Spiritual Growth Ministries

      This will probably be one of the most important lessons the student will ever have, so study it carefully and prayerfully!   There are many people in the world today who do not have a proper understanding of whom Jesus really is.   The Muslim and Jewish people accept Jesus as a prophet, but not God.   The Mormons, Unitarians, and Jehovah Witnesses completely deny his deity, saying that he is "less than God."   The most common mistake many people make is to divide God up into three persons, and say that Jesus Christ is merely one of three!

      If we are to rightfully understand the identity and deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be honest enough to accept the authority of the Bible concerning this matter, rather than the traditions of men.   The word "trinity," or phrases "holy three" and "holy family" are not found in the pages of the Bible, but are the inventions of men to try to explain what they call "the mystery of the Godhead."

      One thing is certain.   If we try to divide God up into three separate persons, we not only have a mystery on our hands, we have confusion.   If there is one sure truth in the Bible (and we believe that the entire Bible is true) it is that God is one!   This He declares plainly to us:

"Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD..." (Deuteronomy 6:4).

"I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no god beside me: I have girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else"   (Isaiah 45:5-6, 22).

      We have already said that there is a total absence in the Bible of the phrase, "Holy Three."   However, the phrase "Holy One" is used of God repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, and in some New Testament scriptures as well.   Examples: Isaiah 40:25; 43:15; Acts 2:27; 3:14

      When John had a vision of the throne of God, he saw only One sitting upon the throne (Revelation 4:2).   The plain truth is that if we divide God up into three separate distinct personalities, we no longer have one God, we have three, despite what statements we might make to the contrary!

WHY WE CANNOT ACCEPT THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

      The doctrine of the trinity states that there are three separate, distinct persons in the Godhead: one of the Father, one of the Son, and one of the Holy Ghost.   Yet, in some way that is not clearly understood, they are all one, or agree in one.

      The doctrine of the trinity states that these three persons are coeternal and coequal.   That is, all three persons have always existed, and all three persons share equal power.

      Does the Bible support these statements?

      1.   If the Father and the Holy Spirit are two separate personalities, which one is the father of Jesus?

". . . she (Mary) was found with child of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18).

". . . for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:20).

      Did Jesus have two fathers?   Or are the Father and the Holy Ghost the same?

"Have we not all one father?  hath not one God created us?" (Malachi 2:10).

      Jesus is called "The mighty God, the everlasting Father" in Isaiah 9:6.   Are there three fathers in the Godhead?

      If Jesus is separate and distinct from the Father, how can He then be coeternal?   How can a son be the same age as his father?   We do not find the word "Son" used in connection with the Godhead until the New Testament.   There was no Son of God until the Baby was born in Bethlehem.   "Begotten" means "born."   Jesus died on the cross as "the only begotten Son" (John 3:16).

      2.   If Jesus and the Father are two separate personalities, Jesus could not be coequal with the Father because:

           a.   Jesus (the Son of God) prayed to the Father. A person would not pray to another who has the same power and authority as himself.   (I would not pray to you.   You would not pray to me.)

           b.   Jesus declared that His miraculous ministry was not to be attributed to the "Son of God," but "the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10).

           c.   There are some things that only the Father knows, not the Son (Matthew 24:36).

      When trinitarians are asked the above question, they often replay, "Oh, it's a mystery.   None of us can really understand the Godhead."   What does the Bible say about understanding the Godhead?

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

THE MYSTERY REVEALED

      There is confusion and mystery connected with the Godhead only when we persist in believing that God consists of three separate distinct personalities.   Until the second century, this controversy did not exist.   In fact, the doctrine of the trinity was not fully developed until it was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church at the council of Nicea in 325 A. D.   There was much arguing, and even fist fighting, during the debates that took place during this council--an atmosphere that is not conducive to produce divine revelation.   Nevertheless, the doctrine of the trinity was made a statement of faith at that time.

      Since the latter day outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which began around 1900 A. D., the Holy Spirit is again revealing truths that were largely hidden down through the ages. Ministers and lay people of all Christian faiths are beginning now to shake off the power of tradition and come to the real understanding that:

      1.   God is one--numerically, not as some say, through special agreement.

      2.   God manifests Himself as Father (through creative acts), Son (through redemptive acts) and Holy Spirit (the active force that is in the church of Jesus Christ today).

      3.   We should think of God in terms of three manifestations, not as three separate distinct personalities.   We can also think of God as having three offices.   For instance, the writer is a father, a son, and a husband.   These are three separate, distinct offices, but I am only one person.

      Example: Water in its natural form is one manifestation.   If it is boiled, it becomes steam.   If it is frozen, it becomes ice.   In each case it is the same water, but manifested in three different ways.

THE INCARNATION

      The word "incarnation" means the act of God in taking upon Himself the form of a human being.   When we study the birth of Jesus Christ, we do not read of the formation of another God.   It is not the birth of another person: body, soul, and spirit.   A new God was not formed in the womb of Mary.   This would be completely contrary to what Jehovah said through his prophet Isaiah:

Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD (Jehovah), and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

I even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Saviour" (Isaiah 43:10-11).

      The angel that appeared unto Mary, informed her: ". . . that holy thing (not person) which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).   The Son of God was not in the Old Testament.   He was not present in eternity, as some people try to claim.   The Son of God was born in Bethlehem.   "Son" refers to the body that God created in the womb of Mary for He Himself to dwell in.

      The purpose for the incarnation was to provide the necessary sacrifice to redeem mankind from the power and penalty of sin.   The Bible has plainly declared unto us that "...the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4), and ". . . the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).   This means that all men face eternal death, because ". . . all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

      Sin separates man from fellowship and communion with God (Isaiah 59:1-2).   By one man's disobedience (Adam), sin entered into the world, and by the obedience of one man (the man Christ Jesus), many are made righteous (Romans 5:12, 19).

      Only a perfect, sinless man could offer his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, but no such man existed:

"And he (God) saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no inter- cessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him" (Isaiah 59:16).

      It is Jehovah who looked for someone to pay the price for man's sins, but found no one, and so His own arm brought salvation.   What does this mean?   Isaiah clearly explains:

"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not:

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:1, 3-5).

      These beautiful words in Isaiah tell us of the sufferings of Jesus Christ to pay the price for our healing and salvation.   Since there was no sinless man to pay the price, God created a body in the womb of Mary, and that body was the sacrificial lamb. Because God created the body, He was the Father of the body. Because the body was created by God, the body was the Son of God--but also the sacrificial lamb. John introduced Jesus in the following way:

". . . Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

      We also read concerning the incarnation:

"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" (I Timothy 3:16).

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (God) also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;   And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham" (Hebrews 2:14-16).

"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.   He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:10-11).

      When we fully understand that the Jesus of the New Testament (the word "Jesus" means "Jehovah Saviour" or "Jehovah has become my Saviour") is the Jehovah of the Old Testament manifest in the flesh, we will also understand why Isaiah wrote concerning the birth of Jesus Christ:

"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" (Isaiah 9:6).

      ". . .Unto us a child is born." We needed a Saviour, someone to pay the penalty for our sins, and bring salvation to us.   This is the purpose of the incarnation.   As a man, Jesus was tempted in all points (Hebrews 4:15), but He did not sin.   Because of this He was able to ". . . offer himself without spot to God," and "purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).

THE FIRST AND THE LAST

      Trinitarians teach that the Father is the first person of the Godhead, the Son is the second person, and the Holy Ghost is the third person.   It is amazing how such teaching ever came into existence, because Jehovah clearly proclaimed:

"Thus saith the LORD (Jehovah) the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am (not We are) the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6).

      These are the words of Jehovah. Now let us read the words of Jesus:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).

". . . I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last . . ." (Revelation 1:11).

THE PROPHECY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye that way of the LORD (Jehovah), make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (Isaiah 40:3).

This prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist, whose ministry prepared the way for Jesus Christ:

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias (Isaiah) saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight" (Matthew 3:1-3).

      When we carefully note these verses of Scripture, it is easy to come to the conclusion that Jesus, whose name means "Jehovah-Saviour," is none other than Jehovah manifested in the flesh.   No wonder that Jesus Christ is also called ". . . Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:23).      Some people say that when we accept the belief that Jesus is indeed Jehovah come in the flesh we are antichrist. They say this because of the warning of John:

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son" (I John 1:22).

      The next verse, however, clarifies what John was writing about:

"Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also" (verse 23).

      Notice also this verse:

"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist" (II John 1:7).

      Remember that when we speak of the "Son," we speak of the body that Jehovah (the Father) dwelt in.   Oneness people (people who accept the truth that Jesus Christ is Jehovah manifested in the flesh) do not deny the Father.   We locate the Father--He was in the Son (the body):

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself . . ." (II Corinthians 5:19).

JESUS REVEALS HIS TRUE IDENTITY TO HIS DISCIPLES

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforeth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth (will satisfy) us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake" (John 14:6-11).

      There is no danger of giving Jesus Christ too much glory and honor.   The spirit of the antichrist is not that of denying the Father, but that of not giving the rightful place to Jesus Christ.

      There are many theories and ideas concerning the Godhead today, but let us take heed to the warning of the Apostle Paul:

"Beware lest any spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:8-10).

      The conclusion of the matter is simply this: "We are complete in Jesus!"

VOCABULARY:

attributed . . . . . . belonged to; had the qualities or characteristics of
deity . . . . . . divine nature
distinct . . . . . . separate, individual
Godhead . . . . . . the state or quality of being God
persist . . . . . . to refuse to give up
person . . . . . . an individual being
theory . . . . . . a thought, idea or plan that has not been proven, such as the "theory of evolution"
traditions . . . . . . beliefs that have been handed down from generation to generation

 

LIFE OF CHRIST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -LESSON ONE TEST

  1.   What must we do if we are to rightfully understand the identity and deity of Jesus Christ?

  2.   How many times is the word "trinity" and the phrase "Holy Three" found in the Word of God?

  3.   Complete the following verses of Scripture:

      "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is _____ LORD . . ."
      "I am the LORD, and there is _____ else."
      "There is ___ God ___________ me."

  4.   Give one reason why the Father cannot be coeternal with the Son.

  5.   Who was Jesus the child of?

  6.   Was Jesus called the everlasting Father?

  7.   Trinitarians consider Jehovah to be "God the Father." If Jehovah was a separate person from the Holy Spirit and Jesus, and because Jesus is called "Everlasting Father," how many fathers would there be?

  8.   What do men say when they cannot explain the above?

  9.   Is the Godhead to be a mystery to us, or should we be able to understand it?

10.   If the Son of God and the Father are two separate persons, show how they could not be coequal.

11.   When was the doctrine of the trinity officially adopted, and by whom?

12.   We should think of God in terms of three __________________, not persons.

13.   Was another God formed in Mary?

14.   What did the angel inform Mary concerning that which should be born of her?

15.   What was the purpose of the incarnation?

16.   How did John introduce Jesus to his followers?

17.   Can two separate persons be "the Almighty?"

18.   What was Jesus answer to Philip's question, "Lord, show us the Father"?

19.   In whom are we complete?

20.   What was of special interest to you in this lesson?