Does Titus 2:13 Teach the Trinity or Deity of Christ?


Titus 2:13 (ESV)

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Argument

Jesus is called "our great God and Savior".

Response

There is significant controversy over how to translate this verse. Some translations render this verse so as to make it clear that "great God" and "our Savior Jesus Christ" are distinct subjects, for instance:

Titus 2:13 (KJV)

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Aiding this reading would be this author's earlier distinction between "God the Father" and "Christ Jesus our Savior" (Titus 1:4), which is a consistent distinction made throughout the Epistles.

The controversy over the precise way in which this passage should be translated primarily has to do with what has been called the Granville Sharp Rule - a contentious theory of Greek grammar, arguing that "God and Savior" both apply to Jesus, both here, and in 2 Peter 1:1. The Granville Sharp Rule is discussed at length from a Unitarian perspective here.

Beyond the Granville Sharp controversy, some have also pointed out that under some ways of rendering this passage, as in the ESV above, what is being spoken of is "the glory of our great God", which is not exactly the same as saying "God". There are verses in Scripture which speak of Jesus as manifesting the glory of God (John 17:24: 2 Corinthians 4:6, Hebrews 1:3). So, one way to view this passage from a Unitarian perspective would be to view it as speaking of Jesus revealing the glory of God.

Finally, if Jesus were in fact called "God" here, there are ways of understanding that from a Unitarian perspective. Here, Jesus would be called "God" in the lesser sense of the word, as it is used in Exodus 7:1, 21:6, 22:8-9, Psalm 82:1, 82:6, 97:7: 2 Corinthians 4:4, as explained by Jesus in John 10:33-36. But, such a reading seems unlikely, in light of the other valid ways to translate or understand the passage.