Bible Commentary on I Kings 8:27?

Question

In I Kings 8:27, we read that

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

The Hebrew and the transliteration for the verse above would be

kiy ha’umnaam yeesheeb ‘Elohiym `al-haa’aarets hineeh hashaamayim uushmeey hashaamayim lo’ ykalkluukaa ‘ap kiy-habayit hazeh ‘asher baaniytiy.

Regarding this verse, Henry’s Concise Commentary has the following to say:

In this excellent prayer, Solomon does as we should do in every prayer; he gives glory to God. Fresh experiences of the truth of God’s promises call for larger praises. He sues for grace and favour from God. The experiences we have of God’s performing his promises, should encourage us to depend upon them, and to plead them with him; and those who expect further mercies, must be thankful for former mercies. God’s promises must be the guide of our desires, and the ground of our hopes and expectations in prayer. (Henry’s Concise Commentary, under Citation: FIRST KINGS 8, ver 22-53)

It is clear that Solomon was conscious of the fact that however splendid his Temple was, it could not possibly reflect the glory of God or contain his eternal Being, as reflected in the above prayer in the form of a rhetorical question. Nevertheless, in acknowledging God’s omnipresence, Solomon expressed his desire that God should be honoured at this place and that every Israelite, no matter where he might be, should face toward the Temple when he prayed.

The prayer above raises several serious questions for the Christians:

Could we safely claim that the past Prophets in the Bible were ever consciously aware of the Trinity or of the divinity of Jesus? If yes, why they (especially Solomon) display such ignorance of this fundamental Christian theology? If no, are they not saved from their sins due to the sacrifice of Jesus?
Could Jesus ever possibly be the God-incarnate or God in flesh, since the verse above clearly refutes such a notion? If yes, does this mean that the verse above is in error?
If assuming that Jesus is indeed the God-incarnate who came down to earth, does this mean that God had actually lied to Solomon when he (Solomon) was taught that “…the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain” Him?

Answer 1

Not only did the pre Christian worshipers of God not know about a trinity, but the 1st century christians didn't know about it either.

The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”—(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”—(1967), Vol. XIV, p. 299.

*** rs p. 406 par. 1 Trinity ***
In The Encyclopedia Americana we read: “Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”—(1956), Vol. XXVII, p. 294L.

(Romans 15:4-6) . . .” 4 For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the God who supplies endurance and comfort grant YOU to have among yourselves the same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had,

6 that with one accord YOU may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 2

Well interesting question and quite deep. However, and I am sure you'll dismiss this, I don't think it matters, I really don't.

What matters at the end of the day is whether one accepts Jesus Christ. If you do and confess Him, you're ok. If not you're condemned, the Bible says this.

Whether people in the Old Testament times were conscious of a Trinity is actually irrelevant to salvation itself, although it is a very interesting topic to discuss and is not unhealthy. For me as an individual though, I hate to clog my mind up with theological stuff like this - all I care about is my salvation and that of other people.

Answer 3

This is talking about building the temple of Jehovah where the ark of the covenant with Jehovahs spirit was in the most holy of the temple....God is not Jesus...This was before Jesus was born.
Jehovah was not on earth.....his presence was...there is no trinity..it is not in the bible...God the father ...his son Jesus..and the power from God to all is Holy spirit.