The Shepherd and Bishop of your souls is omniscient (1 Peter 2:25)

Fred

Well-known member
1 Peter 2:25
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. (KJV)
For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (ESV)
For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. (NASB)

Shepherd = poimēn
Bishop/Overseer/Guardian = episkopos

These titles are in reference to the Lord Jesus[1] and demonstrate He is omniscient (= God).[2]
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT): Christ is He who has the fullest knowledge of souls. He knows every inner secret, as is said of God in Wis. 1:6 and the passages quoted from Philo (-> 614). He is also the One who gives Himself most self-sacrificingly to care for the souls of the faithful (cf. episkopeō in Hb. 12:15). It is for this reason that poimēn and episkopos are so closely related. The phrase "shepherd and bishop of your souls" carries within it all that is said by Greek speaking Gentiles and Jews about God as episkopos. As suggested by the context, which points us to the deepest mysteries about salvation history, episkopos is thus a title of majesty ascribed to Jesus is His work in relation to the community (2:615, episkopos, Beyer).[3]

"...to the Shepherd..." (1 Peter 2:25)
It is interesting that in Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament the word "to" (epi) in 1 Peter 2:25 refers "to God" (C 2 f).
http://biblehub.com/greek/1909.htm
However, concerning "Shepherd" (poimēn) it reads, "of Christ."
http://biblehub.com/greek/4166.htm


[1] In 1 Peter 2:25 poimēn and episkopos are in reference to the Lord Jesus.
a. BDAG (3rd Edition): Of Christ (w. poimēn) e. tōn psychῶn guardian of the souls 1 Pt 2:25 (episkopos, page 379).
b. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (EDNT): According to 1 Pet 2:25 Christ is the shepherd and overseer of souls (2:36, episkopos, J. Rohde).
c. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: The word is once applied to Christ Himself, "the Shepherd and Bishop (RSV Guardian) of your souls" (1 Pet. 2:25, AV) (1:516, Bishop, Henry Dosker).
d. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains: In 1 Pe 2.25 episkopos is applied to Christ (35.43, episkopos, page 463, J. P. Louw and Eugene Nida).
e. Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: In 1 Pet. 2:25, Peter refers to Jesus as "the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." Jesus is, in other words, the chief overseer of our lives, all other church leaders function on his behalf and should use his life as a model (cf. 5:1-4) (Overseer, page 493).
f. New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT): Earlier uses of episkopos reach their climax in 1 Pet. 2:25, where Jesus Christ is described as "the Shepherd (poimēn) and Guardian (episkopos) of your souls" (RSV) (1:191, Bishop, L. Coenen).

[2] Craig Keener: Long before the first century, Jewish people called God the ἐπίσκοπος (and synonyms), the one who oversees all things, especially concerning human hearts. (Acts: An Exegetical Commentary: Introduction and 1:1-2:47, page 772)

[3] TDNT: The LXX uses episkopos in the same twofold way as secular Greek. On the one hand it denotes God, and on the other it has the general sense of supervisors in different fields. If in polytheistic belief each deity acts as episkopos over certain men and things, the one God does this far more comprehensively. He is the absolute episkopos who sees all things.
Thus at Job 20:29 the LXX renders the Hb. El by episkopos. As such God is Judge of the ungodly. The term is here is brought into relation to kurios. Philo has the same line of thought. He calls God ephoros kai episkopos in Mut. Nom., 39, 216. The combination of martus kai episkopos, already used by Homer, is also found in Philo at Leg. All., 3, 43. In this capacity God is the One from whom no wickedness can be hidden. ho tōn holōn episkopos is the Omniscient, Som., 1, 91. Thus on Philo's view Moses finely introduces God in the first chapter of the Bible as "the Father of all and the Contemplator of all that has come into being," This judgment rests on the statement that "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good," Migr. Abr., 135. In Jewish thought this profound understanding of God as the One who sees all things produced the term panepiskopos, which occurs more than once in the Sibyllines: 1, 152; 2, 177; 5, 352. In particular, God sees into the human heart. In this respect the LXX links martus and episkopos at Wis. 1:6 Cf. Ac. 1:24, where God is called kardiognōstēs. (ibid., page 614)
https://forums.carm.org/threads/kardiogn%C5%8Dst%C4%93s-omniscience.11349/
 
These titles are in reference to the Lord Jesus[1] and demonstrate He is omniscient (= God).
You haven't demonstrated that omniscience = God in the New Testament. In 1 Cor 8:6, Paul distinguishes God from the Lord Jesus. If he could, why can't you? You're not entitled to build any theology that seeks to invalidate the teaching of the apostles.
 
See the OP.
You show the risen Christ is omniscient. That doesn't prove anything as we know the risen Christ is invested with the glory of God.

I do. Jesus is not the Father, but when Paul affirms Jesus is Lord it means Jesus is YHWH.
https://forums.carm.org/threads/the-one-lord-in-reference-to-jesus-being-yhwh-1-corinthians-8-6.7395/
No I don't accept that "Lord" in the NT necessarily infers YHWH in the Old. In fact it only does so where the Qere and Ketiv convention is being used.

Otherwise I only accept "God" (as subject, or as with the article, per Jn 1:1b) as a reference to YHWH.

As the Son is YHWH's instrument of salvation (YHWH being the author of salvation) there is an intentional overlap of language between YHWH and the Son. But the Father and the Son are distinct divine persons, and as YHWH is just one person, YHWH is the Father, as attested by Jesus himself, who supervenes all your waffle to the contrary.
 
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You show the risen Christ is omniscient. That doesn't prove anything as we know the risen Christ is invested with the glory of God.

To be omniscient is to be God.

From the OP:
the Omniscient

Omniscient: (3) the Omniscient God (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, page 1005, NY: Gramercy Books, c. 1996).

This is the biblical languages section of the forum. It is best to stick by how words are properly defined as opposed to your guesswork.
No I don't accept that "Lord" in the NT necessarily infers YHWH in the Old.
You dodged the information I provided in my previous link concerning "Lord" in 1 Corinthians 8:6 (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:22).

Try again, but this time do a whole lot better.
 
To be omniscient is to be God.

From the OP:
the Omniscient

Omniscient: (3) the Omniscient God (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, page 1005, NY: Gramercy Books, c. 1996).

This is the biblical languages section of the forum. It is best to stick by how words are properly defined as opposed to your guesswork.
Sorry, I don't accept "proof" from dictionaries. In any case "God" denotes the Father. To be omniscient is to be the Father. Jesus wasn't omniscient on earth, as I disclosed earlier, cf, his ignorance about who had touched him in the crowd.

You dodged the information I provided in my previous link concerning "Lord" in 1 Corinthians 8:6 (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:22).

Try again, but this time do a whole lot better.
Nope: you try again.
 
Cyrus was called Shepherd (Isaiah 44:28) and Christ (Isaiah 45:1)

Isaiah 44:28 - That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd (האמר לכורש רעי)

The English and Greek read רעה as shepherd, but the Hebrew word is the same as οὐρός; watcher, warder or guardian (without reference to sheep)
and thus Isaiah 44:28 is more like "He is my guardian".

Genesis 4:8 רעה צאן οὐρός κτηνῶν "watcher of herds"
 
Cyrus was called Shepherd (Isaiah 44:28) and Christ (Isaiah 45:1)

Isaiah 44:28 - That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd (האמר לכורש רעי)

The English and Greek read רעה as shepherd, but the Hebrew word is the same as οὐρός; watcher, warder or guardian (without reference to sheep)
and thus Isaiah 44:28 is more like "He is my guardian".

Genesis 4:8 רעה צאן οὐρός κτηνῶν "watcher of herds"

They aren't the Shepherd and Bishop of the souls of every believer.

1 Peter 4:19
Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. (NASB)

1 Peter 2:25
For you were continually straying like sheep, but now have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. (NASB)

Proverbs 24:12
If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work? (NASB)

A person can entrust their soul to the Creator because He (1) weighs the hearts and (2) renders to man according to his work. A person can entrust their soul to the Lord Jesus (the Creator) because He weighs the hearts of all and will render to man according to his work (Revelation 2:23; cf. Matthew 16:27).
 
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You need a rest from your world of make believe.
Try going by how the words of the Bible are properly defined and wake up to reality.
You are deluded indeed if you think you can use an attribute of God to define Jesus, who clearly didn't have the attributes of God, as he himself conceded on many occasions, as God.

In fact you are so deluded, its beginning to irritate me intensely that you continue to propagate this nonsense as if it was even sensible.
 
You are deluded indeed if you think you can use an attribute of God to define Jesus, who clearly didn't have the attributes of God, as he himself conceded on many occasions, as God.

In fact you are so deluded, its beginning to irritate me intensely that you continue to propagate this nonsense as if it was even sensible.

Next time, try going by how the words of the Bible are properly defined.
 
Next time, try going by how the words of the Bible are properly defined.
You said "These titles [Shepherd = poimēn Bishop/Overseer/Guardian = episkopos] are in reference to the Lord Jesus and demonstrate He is omniscient (= God)."

As a man, Jesus was not God. As elevated to the right hand of God by the Father, he resumed his place as God over creation. So much is beyond being controverted. If you are seeking to say anything else, you are wrong.
 
You said "These titles [Shepherd = poimēn Bishop/Overseer/Guardian = episkopos] are in reference to the Lord Jesus and demonstrate He is omniscient (= God)."

That's correct for that is how the words of the Bible are properly defined. See the OP.
 
That's correct for that is how the words of the Bible are properly defined. See the OP.
You don't need to affirm your view of the "correctness" of your own words. I think that much can be assumed. Why don't you address my query instead of praising yourself?
 
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