Look, Ma—No HANDS!

Why Another Man-Made Trinitarian Argument Cannot Carry the Claim That Jesus Is God

Trinitarian authors Robert Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski developed the acronym H.A.N.D.S. to summarize what they regard as New Testament evidence that Jesus is God. That is, Jesus shares the Honors, Attributes, Names, Deeds, and Seat that allegedly belong exclusively to the God of the Bible. But these HANDS do not carry much weight, because Scripture shows that all these things can be shared with others—not only with the Son of God. Simply put, shared titles, functions, and even imagery do not prove shared identity.

H — Honors

First, throughout the Bible, people are said to be “worshiped” by others—that is, in the general sense of receiving homage. On one occasion, the whole nation of Israel “bowed down before Yahweh and the king” (1 Chron. 29:20). Redeemed Israel herself is even portrayed as receiving worship and supplication—or prayer—from other nations (Isa. 45:14). Likewise, Jesus promises that others will do the same before the feet of his followers (Rev. 3:9). The point is that the same act may honor God’s appointed representative without identifying that person as God.

How much more, then, should the uniquely procreated human Son receive the highest honor, since God has super-exalted him and commanded that all creation honor him (Phil. 2:9–11)? Jesus himself explains that the Father “has entrusted all judgment to the Son” so that everyone may honor the Son (John 5:22–23). The honor follows from delegated authority, not from the Son’s supposedly being, by nature, the same one God.

Even Philippians 2 distinguishes throughout between the one God, who is the Father, and the Son whom He super-exalts, giving him “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9–11).

A — Attributes

Possessing attributes or abilities resembling God’s does not establish identity with God. Moses performed awesome miracles and wonders in Egypt and during Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. Prophets such as Elisha raised the dead and even knew another man’s hidden actions, just as Peter exposed the secret deception of Ananias and Sapphira (Exod. 7–14; 2 Kings 4:32–35; 5:25–27; Acts 5:1–10). These abilities all came from the one God.

The same explanation is explicitly given for His Son when Peter declares:

“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy spirit and with power…because God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

The Son did not possess those attributes independently or by nature. Once again, he himself says, “All authority…has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). Nor was he omniscient, since he says that the Son does not know the day or hour of his return (Mark 13:32).

N — Names

Scripture freely gives divine titles—and even the divine name—to God’s representatives without confusing their identities. Moses was made “God to Pharaoh” (Exod. 7:1); Israel’s judges were called “gods” (Ps. 82:6; John 10:34–36); and God explicitly says that He placed His name—that is, His authority and power—in His angelic representative (Exod. 23:20–21).

In the same way, the Son promises to write upon faithful believers the name of his God, the name of God’s city, and his own new name (Rev. 3:12). Bearing or receiving another’s name therefore signifies authorization, power, possession, and representation—not numerical identity.

Most importantly, the title “Lord” given to Jesus, often confused with the divine name Yahweh, was conferred upon him rather than being his inherently by nature. At Pentecost, Peter explains that “God has made this Jesus…both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). The one who appointed Jesus as His anointed Lord remains “the God of our Lord Jesus Messiah” (Eph. 1:17).

D — Deeds

As with the previous arguments, God regularly performs His works—His deeds—through chosen agents. Moses parted the Red Sea, Joshua stopped the sun, prophets such as Elijah raised the dead, and the apostles likewise healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead. Yet obviously none of them was therefore ever said to be God.

The Son repeatedly says the same throughout the Gospel of John, the favorite playground of those who claim that Jesus is God:

“The Son can do nothing from himself” (John 5:19, 30).

“I have a much greater witness than John, because the works which the Father has given me to do—these works testify to the fact that the Father has commissioned me” (John 5:36).

“I have shown you many good works from the Father.… If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:32, 37–38).

“The Father living in me performs His works” (John 14:10b).

Peter consequently describes Jesus as “a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22). Note that, for the New Testament writers, he was “a man,” not a God-man. Even Jesus’ authority to judge and give life is presented as something the Father gave him (John 5:21–27).

S — Seat

Sharing God’s throne does not make a person God. Solomon “sat on Yahweh’s throne as king” (1 Chron. 29:23), yet Solomon was obviously not Yahweh. Jesus promises that believers will sit with him on his throne, just as he sat with his Father on His throne (Rev. 3:21). If sharing Jesus’ throne does not make Christians Jesus, it follows that sharing God’s throne does not make someone God.

Psalm 110:1, the Old Testament passage most frequently quoted or alluded to by the New Testament writers, actually distinguishes the one LORD, Yahweh, from David’s “my lord”—adoni, not the divine title Adonai—whom He commands to sit at His right hand. This is a position of supreme but delegated authority, subordinate to God. Paul later shows that the exalted Son remains subject to the God who placed everything under him in the first place, “so that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:27–28).

Lastly, to say that these biblical examples do not apply because “Jesus is a special, unique case”—or simply because he is supposedly God—is special pleading and assumes the very conclusion the argument was meant to prove. The question is not whether he is God’s uniquely procreated Son, the promised Messiah, and the “one mediator between God and humanity…himself human” (1 Tim. 2:5). The real question is why he possesses all these things.

The New Testament repeatedly answers that question by showing that the one God remains the ultimate source of all the Son’s H.A.N.D.S. This manufactured Trinitarian acronym mistakes divinely granted representation for identity. Each “finger” points away from post-biblical God-man theories and toward the biblical fact that the one God gave His Son honor, attributes, the name above every name, and mighty deeds. The one God then seated him at His right hand, a permanently subordinate position that effectively cuts off the so-called H.A.N.D.S. argument!

El don de lenguas como señal, no para la obra misionera

A menudo se supone que el don de lenguas en el Nuevo Testamento fue dado para que los cristianos pudieran viajar a países extranjeros y predicar sin tener que aprender los idiomas locales. Sin embargo, en ninguna parte del Nuevo Testamento se dice realmente que ese fuera el propósito del don. Más bien, tales dones milagrosos servían como testimonio del evangelio de salvación proclamado primero por el señor Jesús y predicado después por su iglesia (Heb. 2:3-4).

En Pentecostés, los discípulos no viajaron a naciones extranjeras. Al contrario, personas de muchas naciones habían venido a Jerusalén (Hech. 2:5). Dios capacitó milagrosamente a los discípulos para hablar idiomas que antes desconocían, de modo que los allí reunidos pudieran oír “las poderosas obras de Dios” en sus propias lenguas maternas (Hech. 2:8-11). Esto también explica el asombro de la multitud:

“Miren, ¿no son galileos todos estos que están hablando?” (Hech. 2:7).

En otras palabras, las naciones mencionadas en Hechos 2 identifican de dónde habían venido los oyentes, no destinos misioneros a los que los cristianos estuvieran siendo enviados. Del mismo modo, en Hechos 19:6, los creyentes en Éfeso hablaron en lenguas extranjeras y profetizaron cuando el espíritu santo vino sobre ellos. Una vez más, no se dice nada acerca de que el don sirviera como algún tipo de entrenamiento lingüístico para la obra misionera.

Más adelante, escribiendo a la iglesia en Corinto, Pablo da una explicación aún más clara del don cuando lo llama “una señal milagrosa, no para los creyentes, sino para los incrédulos” (1 Cor. 14:22). Su función como señal también se observa en Hechos 10:44-46, cuando Cornelio y los de su casa hablaron en lenguas después de recibir espíritu santo. El milagro no tenía el propósito de prepararlos para una obra misionera en el extranjero. Más bien, como Pedro dejó claro posteriormente en el Concilio de Jerusalén, sirvió como testimonio de que Dios había dado a los gentiles espíritu santo tal como se lo había dado a los judíos, “sin hacer distinción entre nosotros y ellos, purificando sus corazones por la fe” (Hech. 15:8-9).

Pablo también muestra que, cuando se usaban lenguas extranjeras en la iglesia, era necesaria su traducción para que los demás pudieran entender y ser edificados (1 Cor. 14:13, 27-28). Incluso dice: “En la iglesia prefiero hablar cinco palabras con mi entendimiento, para poder instruir a otros, que diez mil palabras en otra lengua” (1 Cor. 14:19). En ese caso, el contexto y el propósito eran para la iglesia. Pero, nuevamente, el don no consistía simplemente en aprender de manera práctica idiomas en la iglesia para utilizarlos después en la obra misionera.

En resumen, el Nuevo Testamento muestra que el don de lenguas funcionaba principalmente como testimonio y como comunicación divinamente inspirada en ocasiones especiales, no como una especie de curso sobrenatural de idiomas para misioneros. La Gran Comisión consiste en que los cristianos prediquen el Evangelio del Reino a las naciones, y el don de lenguas servía como testimonio de esa palabra de Dios, no como un medio para superar las barreras lingüísticas a fin de llevar a cabo esa obra.

The Gift of Languages as a Sign, Not Missionary Work

The gift of languages in the New Testament is often assumed to have been given so that Christians could travel to foreign countries and preach without having to learn local languages. Yet nowhere does the New Testament actually say this was the purpose of the gift. Rather, such miraculous gifts served as a witness to the gospel of salvation first proclaimed by the lord Jesus and later preached by his church (Heb. 2:3-4).

At Pentecost, the disciples did not travel to foreign nations. Instead, people from many nations had come to Jerusalem (Acts 2:5). God miraculously enabled the disciples to speak languages previously unknown to them so that those gathered could hear “the mighty works of God” in their own native languages (Acts 2:8-11). This also explains the crowd’s astonishment:

“Look, are not all those who are speaking Galileans?” (Acts 2:7).

In other words, the nations listed in Acts 2 identify where the hearers had come from, not missionary destinations to which Christians were being sent. Likewise, in Acts 19:6, believers at Ephesus spoke in foreign languages and prophesied when the holy spirit came upon them. Again, nothing is said about the gift serving as some kind of missionary language training.

Later, writing to the church at Corinth, Paul gives an even clearer explanation of the gift when he calls it “a miraculous sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers” (1 Cor. 14:22). Its function as a sign is also seen in Acts 10:44-46, when Cornelius and his household spoke in languages after receiving holy spirit. The miracle was not intended to prepare them for overseas missionary work. Rather, as Peter later made clear at the Jerusalem Council, it served as a witness that God had given the Gentiles holy spirit just as He had given it to the Jews, making “no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:8-9).

Paul also shows that when foreign languages were used in the church, they required translation so that others could understand and be built up (1 Cor. 14:13, 27-28). He even says, “In the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, so that I can instruct others, than ten thousand words in another language” (1 Cor. 14:19). The setting and purpose in that case are for the church. But again, the gift was not simply practical language learning in the church for their missionary work.

In sum, the New Testament shows that the gift of languages functioned primarily as a witness and as divinely inspired communication on special occasions, not as some kind of supernatural missionary language course. The Great Commission is for Christians to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the nations, with the gift of languages serving as a witness to that word of God, not as a means of overcoming language barriers in order to carry out the word.

Did Circumcision Exclude Women Under the Old Covenant?

Some seem to think that the law of circumcision for males excluded women from being equal members of God’s covenant people under the Old Covenant. However, circumcision was never the qualification for being an equal believer. It was the covenant sign commanded for males only (Gen. 17:7–14), while women were explicitly included among Yahweh’s covenant people. Deuteronomy 29:10–13 includes Israel’s “wives” and “little ones” in the covenant, and Joshua 8:33–35 records men, women, children, and resident aliens gathered together to hear the words of the Law. Other examples include Sarah, Hannah, Ruth, and Anna (Heb. 11:11; 1 Sam. 1–2; Ruth 1:16; Luke 2:36–38).

Regardless, for the New Testament physical circumcision no longer defines your identify as the people of God. Paul says that what matters is not circumcision or uncircumcision, but faith working through love and becoming a new creation (Gal. 5:6; 6:15; cf. 1 Cor. 7:18–19). Romans 2:28–29 also shifts the emphasis from outward circumcision to the inward condition of the heart.

So Galatians 3:28 does not mean women were previously unbelievers or excluded from God’s covenant people. Rather, in Messiah, distinctions such as Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female give no one a superior status in relation to the promise. Paul immediately concludes: “And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29).

The Temple in Prophecy

by carlos@thehumanjesus.org

Daniel 9 provides the prophetic framework behind the disciples’ question to Jesus in Matthew 24:3.

“Please explain to us when these things will happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and end of the age?”

Daniel’s prophecy moves from the cutting off of Messiah to the destruction of Jerusalem and its sanctuary, and then to the halting of Temple sacrifices and the Abomination of Desolation. Both Jesus and his apostles have in mind the one and same prophecy of Daniel.

The “sanctuary” in Daniel 9:26 is plainly associated with Jerusalem’s Temple and its sacrificial worship. The same terminology appears in Daniel 8:11–13; 11:31; and 12:11, where the sanctuary is profaned and the regular sacrifice removed. It also connects with Daniel’s prayer concerning the “desolate sanctuary” and “Your city” (Dan. 9:17–19), to which Gabriel responds by speaking of “your holy city” (9:24) and the destruction of “the city and the sanctuary” (9:26). Daniel 9:27 again joins desolation with the cessation of sacrifice and offering.

Later, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus says of the Temple then standing, “There will not be one stone left on another. All will be torn down” (Matt. 24:2). He then explicitly returns to Daniel: “When you see the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ predicted by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place…” (Matt. 24:15).

For his apostles, steeped in the prophecies of Daniel—particularly chapters 7–11—Jesus’ own prophetic words naturally hark back to and coincide with Daniel. The immediate prediction concerned the destruction of the existing Temple, but Jesus’ appeal to Daniel’s Abomination of Desolation keeps the Temple, sacrificial worship, desecration, and final judgment within the same prophetic pattern.

Paul develops the same picture in 2 Thessalonians 2. Before the parousia, a wicked “man of lawlessness” exalts himself above everything called God or worshiped and “takes his seat in the temple of God,” presenting himself as God (2 Thess. 2:3–4). He is then destroyed by Jesus at his parousia (v. 8). The same pattern appears in John’s Revelation 11:1–2, which depicts a Temple, altar, worshipers, and the holy city being trampled. The connection between an actual sanctuary and the events immediately preceding the Kingdom is therefore unmistakable.

Jesus could therefore speak of Herod’s Temple as belonging to a prophetic story stretching across centuries. The Temple had been destroyed and rebuilt before, yet Scripture could still speak of the sanctuary as one continuing institution associated with the same holy place and worship. Haggai provides an important precedent.

God asks, “Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?” (Hag. 2:3), and then promises, “The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former” (2:9). Solomon’s Temple had been destroyed, yet the rebuilt Temple of Zerubbabel—later enormously expanded by Herod—could still be spoken of as “this house.” The physical structures were not identical, but Scripture treats the Temple as possessing a continuity of identity across destruction and rebuilding.

That helps explain the prophetic language of Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and John’s Revelation. The Temple can be destroyed and later restored without ceasing to be, prophetically and institutionally, “the Temple of God.” Thus, the destruction announced in Matthew 24:2 does not by itself rule out a subsequent Temple standing in the “holy place,” desecrated by the final wicked ruler before the parousia, the resurrection of dead Christians, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on a restored earth.

Ningún cristiano es una Isla.

La fe cristiana no está destinada a vivirse en soledad. Desde el principio, los creyentes fueron llamados a formar parte de una comunidad de creyentes que compartían la misma fe. En otras palabras, ningún cristiano es una isla, tomando prestada la conocida expresión.

Hebreos 10:24-25 dice a los cristianos que consideren cómo estimularse unos a otros al amor y a las buenas obras, sin abandonar nuestras reuniones cristianas, sino animándonos unos a otros, y mucho más al acercarse el Día del regreso del Mesías.

Por tanto, la comunión cristiana no es un añadido opcional, sino una expresión fundamental de la obediencia de la fe.

La iglesia primitiva no se limitaba a creer las mismas doctrinas desde hogares separados. Después del bautismo, “se dedicaban a la enseñanza de los Apóstoles, a la comunión, al partimiento del pan y a la oración” (Hechos 2:42). Se reunían con regularidad, compartían comidas, oraban, adoraban, atendían las necesidades de los demás y vivían como una comunidad unida (Hechos 2:42-47). Pablo da expresión teológica a esa misma unidad cristiana en Efesios 4.

Los cristianos deben hacer todo lo posible por mantener “la unidad del espíritu en el vínculo de la paz”, porque:

“Hay un solo cuerpo y un solo espíritu… un solo señor, una sola fe, un solo bautismo” (Ef. 4:3-5).

Por tanto, la comunión cristiana no se basa simplemente en la amistad, la personalidad o la conveniencia. Los cristianos pertenecen unos a otros porque Dios nos ha llamado a formar un solo cuerpo, unidos en una sola fe, compartiendo un solo espíritu, bajo un solo señor Mesías y un solo Dios y Padre de todos (Ef. 4:6).

Esta unidad se expresa de manera hermosa en la comida de Comunión del Nuevo Pacto establecida por Jesús (Lucas 22:19-20; comp. 1 Cor. 11:25-26). La última cena de Jesús se convirtió en un acto continuo de recuerdo para su pueblo reunido.

Más adelante, Pablo enseña más acerca del significado de este acto profundamente personal para la iglesia:

“La copa de bendición que bendecimos, ¿no es una participación en la sangre del Mesías? El pan que partimos, ¿no es una participación en el cuerpo del Mesías? Puesto que hay un solo pan, nosotros, aunque somos muchos, somos un solo cuerpo, porque todos participamos del mismo pan” (1 Cor. 10:16-17).

Por tanto, la Comunión no es simplemente un momento privado con tu propio “Jesús personal”. El único pan representa al único cuerpo: la iglesia. Como Pablo deja igualmente claro:

“Porque en un solo espíritu todos fuimos bautizados en un solo cuerpo… y a todos se nos dio a beber de un solo espíritu” (1 Cor. 12:13).

El cristiano no puede decir correctamente: “Yo pertenezco al Mesías, pero no necesito a su pueblo”. Pablo utiliza precisamente esa imagen: “El ojo no puede decirle a la mano: ‘No te necesito’” (1 Cor. 12:21). Pertenecer al Mesías significa pertenecer a su cuerpo.

Algunos cristianos se aíslan voluntariamente, quizá por desacuerdos, heridas del pasado o simplemente por temperamento. Otros se encuentran aislados involuntariamente por la distancia, la edad, una discapacidad, circunstancias familiares o persecución. La respuesta no es la condenación, sino la reconexión. Busca una auténtica comunión cristiana allí donde pueda encontrarse, para que podamos orar, estudiar, enseñar, animarnos y crecer juntos.

Y cuando la presencia física no sea posible, la tecnología moderna puede ser de enorme ayuda. En lugar de limitarnos a criticar los peligros de la era de internet, aprovechemos sus beneficios para orar, estudiar y tener comunión con creyentes que se encuentran a grandes distancias. Sin embargo, siempre que las circunstancias lo permitan, la comunión cara a cara sigue siendo el ideal del Nuevo Testamento.

Por último, la comunión cristiana no consiste simplemente en asistir a un edificio por el mero hecho de hacerlo. La iglesia es el pueblo de Dios: el cuerpo del Mesías reunido, compartiendo una sola fe, una sola esperanza, un solo bautismo, un solo espíritu, un solo señor Mesías y un solo Dios y Padre. Esa unidad se expresa visiblemente cuando participamos juntos del único pan y de la copa, porque somos un solo cuerpo.

Así que no nos dejemos llevar hacia alguna isla solitaria creada por nosotros mismos, porque ningún cristiano es una isla.

Busquémonos unos a otros, animémonos unos a otros y permanezcamos en comunión, “y tanto más cuanto veis que el Día se acerca” (Heb. 10:25).

No Christian is an Island

The Christian faith is not meant to be a solitary faith. From the beginning, believers were called into a community of like-minded believers. In other words, no Christian is an island, to borrow the familiar phrase.

Hebrews 10 reminds us to "hold tightly to the hope that we confess without wavering, because He who made the promise is faithful. And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works, not abandoning our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and even more as you see the Day approaching. (vv. 23-25)

Christian fellowship is therefore not an optional extra, but a defining expression of the obedience of faith.

The early church did not simply believe the same doctrines from separate homes. After baptism, “they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayer” (Acts 2:42). They met regularly, shared meals, prayed, worshipped, cared for needs and lived as a united community (Acts 2:42-47). Paul gives theological expression to that same Christian unity in Ephesians 4.

Christians are to make every effort to maintain “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,” because:

“There is one body and one spirit…one lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:3-5).

Christian fellowship is therefore not based merely on friendship, personality or convenience. Christians belong together because God has called us into one body, united in one faith, sharing one spirit, under the one lord Messiah and the one God and Father of all (Eph. 4:6).

This unity is beautifully expressed in the New Covenant Communion meal established by Jesus (Luke 22:19-20; cp. 1 Cor. 11:25-26). Jesus’ final meal became a continuing act of remembrance for his people together.

Later, Paul teaches more about the significance of this deeply personal act for the church:

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Messiah? The bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Messiah? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, since we all share the one bread." (1 Cor. 10:16-17)

Communion is therefore not some private time with your own “personal Jesus.” The one bread represents the one body—the church. As Paul makes equally clear:

“For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body…we all were made to drink of one spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).

The Christian cannot rightly say, “I belong to Messiah, but I have no need of his people.” Paul uses precisely that image: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:21). To belong to Messiah is to belong to his body.

Some Christians isolate themselves willingly, perhaps because of disagreement, past hurt or simply temperament. Others are isolated unwillingly through distance, age, disability, family circumstances or persecution. The answer is not condemnation, but reconnection. Seek genuine Christian fellowship wherever it can be found, so that we can pray, study, teach, encourage and grow together.

And when physical presence is impossible, modern technology can be a tremendous help. Rather than only criticizing the pitfalls of the internet age, use its benefits to pray, study and fellowship with believers across great distances. Yet whenever circumstances permit, face-to-face fellowship remains the New Testament ideal.

Lastly, Christian fellowship is not about attending a building for its own sake. The church is the people—the body of Messiah together, sharing the one faith, one hope, one baptism, one spirit, one lord Messiah and one God and Father. That unity is visibly expressed when we partake together of the one bread and the cup, because we are one body.

So let us not drift onto some lonely island of our own making, for no Christian is an island.

Instead, let us seek one another, encourage one another and remain in fellowship—“all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25).