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Questions and answers on the Godhead: Difference between revisions
Questions and answers on the Godhead (view source)
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|'''Why is the Old Testament | |'''What must we do?''' | ||
||''Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:'' (I Peter 1:22) | |||
''Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.'' (II Corinthians 4:10) | |||
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===Why is the Old Testament Important?=== | |||
Christianity began as a Jewish sect, and the entire New Testament was written by Jewish Christians. The Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament) were very important to these early Christians, because it was the Word of God spoken to the prophets. By the third century Christianity had become a predominantly Gentile (non-Jewish) religion. As a result, the importance of the Old Testament was minimized, and a Greek interpretation of the New Testament became popular at the expense of Jewish Christians. | |||
Words have different meaning in Greek and Hebrew. For example, the word "know", from the verse ''"ye shall know the truth"''(John 8:32) means: | |||
*Greek: to understand mentally. | *Greek: to understand mentally. | ||
*Hebrew: to | *Hebrew: to participate physically with irreversible consequences. Often used in reference to a marriage relationship, which would result in children. | ||
Another example is the word "LORD", from the verse ''"My LORD and my God"'' (John 20:28), which would have different meaning in Greek and Hebrew: | Another example is the word "LORD", from the verse ''"My LORD and my God"'' (John 20:28), which would have different meaning in Greek and Hebrew: | ||
*Greek: Master, ruler. | *Greek: Master, ruler. | ||
*Hebrew: a reference to the unspeakable name of God ([[Jehovah]]). | *Hebrew: a reference to the unspeakable name of God, ([[Jehovah]]). | ||
In order to "know the LORD" (Hosea 2:20), you must begin with a Jewish understanding of the Old Testament: a | In order to "know the LORD" (Hosea 2:20), you must begin with a Jewish understanding of the Old Testament: a belief in one God. | ||
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| | |''Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:'' (Deuteronomy 6:4) | ||
||'' | ''God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,'' (Hebrews 1:1) | ||
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===Step 2: How man was made.=== | |||
The book of Genesis records that God created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27). By doing this, God has given man the foundation of knowledge (i.e. experience) with him, because our image is like God himself. There are some very unique descriptions in the book of Genesis that reveal how the first man, Adam, was created: | |||
*God said ''"Let us make man in '''our''' image, after '''our''' likeness (Genesis 1:26). | |||
*'''One''' Man was created in God's image (Genesis 1:27) | |||
*God later formed that same Man out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) | |||
*God called Man a ''"living soul"'' (Genesis 2:7) | |||
Some necessary connections need to be made at this point: | |||
#Man is called a "living soul", and God is called a "living God" (Psalms 42:2). This soul is a part of God. | |||
#Jesus said that '''God is a spirit"'' (John 4:24). To be in the image of God, man must have been made a spirit also. | |||
#The soul is unique from the spirit (Hebrews 4:12). | |||
#When God made man in "our" image, he made man both soul and spirit, existence and expression. | |||
#The body is the temple of God, and is the residence of the "living God" (II Corinthians 6:16) and the "Spirit of God" (I Corinthians 3:16). | |||
From creation, we can see that Man is made of three components: a soul, a spirit, and a body (I Thessalonians 5:23). This "trinity" of existence is vertical rather than horizontal, and these three components make one earthly man. | |||
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|''And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'' (I Thessalonians 5:23) | |||
''For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'' (Hebrews 4:12) | |||
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===Step 3: How the woman was made.=== | |||
After man was created, God formed a woman from the rib of man (Genesis 2:22). The woman then had a separate body, spirit and soul, and was capable of making decisions independent from man. Both men and women are also capable of making decisions independent from God. | |||
"Woman" means "taken from the man" (Genesis 2:23). Similarly, man is "taken from God" (Acts 17:29) but is spirit from spirit instead of body from body. | |||
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|''For Adam was first formed, then Eve.'' (I Timothy 2:13) | |||
''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.'' (I Corinthians 11:3) | |||
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===Step 4: What it means to be a son of man=== | |||
A child can only come after a man knows a woman (Hebrew interpretation). While the first man and woman were created, the rest of the human race have been formed in the womb and brought forth in pain. Regardless of whether it is a natural or a cesarean birth, a child experiences three distinct changes during birth: | |||
#Water: The child is brought out of the 'water' (amniotic fluid) where it previously lived. In a natural birth, the 'water breaks' as a sign to others that the birth process has begun. | |||
#Blood: Previously dependent on nourishment from the mother's bloodstream, the umbilical cord is severed and some blood is lost or spilt in this process. The child's heart then transforms to become self-sustaining. | |||
#Spirit: The child takes its first breath of air, on which it will be dependent for the rest of its life, and cries. | |||
The New Testament identifies these three components of childbirth (water, blood, and spirit) as necessary ingredients for our redemption (I John 5:6). By being born of a woman, the God of the Old Testament became a begotten son (Hebrews 1:5), and fulfilled all of the requirements to redeem mankind. | |||
However, while a child will bear the image of his parents (both in features and in character), it will have none of its parents' memories or experiences - only a unique ability to learn and grow. Jesus, born of the virgin Mary, was a son of man. He increased in size and wisdom (Luke 2:52), and later shared in the ultimate fate of the cursed human race: death. | |||
{|style="background-color:#cedff2; border:1px #a3b0bf solid; text-align:center; width:800px;" | |||
|''This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.'' (I John 5:6) | |||
''For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5) | |||
''And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.'' (Luke 2:52) | |||
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===Step 5: What it means to be a son of God=== | |||
Because God is a Spirit (John 4:24), someone who is a child of God must be so in spirit. The scriptures say ''"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God"'' (Romans 8:14), and ''"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God:"'' (I John 5:1a). Someone who is born of God is set in the image of the creator (Colossians 3:10), and is identified by his or her obedience to the Word of God (I John 3:24). | |||
Just like a natural child has a beginning, a son of God also has a beginning. According to the scriptures, we ''"become the sons of God"'' (John 1:12) and, to those that believe, ''"now we are the sons of God" (I John 3:2). A child of God is therefore begotten by the Word of God, and the evidence of this birth is faith and obedience in the Word of God. | |||
When the Spirit of God's Son (Galatians 4:6) was separated from his body at the crucifixion, Jesus was made a ''"quickening spirit"'' (I Corinthians 15:45). "Quickening" means the ability to give life. When Jesus told his disciples ''"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you"'', he was letting them know that he would come in the form of God (a spirit) rather than in the form of man (a body) to fulfill his promise of eternal life. | |||
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|''Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.'' (I John 3:2) | |||
''And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:'' (Colossians 3:10) | |||
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===Step 6: Life in Heaven=== | |||
Death does not end our existence. The scriptures say that ''"There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."'' (I Corinthians 15:44). Like a natural body, a spiritual body is a temple for the spirit but is not the spirit itself. For example, Angels have spiritual bodies but are not formless beings (Daniel 8:15). | |||
After God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, Jesus' earthly body then ascended to God (John 20:17), and could then appear and disappear at will (Luke 24:31). Earlier, when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, his face shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2). Later, when Jesus appeared before Paul, he came as a great shining light (Acts 22:6). This spiritual body is not an earthly body, but is a body not subject to the laws of the universe (or even existence within the universe), but is only subject to the direction of God. | |||
Every Christian is also promised a spiritual, glorified body in which to spend eternity. | |||
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|''For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'' (II Corinthians 5:1) | |||
''But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.'' (Luke 20:35-36) | |||
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===Step 7: Of Angels and People=== | |||
The prophet Ezekiel saw a visions of angels descending from heaven with the likeness of man (Ezekiel 1:5). Beside each of these angels was a wheel in a wheel, (Ezekiel 1:16) and the spirit of the angels was found in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:20). This vision may sound cryptic, but the angel had the likeness of a man: Body (angel), spirit (wheel), and soul (wheel in a wheel). | |||
The body contains senses to contact the physical world (see, taste, feel, hear, smell), and its purpose is to perform the will of the spirit (James 2:26). The spirit contains senses to interact with other beings (reason, affection, imagination, consience, memory), and its purpose is expression (I Corinthians 14:14, Isaiah 11:2). The soul contains the a single sense to enable it to contact God: faith, which is the ability to believe (Hebrews 10:39, Habakkuk 2:4). Faith is what ties us to God or separates us from God. No other creature on earth has this ability. | |||
==Summary== | |||
God is a spirit. When God created man in the beginning, man was created a spirit. God later formed a body for man to live in to rule his creation. This body was designed as a temple for the spirit of God and the spirit of Man to live and operate. | |||
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|''The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.'' (Zechariah 12:1) | |||
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A woman, Eve, was then created from the body of the man, and a son was formed in the body of the woman. God ordained that those who were born of a woman would be called the sons of man, and that those who obeyed the Spirit of God would be called the sons of God. | |||
Jesus was God created in the image of man, born of a virgin, and led of the Spirit of God. Jesus was the Son of Man, and the Son of God. When Jesus died, his Spirit left his natural body, stepped into a spiritual body, descended into Hell, conquered death, and resurrected his natural body. Jesus natural body was then "glorified" after which he was not confined to the laws of physics, and ascended into heaven. | |||
The Spirit of Jesus then returned on the day of Pentecost. Jesus had returned in the form of God (a spirit) rather than in the form of man (a body). Just as Eve was formed from Adam's body, the Christian Church was formed from Jesus' spirit. Jesus' Spirit is also called the "Holy Spirit" and the "Spirit of the Father". Jesus was Immanuel, meaning "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14), the Father is God above us, and the Holy Spirit is God in us. | |||
The Lord God is one Lord. When God made Jesus both Lord and Christ, he did not create a second Lord, but brought Jesus into the inheritance of the fullness of his identity. Jesus' body was the temple that housed the Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord is Jehovah God, the fullness of the Godhead. | |||
By becoming a man, God made redemption possible for those who had fallen from grace. By this action God became our redeemer, our Saviour, and friend. He also became the Son of Man, and the Son of God. These are simply attributes of God, who is endless in his majesty. | |||
==Conclusion== | |||
In spite of this explanation, the mystery of the Godhead will only be "known" to those who are elected and predestined by God. You may not like the fact that God has control over your eternal destination, but Jesus said ''"neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."'' (Matthew 11:27) | |||
However, God gave instruction for those wanting to know him and have not received the Holy Ghost, for the scriptures say that ''"no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."'' (I Corinthians 12:3) The instructions God gave are: | |||
#''"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."'' (Exodus 20:3) | |||
#to seek God diligently | |||
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|''For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.'' (Jeremiah 29:11-13) | |||
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''I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.'' (Proverbs 8:17) | |||
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''Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:'' (Matthew 7:7) | |||
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<div style="font-size:120%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">'''Why did Jesus say "before Abraham was, I am", and "glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." if he as a son was begotten, rather than being an eternal son?</div> | <div style="font-size:120%; padding:1px; margin:1px;">'''Why did Jesus say "before Abraham was, I am", and "glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." if he as a son was begotten, rather than being an eternal son?</div> | ||