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Question:

God created humans and other living beings for nothing else but that they could serve him. He did not desire from them any provision or food. It was revealed to the Prophets to not associate any others with God in his Divinity. Didn’t Paul challenge OT teachings and make a mockery of them by introducing the concept of Jesus’ divinity?

Answer:

I think that you have some good points to make here, but I also think your view is a bit off from the Bible in others.  Let me respond.  First of all, my understanding of the God of the Bible is that he created us, not so that we could serve him, but so that we could love him and he could love us.  It is about a relationship, not about us serving Him.  This is the story as revealed in Genesis 1-2. The ancient “gods” of Mesopotamia created humans to serve them. That is the essence of the creation myths of the Sumerians and Babylonians, but that is a false view of God.   Having said that, I agree with you that God does not need us–He certainly does not need us to give Him any provision or food.  You are correct in this.

You say that it was revealed to the Prophets to not associate any others with God.  I believe that in this you are actually quoting the Koran, not the Bible.  However, the idea is not unknown in the Bible, as both Christianity and Islam are monotheistic.  As was made clear in Deuteronomy and repeated numerous times in many ways, God told his people, “Hear Oh Israel, the Lord God our God is one God” (Deut 6:4).  There is only one God, and this is repeated multiple times in the New Testament as well.  Paul repeated this basic truth in 1 Corinthians 8:4-6.  He said, “There is no God but one… for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord Jesus Christ through whom all things came and through whom we live.”  The Father and the Son are one and the same, God.  Paul makes the Christian idea of monotheism a central part of his theology. So, no, he does not challenge Old Testament theology and he certainly does not make a mockery of it.  He repeats it, but at the same time showing the Father and the Son to be one and the same, God.
John Oakes

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