In continuing my blog on What We Believe, I will discuss
scripturally the concept of there being only one God. From my last post, I
posted the fundamental truth:
Fundamental Truth: There
is but One Living and True God, the Great Creator, and there are three persons
in the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Also, the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As
God's Son Jesus was both human and divine
I would like to build a scriptural foundation for this
statement.
Reference Genesis
1:1-12 New International Version (NIV), This
scripture describes creation by God, the heavens, earth, light and darkness,
day and night, land and seas, vegetation, sun and moon, animals, and finally
mankind.
Important to note in verse 1 is that the Spirit of God hovered
over the waters. This is the first clue of a multiphase God. The phrase "Spirit of God"
indicates a non bodied aspect of God that drifted aloft above the waters. The second clue comes from verse 26 where it
is written "Let us make man in our image". The "Us" clearly identifying a
plural nature of God. From the context of the scripture there are two
personalities identified: God, and
Spirit of God. In this verse:
Matthew
28:19 (NIV)
19 Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, ...
The plurality is more identified as the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. This three person plurality is classically called the Trinity. Given
that there are three personalities, but we said that God is One. We can derive this from the insertion: Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God,
the Lord is one (Deuteronomy
6:4)(NIV) Consider this verse:
Isaiah
43:10-11 (NIV)
10 “You are my witnesses,”
declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
Here
Isaiah says that God existed first as God and that no other god will exist
after God. So, even though Jesus was
born by a virgin as a man, His godhood always existed in the triune God. Isaiah did not separate the God the Father
and God the Holy Spirit specifically from this verse. He may or may not of understood the third personality,
the creator God known as Jesus Christ or our Savior, as a distinction from just
God. But it is clear that God considers
Himself as a joining of the three personalities. Without any one the Godhead would not be
complete. For us, when we refer to Jesus
as God, the other two personalities are not jealous but they yield to one
another. They lift each other up. If you lift one up, you lift all three
up.
Note
how Hebrews acknowledges Jesus as the one who made the universe.
Hebrews
1:2 (NIV)
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
And remember John 3:16; For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
So God, Jesus Christ, our eternal God who created of
our universe, set up a wonderful plan to save the man, whom He put a living
spirit into, from eternal damnation, from the penalty of man's own indiscretions.
Considers
Paul's words:
2
Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)
14 May the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with
you all.
Here Paul identifies the three personalities of God.
Here is
another scripture that help establish Jesus relationship.
Luke
3:22 (NIV)
22 and the
Holy Spirit descended on him in
bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus was God's Son because He was conceived of a virgin by the
Holy Spirit. (Reference Matthew 1: 18,
Luke 1:30-35) Born a man, yet being God that existed before time. And since Jesus was fathered by the Holy
Spirit, He is truly God's Son as man.
When Jesus refers to Himself as the "Son of Man", He is
referring to His humanity along with all of human's vulnerabilities. So the verse above refers to God the Son, God
the Holy Spirit and voice from heaven, God the Father, in context that they are
all different identities, in different places, in different forms and free from
each other. But singular in purpose and
will. Consider
this verse:
John
1:18 (NIV)
18 No one
has ever seen God, but the
one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father,
has made him known.
If Jesus is the only one who has seen God, then this implies His existence
prior to His birth. Jesus says this is
so here:
John
8:57-59 (NIV)
57 “You
are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very
truly I tell you,” Jesus
answered, “before
Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At
this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Do you remember in the movie "The Ten Commandments" when
Moses was talking to God in a burning bush and he asked God what His name
was? (Exodus 3:14) God identified
Himself as 'I am who I am'. With the
words "I am" in John 8:58 above, Jesus identified Himself as the one
who talked to Moses at the burning bush.
The proof is when they, in verse 59, picked up the stones to stone Jesus
because they recognized the reference and that Jesus declared Himself to be
God. And this next verse again witnesses that Jesus is the eternal God who came
as God's only begotten son.
John
1:1-2, 14 (NIV)
1 In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.2 He was with God in the
beginning.
14 The
Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came
from the Father, full of grace and
truth.
Now I continue to maintain that the personalities of God are
distinct. I'm not talking about a God
with a split personality. I'm talking
about a God that has three individual persons.
Jesus does not have to be where the Father is or the Holy Spirit
is. The Holy Spirit does not have to be
where the Father is or where Jesus is.
They are Each capable on His own to do, speak and have His will. But at the same time they are one
together. One in unity, inseparable,
can't exist without the existence of each other. I have to admit that this concept exceeds my
ability to comprehend God. So as
expected, I am failing short of adequately describing God.
Now lets talk about Jesus in his humanity. Jesus had to learn, eat, work and could die
like all men. In His earthly walk He puts
down His own rights as God and walked as a human in the Spirit and listened to
the voice of God the Father. In John
5:19, He said he could do nothing by Himself. So He had to depend on the Holy
Spirit like you and I. Jesus gave up His
supernatural abilities as God but as a Man had to walk obediently in the Spirit
of God obeying the Father God just as Jesus asks us to walk obediently in the
Spirit and according to Jesus purpose.
He said we, his children, can and will do even greater works than Jesus
did. Though Jesus could, He did not do the miracles within Himself but through
the Holy Spirit. So we can have the very
same anointing, we can also walk filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter 2, God poured out his Spirit
on the Church. He is still pouring out
His Spirit and God wants to work through us.
Now this is powerful for us if we can put this into full practice
in our lives. If we walk in the Spirit,
obedient to Jesus voice and His calling.
Nothing will be impossible too us.
Jesus did all His miracles by the Holy Spirit. He did not utilize the authority He had as
God but He depended upon God the Father and the Holy Spirit just as we have to walk
in the authority of Jesus as His children and depend on the Holy Spirit.
When you pray in Jesus name, is this a tag line you put at the end
of your prayer or request. Or is the whole prayer inline with God's will and
prayed as a request that will benefit God's Kingdom? Did you hear God's voice via the Holy Spirit telling
you to pray for that request? Or maybe that prayer is really a request for
something from God to consume in your sinning? Is it really for the purposes of
God?
For example, I am presently having neck problems. This problem is preventing me from going
out and doing certain fun, adventurous, thrilling activities. These are not ungodly activities but they are
not activities that will directly give God glory as opposed to writing or witnessing for
Christ. If God heals me will I stay here
and type as I'm doing now or will I leave the computer and go fishing, hunting,
gold mining, hiking, etc. to the point I am no longer focused on Christ in my
activities. Nothing is wrong with these
activities except they take my focus away from the things God has for me to
do. But I do know that God wants to heal
me. I pray for healing but am I putting
God at a disadvantage because of my lust for life and disobedience? So then is my lust and disobedience preventing God
from answering my prayers? So I pray for
God to root out these sinful tendencies that I would be more able to please
him. Then as I learn to walk closer to His
will, the power of God will be more evident in my life. The 'flesh' will be better 'buried'. I will
cease to be running my own course but follow Christ.
Here is another verse establishing Jesus and his dependency on God
the Father.
John 5:17-30 (NIV)
17 In his
defense Jesus said to them, “My
Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they
tried all the more to kill him; not
only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father,
making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus
gave them this answer: “Very
truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the
Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the
Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works
than these, so that
you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father
raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover,
the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the
Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not
honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “Very
truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will
not be judged but has
crossed over from death to life. 25 Very
truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as
the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him
authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not
be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come
out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done
what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By
myself I can do nothing; I judge
only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
It is my prayer that I can see what God is doing so that I may be
effective as a Christian. Saul before he
was converted to Christ was found "kicking against the goads" (Acts
9:1-5, 26:13-15). I believe his heart
was right in that He was pursuing God with all his Heart. But Paul missed God and was found working
against Him. Are we, in our enthusiasm
working for God or against Him? How do
you know unless you're walking in the Spirit and hearing His voice?
Next I want to describe God as a Holy God. Consider these verses.
Hebrews 1:1-13 (NIV)
1 In the
past God spoke to our
ancestors through the prophets at many
times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining
all things by his
powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much
superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 For to
which of the angels did God ever say,
“You
are my Son;
today I have become your Father"?
today I have become your Father"?
Or
again,
“I will
be his Father,
and he will be my Son"?
and he will be my Son"?
6 And again, when God
brings his firstborn into
the world, he
says,
“Let
all God’s angels worship him."
7 In speaking of the
angels he says,
“He
makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire."
and his servants flames of fire."
8 But about the Son he
says,
“Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."
10 He also says,
“In the
beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."
13 To which of the angels
did God ever say,
“Sit at
my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"?
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"?
Revelation 4:8-11 (NIV)
8 Each of
the four living creatures had six
wings and was covered with
eyes all around, even
under its wings. Day and night they
never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,'
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever
the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the
twenty-four elders fall
down before him who
sits on the throne and
worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the
throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God
almighty... He is worthy, our Lord and
God to receive glory and honor and power.
Hebrews 1:3 says that the Son is the radiance of God's being. It is said that if anyone saw God's face they
would surely die. How majestic is this.
If you've read all these scriptures, you see how
the Bible describes God as Eternal, Creator, Savior, Holy, Worthy, and Higher
than the Angels. There are three
personalities to God: The Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit. There is one
God, that is to say the three personalities are in united and dependent upon
each other and there is no other god that has ever existed or will ever exist.
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