovah) of the Old Testament in his pre-mortal state, and “Elohim” being the Father; however, such is a recently modern convention to avoid confusion.
In the early LDS Church, the Father was often referred to as Jehovah (e.g., D&C 109:34, 42, 56, 68).
In the Times and Seasons, vol. 2, no. 21, p. 524 from 1841, in an article entitled "Election and Reprobation," we find the following distinction between Jehovah and Jesus:
The Lord (Jehovah,) hath spoken through Isa. (42, 1) saying, behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth; evidently referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God chosen or elected by the Father, (1 Peter i. 20, who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God,) to serve him in the redemption of the world, to be a covenant of the people, [)] (Isa. xlii, 6) for a light of the Gentiles, and glory of his people Israel; having ordained him to be judge of the quick and dead, (Acts x, 42) that through him forgiveness of sins might be preached (Acts xiii, 38) unto all who would be obedient unto his gospel (Mark xvi, 16,17)
However, there are other instances, even in the early LDS Church, that “Jehovah” was predicated upon the person of Jesus (e.g., D&C 110:3).
In the 1916 First Presidency statement, "The Father and the Son," we read the following under the section, "Jesus Christ the 'Father' by Divine Investiture of Authority" which helps us understand the agentival relationship between the Father and the Son:
A fourth reason for applying the title "Father" to Jesus Christ is found in the fact that in all His dealings with the human family Jesus the Son has represented and yet represents Elohim His Father in power and authority. This is true of Christ in His preexistent, antemortal, or unembodied state, in the which He was known as Jehovah; also during His embodiment in the flesh; and during His labors as a disembodied spirit in the realm of the dead; and since that period in His resurrected state. To the Jews He said: "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30; see also 17:11, 22); yet He declared "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28); and further, "I am come in my Father's name" (John 5:43; see also 10:25). The same truth was declared by Christ Himself to the Nephites (see 3 Nephi 20:35 and 28:10), and has been reaffirmed by revelation in the present dispensation (Doc. & Gov. 50:43). Thus the Father placed His name upon the Son; and Jesus Christ spoke and ministered in and through the Father's name; and so far as power, authority and Godship are concerned His words and acts were and are those of the Father.
We read, by way of analogy, that God placed His name upon or in the Angel who was assigned to special ministry unto the people of Israel during the exodus. Of that Angel the Lord said: "Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him" (Exodus 23:21).
The ancient apostle, John, was visited by an angel who ministered and spoke in the name of Jesus Christ. As we read: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John" (Revelation 1:1). John was about to worship the angelic being who spoke in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but was forbidden: "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God" (Rev. 22:8, 9). And then the angel continued to speak as though he were the Lord Himself: "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (verses 12, 13). The resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, who had been exalted to the right hand of God His Father, had placed His name upon the angel sent to John, and the angel spoke in the first person, saying "I come quickly," "I am Alpha and Omega," though he meant that Jesus Christ would come, and that Jesus Christ was Alpha and Omega.
In conclusion, we have seen in the following that (1) Acts 3:13 is not problematic to Latter-day Saint Christology and (2) this verse is problematic to Trinitarian Christologies.
This is yet another “proof-text” cited in favour of the Trinity dogma that, when examined using the historical-grammatical method of exegesis, and when read in light of Trinitarian theology itself, refutes, not supports, such a doctrine and Christology.
For a further discussion of Latter-day Saint Christology, see my (lengthy) post, "Latter-day Saints have Chosen the True, Biblical Jesus"