In John 20:28, why does Thomas refer to God as 'my&#x27

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  p1There is significant debate about the meaning and import of Thomas' exclamation in John 20:28 ofp2p1My Lord and my God!p2p1including what the proper understanding is of both significant terms, 'Lord' and 'God'.p2p1Having said that, assuming a proto-trinitarian interpretation of Thomas' exclamation (i.e., that he is claiming Jesus is God), why does Thomas add 'my' to 'God' - if Jesus is God, is He not someone else's God?p2
  p1In answering this question, i have avoided New Testament scriptures with the exception of Jesus claim that He was God.p2p1In Jesus time, only the old Testament existed and not in the form we know them today. Clearly, those who knew the scriptures were well aware of the relationship between an individual and His (or Her) God, as it was well established in numerous texts.p2p1Consider the following Old Testament quotations from various individuals describing a personal God...p2p1Exodus 15:2p2p1The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become mysalvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and Iwill exalt him.p2p1Daniel 9:4p2p1I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love withthose who love him and keep his commandments,p2p1Psalm 18:2p2p1The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom Itake refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.p2p1Isaiah 12:2p2p1Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD,the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become mysalvation.p2p1Genesis 24:48p2p1and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. Ipraised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on theright road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for hisson.p2p1From my own Christian perspective, Jesus is My Personal Saviour. Yes he is a man for all people so to speak, however, unlike a King or Prime Minister, Jesus door is open and we communicate directly and personally on a regular basis.p2p1So when Thomas exclaimed, My Lord and My God, he was stating in that moment he finally realised that the very man he had been following was indeed God! My interpretation of the Biblical narrative concerning Thomas is that prior to this moment, after Jesus had died, Thomas had lost his faith..a faith in Jesus prior claim during his ministry that he was God. That faith was now restored.p2p1I think generally all Christians believe in an eternal God (one who also prexisted eternally). Now listen to what Jesus said concerning himself about this...p2p1John 8:58,59p2p158“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham wasborn, I am!”p2p159 At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus washidden and went out of the temple area.p2p1There is only one reason why they (in this case Jewish Pharisees, see vs 13) would pick up rocks to stone anyone in the above event, Jesus was claiming to be the pre-existing eternal God, a crime punishable by stoning to death!p2
  p1My God occurs frequently in the NT as a mark of the personal relationship between a person and God, eg, 2 Tim 1:3, Phm 1:4, 1 Cor 1:4, Pil 1:3, 4:19, 2 Cor 12;21, Rom 1:8, etc. We see the same thing in the OT and is usually in the Phrase, the LORD my God, Ps 104:1, 140:6, Dan 9:20, Ezra 9:5, 2 Chron 2:4, etc.p2p1Similarly, your God (always referiing to the LORD) occurs frequently in the OT and usually in the phrase, the LORD your God, Deut 10:12, 17, 12:11, 18, Josh 23;13, 1 Chron 22:19, Jer 42:20, etc.p2p1The phrase, My God is closely related (as per John 20:28) with another phrase, My Lord which always refers to Jesus in the NT - Matt 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, Acts 2:34, John 20:13, 28, Luke 1:43, Phil 3:8. These generally allude to OT references such as Ps 35:23 (LXX) and Ps 110:1.p2p1Thus, these personalised versions of My God and My Lord are common in the Bible.p2
  p1I will take a slightly different approach to this verse so that the community understands there is scholarly debate over this verse and its intended usage.p2p1The debate surrounds the cultural context within which the Gospel of John was written. John lived and wrote in Ephesus which was in the Roman province of Asia Minor. If one understands the dominant cultural features of Asia Minor, John's gospel starts to make more sense.p2p1As with the other Gospels, we are not exactly sure of the date of their composition. Many scholars place John as the last Gospel to be composed - possibly in the late '80s or early '90s of the first century. (although you should know that not everyone agrees. see Robinson, The Priority of John for a counter-argument).p2p1So if you assume - as many do - that John wrote his Gospel from Ephesus in the latter decades of the first-century then we need to know something about the Imperial Cult and the Caesar at the time, Domitian.p2p1Ephesus, in John's day, was ground-zero for the Imperial Cult and the sanctioned worship of Emperor Domitian.p2p1Domitian insisted on being called 'Dominus et Deus' 'Lord and God.'p2p1Colin Hemer in The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in their local Setting writes:p2p1It is well known that Domitian required to be addressed as domius et deus (Suetonius, Dom. 13; Martial, Epig. 9.56.3), a title corresponding to that applied to Jesus in Thomas' confession (John 20:28)p2p1Both the Gospel of John and Revelation are set against the declaration by the Roman emperors - particularly Domitian - that they are in fact the divine rulers of the cosmos. John's gospel also refutes many of the main gods or goddesses in the region of Asia Minor as well (Aclepisu, Dionysus, or Demeter).p2p1John would be including this declaration by Thomas at this point in his Gospel in order to directly refute the claims of the emperor Domitian.p2
  p1The phrase my God uses a possessive adjective in the first person singular which shows that the speaker (Thomas) regards Jesus to be his personal God, which means that he believes that Jesus himself is whom he will worship or whom he trusts for salvation. This is very similar to 2 Peter 1:1 wherein Jesus is our God, a phrase with a possessive adjective in the first person plural. In this case, the church collectively acknowledge Jesus to be both their God and Saviour.p2
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