---
title: 1 Corinthians 8:6
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-8-6/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-8-6.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Corinthians 8:6
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Corinthians 8:6

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

## JW Usage

JWs cite 1 Corinthians 8:6 as distinguishing Jesus from God: the Father is the "one God" and Jesus is the "one Lord" — two persons with two different ranks. The prepositions confirm subordination: the Father is the source ("from whom") while the Son is merely the instrument ("through whom"). The verse is read as proof that Jesus is not God but a separate, subordinate being used by Jehovah as a tool in creation.

## Protestant Usage

Paul deliberately reformulates the Jewish Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4, "Jehovah our God is one Jehovah") to include Jesus within the divine identity. The Shema contains two key terms — "God" (theos) and "Lord" (kyrios, representing YHWH in the LXX). Paul distributes both across Father and Son: "one God, the Father... one Lord, Jesus Christ." Every key term from the LXX Shema — heis, theos, kyrios — appears in 1 Corinthians 8:6. A first-century Jewish monotheist placing a creature inside the Shema would be unthinkable blasphemy. The "through whom all things came" clause attributes universal creation to Jesus, yet Isaiah 44:24 says Jehovah created the heavens and earth alone. If Jehovah created alone and all things came through Jesus, the Son must share Jehovah's creative identity. The JW subordinationist reading also backfires: if "one God" here excludes Jesus from deity, then "one Lord" must exclude the Father from lordship — a conclusion no JW would accept.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [What Christians Actually Believe — The Trinity Defined](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-definition.md) — One God, three persons — not three gods, not one person [Deity of Christ]
- [The Jehovah/Adam Name Analogy](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/jehovah-adam-analogy.md) — Genesis 5:2 — One Name, Two Persons [Deity of Christ]
- [The Christian Shema — Paul Splits the Shema to Include Jesus](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/christian-shema.md) — 1 Corinthians 8:6 / Deuteronomy 6:4 / Isaiah 44:24 [Deity of Christ]
- [I Live Because of the Father](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/john-6-57-i-live-because.md) — John 6:57 — incarnation context, not pre-existent origin [Deity of Christ]
- [Paul's Greeting Puts Jesus Beside the Father](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/pauline-greeting-formula.md) — Galatians 1:1-3 — Co-Source of Grace and Peace [Deity of Christ]
- [Answering "1+1+1=1" — The Math Mockery Defused](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-math-mockery-response.md) — Units, essence, and persons — why the math objection is a category error [Deity of Christ]
- [Sharing a Role Is Not Sharing Who God Is](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/god-alone-shared-or-identity.md) — Isaiah 44:24 / 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 / Job 38:7 — when 'God alone' texts allow others in, and when they don't [Deity of Christ]