Friday, July 26, 2019

Thomas Wayment on John 10:30



I and my Father are one (ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν) (John 10:30)

Commenting on John 10:30 and its relationship to Latter-day Saint Christology, Thomas Wayment wrote:

The Greek can also be translated as I and the Father are in one. The noun one is neuter in Greek, meaning that Jesus was not declaring that they were the same person but of the same essence, purpose, and mission. Some have argued that Latter-day Saints who hold the view that Jesus and the Father are distinct beings who are united in purpose deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. Jesus, however, is clearly presenting himself as the shepherd of the Father’s floc and thus unified in the mission of the Father; he is also the divine on of God. Compare 3 Nephi 20:35. (The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints: A Study Bible [Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018], 186)

With respect to 3 Nephi 20:35, the verse reads thusly:

The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.