Christians only: Is anyone else confused by this quote from Jesus?

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone." Luke 18:19

It seems to me you don't understand the Christian Trinity. Here's the best way I can explain it.

God-->Jesus-->Holy spirit

All three make up one god in different forms Compare the trinity to water, water can be a liquid, solid, and a gas. Water is still water, but in a different form. Like God is still God, but in 3 different forms.

Now I can explain the quote..

He's explaining God is the one who is truly good, The Heavenly father - the form of the heavenly father- is better than any human a lone. Jesus being the human.

If the bible is the word of God then it must harmonize throughout and it does. The bible does not teach the doctrine of the trinity or an immortal soul or hell as a place of punishment. When a single verse seems to differ from all the other millions of verses in the bible, the error must lie with us and not God. For example, the KJV alone has over 30,000 errors of translation.

The amazing thing is that the truth can still be found in it. The truth can also still be found in a congregation on earth today. It is up to you to find it. Remember that God said He would only accept worship in the truth. As for all the other so called Christian churches out there. God said even their prayers were something detestable to Him. Best wishes.

This was an opportunity for the man to recognize that he was standing before God. Jesus even offered him the chance to become a disciple, but his greed prevented him from seeing the truth.

@ladyren

Your assessment it highly biased and does not correspond to history. When Jesus was practicing his ministry, the Jews were living in an important phase of development in their oral tradition. You should research Rabbinic Judaism and the Oral Torah(Talmud). It was common for Jews of the time to memorize the words of important teachers and share the teachings with others. They were well practiced in doing so and they studied extensively to be able to remember with great detail. It is no surprise to think that the words of Jesus would have been well-preserved. The 40 or so years that may have passed between the ministry of Jesus and the writing of the gospels is in all reality a very short period of time compared to the other Jewish oral traditions.

BTW, surely you realize that Dr. Bart Ehrnan is a tower of knowledge only to those that like to imagine as reality a particular historical slant. He does have good credentials, but that does not mean that his opinions are the historical consensus. There are many opposing views that come from reputable scholars that have read the original manuscripts as well.

After reading that verse, you should realize that the trinity is a false doctrine. What is more, Jesus had a beginning, Jehovah God did not have a beginning. Who was Jesus before he came to earth, to serve as a ransom for all mankind? He was the mighty spirit creature called Michael the archangel! The Archangel, Michael was personally created by his father, Jehovah God. He later took on the name Jesus Christ when he came to earth to serve as a ransom for mankind.

Jesus didn't want to be worshiped and by calling Him good was a form of worship, yet instead, call God the Father good because He is always good! Jesus is in God and God in Jesus before the world was about.

Purpose Seeker,

It is confusing......because......the trinity is a manmade doctrine...not a teaching from Christ.

The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”—(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”—(1967), Vol. XIV, p. 299.

In The Encyclopedia Americana we read: “Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”—(1956), Vol. XXVII, p. 294L.

According to the Nouveau Dictionnaire Universel, “The Platonic trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity of attributes that gave birth to the three hypostases or divine persons taught by the Christian churches. . . . This Greek philosopher’s [Plato, fourth century B.C.E.] conception of the divine trinity . . . can be found in all the ancient [pagan] religions.”—(Paris, 1865-1870), edited by M. Lachâtre, Vol. 2, p. 1467.

John L. McKenzie, S.J., in his Dictionary of the Bible, says: “The trinity of persons within the unity of nature is defined in terms of ‘person’ and ‘nature’ which are G[ree]k philosophical terms; actually the terms do not appear in the Bible. The trinitarian definitions arose as the result of long controversies in which these terms and others such as ‘essence’ and ‘substance’ were erroneously applied to God by some theologians.”—(New York, 1965), p. 899.

I am a Christian......but, I do not use or believe in the Trinity.

You have to remember that when Jesus said that, He had previously given up His throne in heaven. He stepped down passed the angelic ranks to become man. And as man, Jesus was no different than you and me. From man's perspective, only God is good.

I understand that Jesus didn't want the man speaking to him to use that word "good" like an every day expression, a colloquialism. He wanted the man to realize that God is good, and he should recognize who it was he was talking to. I'm sure it set the man back a little, and he must have refocused on Jesus to see him more clearly, and with due respect. Jesus wasn't just some Rabbi who needed to hear pleasing words, like he needed to be buttered up.

Since the young man that was talking to Him did not recognize Him as God, Jesus confronted him with his own words calling Jesus good. Jesus did not accepted his praise (good) if he is not accepting Him as God.

Good question. And you deserve a good answer, too.

First, we really don't know what Jesus says....even your minister knows that.

No one was walking with Him taking notes. No historian of the era wrote a thing about him. And no gospel in the Bible was written by anyone who knew him...all of them were written many decades after he was dead.... and not by the names on them either.. Those guys were dead too.

Do you now see the problem?

All we know of His words, are oral history, 60 or so years after he said anything.

And if you have mis worded it, and you have access to writing, how much mis-wording do you thnk went on before any one wrote anything?

Sweetie, if your minister went to college, and the 4 years to seminary, he already knows this problem....(and if your minister is a self-proclaimed preacherman, uhhh, good luck.) This has all be taught in all seminaries for easily 60 years, all over the planet.

Need some books?

Try:

Lost Christianities and Misquoting Jesus, both by Bart Ehrnan, cheap anywhere in paperback, since these are always part of any course in early Christian History classes at the college and university level. Ehrman is a Ph. D., reads and writes ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin....can you do that? Neither can I. He as well has been all over the planet, reading copies of every piece of holy scripture everywhere. Have you done that? Neither have I. He is the tower of knowledge in the world today, on New Testament. Google him. And Youtube some of his lectures.