Who is God's God?

Anyone who knows me well knows that my extended family consists of Jews and Muslims. My mother grew up Jewish and was saved as a teenager, but the rest of her family (my aunts, uncle and cousins) remain Jewish. My wife grew up Muslim and was saved in her early 20s, but the rest of her family (my in-laws) remain Muslim.

We don't talk about our faiths often, mainly because these people are not dedicated to their faiths, but when we do our conversations often come down to the primacy of Christ. Both Jews and Muslims believe Jesus was a great man, you see, but they do not believe He is God. They also accept the Old Testament, but they reject the New Testament as scripture. We know this and are somewhat prepared for this, but you'd be surprised just how difficult it can be to make the case for Christ with just the Old Testament, particularly when you are trying to defend the trinity

In my Bible reading for today, I came across a powerful chapter I will use next time I am talking to a Jew or Muslim about the trinity: Psalm 45. I think I will start off with the question atop this post: "Who is God's God?" For context, here is how I envision the conversation:

Me: We believe Christ is more than a man. We believe He is God.

Jew/Muslim: There is only one God.

Me: That's true. We believe that, too. But we also believe that He is three in one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

J/M: How can that be? It makes no sense.

[At this point I usually cite Genesis 1:26: "Let US make man in our image ..."]

J/M: That doesn't prove anything.

Me: OK, let me ask you a question then: "Who is God's God?"

J/M: What?

Me: Who is God's God?

J/M: That's a ridiculous question. God has no God. He is God!

Me: OK, then why does David write the following in Psalm 45 (6-7): "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." He calls the person he is addressing God, but then says "your God has set you above your companions."

I think that's pretty powerful, and I can't think of a different way to interpret this. Can you? Of course, it's exactly the same type of reasoning Jesus used with the Pharisees in Matthew 22:41-46, except He cited Psalm 110.

On a side note, a skeptical friend used to ask me why I spend so much time studying the Bible. He wantd to know: Haven't I learned it by now? I explained that the Bible reveals something different every time you read it. This is a case in point. I never noticed this passage before. At least, it didn't jump off the page at me like it did today.

I also used to tell him that there is so much in the details. Each word must be carefully looked at, sometimes in the original language. Well, here is an extreme example, and a challenge for anyone who reads this: Is the punctuation in Psalm 45:7 correct? Should that second comma be there? Here's the verse again:

"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

Seems silly and minor, right? But consider: The second comma makes the phrase "your God" paranthetical. Something added for emphasis. He's saying God is His God. It's personalizing, and something he could say to any of us who believe. But take away that second comma and David can only be addressing Jesus Christ because he is calling Him God and saying He has a God (aka the Father).

That comma is why I had to back up and include verse 6 to make my point today. Otherwise, verse 7 would have been sufficient. And based on the context of verse, that comma may very well be in error. What do you think?

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Written by Jordan