This study examines the biblical teaching of Jesus concerning the one true God through the writings and lectures of Sir Anthony Buzzard. By exploring passages such as Mark 12:29 and John 17:3, readers are encouraged to compare the Scriptures and investigate the biblical understanding of monotheism.
Jesus Was a Unitarian Monotheist
The View of Sir Anthony Buzzard
By Simon Brown
One of the most important questions every Bible student should ask is:
What did Jesus Himself believe about God?
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently affirmed the Jewish belief in one God, not three persons sharing one divine essence.
When asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus replied:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
Mark 12:29
Rather than introducing a new understanding of God, Jesus repeated the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4—the foundational confession of biblical monotheism that Israel had believed for centuries.
Sir Anthony Buzzard's Observation
Biblical scholar and theologian Sir Anthony Buzzard has frequently argued that Jesus was a Unitarian monotheist, faithfully teaching the same belief about God found throughout the Old Testament.
He points out that throughout Scripture:
The Hebrew words Elohim, Adonai, and Yahweh, together with the Greek expression ὁ θεός (ho theos), overwhelmingly refer to the one God of Israel.
Across thousands of occurrences in the Bible, these words are never used to mean a Trinity.
In the New Testament, ὁ θεός ("the God") most commonly refers to the Father of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Himself prayed:
"This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
John 17:3
Here Jesus clearly distinguishes the Father, whom He calls "the only true God," from Himself, the One whom the Father sent.
What About the Passages Commonly Used to Support the Trinity?
A small number of passages—such as John 20:28 and Psalm 45, quoted in Hebrews 1—are often discussed in debates about Christ's identity.
These verses deserve careful study within their original language, literary context, and the wider teaching of Scripture.
Whatever conclusions are reached about those passages, they should be considered alongside the many clear statements in which Jesus identifies the Father as His God and affirms the biblical confession that God is one.
The Historical Question
It is also worth considering the observation of New Testament scholar A. T. Hanson, who wrote:
"No responsible New Testament scholar would claim that the doctrine of the Trinity was taught by Jesus, or preached by the earliest Christians, or consciously held by any writer in the New Testament."
Whether every scholar agrees with that assessment is another matter, but it illustrates that the historical development of Trinitarian doctrine continues to be discussed within academic scholarship.
A Personal Prayer
May the one true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, guide every sincere seeker into His truth through His beloved Son, Jesus the Messiah.
May we always be willing to search the Scriptures with humility, testing every doctrine by God's Word, just as the Bereans did.
"Now these Jews were more noble... for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."
Acts 17:11
My interviews with Sir Anthony Buzzard!
In these interviews, I speak with biblical scholar Sir Anthony Buzzard about the One True God, the Kingdom of God, biblical theology, and the importance of testing every doctrine against the Scriptures.
Simon Brown
https://wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com
"Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand." — Matthew 11:15
"Who is he who overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" — 1 John 5:5
RELATED ARTICLES
- The Greatest Commandment Ever Given — Who Is the One True God?
- Mark 12:29 — Why Did Jesus Quote the Shema?
- Deuteronomy 6:4 — The Shema: "Hear, O Israel, Yahweh Our God Is One"
- John 10:30 — What Did Jesus Mean by "I and the Father Are One"?
- John 8:58 — What Did Jesus Mean by "Before Abraham Was, I Am"?
- John 20:28 — Did Thomas Really Call Jesus Almighty God?
- John 14:9 — "He Who Has Seen Me Has Seen the Father" Explained
- John 17:5 — Did Jesus Exist with the Father Before the World Began?
- John 1:1 — Does "The Word Was God" Mean Jesus Is Almighty God?
- 2 Peter 1:1 — Another Trinitarian Misunderstanding?
- Colossians 1:15–17 — Does "Firstborn of All Creation" Mean Jesus Was Created?
- Hebrews 1:2 — Did God Create the Universe or the Ages Through His Son?
- Who Is the Alpha and the Omega?
- Did the Doctrine of the Trinity Originate with Jesus Christ and His Apostles?
- Is Jesus God, or the Son of God? What Does the Whole Bible Teach?
- Scriptures Proving Yahweh: The One True God of Israel Is the Creator Alone.
- John 6:38 — How Did Jesus Come Down From Heaven?


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