Shared Titles of God and Christ: The Biggest Stumbling Block to "Oneness Believers" by Mike Hicks

Shared Titles of God and Christ: The Biggest Stumbling Block to "Oneness Believers" by Mike Hicks

Oneness Pentecostals (exponents of modalism as it was anciently called), are correct in their acknowledgement that the Bible does not teach that God is a Trinity. Their belief that God is one singular Person is commendable and is certainly a minority position within Christendom. Their failure lies in retaining the false Trinitarian concept of

• the dual nature of Jesus,
• the idea that God became a man,
• that Christ has two natures:
• one deity, the other human.

Whereas Trinitarians believe that God the Son became a man, Oneness believers insist that God the Father became a man. Both these views are false to Scripture.

Oneness adherents tend to place the distinction between the Son and the Father as "a flesh vs. Spirit" contrast. For example, let us look at three different ways of explaining Jesus praying to his Father in the garden of Gethsemane. We will consider the Trinitarian view, the Oneness view, and the Biblical Unitarian view.

• Trinitarian view: God the Son was praying to God the Father. (Although some trinitarians will add that "Jesus was praying out of his human nature, not out of his divine nature.")
• Oneness view: Although Jesus is the Father robed in flesh, his human nature (the Son) was praying to his divine nature (the Father).
• Biblical Unitarian view: The man, Christ Jesus, was praying to the One God of the Bible, his Father.

One of the major stumbling blocks to Oneness believers is the fact that titles that are applied to God are applied also to Jesus Christ. The assertion is that, since God and Jesus share many titles (Redeemer, Savior, God, Shepherd, Lord, King of Kings, Judge) they must be one and the same Person. This follows from the Oneness conviction that God is a single Person. The argument can be very convincing and it is certainly one of the major hindrances to Oneness believers in coming to a Biblical Unitarian understanding of God and Christ.

If it is true that the sharing of these titles means that Jesus is in fact the LORD God Himself, then it should stand to reason that nobody else could have these titles applied to them, since there is only one God. Let us see what the scriptures reveal:

Redeemer

"So I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.' And he said, 'I will redeem it.'" - Ruth 4:4 (NASB)

In this verse, Boaz is discussing with Naomi's near kinsman who would redeem her land and marry her daughter-in-law, Ruth. The near kinsman rejected the deal, and so Boaz became Ruth's redeemer.

Savior

"Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies." - Nehemiah 9:27 (ESV)

[See also Obadiah 21]

As seen in the book of Judges, Israel would often rebel against God, causing Him to oppress them with their enemies. Upon their repentance, God would send them a savior, that is, an individual from among Israel who would destroy the oppressor and save Israel.

[e.g. Judges 3.9,15 - Othniel and Ehud were both "saviors."]

"God"

"Then YAHWEH said to Moses, 'See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.'" - Exodus 7:1 (NASB)

"I said, 'You are gods; and all of you are sons of the most High'" - Psalm 82:6 (NASB)

The Hebrew word Elohim, meaning God/god, was applied to the true God (Yahweh), Moses, Israelite judges, kings, and false gods. The word Elohim simply means someone who has great authority and power, and does not only apply to Yahweh.

[See also Exodus 4.16, 21.6, 22.8-9]

Shepherd

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord YAHWEH, Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?'" - Ezekiel 34:2 (NASB)

"I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD." - Jeremiah 23:4 (ESV)

God spoke to the shepherds of Israel, even though He was the Shepherd of Israel. Moreover, during the millennium God will set up shepherds to feed His flock. These are the saints who are ruling and reigning with Christ.

Lord

"So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, 'After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?'" - Genesis 18:12 (ESV)

"The LORD says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" - Psalm 110:1

Many people in the Bible are referred to as lord. It is simply a term of respect, much like calling a man "sir" today. David tells us that the LORD (YAHWEH) prophetically told David's lord (adoni/the lord Messiah) to sit at His right hand.

Adoni is a Hebrew word translated "lord" and refers all 195 times to a human or angelic [i.e. NON-DEITY] superior.

It never refers to YAHWEH.

This Old Testament scripture [Psalm 110.1] is quoted in the New Testament more than any other and is crucial to our understanding of Christ's relationship to God. Although David was king, he recognized that the future Messiah would be his superior and would sit at God's right hand. David never imagined that the Messiah would be a second GOD, making two GODS!

King of kings

"You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory," - Daniel 2:37 (ESV) [See also Ezekiel 26.7, Ezra 7.12]

Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar the king of kings. Daniel was not confusing him with Yahweh, but merely acknowledged the fact that human beings can share God's titles in certain situations. Moreover we see that, although he was considered "king of kings", his authority was a derived authority: it came from God Almighty who is the ultimate King of Kings.

Judge

"For YAHWEH is our judge; YAHWEH is our lawgiver; YAHWEH is our king; he will save us." - Isaiah 33:22 (ESV)

"When YAHWEH raised up judges for them, YAHWEH was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for YAHWEH was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them." - Judges 2:18 (NASB)

Ultimately, Yahweh is the Judge. Nevertheless, He raised up human judges and He was with them in their judgments. Paul said that there is coming a day when God will judge the world "by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." [Acts 17.31]

This is an example of agency, which is the way in which God, ever since the fall of man, has interacted with humanity. The saints too are destined to judge the world (1 Cor. 6.2)

One can also see the concept of agency in the New Testament between Christ and his followers: "As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting" - Acts 9:3-5 (NASB)

Saul was not chasing Jesus around trying to arrest him. He was in fact, persecuting the followers of Jesus. However, because the church is the body of Christ, they are his agents or ambassadors, and so to persecute them is to persecute Christ himself.

" 'When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.'" Matthew 25:39-40 (NASB)

In Biblical language, to do something to a Christian is to do something to Jesus. This does not, however, make the church identical to Jesus or Jesus identical to the church.

We also see titles shared by Christ and the church:

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" - John 8:12 (ESV)

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14 (ESV)

Either Jesus was extremely confused as to who he was and who we are, or he both acknowledged and used the concept of agency.

The fact that men and angels can bear the name and titles of God is well attested to in the Scriptures, as is the fact that Christians can function as agents of Jesus Christ.

The principle of agency is critical for a right understanding of who Jesus is in relation to the One God (see Raymond James Essoe's "Shaliah: An Introduction to the Law of Agency" ).

As a former Oneness believer, I can appreciate the force of the shared titles argument. However, the argument falls flat when we see these same titles applied to other men.

It should be fully expected that the Messiah, the special human agent whom God would use to redeem His creation, the one who fully represents and speaks for God, who is His very word and image, would bear all of these divine titles. Indeed Jesus is our Redeemer, our Saviour, God (in a Messianic sense). He is our Shepherd, our Lord, and our King. He is all of these things because this uniquely exalted position has been conferred on him by God:

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth." - Matthew 28:18

Taken from: http://www.focusonthekingdom.org/146.pdf

WHY?

WHY?

Why Remove Comments If They Can Be Refuted?

 

 

In the last month, I came across two blog sites by two different Oneness believers who were sharing their beliefs.

I did what I thought was the right and polite thing to do, that is, respond to their posts; in addressing some of the erroneous assertions made, in light of their Oneness teaching.
Their response? They deleted my comments! Now that's not very nice! Is it?
Oh well, it is the blog administrator's choice. :-)

However, for those of you who are truth-seekers, what follows are my responses which were deleted. I hope and pray that they may be of some edification to the reader.

 

Now, the only real difference between Oneness & Trinitarian doctrines are:

• Trinitarians believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of "God the Son," the second person of the Godhead
• whilst Oneness believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of "God the Father"
• Both believe that Jesus has a dual nature i.e. a human & divine nature
• Both believe that Jesus is 100% God & 100% man - the Godman
• So, in light of the above, both doctrines are indeed erroneous!

---

 

What follows is a synopsis of the posts by both writers which I came across.

Their points will be in green, whilst my responses will be in black:

ONENESS BELIEVER 1

The first writer was writing about Naomi and Ruth from the Book of Ruth; especially

Ruth's remark that:

"Your God Will Be My God!"

"But Ruth replied, Don't ask me to leave you and

turn back.  Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you

live, I will live.  Your people will be my people, and

your God will be my God."

(Ruth 1:16)

 

 

The writer then expounded on the wonderful character of Ruth; and her wonderful choice to belong to Naomi's people and to worship Naomi's God. AMEN!!

As the writer's post continued, the writer sadly made the following statements:

There are a world of Ruth's ready to be loved, ready to hear about the One true God, Jesus Christ our Lord ...

There is only ONE God and His name is Jesus Christ.  There is only ONE God who died and shed His blood for all mankind; His name is Jesus Christ.  There is only ONE God who rose the third day after death; His name is Jesus Christ. ...

 

In light of the above, I chose to respond with the following (extract from my) remarks which were all subsequently deleted :-

 

MY RESPONSE:

Greetings ***

Compare Ruth's wondrous words,
"your God will be my God"
with what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ declared:
John 20.17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:
but go to my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father;
and to my God, and your God.

Did you see that?

Jesus is about to ascend to the very same GOD
which his great-great-great ... grandmother came to believe in!!

You state "the One true God, Jesus Christ our Lord";
but with all due respect,
look again to whom Jesus declared is the only true GOD:
(John 17:1) These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, ...
(John 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Jesus identified his Father
as the only true GOD & the only GOD
[John 17.3, 5.44]

Jesus worshiped the very same GOD that both Naomi and David worshiped;
and teaches us to worship that very same GOD,
namely the Father.
[John 4.22-24]

Jesus therefore is not the true GOD,
rather ...

(1 Thess. 1:9-10) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you,
and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;

... Jesus is the human Son of the living and true GOD.

 

---

 

ONENESS BELIEVER 2

The second writer actually quoted my first response in full!! (Although the writer did not include the links I added from my own blog).

My first response was in answer to the question,

 

Oneness or Trinity: Which is it?

whereby I answered

 

NEITHER!

(My first response is quoted in full, in the Oneness writer's response below.)

 

The Oneness writer then replied with eight points.

So I in kind, responded to the writer's eight points. Alas! My entire response was deleted.

What follows therefore is

the second writer's points in green, whilst my response is in black:

 

 

Jesus: God Almighty or Just An Anointed Man?

I recently received a comment ... and would like to share the comment and my response with everyone.  This is a great discussion and I think it is very important that we understand what we believe.  As our belief in One God has been challenged as pagan and not being scriptural, I’d like to share a few notes on why I believe what I do and why Jesus is undeniably God.

 

Here’s the post one of our readers shared:

 

Greetings ***

Oneness or Trinity: Which is it?

Answer: NEITHER!!

Sadly, both Oneness and trinity doctrines try to make Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah our Lord, into Almighty GOD!!

And both doctrines state that you must believe that the Lord Jesus is Almighty GOD to be saved!!

In this regard, both doctrines do err and are scripturally wrong.

IMHO!

 

Both doctrines appeared hundreds of years after the ascension of Christ. Both doctrines try to explain how Jesus can be
both God and man at the same time!! The Godman!!

But the original faith which was once delivered unto the saints [Jude 3] did not suffer from this problem.

 

The original faith has always been
that there is solely ONE GOD,

the Father.

And Jesus of Nazareth, is the one man, the one human being

whom Almighty GOD raised from the dead,

made him, both Lord and Christ,

and exalted him to His right hand.

Hence, Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord Jesus Christ,

a man approved of Almighty GOD, who is currently at the right hand of the ONE GOD in the heavens.
Whom we await for his return.

(1 Cor 8:4) ... there is none other God but one.
(1 Cor 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him;
and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;

(1 Th 1:9-10) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols

to serve the living and true God;

10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus,

which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Hundreds of years after the pure, true, apostolic faith was propagated;
Greek, Hellenistic and pagan philosophy/doctrines changed the human Jesus

into a demigod then into a godman.
And in response, both the doctrines of the trinity and Oneness tried to solve this self-inflicted problem!

The solution therefore, is to return to the pure faith and doctrine as taught in the Scriptures:

that there is solely ONE GOD, the Father.
And there is solely one man, one human,

whom the ONE GOD has made
"Lord of all", the man Messiah Jesus.

And indeed the day is coming where ...
(Phil 2:11) And that every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Here’s Just a Few Notes On Why I Believe that Jesus is God Almighty, Manifest in the Flesh:

Dear Brother,

I admire your passion and belief in the oneness of God.  I do differ with you, however, in the belief of who that God is.  You see, there can be no doubt that Jesus is the Almighty God incarnate. 

So that you can better understand why I believe this, I’ve jotted down a few questions for you:

1) First, what shall we do with John 8:19? "Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also." 

2) What shall we do with John 14:7? "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him."  Neither you nor I can say the same about our fathers.  If you have seen me, you have not seen my father.  If I have seen you, I might see a man who looks similar to his father but I have not seen your father.  Jesus was trying to explain to his followers who he truly was.

3) What shall we do with the bold statement of Jesus in John 10:30, saying "I and my Father are one."  In this sense, the flesh is terming its Creator as its father.

4) What shall we do with John 14:8-9?  "Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?"  Jesus is asking in disbelief.  In essence, he is asking ‘You mean you’ve seen the works that I do and you don’t know that I am Almighty God?’  In the next few verses, Jesus even expounds on the works being done as not having been done by a fleshly person but by deity.  He says, "whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."  Essentially, he is saying, I will perform the miraculous if you call on the name of Jesus because I want you to see that this is God Almighty at work.

5) What shall we do with Isaiah 9:6?  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  How is it that this baby Jesus, born in a stable, is called the Everlasting Father and the Mighty God by Isaiah and yet you say that Jesus was just a man and was not God or the Father of Creation?  Hmm, I think your disagreement is not with me or with oneness believers.  It is with Isaiah and Jesus so far.

6) What shall we do with the entire first chapter of John?

Verse 1:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  Here, we find that the Word is God the Creator of all things.

Word=God the Creator or Father of Creation

Verse 3: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."  There isn’t another creator.  The Word is it!

Verse 4: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."  So the Word is the Light!

Verse 6: We learn here about John the Baptist.  "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  He was not that Light-"  So John bears witness of the Light-who is the Creator!  Who does John introduce?  Jesus!

Verse 10: The scripture begins describing this Light, who is the Word from verse 1:  "He was in the world, and the world was made by him [Creator], and the world knew him not.  He came unto his own, and his own received him not."  The Creator came to his own-to live amongst his creation-and they rejected him-sounds strangely reminiscent of Calvary, right?

Verse 14: This scripture reveals that the Word, which is the Creator, which is the Light-.is Jesus Christ. 

Word = Creator = Father = Light = Jesus

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

Notice, the Word or Almighty God became flesh.  Only by becoming flesh could we see the glory, grace, and truth of who God is.  The term ‘begotten’ is often misunderstood.  Yes, it can mean giving birth to but it also means created by.  The flesh was a created vessel, made specifically for God to indwell.

Verse 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."  Let us understand this passage:

* No one has seen the spirit of God.  Why?  As John 4:24 says, "God is spirit."  Spirits cannot be seen as they lack properties such as flesh and blood.

* Jesus became the vehicle through which we could see God.  He was ‘declared’ by the bodily presence.  Declare does not just mean to state or say something; it also means to "make manifest or visible" or "to reveal."  Check your dictionary!

* Otherwise, if God were not manifest in the flesh, how could Acts 20:28 be true?  The text says that God "hath purchased [the Church] with his own blood."  Where could a spirit get blood from?

7) Moving on in our study here.   What shall we do with John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus in John 1:30, "This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me."  How could Jesus be before John? 

John’s mother, Elizabeth, was pregnant and gave birth to John before Mary gave birth to Jesus so, physically, John came before Jesus-.but supernaturally, Jesus was before all flesh as the Creator! 

As Jesus stated in John 8:23, "Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world."  If he was simply a human being-how could he not be of this world.  The word ‘of’ means to come from.

Furthermore, God in the Old Testament was known as the ‘I Am.’  You can see Exodus 3:14 for an example.  Jesus repeatedly identified himself as the ‘I Am’ in the New Testament.

For instance, in John 8:24, Jesus said, "if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

Bible scholars often add "he" after the words "I am" to assist with readability; this is why the word "he" is italicized in these versions.  This means that the original translation would have read, "If ye believe not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins."

John 8:28 is another example.  Our versions state "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he."

The words "that" and "he" are italicized, meaning they were added for readability.  What the phrase actually states is "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know I AM."  In essence, when Jesus gave His life on the cross and was ascended up into glory, then they would understand He was God Almighty.

The examples go on and on.  But I would be remiss not to add this conversation between Jesus and the Jews who were asking who he truly was.

In John 8:56-58, Jesus says, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM."

Why didn’t Jesus say, "Before Abraham was, I was?"  Because He is eternal God-He always IS!

7) Having discussed John 1, now what shall we do with the prophecies foretelling of Jesus’ birth?  What shall we do with Isaiah 9:6?

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

This infant, born in a stable, is called the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father.  Apparently, those who do not believe that Jesus is the Eternal and Only God are not disagreeing with me or with other oneness believers.  They are simply disagreeing with Isaiah and Jesus himself.  How much simpler can God say it?

8) Final question: What shall we do with 1 Timothy 3:16?

Scholars denote that when Timothy referenced "God," he was certainly speaking of the same God referred to in the Old Testament.

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: 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."

That sounds an awful lot like my Jesus!  I’m so glad that I know Him!

Isn’t it time we lifted Him up in praise as the God he truly is and won the lost?

Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

* He was lifted up on a cross from the earth once so that His blood could redeem us.

* Now, it’s time to lift Him up with our belief and our praise as God-rather than man-so that our world can be turned upside down and brought back into reconciliation with Him!

MY RESPONSE:

Greetings ***

Thanks for your reply?
Jesus: God Almighty or An Anointed Man?

Well, let's open up with Scripture:

(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;

There you go!
That's was Paul's (as well as the early church's) confession and belief.

The one mediator between the ONE GOD and mankind, was:
the man ('Christ' meaning 'anointed') Jesus!
So yes, Jesus, scripturally, is most definitely
an anointed man.
That was whom 'the Messiah'
was always (scripturally) meant to be.
And in John 17.3,
Christ Jesus most clearly identifies
the Father as the only true GOD;
and in John 5.44 he identifies
the Father as the only GOD.

Also, you forgot in your quote of my post
to include a link I supplied:
60 questions on the Godhead

whereby some of your questions were already addressed!!

Let's proceed:


1) First, what shall we do with John 8:19?
Answer: Read the context!
John 8.15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true:
for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. 19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

Jesus clearly states he is not alone. He also quotes the Scriptures which speak of TWO witnesses.
Then Jesus clearly states:
that he is one witness and
his Father is the other witness!
That makes TWO!
One man and ONE GOD.
(Compare 1 Tim 2.5)

If they had known Jesus, why would they have known the Father also? Because:
Matt 11.27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

The Son of GOD is the revealer of the ONE GOD, the Father.


2) What shall we do with John 14:7?
Answer: Colossians 1.15
Jesus is the Image of the invisible GOD.
Seeing that Jesus is the One, Invisible GOD's
Representative and Agent;
to see Christ in action is to see
the Invisible GOD in action
who is working through him.
[John 14.10, Acts 2.22, 10.38]

Jesus, is the ONE, Invisible GOD's
Ultimate Representative and Agent,
the express image of GOD's person/substance.
[Heb 1.3; cp. 2 Cor. 4.4]

So to see Jesus is to see the Father,
because Christ is His image.
However, an image of someone/something is not identical to the person or thing it represents - rather an image is a representation.

Also Christ's followers knew the difference between GOD and man;
besides GOD is not a man
[Num 23.19; see also John 4.24]

3) What shall we do with the bold statement of Jesus in John 10:30, saying "I and my Father are one."
(This is already addressed by point No. 52, in the above link)

Answer: We compare it with Christ's bold prayer concerning his disciples/followers in
John Chapter 17.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,
that they may be one, as we are.
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

So just as Christ and his Father are 'one'; he prays for the same 'oneness' concerning his followers
i.e. oneness in unity of will and purpose.


4) What shall we do with John 14:8-9?
(Addressed by point No. 9, in the above link)

Jesus rather in essence, is asking:
"You mean you've seen the works that
my Father does
(verse 10: the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works);

and you don't realize who I am? Have you not yet realized that I am indeed in the Father, and the Father dwells in me?
Have you not realized that all the words I speak
I have not spoken them of myself, but the Father has given me what to speak?
(Compare Deut 18.18-19; John 12.48-50)

Therefore the very works testify that I am who I have always claimed to be:
the Messiah, the Son of GOD!
And as such, I truly declare/reveal/show the Father;
to see me 'work' is in fact,
to see the ONE GOD, the Father,
who dwells in me, 'work'!
In essence therefore, to see me,
is to see the Father;
because as His Son,
the Father dwells in me and I in Him!!
In doing so, I am showing you the Father."


No talk of 'flesh' or such like here.
Rather GOD dwells in him, and GOD testifies by His works,
that Jesus is indeed His Son,
the promised Messiah and Prophet,
as promised in the Scriptures.


5) What shall we do with Isaiah 9:6?
(Addressed by point No. 15, in the above link)

See also Isaiah 9.6

6) What shall we do with the entire first chapter of John?
What is John's context?

Answer: The word of GOD!
That is, all things came into existence through the word of GOD.
GOD spoke and IT was done!

Compare Psalm 33.6 By the word of YAHWEH were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. ... 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

John is stating the very same thing.
The new revelation however is the fact that
(John 1.14);
that same word of GOD was made flesh
resulting in the conception of
Jesus the Messiah, the Son of GOD.
Jesus, therefore, is what the word of GOD became!
The word of GOD made flesh!

Yes, that word, that 'light' - became flesh
resulting in the person of Jesus of Nazareth,
the Son of GOD.

That doesn't make Jesus, the Creator;
rather that makes him,
the word of the Creator made flesh!

Even Jesus acknowledged that his Father is the Creator:
[Mark 10.6, 13.19; Matt. 19:4];

So, yes, GOD's [spoken] word became flesh; not GOD Himself!

Rather the Creator's/Father's
Word/Light became flesh
which = Jesus;
Jesus is therefore what the Creator's word/light became!

Now we ought to believe Gabriel
(There are consequences for not believing him
i.e. Luke 1.17ff)

Gabriel declared: Luke 1.35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born [begotten] of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Who was begotten by the power of
GOD's holy spirit? Jesus!
So according to Gabriel, what does that make Jesus?
The Son of GOD.

Gabriel is not speaking about 'flesh' -
Gabriel is rather speaking about a 'son' ... a special Son.
Therefore the man Jesus, the son of GOD;
is a created vessel, whereby the ONE GOD, dwells!

Hence: 2 Cor 5.19
GOD was in Christ
(Not GOD was Christ)
Also Col 1.19
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.

Again, Jesus in light of John 1.18,
is the image of the invisible GOD;
and an image of a thing is not the actual thing itself - it is a representation.

See also John 1

(Acts 20.28 - see point 59 in the aforementioned link)


7a) ... What shall we do with John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus in
John 1:30, ... How could Jesus be before John?

Because Jesus is the Messiah, he is therefore
before John in the sense of preeminence and foreordination;
GOD foreordained Jesus before the foundation of the world
[1 Pet 1.20]
to be the Son of GOD.
As such Jesus is John's (as well as our) superior.
It is in that sense that he was preferred before John as well as
preferred before Abraham i.e. John 8.58

7b)... If he was simply a human being - how could he not be of this world.

In the same manner that Christ's disciples are not of the world?
What, are his disciples not human beings!!
John 15.19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

7c) Concerning John 8.58

Please see:
Is Jesus the "I AM?"

Did Jesus really claim to be God in John 8:58? Or is your translation misleading you?

Now look again at John 8.24.
If has you are implying that Jesus declared that he was the ‘I Am’ in the sense of Exodus 3.14; that is, he was Almighty GOD;
and unless one believes that, one will die in their sins!
Then why would his audience then ask ...
25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou?

You claim, that Jesus is telling them, that he is 'GOD Almighty';
then why ask, Who are you?
That doesn't make any sense, does it? Be honest!

Now look at Jesus' reply?
... And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.

Now I ask you: where did Jesus ever say from the beginning of the gospel to this point,
that he was GOD Almighty?
Where?


Rather, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of GOD!
So ... unless one believes that he is the Christ,
the Son of GOD, one will die in their sins.
And indeed after Jesus was lifted up i.e. crucified;
when GOD the Father raised him from the dead, he was declared indeed,
to be the Son of GOD!
Rom. 1.4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

So for example, after Paul had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, what did Paul believe and declare:

Act 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said,
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.


7d) Having discussed John 1, now what shall we do with the prophecies foretelling of Jesus’ birth? What shall we do with Isaiah 9:6?
(See above - also addressed by point No. 15, in the aforementioned link)


8) Final question: What shall we do with 1 Timothy 3:16?
Please view 1 Timothy 3.16

Thank you *** for your reply and thank you for your precious time.


Yours In Messiah

From Oneness to One

 

Jesus is Not Equal to God

Jesus is Not Equal to God

Was not - Is not - And never will be...

The Scriptural evidence is overwhelming that Jesus is not equal to God. There are dozens of Scriptures in the Bible that teach he is not. Those Scriptures include statements by Jesus himself as well as some of his closest followers. Following are some thirty examples:

(1.) Was Not Equal:

"If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I"
(Jesus to his disciples - John 14:28, NRSV)

A. Jesus does not give God power – God gives Jesus Power

"By myself I can do nothing" (Jesus - John 5:30, NIV)

"You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know" (The Apostle Peter - Acts 2:22, NRSV).

B. God does not obey Jesus – Jesus obeys God

Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8, NRSV).

"I always do what pleases him" (Jesus speaking of his Father - John 8:29, NIV).

C. Jesus does not teach God – God teaches Jesus

"I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me" (Jesus - John 8:28, NIV).

"For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak" (Jesus - John 12:49, NRSV).

Then Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine but his who sent me" (John 7:16, NRSV).

D. God knows things that Jesus does not know

"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Jesus - Mark 13:32, NRSV).

E. God has ultimate authority over the kingdom of Jesus Christ

[Jesus] said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left [in my kingdom], this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father" (Matthew 20:23, NRSV).

F. God does not pray to Jesus – Jesus prays to God

Now during those days [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12, NRSV).

G. God did not sacrifice himself to Jesus – Jesus sacrifices himself to God

Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (The Apostle Paul - Ephesians 5:2, NRSV).

H. God has no God – Jesus has a God

And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Jesus - Matthew 27:46, NRSV).

(2.) Though in Heaven, Jesus is Still Not Equal to God:

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and...God is the head of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3, NRSV).

A. God has no God – Jesus still has a God

So that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6, NRSV).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3, NRSV).

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him (Ephesians 1:17, NRSV).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3, NRSV).

[Jesus said], "I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name"
(Revelation 3:12, NRSV)

B. God sits on the main throne in heaven – Jesus sits at God's right

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19, NRSV).

"...seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians, 3:1 NRSV).

Jesus does not tell God where to sit. God tells Jesus where to sit: "sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool"
(Acts 2:34, 35, NRSV).

C. God's glory is inherent - Jesus receives his glory from God

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus (Acts 3:13, NIV).

D. Jesus does not reveal things to God - God reveals things to Jesus

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place (Revelation 1:1, NIV).

E. Jesus does not give God authority – God gives Jesus authority

Then Jesus came up to them, and said, "Full authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18, Williams).

F. God made Jesus to be the head over all things for the church

God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church
(Ephesians 1:22, NLT).

G. Jesus does not give God rulership – Jesus receives rulership from God

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David"
(The angel Gabriel - Luke 1:32, NASB).

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ— this Jesus whom you crucified"
(The Apostle Peter - Acts 2:36, NASB).

(3.) Never Will Be Equal to God:

1 Corinthians 15 (The Apostle Paul - NLT)
V. 24 - After that the end will come, when [Jesus] will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.
V. 27 - For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under [Christ's] authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
V. 28 - Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

The above is the appendix of Philippians 2:5-8 - 21st Century Reformation Commentary
by J. Dan Gill

God CAN (and DID) choose a man to save us!

Biblical unitarians often get the ol’ “you’re saying Jesus was just a ‘Mere Man’, when you deny that Jesus is God in the flesh”. However this is not what we’re saying at all. And really this is just a straw man counter-argument. Today on Facebook in the “Who is Jesus?” group , the following EXCELLENT reply was posted to a trinitarian who was bringing out that tired, old, “Mere Man” counter attack once again.

~~~~~~~~~~

A trinitarian had stated: “Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament. He was the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He became a man and died for His creation to redeem it. To be the savior, he HAD to be God. If he had not been God, then His sacrifice would not have been sufficient to redeem mankind. If he was merely a man, then the fact that he led a perfect life would only be sufficient for him to save himself. In order to save mankind, he had to pre-exist his human existence as the Creator God.”

The response: “This line of reasoning is so common that it even has a name. It has been dubbed the “Mere Man” theory.
[That is] :- ... It should take a God to die for His creation in order to redeem it. But “Mere Man” does have a couple problems

The first is the fact that the Creator God cannot die. If you find yourself in the unenviable position of arguing the necessity of your dead God, perhaps you should reconsider your position. The Bible does not support it. The Creator God is described in scripture by words such as “eternal” and “immortal” and “everlasting” and “almighty.” The Creator God is not subject to the limitations (including death) of his creation.

If your study of the scriptures leaves you comfortable with a mortal immortal, there is another perhaps more serious flaw with the “Mere Man” theory. It is totally absent from scripture. It is remarkable how many people confidently state that “The death of a mere man would not have been sufficient to redeem mankind; God himself had to die for it” without following up this notable statement with any biblical support. The mere man statement, or anything remotely like it, is not found anywhere in the pages of the Bible, and yet it is generally accepted as fact.

Under the sacrificial system in ancient Israel, there was an annual sacrifice of a goat on the Day of Atonement. The high priest killed the goat and sprinkled the blood on the people of Israel. The blood of this animal atoned for the sins of the entire nation for that past year. “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before YHWH” (Leviticus 16:30). How, we may ask, could the blood of a mere animal be sufficient to do this? The answer is familiar to any child, as it was to the children of Israel: because your Father says so. YHWH God commanded that a goat be used as a sacrifice to cover the sins of the people. That is what made it efficacious. It was not the intrinsic power within the goat that did it; rather it was the plan and will of the Creator God.

When YHWH God commands something, we do not need to understand it. As faithful sons, we simply believe and obey our Father. The treatise on sacrifices in Hebrews 9 and 10 teaches us that the blood of bulls and goats as sacrifices for sin sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, but did not take away sins. The animal sacrifices for sin were designed as a type, a symbol to represent the ultimate sacrifice for sin: the Lamb of God. Under YHWH God’s plan, the animal sin sacrifice on the Day of Atonement was sufficient and efficacious, but only retroactively for the preceding year. It was temporal, and therefore insufficient as an ultimate sacrifice to redeem His people Israel once and for all. The fulfillment of the sacrificial system rested in the Lamb of God, Yeshua the Messiah, the sacrifice to which all the other sin sacrifices pointed.

Yeshua was a man. His existence began when he was conceived, just as it does for all men. He called himself the “son of man” on many occasions. He was called “the man Christ Yeshua” in I Timothy 2:5. He called himself the “son of God” in John 10:36 and other places in scripture, but never God the Son. Angels too are called sons of God in scripture, as are we (see I John 3 and Romans 8). We are the sons of God. That does not make us God. Neither did it make Yeshua God. Nor was he, at some time in the past. He was a man, born of a woman. He is referred to in the Bible as the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45). His Father was YHWH God, who was also the father of the first Adam.

From the foundation of the world, YHWH’s plan was to sacrifice the Lamb of God that was to come for the redemption of His people (Revelation 13:8). In due time, according to the plan of the Father, the man Yeshua the Messiah was born in Bethlehem. He lived a perfect life, performed his ministry to his people Israel, and was sacrificed. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be sinless before our Heavenly Father. By the shedding of his blood, redemption has come upon Israel, past, present, and future. The blood of The Lamb is sufficient. Why? Because that is how YHWH God planned it and designed it. Does not the One who created the world and instituted the sacrificial system have the right to select which sacrifices are sufficient to satisfy its requirements?

There is only one Creator. You are either the Creator or the creation; you cannot be both. Yeshua was called “the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15) and “the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3:14). Yeshua the Messiah was created. This is by no means an insult to him. You and I were created too. We, like our elder brother Yeshua, share in a glorious plan to be sons of God in the kingdom, each in his own order. Yeshua is the firstborn, and we shall follow. If the Old Testament type of an animal sacrifice was sufficient to cover the sins of the nation, how much more sufficient would be the fulfillment of the sacrificial system — the Lamb of God, a man planned for and selected from the foundation of the world, a sinless man who wholly followed YHWH his God and obeyed even unto death?

To say that he was insufficient because he was not God is to deny the sovereignty of the Creator God who selected him.
He was a man, but he was not a “mere man.” He was the chosen Messiah, the Lamb of God.”

A COMPILATION OF POSTS PERTINENT FOR THIS ADVENT SEASON! - PART 1 of 4

...

Advent

Advent is from the Latin word adventus and describes the season of waiting ... and celebrating the birth of the Lord Messiah.  It reflects the Jewish people's waiting for their God, YHWH, to bring them deliverance from their oppression, by bringing them an anointed King to lead them from the throne of David, in a Kingdom that would have no end.

Adventus is translated from the Greek word found in the Bible - parousia -

"Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him."  2 Thessalonians 2:1.

"The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" is translated from the Greek words, "parousias kuriou iēsou" which is translated as literally -
"the coming of lord or master Yehoshua."   

So, for Christians, ... We are ... waiting in great expectation for Jesus' second coming to the earth, to finally accomplish God's plan of that everlasting Kingdom He promised us, here upon the earth.

 

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
Thank You for knowing the beginning and the ending of this great story of mankind!  Your plan is just and righteous and true.  We know your word will be accomplished through Jesus.  This Advent Season, let us take the time to reflect upon Your son - his birth in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, and upon his second coming, in which we eagerly await!  Prepare our hearts and minds, over the days to come, to truly celebrate all that Jesus means for us and how he has brought us such great hope and joy for today and for the age to come!

In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.

 

 

---

 

...

 

Many people are falsely taught that Jesus claimed to be the God of the Old Testament, "I AM who I AM" from Exodus 3:14.  They use the text John 8:58 to prove this, when Jesus states, "I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am he."  Except some Bibles translate it and even change the capitalization to have Jesus saying,
"before Abraham was born, I AM."  However, this is very misleading and incorrect.  This phrase is taken from the Greek words "ego eimi" which is translated "I am he," such as in John 8:28 when Jesus says, "then you will know that I am he." (correctly translated in most modern NASB translations), and again in John 4:26-27 when he is speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well about whether he is the Messiah who is called the Christ.  


If it was to read "I AM" then its original Greek would be "ego eimi ho hown."  But, it's not and he is not the "I AM" or YHWH of the Old Testament.  Jesus is the promised Messiah to whom the Jewish people had been prophesied would be coming, and who were waiting and eagerly anticipating at this time!   He is simply stating in my paraphrase, "Before the foundation of the world, I am he, the Messiah.  I have been in God's plan all along! And here I am!  Don't you recognize me as sent by God?  Don't you see, by all the miraculous signs I've performed by God's power, that He really did send me to be the Anointed One, the King of His Kingdom?"  


But, the Pharisees didn't believe Jesus was sent by God, but of the Devil!  They were hard nuts to crack.  Jesus spoke cryptically to them, not exactly making it easy for them, because he knew their hearts were hardened.


In John 8, Jesus is attempting to tell the Pharisees that he not demonic, but here to glorify God.  Jesus told them that he not only knew the Father, but kept (obeyed) His word - God's spoken logos.  


Jesus goes on to explain that Abraham rejoiced to see the day of the Messiah, saw it and was glad.   Hebrews 11:13 testifies to this as well, by stating,
"All these [great fathers of the faith] died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having SEEN THEM and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on earth."  


Abraham had faith that one day, his seed [Jesus] would bring about a blessing for the entire world, so that they could inherit the land forever, at their resurrection.  ...  Abraham may not have known that the Messiah's name would be Jesus and at what point in history, his coming would occur, but he believed this promise of God, this Gospel message, and saw it by faith and rejoiced.


This verse does not mean that Jesus was existing before Abraham was born, but that the Gospel or the plan of God existed long before any of them were born.  The Hebrew people had such great faith in the fact that when God speaks, it will be accomplished, that they saw His word as if it was already done....but they died without seeing the complete fulfillment of it.  To this day, we are still awaiting our Lord to return to the earth to accomplish God's logos.


It is only through the miraculous birth, life, preaching, and death of this Messiah, that God has revealed His great mystery to us ~ that we, even Gentiles, can be saved by faith in this Jesus, so that we, too, can be inheriting the coming Kingdom of God.  That is great news, indeed, ...

Jesus is truly the Messiah, and he will be coming back soon!  This is what the Advent is all about, dear ones!  Let us rejoice as we see the Day approaching.

 

---

 

...

 

The appearance of the angel Gabriel, announcing the good news to Mary, that she will conceive a son in her womb.  

 

The angel proclaims to her about this son, Jesus:

"He will be great,and will be called the Son of the Most High;and the Lord {YAHWEH} God will give him the throne of his father David;and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever;and his kingdom will have no end."
Luke 1:32-33.

For today's devotional, let us focus on Jesus' position as the anointed King, sitting on the throne of David forever, reigning over a kingdom that will have no end.  
As we have been discussing some of the prophecies weaved throughout the Old Testament of the coming Messiah, this angel's proclamation also echoes the promise made to Israel's King David, hundreds of years before Jesus' birth.

Read 2 Samuel 7:12-16
"When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers [die], I will raise up your seed after you, who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for My Name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."

Thoughts

God, through His prophet Nathan, spoke His word to David, first referring to David's son, Solomon, but ultimately prophesying something much deeper, about the Messiah and the everlasting kingdom that is yet to come.  It's important when we study our Bibles to connect the dots, and God's promise to David that He would establish the throne of David's descendant forever, makes us immediately think of the Messianic prophesies found in the book of Daniel.

 

Daniel 7 provides us more details of this everlasting Kingdom that God will give to David's descendant.  

 

• "And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve him.  
  His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. "  (7:14)
• "But the saints [that's hopefully you and me!] of the Highest One ... will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come." (7:18)
• "Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One;
  his kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and all the dominions will serve and obey him."  (7:27).

Gabriel announced not only the miraculous conception of a baby boy, but oh, so much more than that!  He was announcing that the long-awaited Messiah -
the descendant of David who was promised by God to rule and reign forever in an everlasting kingdom - would be born to Mary.  She was the favored one chosen to birth and mother this child who would later be given a dominion by the Most High God.  This good news was incredible!  Mary didn't ask, "To what kingdom do you refer?" for she had been taught the Hebrew Scriptures and knew that the Jewish people were looking forward to the consolation of Israel and
the LORD's {YAHWEH's} Christ (like Simeon - found in Luke 2:25-26).  

 

Today, we can rejoice over Christ's birth just as Mary and David did, because we, like them, know God's word will be fulfilled just as was spoken to them.  Elizabeth told Mary when she saw her, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. {YAHWEH}"  (Luke 1:45) and David, after hearing God's promise, prayed "And now, O Lord God {O Adonai YAHWEH}, Thou art God and Thy words are truth and Thou hast promised this good thing to Thy servant."  (2 Samuel 7:28).

 

We know how the story ends.  "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."  
Revelation 11:15.  ...

Let us add more depth to our celebration, by understanding that we are rejoicing in the birth of our King and waiting expectantly for his return.  When he returns, he will begin to establish that everlasting Kingdom and we "will reign upon the earth" with him.  (Revelation 5:10b).  Blessed are we who believe that God's word will be fulfilled through His Son, Jesus.

 

...

 

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,

You, alone, are God!  We praise Your Holy Name and give You the Glory for bringing us salvation through the miraculous birth of Your Christ!  The more we study and learn about Your coming Kingdom, the more we can begin to grasp the significance of Christ's role in it.  Our faith that You will fulfill what You have promised, increases, and our certainty that Christ will accomplish Your will grows stronger.  Let our knowledge bring about an increase in our boldness and confidence to share this good news of a coming Kingdom with others.  Let us spread the news, far and wide, that Jesus is the King of this Kingdom, and we will someday rule and reign with him upon the earth, that we will inherit as adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God.  You are good to us and we are grateful for Your mercies, new each day!  
Thank You for the gift of Your Son and may we use today to rejoice in our King.

 

In Jesus' Name we pray,

Amen.

 

---

 

...

 

{This Advent season} should automatically shift our thinking to the birth of Christ Jesus.  We are {supposedly} celebrating his birthday, after all!  So the facts of his birth are important to us.  In fact, by examining the information that God provides us about the details and prophecies of Jesus' birth, this process provides for us both, a deeper understanding and a richer comprehension of whose birth in which we are rejoicing.  By looking closely at Scripture, we gleam just who Jesus is.

Read Psalm 2:7
"I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh:  He said to me, "Thou are My son.  Today, I have begotten thee."  Psalm 2:7.

Thoughts

This is well accepted in the realm of Biblical scholarship, that this Scripture is a Messianic prophecy.  There is no doubt that this verse refers to the Messiah.  It plainly states that Yahweh (note:  a singular 'He') who is the Most High God, says to His Anointed (Mashiyach - meaning king or messiah), "You are My son."


When I first began studying this and realized that Jesus was called the "Son of God" and also went by title, "the Son of Man," I merely assumed that Jesus was part God and part man.  A god-man sort of creature, much like the Greek mythology characters who came to earth, cast from heaven.  Jesus had God as his Father and Mary, a human as his mom, so I reasoned that must be what he was.   Then I learned that the Trinity theory believes that Jesus is not merely a part of anything, he is 100% man, while being 100% God at the same time.  They, too, call Jesus a God-Man, but are very defensive if you call Jesus a man and often deny that Jesus was a man.  Both assumptions (mine and theirs) are wrought with error, that only further study can reveal.  People have written books on this subject, but I will attempt to explain it in one "brief" blog article. Wish me luck!  


Let's begin with Gabriel's message to Mary in Luke 1:35:

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy thing begotten shall be called
the Son of God."

The reason Jesus is called "the Son of God" is because he was miraculously begotten by the Spirit of the Most High God.  Jesus was not born like we are - of a man and a woman - but he was miraculously begotten in the womb of Mary, by the power of God.  And for this reason, he will be called the Son of God.


So, what does that old word, 'begotten' mean?  The word 'begotten' found in Psalm 2:7 is from the Hebrew word "yalad" which means: to generate, to bear a child, to come into existence.   {I John 5:18 (not KJV)} tells us Jesus "who was born of God."  The original Greek word for born is "gennao" - which means:  begotten, coming into existence.  Matthew 1:18 states, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows."  The word "birth" can be translated as 'genesis' or the beginning, derived from the same Greek word for born:  "gennao."  Jesus was brought into existence by the Father.  He was created, begotten in time.  Jesus had a beginning.  There was a time he did not exist.  Jesus did not exist before his miraculous birth brought about by the power of the Most High God, Yahweh, who calls Jesus "His Son" because of this fact.


I do not believe Jesus is Yahweh, nor is he part-God, part-man (as I once erroneously thought) nor a god-man, as what is popularly taught in churches across our nation as an ... incarnated god dwelling in the flesh, temporarily.  At all.  I have studied this for myself, and once my beliefs were just merely based on what I thought, combined with conjecture; but now what I believe is based on the evidence of the study of Scripture and truth.  I am still learning and sharing what I learn as I go!  How important it is, that we keep this state of mind as a humble student of Scripture, always yearning to understand and learn more, and willing to correct ourselves when we discover something new that may prove our old way of belief had errors.


Jesus was called the title, "The Son of God" because of his miraculous birth and this important position of Anointed King (a.k.a. "Messiah"), that he was given by his Father.

That position comes with glory, exaltation, power, dominion, authority, and is above all other names and esteemed rulership positions in the heavens and the earth.


In fact, an interesting detail is that Adam is called "the son of God" in Luke 3:38, and Jesus is later called the "last Adam" in I Corinthians 15:45.  Both were 100% man, not a god-man, and both shared a very unique trait - that both were uniquely created by Yahweh.  One brought death into the world by his disobedience; while the other brought the resurrection of the dead and eternal life.


Today, I have begotten Thee.
Yahweh, the God of the universe, begat Jesus into existence by His power.  He created him with a divine purpose and a special relationship with Him that no one before him or after him will ever experience.  God's fullness dwelled in Jesus and His Spirit anointed him in a measure that is beyond the scope of what we will ever be privileged to share, but we too have God's fullness dwelling in us and His holy spirit anointing us as believers.  We get a small taste of what was made available to Jesus, which was on a much more grander scale.  He is the only begotten Son of God.  We can be called the sons and daughters of God, but it is no way near THE Son of God title that was bestowed upon Jesus.


There is still only one true God, who is our Heavenly Father (see John 17:3); and His Son, Jesus who He has begotten, to be a light to the world, in order to save us.  Today, let us conclude with this passage from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21:
"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself, through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word [logos] of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He [God] made him [Jesus], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him."


In other words, get right with God!  And after you do, we have been given the ministry to help others get right with God!  God made Jesus to be sin on our behalf, so that we can be made holy, blameless, and righteous by Jesus' atoning sacrifice of his blood that covers our sins and blots them out in the sight of our God!  God provided this opportunity for us to inherit eternal life, because of His miraculous begetting of His Son, Jesus.  


{This Advent season} is not the celebration of God coming down to be born in the body of a baby to save mankind Himself, as a man.  This is such a distortion of the message!!!  


{Rather it is} the celebration of God miraculously providing a man, who was able to live a sinless life, in order to be our blameless Lamb, sacrificed upon a cross, for the sins of mankind.  He was a unique man, able to live without sin, because of his unique birth!  We give glory to God for saving us and reconciling us to Him, through the ministry and work of Christ Jesus!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life."  John 3:16.

This is the message that the bells should be tolling ...  
"Glory to God in the Highest,
and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Luke 2:14.


We will indeed have peace, when we get right with God, by accepting and believing in His son, Jesus, who bled and died for our sins, in order to save us.

...

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
Glory to You, the Most High God, who begot Jesus by Your power!  You had a plan for him, as the redemption for mankind, since before the foundation of the world.  At the right time in history, You brought him into existence and revealed Your great plan for us.  In fact, You revealed the mystery that one day, not just Your chosen Jewish people would be saved, but that we, too, (Gentiles) could be grafted in as part of Your family, to be heirs of the Kingdom, and co-heirs with Christ Jesus! What a gift You have given the world, if we would only receive it and believe it.  I pray that ..., eyes will be opened and ears will hear the beautiful redeeming tale of the birth of Your son and how we can all be reconciled to You, through Your Son's sacrifice of his life.  Grant us boldness and opportunities to share this with a hurting world, beat up by guilt, condemnation and shame.  They need Your peace and Your forgiveness, God.  Let us love them enough, to share the ministry of reconciliation with them.

In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.

 

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The above posts are the work of Angela Hays Moore. 

Some editing has been done.

They were taken from:

Advent 1

 

Advent 2

 

Advent 4

 

Advent 5