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Christ is God by Imputation
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I believe that
Christ is infinite and that in Him is life, original,
unborrowed and underived. "He that hath the Son hath
life" (1 John 5:12). I believe that the Son always
co-existed with the Father. Furthermore, I interpret Romans
8:9 as saying that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of the Son.
I wish that there were more verses like Romans 8:9 in the
Bible to confirm my understanding of Paul’s words.
Nevertheless, I believe it’s obvious to see and easy to
count three persons in the heavenly trio: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. They’re all mentioned together in
Matthew 28:19, Matthew 3:13-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians
4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2 and Revelation 1:4-5. I teach that Jesus
and the Holy Spirit are unique representatives of God. I accept
William Barclay’s commentary on John
1:1:
William Barclay
wrote:
Finally
John says that "The Word was God". There is no doubt
that this is a difficult saying for us to understand, and it
is difficult because Greek, in which John wrote, had a
different way of saying things from the way in which English
speaks. When the Greek uses a noun it almost always uses the
definite article with it. The Greek for God is ‘theos’,
and the definite article is ‘ho’. When Greek speaks about
God it does not simply say ‘theos’; it says ‘ho theos’.
Now, when Greek does not use the definite article with a noun
that noun becomes much more like an adjective; it describes
the character, the quality of the person. John did not say
that the Word was ‘ho theos’; that would have been to say
that the Word was identical with God; he says that the Word
was ‘theos’ —without the definite article— which means
that the Word was, as we might say, of the very same character
and quality and essence and being as God. When John said ‘The
Word was God’ he was not saying that Jesus is identical with
God; he was saying that Jesus is so perfectly the same as God
in mind, in heart, in being that in Jesus we perfectly see
what God is like. —The Daily Study Bible —The Gospel of
John vol.1 III. [Revised Edition ISBN 0-664-21304-9]
If you think
about it, there are many Scriptures that explain this
representational status of the Son. Does an image represent an
object? Yes. Then Christ represents God. "He is the image
of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). How is Christ
being the Word of God representational? A word represents a
thought. What thought is being represented? Christ is the
perfect expression of the will the mind of God. In what other
way does Christ represent God? I assume that radiance
expresses glory in symbolic terms. Scripture says, "He is
the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His
nature" (Hebrews 1:3).
These are my
conclusions:
Eugene Shubert
wrote:
How
perfectly does the Son represent the Father? What is the will
of the Father in the way we receive His Son?
The
Father has made the exalted nature of Christ fully known. The
Son should be regarded as equal with the Father. Their natures
are the same. The word of the Son is to be obeyed as readily
as the word of the Father. Wherever the presence of His Son
is, it is as if the Father is present. To worship the Son is
to worship the Father. The Son represents the revealed will
and mind of God so perfectly that He is rightfully called the
word of God (John 1:1).
I don’t
believe that the church has any authority to declare
traditional trinitarian doctrine to be the representation of
God’s Being according to Scripture. I teach that God
declaring His Son to be God in Hebrews 1:8 or Christ declaring
Himself to be God in John 14:9 is to be compared to the Bible
doctrine of justification by faith. That’s a logical
possibility that Trinitarians have overlooked! Christians who
sincerely trust in Jesus as their Savior have been justified
(declared righteous) by God by virtue of the imputed merits of
Christ’s righteousness. Consequently—legally—we are
perfect in Christ because God declares it to be so, but it’s
simultaneously true that we are still sinful. I use this
illustration to explain that the Father is truly greater than
the Son (John 14:28, John 10:27-29) but that the Father,
because of His great love, declares His Son to be equal to Him
nevertheless.
Another insight
to the representational status of the Son and how the Son may
be compared to the Father may be seen in the mathematical
discipline called set
theory. It is well known and easy to prove that infinities
come in different sizes. (In transfinite arithmetic, the size
of an infinite set is
denoted by a special rank called a cardinal
number). By analogy, the Father would rank like the set of all
sets. (This object is so incomprehensible that all the rules
of logic break down). Jesus could easily be infinite, not
equal to the Father, and have an understandable rank like one
of the infinite cardinal numbers. I propose that the Father
knows the end from the beginning but the Son only knows all
possible futures with perfect comprehension plus all that the
Father reveals to Him. For excellent evidence in support of my
thesis, please consider the straightforward meaning of
Revelation 1:1:
The
revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his
servants what must soon take place. He made it known by
sending his angel to his servant John. —Revelation 1:1.
Note the chain
of command. God gives Jesus Christ a revelation. Christ makes
it known by sending his angel. The recipient is John, a high
ranking Apostle. This Apostle was to share it with seven
churches so that all of
Christ’s servants would know what must soon take place.
Logically then,
verses that assert that Jesus is God do not prove the
traditional Trinity concept but verses that demonstrate that
the glorified Christ really isn’t equal to the Father refute
that doctrine and support my explanation.
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Exactly How Equal is Jesus Christ to the Father God?
In the history of the Christian
church there was much persecution by Trinitarians against
non-Trinitarians. The persecution began with the edict of the Roman
emperor Theodosius in 380 AD, which compelled everyone to accept the
Christian
Trinity. While persecution has ceased during the last two hundred
years or so, extreme wrangling still continues to this very day over the
Trinity verses non-Trinity controversy.
Our doctrinal position on
this issue is that there no significant difference between the
best Trinitarian view and the best non-Trinitarian view of
God. To test ourselves to see if we are like the worthy Bereans (Acts
17:11), I propose that we all
investigate and be open to accept the predominant witness of
the New Testament. The task at hand is
to understand and harmonize many seemingly discordant and obviously
dissimilar Bible texts.
The
God child
Micah
5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you
are small among the clans [1] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one
who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins [2] are from of old,
from
ancient times. [3] ”
Footnotes:
1. 5:2
Or rulers
2. 5:2 Hebrew goings out
3. 5:2 Or from days
of eternity
What
is Jesus doing with God’s
name?
Isaiah 9:6
“For to us a child is born, to us a son
is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.”
John 14:9
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
Matthew 1:22,23
All this took place to fulfill what the
Lord had said through the prophet: “The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call
him Immanuel”—which means, “God
with us.”
We
are not to worship anyone but God
Revelation
19:10
“At this I
fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am
a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony
of Jesus. Worship God!’ ”
Revelation
22:8-9
“I, John,
am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen
them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing
them to me. But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with
you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of
this book. Worship God!’ ”
Jesus
received and accepted worship
Matthew
2:1,2
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in
Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw
his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ ”
Matthew
2:7,8
“Then Herod called the Magi secretly
and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them
to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make a careful search for the child. As
soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship
him.’ ”
Matthew
2:10,11
“When they saw the star, they were
overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother
Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their
treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of
myrrh.”
Matthew
4:8-10
“Again, the devil took him to a very
high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down
and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For
it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
”
Matthew
14:33
“Then those who were in the boat worshiped
him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ ”
Matthew 28:9
“Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings’,
he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.”
Matthew
28:17
“When they saw him, they worshiped
him; but some doubted.”
Luke 24:52
“Then they worshiped him and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”
John 9:38
“Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’
and he worshiped him.”
John 20:27-29
“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and
believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my
God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed.’ ”
Hebrews 1:6
“And again, when God brings his
firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship
him.’ ”
Who is Jesus?
Jesus
answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.” John 14:6.
“And He Himself is the propitiation
for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole
world.” 1 John 2:2.
Jesus
is God
1 John 5:20
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has
given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in
him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and
eternal life.”
Jesus is the bread of
life
John 6:44-58
“No one can come
to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at
the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by
God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to
me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has
seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting
life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the
desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,
which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from
heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the
Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us
his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have
no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live
because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna
and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”
John 6:63
“The Spirit gives
life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are
spirit and they are life.”
The
Divinity of Jesus
John 8:51-59
“I tell you the
truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are
demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if
anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than
our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you
are?”
Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.
My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though
you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar
like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham
rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
“You
are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen
Abraham!”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before
Abraham was born, I AM!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him,
but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Exodus 3:13-14
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and
say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they
ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are
to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Philippians 2:3-8
“Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your
own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should
be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did
not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
Hebrews 1:3
“The Son is
the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
Colossians
1:15-20
“He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by
him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is
the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything
he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness
dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether
things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.”
Colossians
2:9
“For
in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.
Who
is the Alpha and the Omega?
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”
says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and
who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation
22:12,13,16
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is
with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the
End. … I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony
for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright
Morning Star.”
From His Intrinsic
Attributes, the Father Outranks the Son
“You heard
me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved
me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father
is greater than I”
(John 14:28).
“My sheep
listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My
Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s
hand.” John 10:27-29.
The
Father is a God above Jesus
Matthew 27:46
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with
a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
”
John
20:17
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the
Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my
Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
Romans
15:6
“so that with one accord you may with
one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2
Corinthians 1:3
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort.”
2
Corinthians 11:31
“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever,
knows that I am not lying.”
Ephesians 1:3
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in
Christ.”
Ephesians
1:17
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious
Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may
know him better.”
Colossians
1:3
“We give thanks to God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.”
Hebrews
1:9
“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.”
1
Peter 1:3
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Revelation
1:4-6
“To the seven
churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is,
and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his
throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
“To him who
loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to
be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to
him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
Revelation
3:12
“He who overcomes, I will make him a
pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it
anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name
of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of
heaven from My God, and My new name.”
Jesus
Obeys the Father
John 6:38
“For I have come down from heaven, not to
do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Luke 22:42
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup
away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
John 8:42
“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your
Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came
not of my own accord, but he sent me.’ ”
John 5:30
“As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is
righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father
who sent Me.”
John 8:50
“I do not seek My own glory.”
John 7:16
“So Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is
not mine, but his who sent me.’ ”
The
Father is the only True God
“Yet for us
there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom
we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things
came and through whom we live. But not everyone knows this.” 1
Corinthians 8:6-7.
“Now this
is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).
“Now to the
King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory
forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17).
God
is the Father
John
5:18
“For this reason therefore the Jews were
seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the
Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making
Himself equal with God.”
John
6:27
“Do not work for the food which perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will
give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
John
6:45
“It is written
in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God.
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.”
John
6:46
“Not that anyone has seen the Father,
except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.”
John
8:41
“You are doing the deeds of your father.
They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father:
God.”
John
8:42
Jesus said to them, “If God were
your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come
from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He
sent Me.”
John
8:54
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My
glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you
say, ‘He is our God’.”
John
13:3
“Jesus, knowing that the Father had
given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God
and was going back to God.”
John
20:17
Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren
and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father
and your Father, and My God and your God’.”
Acts
2:33
“Therefore having been exalted to the
right hand of God, and having received from the Father the
promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see
and hear.”
Romans
1:7
“to all who are beloved of God in
Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1
Corinthians 1:3
“Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1
Corinthians 8:6
“yet for us there is but one God,
the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one
Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”
1
Corinthians 15:24
“then comes the end, when He hands over
the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all
rule and all authority and power.”
2
Corinthians 1:2
“Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Galatians
1:3
“Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Galatians
1:4
“who gave Himself for our sins so that He
might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God
and Father.”
Ephesians
1:2
“Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians
4:6
“one God and Father of all
who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians
5:20
“always
giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians
6:23
“Peace be to the brethren, and love with
faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians
1:2
“Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians
2:11
“and that every tongue will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians
4:20
“Now to our God and Father
be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Colossians
1:2
“To the saints and faithful brethren in
Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”
Colossians
3:17
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the
Father.”
1
Thessalonians 1:1
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the
church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.”
1
Thessalonians 1:3
“constantly bearing in mind your work of
faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ
in the presence of our God and Father.”
1
Thessalonians 3:11
“Now may our God and Father
Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you.”
1
Thessalonians 3:13
“so that He may establish your hearts
without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the
coming of our Lord Jesus.”
2
Thessalonians 1:1
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the
church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ:”
2
Thessalonians 1:2
“Grace to you and peace from God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2
Thessalonians 2:16
“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God,
even our Father,
which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good
hope through grace.”
1
Timothy 1:2
“To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus
our Lord.”
2
Timothy 1:2
“To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy
and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Titus
1:4
“To Titus, my true child in a common
faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus
our Savior.”
Philemon
1:3
“Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
James
1:27
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight
of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows
in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
1
Peter 1:2
“according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus
Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in
the fullest measure.”
2
Peter 1:17
“For he received honor and glory from God
the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory,
saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased’.”
2
John 1:3
“Grace, mercy and peace will be with us,
from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father,
in truth and love.”
Jude
1:1
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a
brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the
Father and kept by Jesus Christ:”
There’s
a clear distinction between God and Jesus
Daniel
7:13
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they
brought him near before him.”
Luke
1:32
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the
Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.”
Acts
3:13
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the
God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you
delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to
release Him.”
Acts
5:30
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus,
whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.”
Acts
22:14
And he said, “The God of our fathers has
appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an
utterance from His mouth.”
1
Corinthians 11:3
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and
the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”
Galatians
1:1
“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor
through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father,
who raised Him from the dead).”
1
Timothy 2:5
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus.”
Revelation
21:22
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are
the temple of it.”
God
is a personal, singular being
Matthew 4:10
Then saith Jesus unto him, “Get thee
hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.”
Matthew 6:30
“Wherefore, if God
so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast
into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.”
Mark 12:27
“He
is not the God of the dead,
but the God of the living: ye
therefore do greatly err.”
John 3:16
“For God
so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:17
“For God
sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
John 4:24
“God
is a Spirit: and they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in
truth.”
The
Meaning of Sonship
Let’s consider what the word “son” means
1.
A male child; the male issue, or offspring, of a parent, father or mother.
Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son. —Gen.
xxi. 2.
2. A male descendant, however distant;
hence, in the plural, descendants in general.
I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings. —Isa.
xix. 11.
I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
—Mal. iii. 6.
3. Any young male person spoken of as a
child; an adopted male child; a pupil, ward, or any other male dependent.
The child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he
became her son. —Ex. ii. 10.
4. A man considered as if in a
relationship of child to parent.
A son of the soil.
5. A native or inhabitant of some
specified place.
Sons of Albion; sons of New England.
6. A person closely associated with or
deriving from a formative agent.
i.e., from a nation, school, or race.
7. One personified or regarded as a male
descendant.
Pinocchio. “He is my son.”
8. The produce of anything.
Earth’s tall sons, the cedar, oak, and pine. —Blackmore.
9. The son of man.
God’s messiah destined to preside over the final judgment of mankind.
(Note: Jesus is not literally the son of any man).
10. The sons of God.
Adam and the angels are called
sons of God (Luke 3:38, Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7). Peacemakers will have that
title (Matthew 5:9). True Christians are the sons of God right now
(Galatians 3:26, Romans 8:14 cf. 8:19, 9:26).
Note: The expressions son of
pride, sons of light, son of Belial, are Hebraisms, which denote persons
possessing the qualities of pride, of light, or of Belial, as children
inherit the qualities of their ancestors. The sons of Zebedee were called
“Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).
11. The Son of God.
In a royal family, a son is a
person not in the servant class but in the family class. Note to self: All
created beings are in the servant class (Revelation 22:8-9, 19:10,
19:5-6). Compare that with Jesus’
high standing (Matthew 21:33-44, John 3:16, 5:18, 5:22).
We . . . do testify that the
Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. —1 John iv. 14.
Who gave His Son sure all has
given. —Keble.
12. The Obedience of the Son
"Time and time again the Gospel of John speaks of God sending
Jesus into the world. Time and time again we see Jesus praying to God.
Time and time again we see Jesus unhesitatingly and unquestioningly and
unconditionally accepting the will of God for himself." —William Barclay.
Footnotes
For centuries there has been an
unsolved yet troubling mystery in the Bible. At the same time there has
been a great confidence that no understanding of the mystery could be
achieved. The mystery is that the Bible seems to have three contradictory
definitions of God:
God is
1. The Father (1 Corinthians 8:6-7, John 17:3, 1 Timothy 1:17).
2. The Son (Isaiah 9:6, John 8:58, Hebrews 1:7-8).
3. The Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17,18).
The mystery deepens because the Bible insists that there is only one God
(Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:21-22, Mark 12:28,29). The mystery is a good
one; it is clear that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are separate
persons. We only need one Scripture to prove this. Jesus said he
would return to the Father and send the Spirit (John 16:5,7,8).
The answer to the ancient mystery, I believe, is to regard the Father as
truly God and the Son of God and the Spirit of God as perfect
representatives of the one true God.
Jesus did
say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the father.” This is obviously a
direct representational reference.
_____
When John said the Word was God, I think John only meant that the
representation is perfect in an absolute sense. It cannot be surpassed.
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in
bodily form”
(Colossians 2:9). Pure and simple, all the fullness of Divinity dwelling in bodily form is a representational aspect.
'Deity' in Colossians
2:9 of the NASB (and Godhead in the KJV) is a translation of the Greek theotees,
which is "an abstract noun for theos," the usual Greek word
translated 'God.' (Greek-English Lexicon, Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich) "An
abstract noun is one indicating a quality, as goodness, beauty."
(Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, International Edition).
Dictionary.com has a
correct definition of Godhead:
1. the essential being of God;
2. Divinity; Godhood.
_____
How can there be a
representational aspect? Consider John 1:1. Why is the Son called the Word
of God? (Rev 19:13). I say it means that the Son is the revealed
will and mind of God. Equating the word of God with Christ is clearly
saying that Christ is the perfect spokesperson and representative of God.
You mustn’t just read
John 1:1. You must interpret it also. The question has been asked: is
there a representational aspect present in John 1:1? Not only did I answer
in the affirmative but I pointed out exactly where the representational
aspect was.
Language must be interpreted. When John wrote that God is love (1 John
4:8,16), John wasn’t equating God with agape literally; he was comparing
God with love as revealed by God in Christ. This is a
representational aspect.
This is clear corroborating
evidence that the comparison between the Word and God in
John 1:1 is also representational.
Therefore, I hope you realize that you haven’t refuted my statements.
You have merely confirmed my thesis by repeating the ancient yet irksome
chant: The Godhead is a mystery because we insist that it is.
_____
Following my explanation that Christ
is God by imputation, suppose that you will go to church next week and the
pastor will preach that your standing before God is "justification by
grace through faith" and that "justification" means perfect
forgiveness, "just as if you have never sinned." Will you
protest and "attempt to correct" the pastor on the basis that
"all have sinned"?
_____
II'm not a Greek or Hebrew scholar
but I do believe that I have the discernment to distinguish between truth
and error. From my studies of reliable commentaries, I do recall that in
the original language of Scripture the Holy Spirit is sometimes literally
referred to as It. Nevertheless, I believe that It is a
divine Person. One evidence for that is that we can grieve the Holy Spirit
(Ephesians 4:30) and lie to It (Acts 5:3-4). Better yet, I believe
that the Personhood of the Holy Spirit is best established on 1
Corinthians 2:10-11. "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep
things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the
man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God
except the Spirit of God."
_____
My definition of the Godhead:
The Godhead is a heavenly trio of
three living persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19,
3:13-17, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 4:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2 and
Revelation 1:4,5).
The Father is all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight.
The Son is all the fullness of the
Godhead manifested (Colossians 2:9 cf. John 1:1). He is the express image
of His Father (Hebrews 1:3 cf. Colossians 1:15).
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
the Father and the Son (Romans 8:9). This is an enlightening and
sanctifying power. It is a distinct Person, a free, working, independent
agency (John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13-15). The Comforter that Christ
promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the
fullness of the Godhead.
Discuss this article here.
modified August 6, 2010
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