The Threefold Witness of Jesus
(a biblical exposé of "the Holy Trinity" doctrine)
Comparing three biblical witnesses with three individual persons
I remember one time in my
life, as a
lost rebellious young
man just coming out of my teens, stating to some evangelical
Christian friends of mine (who were instrumental in winning me
to Christ) that "Jesus was God." Why did I say this? Was
this not odd coming from a young bloke who had just recently been using
this name openly in vain? However, it was something that had just
recently come to me at the time, apparently
'out of the blue' from somewhere, that some way rung true in my
gut. And here was introverted me making this very bold statement
to some devoted Christians about Jesus being God, to which their immediate
reply was:
"Oh no, Jesus is the Son of God!"
At this stage in my life I was playing in rock bands, had hardly
entered a church, and had never walked the isle nor confessed someone's
version of the "sinners prayer", as well as very rarely reading the
Bible which I could not understand. It was not till years after my conversion, and re visiting Jack
Chick comics, that I saw it
clearly written plainly that Jesus was indeed God the Creator.
Moreover, the scriptures verified this. Over time the questions that
were constantly
lingering in the back of mind ... "Was Jesus God ... period!? Or was He
just the second part of the Trinity? Or both?"
To me He could not have been both (God and a second part of God that
is). He was either who He said He was, the one and only God
who changeth not, ruling out Him being part of a tripartite Being. Yes ... a
tripartite Being! This in
essence (whether you admit it or not) is God split into three Gods!
Okay then, I will rephrase this (to save you turning off) ... this is three persons (people)
functioning with three
independent Divine roles, all called God together, or the Godhead!
I
could clearly see the word or title 'Godhead' in scripture but I had
real
difficulty in seeing a heavenly triangular system called or termed
"God" or
"the Trinity". Trinity ... the word for, or the meaning of 'three
in unity', but ALL INDIVIDUAL of each other.
Therefore, unapologetically I will now remove the word 'tri' (as in the
word triple or triad)
from my writings when it comes to biblical revelation, and will use the plain scriptural number (as in de English) of
THREE or THREEFOLD from now on. The reason ... the 'tri'
word relates
to the word Tri-nity or Tri-une God in this case, which is not found in the Bible. By using the double
edged sword of the Spirit, and fine tuning 'sound doctrine' down to
a 'T' (without an "R" and "I" here), what are we left with? Answer: Yes, the THREEFOLD WITNESS
(or
RECORD)
from God's Holy Book! However, both meaning and conveying to ONE God
and
ONE Person eternally, and not to three separate entities coexisting
together. His
name being Jesus of course!
Before we proceed I first wish to make myself clear where I am coming
from and deny being any of the following, as I consider myself to be
just a Bible believer:
A
Modalist: Believing God appears as three different people (even
to the point of the three angels visiting Abraham or to three different
blokes depicted on artwork as God).
An Arianist: Denying that Jesus or the Holy Spirit are fully God (tough on Pentecostals and Charismatics).
An Subordinationist: Of Origen, believing that Jesus is subordinate to the Father (paving the way for Westcott and Hort and the revisionist committees, set up to rewrite and redefine the Bible).
An Adoptionist: Believing Jesus only became divine at His baptism (errr ... no more comments here).
A Trinitarian: Believing the biblical threefold witness is
pointing to or is the Trinity, whereas scripture reveals it points to Jesus as Divine.
A JW (Jehovah Witness) or a Christadelphian: Someone who reacts
against the Trinity because their denomination refuses the deity of
Christ and the Spirit being God. They go way the other extreme,
blind to the biblical threefold witness and blind to it being Jesus.
A "Jesus" Onlyist: Believing unless you only specifically and
compellingly make mention of Jesus constantly in prayer or ministry you
are not in His name or blessing (like you accidentally sneezed or something at the end
of saying a prayer ... oh yeah!).
Phew!! These names do get
tiresome though, don't they!? Nevertheless, I do consider myself a Christian (without tags, flags, banners, fanfare, or add
ons) ... a follower of Christ ONLY! Let's cut the redtape and let God be judge and
let you discern (scripturally)! Moreover, please read this treatise through
thoroughly and prayerfully,
comparing scripture with scripture (this I call rightly dividing -
using the sharp and double edged sword - and
I believe it to be the correct interpretation) before you come back at
me with spears, knives or relishing me with roses? Ta! Here we go then:
Not
that I like using names (as you should've guessed by now), but a
christianized Trinitarian is someone who has to see God as three but
functioning as one. Or you could
say ... one
tripart God or God expressing Himself in triangular fashion (see symbols below)! That's God split up into three other (different/distinct)
persons/beings. Which really spells THREE different Gods to me,
if you
really
want
to be honest. Okay, some of you are already leaving this treatise
in
apparent disgust. For those who want to see me through (thanks for
holding on and please hear me out) the word of God is not bound,
so I will encourage you to think outside the Square. Or should I
say ... outside the Triangle in this case:
Take
a perfect family, for a hypothetical
illustration (meaning, it's really a matter of using very poor, imperfect
comparisons) ... the Father, the Mother, and the Child in this instance! Dwelling
together
in blissful oneness (like Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus - see
images below).
However, if this
'template family' is really a good illustration to prove God is a
triadic system commonly known as "the
Holy Trinity",
what must be taken into account
is that this family is made up of three DIFFERENT entities.
That's
three INDIVIDUAL personalities with INDIVIDUAL spirits, is it
not? Definitely not the same person! Functioning
autonomously while not lawlessly! Whereby, and contrary to, the
spirit of
the Father and Jesus adding up to being the same Spirit as well as the
same God. A vast
difference really! In
this perfect/ideal family analysis (actually being a poor analysis in
this case), no way can we describe the Father
as being the Mother, nor the
Father as being the Child, can we? Just the same way, nor can we
describe
the Child as being the Father, or the Child as being the Mother in the
same
way. No, these three (even though they are functioning as one
family
unit) are three DISTINCT PEOPLE as I just pointed out, in individual
spirit, character and
personality. It is certainly not a duplication of what is defined
as the Holy
Trinity. It can't and nothing can! Just like the old proverbial theory of
'perpetual motion'!
In contrast to this, if Jesus is the Father and the Spirit, you simply
can't
have three different Jesus', can you? It is either the same person, the same
God, or it is not. Are you with me or not, thus far?
Okay, take me
f'instance (de author of dis treatise) if you don't mind me using
myself as a generalized example? I happen to be one distinct person
(believe it or not - and I think you have probably heard this poor comparison before),
with three different functions (yes, a multi task man). One, I am a son
to my
earthly father (fair dinkum!).
Two, I am a husband to my wife (I think she agrees). And three, I am a
father to my
firstborn (eh BJ!). Yes, One person but three different roles to
play.
However, even though I am who I am (I can't help that!), born of my
earthly father, I was
not a husband till later in my life when I got married. Just the same,
I was not a father till later in our marriage after we had our
firstborn. Yet God consistently says He is always the same God
that changeth
not. Furthermore, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who the scriptures claim
to be "the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Additionally,
who was it who declared in Rev. 1:8 ... "I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty"?
Me ... I was once just a lad and someone's sonny (thatz to me earthly dad)!
Then I
became a hubby and a dad myself. Same me! Also, work that
one out? Therefore, here's another important question: Was
God (I mean God without other names or titles, right!) ... was God always a son or did He become a son?
Email me with your answer please. However, please make sure your answer is a direct and simple answer of "Yes" or "No"
in exchange for a direct and simple question! Fair enough!? You
can even place your explanation after your "yes" or "no" answer. However, please don't
email me if you can't say either "Yes" or "No" first. In addition, a blanket
"yes and no" 'together as one answer' (like sitting on the fence) is going to be absurd and stupid, so please
don't use this one either.
The Deity of Christ
Moving on and looking at a completely different scenario, and not to be
confused with
this issue, when scripture
mentions
'another' Jesus it has got nothing to do with God or deity, but heresy
... an impostor "Jesus" in this case. In contrast to this,
following
is a list of who the
biblical Jesus is
(along with scriptural backing, as the scriptural One from
heaven). Here there is definitely not three or more Jesus' in
existence or made
manifest, but ONE. Yes, the one and same Jesus who not only
happens
to be our
Redeemer and
Lord, but eternally God Almighty, our Father and Creator:
Jesus is God
Jesus is the I AM
Jesus is Lord
Jesus is the Creator/Maker
Jesus is the Almighty
Jesus is the blessed and only Potentate
Jesus is the manifestation of the
Godhead and is the Godhead
Jesus is the Father
Jesus is the Word
Jesus is the Son
Jesus is the Spirit of God
Jesus is the Christ
Jesus is the God of gods, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Prince of princes, the Prince of peace, the Prince of life, the prince of the
kings of the earth
Jesus is Jehovah
Furthermore, it is Jesus who is the one who gets the pre-eminence. It
does
not say that the pre-eminence goes to the Godhead. Neither to the
Father or
to the Spirit for that matter. Why? Because they are all one and the
same
person all found in the same person! And His name is Jesus!
Now let's elaborate on the above list of titles in regards to Jesus'
true identity. Please bear with me as this tends to get heavy, and
tends
to get deep.
However, it is not out of our grasp when we rightly divide and have
the Spirit of God leading us into all truth, and understand it is to do with love and not knowledge which puffeth up:
Eph. 3:17-20. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be
able to
comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of
God."
Jesus is God!
That's right! Now let's get it straight from the scriptures and
the
scriptures only ... more irrefutable biblical proof JESUS
is GOD (now personalized, coz He loves us):
Is. 9:6. "For
unto us a child is
born,
unto us a son is given (God manifested in the flesh): and the
government
shall
(future tense) be upon his shoulder: and his name shall (future tense) be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, *The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace."
John 1:1. "In
the beginning was the
Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:18. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son".
John 20:28.
"And Thomas answered
and said
unto him (Jesus), My Lord and my
God."
Acts 7:59.
"And they stoned
Stephen, calling
upon God,
and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit (correct me, but I think this is the only record of someone actually praying in the whole NT with the actual words written)."
Acts 20:28.
"Feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with His own blood."
Rom.
9:5. "Whose are
the fathers,
and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all,
God blessed
for ever. Amen."
Phil. 2:6.
"Who, being in the form
of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God (note: the modern
perversions change the meaning completely
around in this verse)".
Col. 1:15.
"Who is the image of the
invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature"
Titus 2:10. "Not
purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the
doctrine of God our Saviour in
all things."
Titus
2:13. "Looking
for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of *the great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ"
Titus 3:4. "But after that the
kindness and love of God our Saviour
toward man appeared"
1 Timothy 3:16 ... God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
1 Tim. 4:10 ... "because we trust in
the living God, who is the Saviour of all men"
James 1:27. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father"
Heb. 1:8. "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever"
1 John 3:16. "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us".
1 John 5:20
... "that we may
know him
that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God,
and eternal life."
Jude 25. "To the only wise God our Saviour, be
glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
Rev. 1:6.
"And hath made us kings
and priests
unto God
(Jesus) and his Father; to him
be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Jesus is the I AM!
In the OT God was Jehovah to the Hebrews. His chosen people on
the earth. Jehovah was the one true living God who made the children
of Israel stand out among all the heathen nations who worshiped other
false
gods. Furthermore, only Jehovah claimed to be the great I AM proving
all other gods to be the invention of man and false substitutes for the
one and only living God of Israel. It is also important to know here when the
Hebrew people where walking in obedience, they never worshiped or acknowledge
a triad of gods or a Trinity, whereas the pagan religions of the day did (more on this
later). To them, God was the ONE Jehovah. Oh ... but He did come
with THREE functional names believe it or not! Yes, this is very interesting and we all need to take note here (and we can all count to three, can't we!):
1. Gen. 22:14. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh
(my God will see)
2. Ex. 17:15. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi
(my God is my banner)
3. Jud. 6:24. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called
it Jehovahshalom (my God is peace)
Wow!!!!!!!!
However, despite this fact (Jehovah coming with three
different names and
functions - take what you want from this, but there in no triad God
here) the children of Israel never called Jehovah the Trinity,
justified or misconstrued Him as made up of "Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, and Jehovah
Shalom ... That's as three persons but as
one and the same God!" Did they?
He is who He is!! Prove Him wrong!?
Hey, and something else exciting I have discovered and I must share with you
here. It is nothing to do with three here but four (like the four
Gospels): Did you know (and you may if you are very familiar with
my articles) that the name Jehovah by itself is only mentioned four
times in scripture (all in the Old Testament of course) and (here it
is) each time it is written in CAPITALS (if you are reading from
a modern perversion by the way, you will miss it by hundreds of light
years)!
Now let's go to the New Testament this time and we no longer see the
name Jehovah ever again but Jesus (Jehovah saves). Moreover, did you know that the name
of Jesus also appears four time written in CAPITALS? Incredible but true! This has got to be confirmation
of God's seal on a name for one time (to His people the Hebrews) and
His name for all time to the whosoever (both Jew and Gentile)! You can now say
Alleluia!!!
OT ... JEHOVAH x 4 (notice the capitals)
NT ... JESUS x 4 (notice the capitals)
In regards to all this and staying in the New Testament here, we can see a mystery is revealed for the
first time in history. A baby is born of a virgin who is called 'Jesus',
from the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name 'Joshua', meaning Jehovah Saves (as mentioned)! For He will
save His people from their sins.
God has
come down to dwell among His people as one of His people for the first
time. Here is
indisputable proof Jesus was God among His people in Matt. 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."
Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14:
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Yes, the Word, which was and is God, had become flesh and dwelt
among us. Here was the fulfilment of the prophetic word of Immanuel to
come ... God with us!
You see ... I am not "Jesus Only" after all, as the erected Strawman
goes! The Strawman Christendom has invented to
counter the claim that Jesus is God eternally, not
the Son eternally, because He had to be born of a woman and dwell among
us as the Son of man. This had never happened before and was
only a 'oncer' for all time, as we will endeavour to look more
fully into it in this treatise and see that any (OT) reference made before this
great revelation and manifestation of all time (the Word
becoming flesh) was in actual fact the prophetic word speaking,
revealing what was to come.
Therefore, here is the arrival of the long awaited Messiah, the
anointed one from God, who was God, dwelling among His people. Who they
did not recognize and would reject as an impostor and then hand over and have
executed in
place
of a murderer. This is the trouble ... man will acknowledge Jesus as
a man, or a prophet, or a son of God, but he will never acknowledge
Jesus
as God without the Holy Ghost. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity dumbs down
this revelation by only
including Jesus into the Trinity, subtly watering down His Divinity and true
status
as God Almighty, while being the Godhead Himself, "the blessed and ONLY
Potentate". This is the great
mystery revealed in the dispensation of the fulness of times,
approximately 2,000 years ago, where Jesus is
Jehovah, not a replacement for Him or a part of Him, coming to save His
people from their sins.
Rom. 16:25-27. "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according
to my
gospel (Paul took hold of it first by revelation), and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation
of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the
prophets (OT predictions of the Son to come),
according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all
nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory
through Jesus Christ for ever.
Yes, God had visited man before, and walked, fellowshiped and spoken to
man in times of old (OT). However, the fulness of God, in the Lord
Jesus Christ (Col.
1:14-19)
had not been revealed. It was kept a secret for all time, until the
ripe (right) time, when this great revelation (or mystery) was to be
made
known.
Eph. 3:3-9. "How that by revelation he made known unto
me (Paul who received it first by revelation) the mystery;
(as I
wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may
understand my knowledge in the mystery
of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto
the sons of men,
as it
is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body,
and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a
minister, according to the gift of the grace of
God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who
am less than the least of all saints, is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches
of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship
of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in
God, who
created all
things by Jesus Christ".
Yes, Jesus was and is God, and is now made known to the world and
revealed
unto those that are His. Looking back ... when Moses was called by
God to deliver the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt,
Moses inquired of God and asked God personally, "Behold, when I come
unto the
children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers
hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what
shall I say unto them?" What did God tell Moses to say (emphasis
from the word of God)?
"I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
Is.
43:10 declares: "Ye are my witnesses, saith
the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and
believe
me, and understand that I am he:
before me there was no God
formed, neither shall there be after me."
Surely, out of all existence, creation and eternity, the only one who
could be qualified to say this would be God Almighty Himself, would He
not? That God is I AM and there in no one else besides Him!
Now let's go to the New
Testament as the mystery of God is being revealed in all His fulness,
and see who claims this great title: The title ... I AM! John 18:6 ... and the
authorities
were coming to arrest Jesus for making out He was God. How did Jesus
respond when they identified Him as just the man they were
looking for?:
"As soon then as he had said unto them, I
am he, they
went backward, and fell to the ground."
Yes, Jesus was declaring openly that He was the great I AM thus
fulfilling Is. 43:10 as well! Who else
could qualify to do this apart from God Himself? Who came and
manifested
Himself in the flesh! Moreover, who else could stand in His presence
when confronted with the fulness of this revelation and power and
authority? Certainly not unregenerated man ... and down they went! Because, the non believing religionists
despised Him for what He
stood for. They despised Him for whom He declared Himself to be ... the "I AM"!
The only one being of course who could declare the following authoritatively and legitimately:
"I am the Son of God"
"I
am from above"
"I
am one that bear witness of myself"
"I
am the bread of life"
"I
am the light of the world"
"I
am the door"
"I am the good shepherd"
"I
am the resurrection, and the life"
"I
am the way, the truth, and the life"
"I
am in the Father, and the Father in me"
"I
am the true vine"
"I
am not of this world"
"I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end"
"I
am the root and the offspring of David"
"I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom thou persecutest."
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am
alive for evermore"
"I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give
unto every one of you according to your works."
Who has the authority, unction and gumption to say
the above like this out rightly? The
reason the Bible starts off with God the Creator
(beginning of Genesis) and finishes with the Lord Jesus Christ
(end of Revelation). What does that say in itself?
Jesus is Lord!
Have
you ever wondered why the title Lord in the Old Testament was quite
often
spelt
with capitals (LORD) as in the case of the title God also (GOD)?
Along with the
name Jehovah (JEHOVAH and JAH)? And why it is never written in
capitals in the New Testament after Jesus is made known?
I was desperate to find out, so I asked the Lord. Here we go
...
the reason (which you can only get accurately from the
Authorized
Holy Bible by the way):
"The
LORD" spelt with capitals is standard in the OT. By itself the LORD is Lord as
GOD is God! However, there is more, as there is a biblical reason. Let's look at the verses to explain why:
"The
LORD God of your fathers"
God had a
people. His word was aimed at them and not the heathen. A warning was given to them as Pr. 22:28. "Remove not
the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set".
God has left us many types of landmarks
in His word and every word, jot and tittle are there for a good reason
and are not to be tampered with, but heeded in regards to knowing His
will and His call. This entails experiencing His friendship
(intimacy and communion) as well as acknowledging who He is in all His
majesty, power and omnipotence. Here are some
examples where He witnesses to not only the proclamation of His name
but also the personalization of Him to His people. After all, according to John, obedience is proof we love Him:
"the
LORD God of thy fathers" (of His peoples origins)
or "the
LORD God of Israel" (of their nation)
He was their
faithful God yet they choose another. Jer. 2:23. "How canst thou say, I
am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim?".
"The
LORD your God" (rendering in relationship to His people)
or "the
LORD thy God" (still personalized)
or "The
LORD our God" (rendering to His peoples relationship with Him also)
"the LORD our Lord" ("Lord" interchangeably used with "God" and vice versa, frequently in scripture as other names/titles)
"LORD" or "God" (rendering to proclamation of His name)
In lower case ... "Lord" or "God" (rendering to Him personalizing Himself to His people)
I hope this is making sense? Please read over and over at
each word
please? The word of God has to be quick, and powerful, and
sharper
than any twoedged sword piecing asunder our preconceived ideas and
judgements, as well as our religious conditioning through years of
indoctrination by the system. Unless you want God to remain
inside your (or their) created triangle?
"Do not I fill heaven
and earth? saith the LORD (in capitals)."
Ps.
8:9. "O LORD (in capitals - rendering as a
proclamation) our Lord (in
lower case - rendering as a personalization),
how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"
The
LORD makes Israel his nation. His people
are commanded to make the LORD their God. For they cannot make their
(own)
God. For He is who He is! When He is acknowledged
for
whom He is in relationship, the letters to His title become lower case
but
the first letter remains a capital, as in Judges
6:13 e.g.:
"And Gideon said unto him (the
LORD), Oh my Lord (rendering to relationship/personal),
if the LORD (rendering
to proclamation of
Deity/His position) be with us, why then is all this befallen
us?"
Check
it out! You'll only find it in the
Holy Bible (the Authorized Bible) though. This cannot be mere
coincidence,
or word manipulation. I believe the translators may not have ever known
about it. It proves God's word is Divinely inspired and
completely
and totally authoritative!
Here
is another random verse out of many in the
Old Testament. Once again rendering proclamation of Deity:
Judges
16:28. "And Samson called unto the
LORD (rendering to proclamation of Deity),
and said, O Lord (rendering to relationship)
GOD (rendering in proclamation to Deity), remember
me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God (rendering
to relationship),
that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes".
"O
Lord (personalized) GOD (deified)" was the Old Testament title for
addressing the LORD. Lord
means the highest authority within a governable
sphere. Therefore, mere rulers in scripture (separate from Deity)
were referred to as lord. Or a lord as opposed to the Lord or our Lord (first letter in lower case as all
others)
e.g.:
2
Sam. 19:19. "And said unto the king,
Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou
remember
that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the
king
went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart."
Just
as the the letter 'g' is in lower case when the word is referring to an
inferior
god below "the God (the One God
of heaven) of gods" (many below heaven)"
Ex.
15:11. "Who is like unto thee, O
LORD (rendering to proclamation of Deity), among the gods?
who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
wonders?"
There
is One God of Israel (God's people) and there are many gods of the
heathen nations:
Deut.
29:18. "Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family,
or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD (rendering to proclamation of Deity) our God (rendering to relationship),
to go and serve the gods of these nations".
When a person in relationship was
referring to the LORD, Lord the majority of times started with a
capital
signifying the higher authority in God, as already explained.
When
God's title was proclaimed, full capitals the majority of times were
used
in acknowledgement to the Authority above every other authority.
Mark
12:36. "For David himself said by
the Holy Ghost, The LORD (in heaven) said to my Lord (Jesus
being glorified), Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine
enemies
thy footstool."
That's ... GOD in communion with our (personal) God! Or God ministering (or praying to)
Himself! Here's more:
Is.
19:4. "And the Egyptians will I give
over into the hand of a cruel lord (the lower authority);
and a
fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord (rendering to
the highest
authority being personal to His people),
the LORD of hosts (in heaven)."
Yes, the Lord is the highest authority and in the New Testament Jesus
is proclaimed the Lord of lords ... the highest authority
over every other
authority. Revealing ... there is no other higher authority,
anywhere, anytime,
than Jesus! Yes, Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is the Creator/Maker!
Here are the verses (they should be self-qualifying and
self-explanatory in themselves):
John 1:1-3. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made."
There is no doubt this is referring to Jesus because verse one says:
"He was in the world (because He became flesh - verse 14), and the
world was made by him (Jesus was the Creator), and the world knew him not (did
not realize that this was God in the flesh, their Creator, coming as Messiah)."
Eph. 2:10. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them."
There can't be any doubt, really!
Eph. 3:9. "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ."
Irrefutable, wouldn't you say?
Col. 1:14-17. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the
forgiveness of sins (that's Jesus): Who is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature (that's Jesus):
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him,
and for him (that's Jesus): And he is before all
things, and by him all things consist."
What more evidence do we need?
Jesus is the (great) Almighty!
Rev. 1:8. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith
the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, *the Almighty."
Who is Alpha and Omega? Unmistakably it is Jesus, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty! He is the mighty God, The everlasting Father!
Unmistakably really:
Is. 9:6. "For unto us a child is born (Jesus), unto us a son is given (Jesus): and the
government shall be upon his shoulder (Jesus): and his name shall be called
Wonderful (Jesus), Counsellor (Jesus), The mighty God (Jesus), The everlasting Father (Jesus), The
Prince of Peace (Jesus)."
In the New Testament we see that Jesus is clearly called the Lord of
lords. This name and title belongs to no one else. In the
Old Testament it was already written of Him prophetically. This sums up
entirely who He (Jesus) is:
Deut. 10:17. "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords,
a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor
taketh reward"
Again, this speaks of the King of kings:
Ps. 95:3. "For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all
gods."
Though He made everything and us, and came to redeem us, and overcame
death by His resurrection power, this same Jesus who reigns in heaven
is also coming back for us. As we look for one Lord and King to come
back and take us home to heaven:
Titus 2:13. "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of *the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ"
Yes, scriptural and irrefutable!
Jesus is the blessed and only Potentate (1 Tim. 6: 14-15)!
Potentate means the most sovereign monarch and ruler. Moreover, Jesus being the only Potentate takes it to max! What more confirmation do you need than this:
Rev. 17:14. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
As the familiar verse goes ... "That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth"!
This places Jesus at the top of the apex not on an equal level of a three equal sided Godhead.
Jesus is the threefold manifestation
of the
Godhead and is the Godhead!
Col. 2:9. "For in him (that's Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Let's look at two important verses in the NT ... 1 John 5: 7 & 8. Of course
all verses in the Bible are important as each jot and tittle are.
However, sometimes a key verse is either changed (added to or
subtracted from) or removed entirely by revisionists because they are
only a hinderance to them in making merchandise of scripture (peddling
the word) and are not therefore ministering in truth (there's no
monetary or prestigious gain found
here). Meaning, at the end off the day, truth is not in the
equation. Therefore, it is in their interests that certain key
verses or words are tampered with in order to create a need for their
ministry (justifying their position and livelihood) or hide that fact
that their job is not necessary
in any way under the New Covenant. Or that they could even be the
Devil's
emissaries in some
cases, sneaking in to dilute the gospel and clutter the way. A
key verse in scripture which revisionists have removed
or undermined greatly is 1 John 5:7:
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
Why is this so?
Especially when many of the revisionists and Bible correctors who do
this or support this, claim to believe in the Holy Trinity
doctrine. Isn't this verse actually reinforcing the Holy Trinity
doctrine thereby making it a prudent measure to take, insuring this
verse remains incorporated into the cannon of scripture? When
taking a first glance at this
verse it appears good ammo to enforce or enhance the Holy Trinity
concept. However, from taking a second glance at this verse with
a bit of musing over, one may begin to see that this verse is taking a
slightly different slant on things and talking
about three witnesses in heaven bearing record, not three different
people in heaven and earth. Thus cancelling out the Holy Trinity claim.
And thirdly, taken into account, this verse is not making
reference to a second member or part of the Trinity called "God the
Son" at all. But all three manifestations are bearing record to the fact
(verse one of this chapter) "that Jesus is the Christ is born of God". All three
witnessing to the fact that the Word became flesh. Bearing testimony to the fact Jesus of Nazareth was both God
and man in other words. In fact there is not one verse in the
Bible that says "God
the Son". Nor is there one verse in the Bible which says "God the
Spirit" for that matter. There are however, 13 verses (all found
in the NT) which say "God
the Father".
Furthermore, we do know that the Son (Jesus) is God
though, just as we know that the Spirit is God. However (as
pointed out) we should all have a
problem with this verse because it does not use the term 'the Son' but'
the Word', if we happen to be endorsing the Holy Trinity. Realizing here, the Son is not from
everlasting. He had to be
begotten and born of a woman. The Word is eternal and from
everlasting. Moreover, this eternal Word had to become
flesh. You see a son is not a son until it is conceived and born.
Num. 23:19. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent".
Understanding, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The Son of God had to be
conceived and born a
son of man, born from a woman, in the likeness of sinful flesh.
This is a principle right through scripture.
God would
not break this scriptural principle and let Himself down like
this. Therefore, 1 John 5:17 does not serve Matt. 28:19 in the Trinity sense nor support the
Holy Trinity concept at all, but is actually an indictment against it:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost".
In Matt. 28:19-20 Jesus gives a command to His followers (His called
out ones) to go and do certain things in the name of.
In "the
name of" can be easily misconstrued here and has been. This has
been used to enforce a teaching that you find nowhere else in
scripture. To those who would be called Trinitarians it would be
going into all the world and doing these things in the name of "the
Trinity" or "the Holy Trinity", not the name of Jesus, if there is substance in this
teaching. However, because this verse gives no
such specifics, these traditionalists play it safe and copy the phrased
words just like they do with the so-called "Lord's Prayer". They
duplicate it in parrot fashion without knowing the meaning and its
scriptural
objective. They actually interpret it in a subjective manner
without
one verse in the Bible to back their claims. This is where the
principle of "rightly dividing the word of truth" kicks in. So
let's break it down and tackle specifics, giving clarity to help find
the right objective end result:
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name (in the name of who?)
(in the name) of the Father, (whose the name of the Father? Look it up ... Isaiah 9:6!)
and
(in the name) of the Son, (and
whose the name of the Son? Doesn't need explaining ... the
Trinitarians agree here. You'll find out why later)
and
(in the name) of the Holy Ghost (and whose the name of the Holy Ghost? Look it up ... 2 Corinthians 3:17!)"
More on this later!
But
apparently there is another alibi here ... Again it is to do with
either objective or subjective interpretation. The
traditionalist takes the later as it serves his cause. Again he
does not have to provide proof by weighing a scriptural passage, or
verse, or word, by at least one other verse (two is good but three is
even better and more concrete) because he has an 'all sown up'
interpretation which
says that "rightly dividing" actually means carving the
Bible up into parts for different periods and different types of hearers. This
interpretation is nothing to do with
accurately weighing one verse with another verse for confirmation in
the here
and now, and for the purpose and benefit of the Bible believer.
Therefore, the
traditionalist has won his case from the onset and refuses to move,
keeping his god/s
in the box he has made or found for himself. He prefers to not
use verses
placed on the other end of God's balancing scale to see if it equally
cuts the mustard with another verse, thus providing a right weight and
just balance. To me this is fully scriptural whereas the other is
so 'open ended' that a new movement, a new doctrine, or a new church
can be
founded by pulling it out of the 'hat of opportunity', conveniently
with the word
"Bible" or "Christian" stamped on it. Even with "King
James Bible" or "Bible believer" engraved into it. Not realizing
or choosing to deliberately
ignore the fact that God has already divided the Bible up for us,
making it user
friendly, foolproof and watertight safe.
Simple ... God has divided the
Book up into two
books for a start ... the Old and New Testament! These are
neatly and orderly divided up into other books, which in turn are
divided up into chapters, then into verses. And woe to
those who would add or subtract to this! Or those who would take
Dispensationalism to extreme, and can't or wont rightly divide the word
of truth.
Take note that whilst 1 John 1:7 is omitted from the Holy Book, 1 John 5:8 is left in by the revisionists which reads in the AB:
"And there are
three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the
blood: and these three agree in one."
Now lets take a very thorough look at these two verses again beside each other, in the right order of sequence:
1 John 5:7. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
1 John 5:8. "And there are
three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the
blood: and these three agree in one."
This means the Holy Ghost is one with the Father and the Word as the same Person. For our record!
As this means the water and
the blood (Jesus coming in the flesh) are in agreement with the Spirit while being nothing to do
with being the same person. For our witness!
Our record and witness to what? That the Holy Trinity concept is
true and scriptural? Or that they bear record and witness to the
fact "that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God"? Bearing record and
witnessing to the fact that God became man and dwelt among us, showing
us the way outta here, and outta religious bondage. Renouncing
placing tradition on a par with the word. And away from
keeping God restricted to the confines of a system manufactured by man
for man, positioned behind a "Christian" facade. Whereby
exploiting the Godhead to such a point by exchanging Him for a 'Triad
God' to be sold and promoted as an image and symbol, worshiped as an
icon, beautified and decorated as an ornament, in full rebellion against verse like
Acts 17:29:
"Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."
You will see by the visual depictions below, how man has reinvented the
Godhead and renamed it "The Holy Trinity" to be valued, adored and worshiped as the Deity
above all.
Jesus is the (everlasting) Father!
Hey, did you ever wonder
why Jesus referred to a woman of faith in three of the gospels as
Daughter, like in Matt. 9:22 f''instance?:
"But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole."
If you think about it, this does make good sense as in affect Jesus saw
her as His daughter because He was her Father. Now with this in
mind please have a good look (I mean keep reading it until you will see
what it is really saying) at 1 Thes. 3:11:
"Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you."
Or paraphrased ... "Now God himself (who is) our Father, (who is) our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you."
Now take a good look at this one also in 2 Thes. 2:6 switching interchangeably from "Now God himself" to "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself":
"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father".
Or paraphrased ... "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, (who is) God, even our Father".
Yes, God is Himself (He is who He is) and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ! Or, our Lord Jesus Christ is himself (He is who He is), and God, even our Father!
Meaning, all these references are one and the same Person.
Furthermore, God is the Father at the beginning of the OT as He made
man then. Whereas He is the Son at the beginning of the NT as He
is born then as the Son of man. Therefore, looking at it with new eyes (hopefully through the eyes of
the holy Spirit) verses like the following (which the NT is peppered
with) takes on new meaning:
"Grace unto you, and peace, from God our (Father and the Lord Jesus Christ)." enclosure by me
Did you know that a way around admitting that Jesus is the
everlasting Father and that God the Father (who is everlasting)
according to traditionalists, is by assuming there are two
everlasting fathers? Well there has to be when using this logic! There is no other way
around it! If Jesus is not the
first part of the triangular Godhead that is, but the second part. You
see, you run into problems here right away, because this would mean
there are two everlasting fathers. Whattabout two everlasting
Spirits? Or dual Saviours and dual Redeemers, and on it
goes! Is God really a god of confusion? Or a two headed
creature from beyond? Is there really a
shadow of turning in His nature? Is there really variableness
to His character? Well scripture says there isn't and I'm going
to believe scripture above man. Therefore, I am going to believe
that Jesus is the everlasting Father as scriptural clearly shows, and
that He is the Mighty God, as we have read in Is. 9:6 previously. This
means we have the prophecy of the everlasting Father in the OT we can access from Isaiah anytime, which is
fulfilled in the New by making mention of the same Person:
2 John 1:9. "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."
Here is the full proof you have been looking for, found in John 1:18:
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
If you have the Father and Son you have God. Confirmed by the next scriptural reference from 1 John 1:1-3:
Jesus is the (eternal) Word!
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have
handled, of the Word of life (Jesus); (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life,
which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we
have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
I have noticed that when many people write and mention 'the word' as
relating to the scriptures, they change the first letter 'w' to
capitals. I use to do the same until the Holy Ghost showed me
from scripture that when the word was spelt with a capital 'W' it was
referring to Jesus, as everlasting. Furthermore, when the word
was spelt with a lower case 'w' is was usually referring to the
scriptures, either the spoken or written word, which are both one and
the same anyway.
The following verse confirms that Jesus is indeed the Word:
Rev. 19:13. "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
Jesus is the (only begotten) Son (not the
eternal Son - but the firstborn of many brethren)!
What did Jesus mean when He said, " I and my Father are one"? The
Jews knew what He meant because they took up stones to take Him
out after Jesus made this comment. Therefore, so should those know
who claim to be His today. Let's read Rom. 1: 3-4 for a start:
"Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power"!
Oh boy ... this should create a problem or two right away in
regards to the eternal coexisting Sonship thing. Jesus had to be
the firstborn among many brethren. "For unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given"! This is the
reason we can also call Jesus our Brother. The firstborn of the
church.
I think anyone who names the name of Christ will
have no problem with Jesus being the Son. However, the problem
arises when Jesus is
kept restricted by wrong doctrine and tradition, as to just being "the
Son of God", while kept largely at bay here. This box of
confinement can be that religious sphere called Christendom, being mans
alternative for the kingdom. This is because the
institution of the
so-called "Lord's Prayer", Christmas and Easter, "the Holy Communion",
"the Holy Trinity", and many other things that were brought over from
paganism at its beginning, were given a change of
christianized clothes straight away. All for the purpose to make
it look more appealing and
credible to
the
world while hoodwinking the weak in the faith into the wrong thing at
the same time. The reason its adherents will defend it
to to end because its tradition is just as important as the word to
them.
It is so easy to call Jesus the Son of God. After all, all
believers are the sons of God, are they not? Furthermore, if you
promote Universal Salvation (a biggie within Christendom) everyone is a child or son of God!
Right? And there is no such thing as a child of the Devil
(contradicting John 8:44 & Acts 13:10). Which means there
can be no Devil either! Nor hell! And on and on goes the apostasy,
taking root where ever it can!
Scripture says that Adam was the son of God, where it was also making
reference to the whole seed lineage right through to the NT.
Here's da proof you should be looking for ... Luke 3:38!
However, please note that the letter 's' in son here is spelt in the
lower case in referring to 'the son of God'. Whereas, when
referring to Jesus as 'the Son of God' in the word, the 'S' is spelt
with a capital. Therefore 'the Son of God' in comparison to 'the son of God' is taken
further, as Jesus is taken further, not just being seen as man but
being God also. Not just being the only begotten Son but the Word
eternal. Not just being the Son of God but the everlasting Father. The great "He is, who He is"!! ...
GOD!! Whereas, according to Heb. 1: 1-3:
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person"!
This
is the very reason only Jesus had the right and authority to claim
He was the (only) way to the Father. By seeing and observing
Jesus, you
were actually seeing and observing the Father, according to Him.
Because God is Spirit and only manifested Himself angelically in OT
times
(as the angel of the Lord - not flesh and blood man), no man could look
on God or know His form. As Paul declares in 1 Tim. 6:16:
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour
and power everlasting. Amen."
This same God is now made manifest through the Son, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person"!
Jesus said: "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him."
Want to a see God? Want to behold God? Then look to
Jesus! He is the only one and the only way, "Who is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature"!
Yes, the doctrine that Jesus eternally coexists as God the Son, the
second part or person of the Trinity, with two other equal co-deities
(okay, co-entities - if it makes you wheels smoke!), does not stack up. This also brings
into question Christendom's concept of the Holy Trinity, a main stay of its very existence.
Now let's look at Christendom's definition of the eternal God found in their creeds and
catechisms (that's Catholic to Protestant to
Byzantine):
"We believe in the eternal coexistence of God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit, always equally eternal to one another" or
something to this statement.
Bearing in mind this statement is
claiming Jesus the Son to be without beginning, yet being the only begotten,
the
eternal Son of God at the same time (work that out - sounds like an oxymoron to me!). Because, it is simply
impossible for this
statement/notion/doctrine to be correct as it fully contradicts
itself as well as other verses. That's only if you believe in using another verse
or two to rightly divide (some of us do). The fact of the matter ... Jesus the
eternal Word, had to be
begotten; had to be made manifest in the flesh; had to be born as the
Son of man; made of a woman; in the likeness of sinful flesh; to be the
only begotten Son of the Father. Or to be the
Son of God at all. There is no record in the OT of Jesus being
the
Son apart from in the prophetic sense, as Psalms 2:12:
"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their
trust in him."
Fulfilled in Luke 7: 36-38 at the broken alabaster scene where
Jesus' feet were washed with the hair and tears of a repentant sinner
as she "kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment", placing
her trust in Him (the Son) from hereon ... "He that hath the Son
hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
The other corresponding verse being Dan. 3:25.
"He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose (a threefold witness plus Someone else - mmm stretching it?- could be), walking in the midst
of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like
the Son of God."
This time this verse being fulfilled at the cross in Matthew 27:54 when "the
centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the
earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly,
saying, Truly this was the Son of God"!
I must mention here how both of these renditions from the Holy
Bible (OT & NT) have been changed in the modern perversions, to make the heavenly witnesses give
the wrong message. It says, or undermines "the Son of God" to
"sons of the god"!
Moving on, and lastly (I think) Psalms 2:7:
"Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."
Fulfilled in Acts 13:33:
"God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee."
And:
2 Sam. 7:14. "I will be his father, and he shall be my son."
Fulfilled in Hebrews 1:5 (notice how son has a capital 'S' this time as the translators took liberty in translating under the inspiration of the Spirit of God):
"For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
It's time to pop the bubble and say the creeds and
catechism statements in regards to 'the eternal coexistence with other
members of the Trinity of God, the Son' is not quite true
folks! Our Lord Jesus, who is the eternal Godhead has never been
God
the coexisting eternal Son. Neither has heaven been the eternal
dwelling place for the eternal Son coexisting
with the TWO other Persons of the Godhead, which Christendom has titled
"The Trinity".
Jesus is the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of
truth, the Comforter, the promise of the Father)!
Religionists, traditionalists, and even many
professing "born again" Christians believe and stand by their "article
of faith" which enforces the Holy Spirit (they shy away from using the
name Holy Ghost) is the third Person of the Trinity or Godhead.
Whereby this is His place, where He belongs, according to them. Unless you have come out
of the Charismatic Movement where they go to the other extreme and the Holy Spirit is pushed as
'"equally" above the others' (yes, another oxymoron, I know). As
long as we don't really see
who the Spirit is and who He functions as, nor personalize Him as the
Holy Ghost (whose ghost?), at the end of the day, then we are left with
unsound doctrine.
What does this mean, or should I say ... who is this referring to in Philippians 1:19?
"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ"!
There is more:
1 Peter 1:11. "Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them (the OT saints of old)".
On this statement we now know that not only does a believer have Jesus
abiding in him, but His Spirit. Of course it is now obvious that
the reason Jesus is in the believer is because His Sprit is
there. There simply are not two parts or two persons of the
Trinity dwelling in the believer at once (the second and third Person),
but one Person, His name being Jesus. This should make sound
sense, shouldn't it? Romans 8:9 gives the answer very clearly:
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost) dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ (must be the same Holy Ghost), he is none of his."
2 Cor. 3:17 sums it all up that this same Spirit is indeed the Lord! The Lord Jesus being the case:
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
Here is sound evidence that the Holy Ghost is God just as Jesus is:
Acts 5: 3-4. "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost,
and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it
remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in
thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."
Because
these two reprobates lied to the Holy Ghost, it is clear here
they were actually lying to God. Because "God is a Spirit (S
spelt with a capital)". And, "the Lord is that Spirit"! Very
clear really! Also, by putting two and two together (so
to speak - no pun intended) and because we also have seen that Jesus is
God (okay - two plus one equals three), He must also
be in spirit, the Spirit of God! Therefore the two are essentially
one and the same. Moreover, when the Holy Ghost speaks to us, it
is Jesus who is speaking and not a dual or triad God.
The fact of the matter is ... Jesus is man, completely!
Plus Jesus is Spirit (or the Spirit) completely. Meaning the divinity
of Christ is God and man at the same time! This is got to make
sense! Look at the next verse a brother has just sent me (thanks Steve!):
John 3:13. "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."
How is the Son of man in heaven when Jesus was on earth doing His
threefold ministry (there it goes again) of prophet, priest and
king? Because there is not a problem in the world (the only way
it can be adequately explained in fact) if Jesus is the Spirit of God,
or the Spirit of God is Jesus. In the book of Revelation we
sometimes have Jesus talking to the churches and other times the
Spirit. They are always one and the same Person and are used
interchangeably throughout the word.
Oh, and here's one more before moving on, found in John 14 16-18:
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you (Jesus), and shall be in you (the hope of glory!). I (not saying the Spirit) will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."
Wasn't Jesus already there? Yes, because He said, "he dwelleth with
you". Soon He would be coming as the Spirit and be in them, as promised.
Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the anointed one from God)!
Matt. 16:16. "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God."
It should be self-explanatory really, if you believe de English Bible
is completely right without error. Here's Messiah prophesied in
the OT:
Dan. 9:26. "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (Jesus' death on the cross cancels out the need for other messiahs), but not for himself (he died for the world): and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (history repeating Jerusalem's destruction in about AD); and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined (more to come before Jesus comes back to set up His kingdom).
Here's scripture confirming His arrival:
John 1:41. "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias (Aramaic derived from the Hebrew), which is, being interpreted, the Christ (English derived from the Greek)."
Pretty straight forward really if I happen to be rightly
dividing! Jesus is the promised Messiah who came as the Christ,
and is now Christ exalted!
We will not go into great depths here. However, for those who
would like to do some more digging here are de scriptures ...
Matt. 16:20; 26:63,
Mark 8:29; 14:61, Luke
3:15; 9:20; 22:67, John 1:20, 41; 3:28; 4:29, 42; 7:41; 10:24; 11:27;
20:31, and 1 John 2:22; 5:1.
Bottom line ... by proving Jesus is the anointed one, the
Messiah, the Christ, the Saviour, the Deliver, the Redeemer, the Son of
man, the Son of God, as the everlasting father and mighty God, doesn't
distract from Him being the same person. Multi functions and multi
titles and names, but the same Jesus nevertheless!
Jesus is the God of gods, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Prince of princes, the Prince of peace, the Prince of life, the prince of the
kings of the earth!
I think we are well
versed in the verses here which make clear Jesus being the Lord of
lords, or at least should be. Which means? Let's take
another look and see what we can see this time?:
Old Testamant:
Ps. 136:3. "O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever." Deut. 10:17. "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible".
Josh. 22:22. "The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he
knoweth, and Israel he shall know".
Ps. 136:2. "O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Dan. 2:47. "The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth
it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a
revealer of secrets".Dan. 8:25 ... "and he shall magnify himself in his
heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against
the Prince of princes".
Dan. 11:36 ... shall
speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till
the indignation be accomplished".
Is. 9:6 ... "and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace."
New Testament:
1 Tim.6:15. "Which in his times he shall shew, who is the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords".
Rev. 17:14. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings".
Rev. 19:16. "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (the Bible's emphasis)
More
than just 'interesting reading' or 'food for thought'! There
should be no doubt remaining that Jesus is "the fulness of him that
filleth all in all"! Moving on ...
Jesus (Joshua OT) is Jehovah saves (God who saves)!
The cult called Jehovah Witnesses are big on the Trinity.
Preaching against it that is! Unfortunately they too, like many
others, don't realize that there is a New Covenant. They are
still living under the Old where Go