The reality of the matter
At John 1:1--the only word for God-god= Theos in greek--in the oldest writings--Ho theos is in the 2 line at John 1:1= The God--but only Theos in the last line= god( small g) it was not calling the Logos( word) The God in the last line. Otherwise in simple English this is what is taught by Trinitarians--In the beginning the God was and the God was with God and the God was God---its impossible for the God to be with God--there is only one God. Proving a small g goes in the last line--which carries the biblical meaning- has godlike qualities--because this is how it works-Acts 2:22--Gods power goes through Jesus.
The greek word Proskenau, carries 5 different meanings from greek to English-1) worship to God--2) obeisance to a king, plus 3 others-- In trinity translations it has followers bowing in worship to a mortal Jesus( made lower than the angels while on earth-Heb 2:7-9)--Gods word is clear no worship to angels even, thus not to one lower either--bowing in obeisance to their king is the correct usage of Proskenau for Jesus, Gods appointed king( Daniel 7:13-15)--as well God is king of eternity, if Jesus were God he already would be king, but he had to be appointed by the (ancient of days( the only true God)--Then after his millennial reign, Jesus hands back the kingdom to his God and Father and subjects himself-forever( 1Cor 15:24-28)
God created all things through Christ. Therefore Christ cannot be created. It's simple.
Besides the many Scriptures which identify Christ with YHVH, and explicit statements regarding Christ's deity.
If you have read the NT, there are many quotes in the NT from the OT that are talking about Christ. These verses use the word "Lord" in reference to him. Go back to the OT and read the source verses. You will see that MANY of them refer to LORD in capital letters, which is referring to YHVH, the personal name of the one true God of Deuteronomy 6:4.
There aren't just a few; there are MANY verses like this. For example, compare Romans 10:13 with Joel 2:32:
Romans 10:13 [SUP]
13 [/SUP]For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is quoted from Joel 2:32:
Joel 2:32 [SUP]
32 [/SUP]And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls
Note the word LORD in capitals. This convention is used for referring to YHVH, the personal name of the one true God of Deuteronomy 6:4.
Deuteronomy 6:4 [SUP]
4 [/SUP]“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.[SUP]
[a][/SUP]
No one disputes that YHVH is the personal name of the one true God, so this proves Christ is fully God (the mixed case form, Lord, is generally used for the Hebrew word Adonai, which is used to refer to God in a title sense, but is also used to refer to human beings, so it is less conclusive, however YHVH is indisputably the personal name of God).
By doing such comparisons, one can see that there are TONS of references to Christ's deity in the NT. This is besides the explicit statements.
I'm glad you posted. It gives me an opportunity to recommend this series of videos refuting anti-Trinitarians. It's excellent:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKnzCuBYVJm7bPkqpjGW0RrtGX-M2aQSI
This playlist covers references to Christ's deity in the Old and New Testament, as well as refuting some of the "Council of Nicea" nonsense the anti-Trinitarians spout. In addition, it shows the problems with verses they attempt to use to refute the Trinity.
I'd also recommend a few books:
Forgotten Trinity, James White
Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ, Rob Bowman
By the way, I used to be an anti-Trinitarian due to hanging out with the wrong crowd, although I never denied the deity of Christ. I found out that my "teachers" were blind, contentious fools.
Here's also some good remarks on John 1:1 from the ESV Study Bible:
From the Patristic period (Arius, c. AD 256—336) until the present day (Jehovah’s Witnesses), some have claimed that “the Word was God” merely identifies Jesus as
a god rather than identifying Jesus as
God, because the Greek word for God,
Theos, is not preceded by a definite article. However, in Greek grammar, Colwell’s Rule indicates that the translation “a god” is not required, for lack of an article does not necessarily indicate indefiniteness (“a god”) but rather specifies that a given term (“God”) is the predicate nominative of a definite subject (“the Word”). This means that the context must determine the meaning of
Theos here, and the context clearly indicates that this “God” that John is talking about (“the Word”) is the one true God who created all things (see also
John 1:6, 12, 13, 18 for other examples of
Theos without a definite article but clearly meaning “God”).
I was just reading John 1 and John 2 in depth this morning
The God of Christianity cared enough about us to come down and tabernacle amongst us and die a painful death on our behalf so we can be forgiven of our sins. The atonement is beautiful...it demonstrates that God does not compromise with sin, but that he also is merciful in that he provided for us to be forgiven. The cross is tangible evidence of God's love for us.
I think denying the Triune nature of God and the deity of Christ does severe violence to this most important manifestation of God's love for us. I think it reduces Christianity to the level of Islam...which has an indifferent, solitary non-involved god who forgives without demanding payment for sin. This sort of theology doesn't do justice to a just and loving God.
By the way, I really like the NET Bible because it places quotations from the OT in bold print so it is easy to identify them. MacArthur's Study Bible capitalizes them, I believe, so that's pretty handy. I'd highly suggest reviewing such quotations from the OT using the same reasoning process above. Christ's deity pops out everywhere.