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=History= | =History= | ||
Nestorius, appointed Bishop of Constantinople in A.D. 428, correctly opposed giving Mary the title “Mother of God,” but in his opposition to this, wrongly held that Mary gave birth to a man who was accompanied by the Logos. Nestorianism, therefore, seeking to do justice to the true humanity of Christ, failed to do justice to the unity of His person and to the union of the Logos with a human nature in Christ. In effect, it made Christ two distinct persons. Instead of blending the two natures into a single self-consciousness, Nestorianism places them alongside of each other with nothing more than a moral and sympathetic union between them.<ref>Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 301.</ref> | |||
Nestorius found formidable adversaries in the patriarch of Alexandria (Cyril) and the bishop of Rome (Celestine I), both of whom convened synods that declared Nestorius to be a heretic. After heated exchanges, the emperor (who favored Nestorius) in 431 summoned the church’s third ecumenical council, held at Ephesus. Before the tardy arrival of the accused’s Syrian supporters and of the papal representatives from Rome, Cyril opened the proceedings. Nestorius was subsequently declared to be deposed and excommunicated. | |||
The | The Nestorians held a rival meeting that did not discuss the point at issue but which excommunicated Cyril. It was the latter’s gathering (which Nestorius had pointedly boycotted) that was finally held by the Romans to be valid. The emperor Theodosius, whose vacillations during the dispute did him little credit, banished Nestorius first to his monastery in Antioch and later to Upper Egypt, where he died. Rejected by the Roman Empire, Nestorianism not only persisted but expanded in the East, evincing a remarkable missionary activity that extended as far as China. Modern representatives of Nestorianism are to be found in the Persian or Assyrian Church, located in Iraq, Syria, and Iran.<ref>J.D. Douglas, “Nestorius,” ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort, Who’s Who in Christian History (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 503.</ref> | ||
=Jesus is God= | |||
At the end of the Book of Luke, we read: | |||
:''Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. So t'''hey worshiped him''' and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.<ref>Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), Lk 24:50–52.</ref> | |||
By this simple act, we know that Jesus is God because of the prohibition in scripture to worship other gods: | |||
:''...for '''you shall worship no other god''', for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God...<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ex 34:14</ref> | |||
:''Honour the LORD your God, '''worship only him''', and make your promises in his name alone.<ref>American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), Dt 6:13.</ref> | |||
:''Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’"<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mt 4:10.</ref> | |||
:''For '''you alone are holy'''. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Re 15:4.</ref> | |||
:''You are the LORD, '''you alone'''. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ne 9:6–8.</ref> | |||
=Nestorianism in William Branham's teaching= | =Nestorianism in William Branham's teaching= |