The One God is not Three Persons
Part 4
We have expounded in the previous teachings of this
subject the wonderful truth of Jesus Christ’s deity, that Jesus Christ is the
Lord God of the Old Testament and the New Testament, that he alone is the One
True God and not just the “second” person of the Trinity. That he is not just a
“creature” given the authority as God and Saviour by God the Father. We have
seen that both the doctrines of the Trinitarians and the Unitarians are false
doctrines. Not only that. There are also people who teach two gods. They are
the “Two-nitarians” as I call them. They believe that the true and eternal God
is the Father and Jesus Christ as an appointed God, a God lower than the true
God. There are also the “Tritheists” who believe in three Gods: namely God the
Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They are not Trinitarians but they
and the Trinitarians may have some similar views. The Tritheists I think are
much better than the Trinitarians because they admit that they believe in Three
Gods and hold on to the Hebrew word “Elohim” for plural “Gods”. But like the
Trinitarians, Unitarians and others, they are in error and teach false
doctrines about the Godhead.
The Bible declares that there is only One Lord God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Mark 10:18 And
Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that
is, God.
Mark 12:29 And
Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The
Lord our God is one Lord:
Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master,
thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
Luke 18:19 And
Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is,
God.
Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the
circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
1 Corinthians
8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in
sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that
there is none other God but one.
1 Corinthians
8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we
in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Galatians 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one,
but God is one.
Ephesians 4:6 One God
and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
People who believe in
Trinitarianism, Unitarianism or any other belief that differentiates Jesus
Christ from the Father use Scripture verses that seem to show the differences
between Jesus Christ and God the Father, and tell you, “See? They are two
different individuals.”
Some of the verses they
use are these: Ephesians 1: 2 & 3
2 Grace be to you, and
peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ:
Verse 2 says that grace
and peace come from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems
that the verse teaches they are “two different persons” as they think.
Verse 3 says that God
the Father is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems that this
verse teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God because he has a God. And
if he is God, then it makes him a second God or a second person of the Godhead.
Another verse that they
use is this:
1 Corinthians
8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we
in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
This verse seems to tell
us that there is a God, one true God, other than the Lord Jesus Christ. That
here Jesus Christ is not called One God, but only One Lord, some inferior
creature just exalted.
Let us remember that in
the New Testament Scriptures because “God” became “flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16; John
1:1,14) as “the only begotten Son” (John 1:18) on earth but still continued and
remain as God “the Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:48), there came the
distinction regarding God’s manifestation. So the term “God” in the New
Testament Scriptures are mostly ascribed to ‘God the Father” and the term
“Lord” to the Son of God Jesus Christ. It doesn’t make the Father and the Son
as two persons or two different individuals. Remember that God is “omnipotent”
(Rev. 19:6) and he can manifest not only “one” but “two” manifestations at the
same time. Only God can do that. Only God can be in two or three different
places simultaneously.
The
Two Natures of Jesus Christ:
Apostle Paul called that
as “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim. 3:16). This is a mystery because it
cannot be understood by people except God gave them the revelation of the
mystery. The mystery of godliness is “God was manifest in the flesh”. He
remained as God even in the flesh. Now, let us analyze this: God was manifest
in the flesh. So how many are there? Two. First is God. Second is the flesh.
This is the key. Here we find the “two” natures of our Lord Jesus Christ. When
I mean “nature” it doesn’t mean the “eternal nature” but what he is and what he
became. The first nature is his “eternal” nature as “God”. “God is a Spirit”
(John 4:24). Spirit is his eternal nature. It is not Father. Why? Because if
God is “eternally” a Father, then it means he has eternal sons and daughters in
the eternity past as eternal as him. His “Fatherhood” had a beginning. God’s
Fatherhood is also “his manifestation” just as his “Sonship” is a
manifestation. When did God become a “Father”? When he did have a son.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD
God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 5:1 This is the
book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the
likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed
them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
1 Corinthians 15:45 And
so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was
made a quickening spirit.
Luke 3:38 Which was the
son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was
the son of God.
These verses show that
Adam was the “first man” or “son of God”. So God first become a father when he
made his son Adam. God as “the eternal Spirit” manifested himself as “Father”
when he made Adam as his son. Or we may say the day when Adam was born “of
God”, God became a Father. And then in Old Testament history, Israel was called
“God’s son, his firstborn” (Exo. 4:22) and God was their “Father”.
Isaiah 63:16 Doubtless
thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge
us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from
everlasting.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O
LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are
the work of thy hand.
Malachi 2:10 Have we not
all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every
man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
In the New Testament
times God was the Father of those Israelites who received and believed on the
name of Jesus Christ. They were born of God and/or born again.
John 1: 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3: 3 Jesus answered
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.
In the
here we have shown that
God became a Father when he did have sons and daughters beginning with Adam and
his creation. But in eternity “God is a Spirit”. God is Father because he is
the “Maker” (Psa. 95:6) and ‘Creator” (Eccl. 12:1). When did he create? “In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1). In the beginning
he created. And in the beginning, generations began. And God was the beginning
a.k.a. the Father of “heavens and earth”. (See Deut. 32:1).
Genesis 2:4 These are
the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the
day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
The eternal nature of
God is “Spirit”. That is the “first nature” of Jesus Christ as “God”. Then we
proceed to “the flesh”. The second nature of Jesus Christ is “the flesh”. It is
not his “eternal” nature but only the “temporary” nature, when he became man on
earth.
God was manifest in the
flesh. The Bible didn’t say that “The Father was manifest in the flesh”. It was
“God” who was manifest in the flesh.
“The Father” is also a manifestation of God. It is not what others think
that “The Father” is the Spirit and “The Son” is the flesh. No! God is a
Spirit. Yes! That God who is Spirit is “The Father”. But it was not his
“Fatherhood” that became flesh, but it is “God” who was made flesh. The Father
is just one of the manifestations and the titles/roles of God Jesus Christ.
When God was manifest in
the flesh, he was declared by his only begotten Son (John 1:18). The Son of God
said “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;” (John 14:9). Because he is
“the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), “the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3). In the last days God
spoke by his Son (Heb. 1:1).
When “God” was manifest
in the “flesh” as “the Only begotten Son” who is in the bosom of the Father,
God continued to manifest as “The Father in heaven”. In heaven, God bears
record as “The Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost” (1 John 5:7 KJV). Remember:
these three are one, that is God. And he bore witness in earth through “the spirit,
and the water and the blood” (1 John 5:8). That’s the earthly life and ministry
of Jesus Christ as the Son. The heavenly witness is “God”. The earthly witness
is “the flesh”. God was manifest in the
flesh – heaven and earth – Spirit and flesh. God and man in One – mediating
between God and men “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Those who don’t accept
this record of God are called “antichrists”:
1 John 2:22 Who is a
liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth
the Father and the Son.
1 John 4:3 And every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come; and even now already is it in the world.
2 John 1:7 For many
deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
GOD was manifest in the
flesh. John made it more clearer: JESUS CHRIST is come in the flesh. That God
who was manifest in the flesh is Jesus Christ who is come in the flesh. That’s
as simple as that. Those who don’t believe it are antichrists. These
antichrists deny the Father and the Son. It means that they don’t believe that
God manifested himself as the Father and the Son, but firmly believe and teach
that the Son is not God himself.
2 John 2: 9 Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
God the Father called
his Son as God: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” (Heb. 1:8).
God called his Son as God. Are there two Gods as others presume? No! God is
One! But he manifested himself as the Father and the Son. Yes! The Son of God
was the manifestation of God as “the flesh” and in “the flesh”. And in that
“bodily” manifestation “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead” (Col. 2:9).
He didn’t stopped being God when he was made flesh, but as the Full
Revelationist Tim Liwanag says in his online book, “Fulfilled Eschatology” http://fulfilled-eschatology.blogspot.com/2013/03/p2-chapter-2-gods-work-through-jesus.html
“In first-century
Israel, Jehovah took upon Himself a real human form. This, however, does not
say that Jehovah ceased to be God. To say that Jehovah gave up some or all of
His Godhood and gave up the use of His divine attributes is to say that THE GOD
was replaced by a human. Also, Jehovah did not transform Himself into an
ordinary human; He added upon himself human attributes.”
“He just added his
humanity to his Godhood”. Jesus Christ didn’t “take off his Godhood”. The Bible
says he “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” (Phil. 2:7). “God was in Christ”
(2 Cor. 5:19). Even though he made himself of no reputation, he didn’t stop to
be God. In that flesh as “the Son” is God himself. Because that Man is God
himself in the flesh. God did not remain in heaven only.
Revelation 21: 3 And I
heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God.
God was manifest in the
flesh (1 Tim. 3:16) and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Prophecy fulfilled!
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Jesus Christ is
Emmanuel, God with us. That prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled when “God was
manifest in the flesh”. Jesus Christ’s body was the tabernacle of God. It means
God dwelt with and among men during the earthly ministry of Christ. The
presence of God was no more in the temple of Jerusalem, which was the Jews’
heaven on earth.
Acts 7:48 Howbeit the
most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Acts 17:24 God that made
the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
God dwelt in the body of
Jesus Christ. Since that time, God’s presence never left the earth. Yes, Jesus
died, was buried, rose again and ascended into heaven. Hebrews 1:2 says “when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”. Jesus
Christ never left. He was taken up into heaven (Acts 1:11) and “received
up into glory” (1 Tim. 3:16).
“God also hath highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). He sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high, which symbolizes authority. Right hand is not literal but figurative. The days of his flesh (Heb. 5:7) ended. Paul said
“yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we
him no more.” (2 Cor. 5:16). He simply means, “From now on, we don’t know more
know Christ after the flesh” because he was no more in the days of his flesh. Paul
says “the Lord is that Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17). Jesus Christ is “the Lord from
heaven” and “a quickening spirit” (1 Cor. 15:47,45).
Now that he is exalted above all the heavens “Far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” all things were put
under his feet, according to 1 Corinthians 15:
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even
the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For
he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For
he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put
under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under
him.
28 And
when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be
subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
The days of his flesh ended, which means the
days of his Sonship. (The Son is the "human nature" of Jesus Christ, and in this humanity dwells all the Godhead, so even though thats human that is God himself in the flesh). The glory that was with him in the beginning came back to
him. He was glorified. The Son destroyed death and he put all things under his
feet and finally in his ascension on high, he as the Son subjected the kingdom and himself to God that “God
may be all in all”. Jesus Christ as the
Son surrendered everything to the God, and so the Sonship ended (the days of his flesh), the purpose
and the manifestation of the Son ended. All the temporary manifestations ended
and “God became ALL IN ALL”. It means that there is no more manifestation of
God as Father, as Son and as the Holy Ghost, but he is now “God in all” and ‘Christ
in all”. His name is Jesus Christ. Yes, God is still our Father, but the
manifestation of the Father-Son relationship was fulfilled. The manifestation
of the Holy Ghost "with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts" (Heb. 2:4) ended. But God is still active today as “The
Spirit” (John 4:24) the Lord who is the Spirit, the Almighty God, the Lord
Jesus Christ, not through gifts but through his "FULFILLED WORD", the BIBLE.
To Jesus Christ was given to be the head over all
things to the church which is “his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all.” (Eph. 1:21-23). Jesus Christ is
“the head of the body the church” (Col. 1:18). And Jesus Christ is the Lord and
God of the church “throughout all ages, world end. Amen.” (Ephesians
3:21 KJV).
to
be continued
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento