ABANTU abaninzi bajonga imfundiso kaBathathu Emnye “njengondoqo wemfundiso yobuKristu.” Le mfundiso ithi, uYise, uNyana nomoya oyingcwele babumba uThixo omnye. UKhadinali John O’Connor wathi ngoBathathu Emnye: “Sisintsompothi esingakwaziyo ukusiqonda.” Yintoni eyenza kube nzima kangaka ukuyiqonda le mfundiso kaBathathu Emnye?

IThe Illustrated Bible Dictionary ichaza esinye isizathu. Xa ithetha ngoBathathu Emnye le mpapasho ithi: “Akayiyo imfundiso yeBhayibhile kuba akafumaneki ndawo eBhayibhileni.” Ngenxa yokuba uBathathu Emnye ‘engeyomfundiso yeBhayibhile,’ abaxhasi bale mfundiso baye baphengulula iBhayibhile befuna iindinyana zayo—phofu ezinye bede bazigqwethe, kuba befuna ukuxhasa le mfundiso yabo.

UYohane 1:1. ungumzekelo wendinyana yeBhayibhile edla ngokugqwethwa ngabanye. Le ndinyana ifundeka kanje kwiBhayibhile yesiXhosa: “Ekuqalekeni ube ekho uLizwi, waye uLizwi ekuye uThixo [ngesiGrike ton the·on′], waye uLizwi enguThixo [ngesiGrike the·os′].” Kule ndinyana kusetyenziswe iintlobo ezimbini zesibizo sesiGrike uthe·os′ (thixo). Esokuqala sandulelwa nguton nto leyo ebonisa ukuba kule meko sibhekisela kuThixo uSomandla. Kanti kwimeko yesibini akakho. Ngaba washiywa ngempazamo?

Incwadi yeVangeli kaYohane yayibhalwe ngesiKoine, okanye isiGrike esiqhelekileyo esinemigaqo engqalileyo yokusetyenziswa kolwimi. Umphengululi weBhayibhile u-A. T Robertson  uthi xa intloko yesivakalisi kunye nesivisa zine definite article lo nto ithetha ukuba ziyafana. Lo kaRobertson ucaphula umzekelo kaMateyu 13:38 othi: “Intsimi lihlabathi.” Umgaqo wegrama osetyenziswe kwesi sibhalo usenza siqonde ukuba ihlabathi likwayintsimi.

Kodwa kuthekani xa iyintloko enedefinite article sibe sona isivisa singenayo, njengakuYohane 1:1? Umphengululi uJames Allen Hewett ucaphula le ndinyana njengomzekelo aze athi: “Kwesi sivakalisi intloko nesivisa azifani, yaye azilingani kwaphela.”

Ukuze ayenze icace ingongoma yakhe uHewett wenza umzekelo ngeyoku-1 kaYohane 1:5, ethi, “UThixo ukukukhanya.” NgesiGrike “uThixo” apha nguho the·os′, ngaloo ndlela uhamba nedefinite article. Kodwa yena uphos othetha “ukukhanya” akandulelwa yi-article. UHewett uthi: “Umntu uyakwazi ukuthi. . . uThixo unokukhanya; kodwa ke akanakuthi ukukhanya kunguThixo.” Imizekelo efana nalo iyafumaneka nakuYohane 4:24 othi: “UThixo unguMoya,” neyoku-1 kaYohane 4:16 ethi: “UThixo uluthando.” Kuzo zombini ezi ndinyana intloko inayo idefinite article kodwa isivisa sona “uMoya” “nothando” asinayo. Ngoko kwezi meko awunakuyitshintsha intloko ibe sisivisa okanye isivisa sibe yintloko. Ezi ndinyana azikwazi ukuthi: “UMoya unguThixo” okanye “uthando lunguThixo.”

Abaphengululi abaninzi besiGrike nabaguquleli beBhayibhile bayavuma ukuba uYohane 1:1 akabalaselisi uhlobo lomntu anguye “uLizwi” kodwa ubalaselisa uphawu lwakhe oluthile. Umguquleli weBhayibhile uWilliam Barclay uthi: “Utheos yinkcaza kuba umpostile uYohane akayifakanga idefinite article ngaphambi kwakhe. . . Apha uYohane akathi uLizwi ulingana noThixo. Singayibeka lula nje sithi, wayengathi uYesu unguThixo.” Umphengululi uJason David BeDuhn naye uthi: “NgesiGrike, ukuba uyayishiya i-article xa ubhala utheos kwisivakalisi njengakuYohane 1:1c, abantu abasifundayo baya kucinga ukuba uthetha ‘uthixo’ . . . Xa ingekho (i-article) utheos uyahluka kuho theos, one article njengokuba “uthixo” ahlukile “kuThixo.” Wongezelela athi: “KuYohane 1:1, akuthiwa uLizwi nguThixo ngenkqu kodwa kuthiwa ungumoya onjengoThixo.” UJoseph Henry Thayer, umphengululi owayesebenze kwiAmerican Standard Version wathi: “ULizwi wayekwimo yobuthixo kodwa wayengenguye uThixo ngenkqu.”

Ngaba ukwazi uThixo kufanele kube “sisintsompothi esingakwaziyo ukusiqonda”? Kwakungenjalo kuYesu. Xa wayethandaza kuYise, uYesu wawenza wacaca umahluko phakathi kwakhe noYise xa wathi: “Oku kuthetha ubomi obungunaphakade, ukungenisa kwabo ulwazi ngawe, wena ukuphela koThixo oyinyaniso, nangalowo umthumileyo, uYesu Kristu.” (Yohane 17:3) Ukuba siyamkholelwa uYesu yaye siyayiqonda nemfundiso yeBhayibhile siya kumhlonela njengoNyana kaThixo. Kwakhona siya kunqula uYehova ‘njengokuphela koThixo oyinyaniso.’