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Christmas is such a wonderful time to study the difference between the “divinity” and “deity” of Jesus. There is a vast difference, which seems to have escaped the awareness of many people. When the Christ-child was born in Bethlehem, He looked like us but He would live like God. John states in his Gospel, “and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten (Greek: monogenous, “only one of its kind, same genetics as”) of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Whether Christ is considered deity or divinity is truly in the “I” of the beholder.

Through the magnificence of the Greek language, it is possible to unlock the “Deity Code” that has concealed the true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ to many. This will allow one to know with certainty the person God has identified as being a co-equal, co-eternal and co-substantial part of the Godhead. For this key to the identification of the Master, we must utilize our master key, also referred to as “The Granville Sharp Rule.” It is one of the most important rules you will ever learn in Bible exegesis.

What exactly is the Granville Sharp Rule? It was developed in Durham, England, by the man whose name it bears. The primary purpose of his monograph published in 1798 was to prove the deity of Jesus Christ from the Greek New Testament. Here is a very elementary introduction into the elements comprising his rule. Granville Sharp discovered a grammatical structure in Greek that utilized one noun to modify another noun. This is normally done with the use of adjectives.

His rule simply stated is thus, “when there are two nouns of the same case and number, with the first noun (substantive) preceded by the definite article (‘the’), followed by the copulative kai (‘and’) conjoining a second noun (substantive) without the definite article, but of the same case and number as the first, the latter noun modifies the first noun.” The abbreviation for the rule is TSKS, which represents “The, Substantive, Kai (‘and’), Substantive.” The key element of this grammatical rule is that it applies only to the Greek text, not the various translations of the text.

It may help de-mystify the rule if you see an everyday example of this in our language. “The father and coach of Micah fell.” On the surface, it appears that two people, Micah’s father and Micah’s coach, both fell. However, if this were written in the Greek construction of the TSKS and applying the Granville Sharp Rule, it would literally read, “the coaching father of Micah fell or the coach-father of Micah fell.” This tells us that it was not two men who fell but one man. Micah’s father is also his coach and his coach is his father.

In the Granville Sharp construction, the word “father” is preceded by the definite article “the.” The copulative kai (“and”) follows and then comes the word “coach” which does not have a definite article preceding it. Remember, looking at it in Greek, it would read “the father and coach” not “the father and the coach.” “Coach” would then serve to modify, identify or provide detail regarding the “father” of Micah.

The simple grammatical pattern is “the X and X” where X represents different nouns but of the same case and number. In fact, there are four critical requirements for the Granville Sharp rule to be properly utilized. They are (1) both nouns must be personal, referring to a person, not a thing; (2) common epithets (father, brother, judge, husband, teacher, golfer, etc) not proper names (Mackenzie, Kyra, Joshua, Quint); (3) in the same case (one of the five in Greek); (4) singular in number. In Sharpe’s monograph, he only listed twenty-five undisputed references from the New Testament Greek to make his point. Each one complied exactly with these four criteria he set forth identifying the second noun as modifying the first noun.

Now that you have an introduction to this rule, let us go to the Greek text and see why Mr. Sharp’s rule is critical for unlocking the “Deity Code of Jesus Christ.”

We will cite thirty-three easily discovered examples of the Granville Sharp rule from the Greek New Testament. There are far more to be excavated. Remember, (A) it is not dependant upon how it appears in English and (B) it is for the primary purpose of showing the deity of Jesus Christ. The bolded portions of the scriptures are the words that conform to the TSKS standard not the typical italicizing done in the KJV to show words added for clarification.

Hebrews 3:1 says, “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession [confession], Christ Jesus.” It is obvious from this text that Jesus is both the Apostle and the High Priest. Some texts are not this obvious. The text refers to one person filling two roles. It would read in literal Greek, “consider the High Priestly Apostle of our confession, Jesus Christ.” This confirms two of the roles that Jesus plays in the life of the believer. He is the “Apostle” (“One sent”) and He is the “High Priest” presenting our professions of faith to our Father in Heaven.

This Hebrews text affirms Paul’s declaration in 1 Timothy 2:5 where he says, “For there is one God, and one ‘mediator’ (Gr. mesites, SC 3316, “a go-between, an internunciator, reconciler, intercessor, intermediary”) between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus was sent to earth by His father to be our one and only mediator. He stands between the Christian and the heavenly Father and acts as our High Priest/mediator in reconciling us with God. We are blessed to have a “Brother Confessor” in heaven who takes our daily confessions before the Throne of God.

1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This follows the proper construction and identifies “the Fatherly God” of Jesus. Here Jesus is united to God by showing Him to be the Son of God making Him deity, not just divine. It affirms that God is His Father.

The Epistle of Jude verse four states, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here you see the addition of other modifiers (“only, Lord, our, Lord”) but it does not affect the integrity of the Granville Sharp Rule.

If you remove these additional words, it would say “the God and Jesus Christ.” This would make “Jesus Christ” modify “God” and, though the English structure is a little unusual, it would read, “denying our only Lord Jesus Christ Lord God.” There is only one Christ, and there is only one God. This verse declares they are same.
While it seems to be a lengthy nomenclature, it accomplished the function of establishing that Jesus is God in the flesh. Yes, the Apostle John was correct and affirmed this truth when he opened his Gospel account by stating, “The Word (Jesus) was God” (See John 1:1-14). Once again, Granville Sharp would prove the deity of Jesus from the grammatical construction of the New Testament Greek.

Our last example follows the TSKS rules but does not deal with the deity of Christ. It is, nevertheless, a significant truth that addresses a mistake commonly made by casual readers of the English Bible. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”
The original Greek translated for your benefit reads, “The pastors and teachers.” Unfortunately, the KJV translators did not include the definite article prior to the word “pastors” from the original text in their work. This verse adheres precisely to the TSKS rule and should be treated as all others comporting to the requirements. Therefore, what is revealed from the grammatical structure is that “teachers” modifies “pastors” and reads accordingly, “the teaching pastors.” The verse would then state, “And He gave some, apostles: and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, teaching pastors.”

This corrects the common misperception among many that there is a “Five-fold Ministry” God has set in the Church delineated here. The same construction, which Granville Sharp used to prove that Jesus is God and is therefore deity in the flesh, must be respected in this Ephesians 4:11 passage. All of the ingredients necessary for proper use of the rule are evident. That being the case, we see Paul is teaching the Church that there is a “Four-fold Ministry” not a Five-fold Ministry.

In the context of this Scripture, Paul suggests the word “pastor” identifies “who he is” and “teaching” describes “what he does” as a pastor. The Apostle reveals that God has set apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors, whose main responsibility is teaching, in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are other scriptures where God discusses the role of the teacher but this Ephesians verse does not designate that gift as one God has set in the Church on parity with the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors.

Here is a list of some of the other scriptures where the Granville Sharp rule can be applied. Mark 6:3; Luke 6:49; Acts 3:14; Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 15:24; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:3; 5:5; 4:11; 5:20; 6:21; Philippians 3:3; 4:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:11, 13; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 1 Timothy 4:3; 6:15; Titus 2:13 2 Peter 1:1, 11; 2:20; 3:12, 18; James 3:9; and Revelation 1:9; 3:17.

Just remember, you will not see the grammatical constructions in your English versions, but these treasures are ready for discovery in the Greek text.
We have barely scratched the surface of this mother lode, so keep digging! You need to help others break the “Deity Code of our Lord Jesus Christ” and discover for themselves that He is the Son of the Most High God. Keep going for the Gold!

****A Personal Word to Our Readers from Dr. Frazier****

There are great insights to be derived from the study of the Greek New Testament. Each month I will endeavor to share a nugget of truth from the Book of Truth, God’s Eternal Word.
These will be concise and should not intrude into your time or opportunity to explore the richness of the vein from which they were extracted. That is for you and the Holy Spirit to excavate together. These nuggets are just to let you know where to begin the digging, if you so desire. They are NOT designed to be an exhaustive commentary providing all the answers on the subject. The Spirit will guide you in how deep to dig. The Greek will be presented in a way that is easy to understand (transliterated) and easy to verify (“SC” refers to Strong’s Concordance). With a little help, you can check the assayers report for yourself. So, pull out this shiny, new nugget and see where it leads you. Please feel free to share your questions, observations or insights with our readers and me.

Website: http://www.donfrazier.com

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