Blog Archives
Is God Three People? JESUS IS “I AM,” THE FIRST AND THE LAST (10)
Dear Readers: Thank you for all your support this year. I believe the content in this current series is indispensible regarding the coming Great Awakening in America. We must all grow closer to the Lord Jesus. He must be exalted in this nation. His real identity must be known. Christian persecution will continue rising in America in 2016 and we must all be prepared. Please help make this current series reach as many believers as possible. Be blessed!
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM…” [John 8:28 NAB]
A CHRISTIAN’S RELATIONAL CLOSENESS TO GOD IS RELATIVE
The concept of relational closeness to God known by the ancient Hebrews remained in effect at the time of the Lord Jesus. Most of the first century Hebrews knew the Lord as a mere man. Some saw Him as a prophet. He was known by most people not according to His real identity but according to different levels of their limited understanding. Most of them certainly did not understand Him to be the Messiah.
The ancient Hebrews had always known that when Messiah came He would not be a mere man. Thus, Messiah had always been understood to be God Himself and a veritable superman. When the Lord arrived He did so in the most humble manner, arriving as a baby just like everyone else. He is the most humble Man who ever lived. Thus, on the surface, he did not look like the Messiah. He did not meet the majority’s expectations. He certainly did not look like God. BUT HE CERTAINLY ACTED LIKE GOD AND DID THE MIRACULOUS WORKS OF GOD.
There were a few, however, who got it. Most were too far away from God relationally to see Jesus for who He was. They only saw him as a man. A few perceived Him as Elohim. A very small percentage actually did see Him as YHWH and this was an incredible received revelation based on their pure hearts. Of these, an extremely small percentage, like Moses, actually saw the Lord Jesus as I AM WHO I AM. Jesus even referred to Himself as “I AM” on many occasions.
GOD IS STILL ONE
Though the Son of God arrived it did not mean that God suddenly changed forms and was mysteriously transformed into three people. Remember, the early community of the Lord never taught anything even closely resembling a “Trinity Doctrine.” They continued referring to God as ONE Person. The difference is that they received the revelation that “I AM” became a human being.
This did not mean that God did not still fill the Universe. It simply meant that God, who was cut off from a very close relationship with humanity because of sin, entered into a human tabernacle to defeat sin. He came to retake dominion in humanity.
Until He completed His mission He was “God with us” in the process of achieving His mission.
Thus, transforming God into three people is pure heresy. God is not three people and has never been three people. The “Trinity Doctrine” was created by people very far away from God who did not KNOW God in an attempt to define Him in an understandable way to people with no eyes to see and no ears to hear.
THE GREATEST PARABLE
The Lord Jesus never did any such thing. Instead, He basically taught, “If you don’t get it you don’t get it. It’s your problem. My identity is a parable for a reason. Circumcise your heart. Receive the revelation. Figure it out. Open your spiritual eyes. Otherwise, because of your dull heart, you will never KNOW who I really am.”
The Lord Jesus obviously wants to bless us all with abundant life. He suffered and died, giving His perfect life in this cause. But abundant life starts with gaining a very, very close personal relationship with Him. THAT is the secret.
It is up to each one of us to get right with the Lord Jesus and get relationally close to Him. It is never His fault if people insist on idolatry and distance from Him.
In the first century, the Christians who turned the world upside down were those who KNEW the Lord Jesus was I AM WHO I AM. They were extremely relationally close to Him, so close that He did miraculous works through them. All of those who received His Holy Spirit at Pentecost became that way. The evidence of their closeness to God was in what they achieved on the planet.
WE ARE ALL INVITED
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I AM gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” [Matthew 11:27-30]
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“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
“I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” [Revelation 22:12-14] [1]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Is God Three People? THE ONGOING REVELATION OF JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (9)
Dear Readers: Thank you for all your support this year. I believe the content in this current series is indispensible regarding the coming Great Awakening in America. We must all grow closer to the Lord Jesus. He must be exalted in this nation. His real identity must be known. Christian persecution will continue rising in America in 2016 and we must all be prepared. Please help make this current series reach as many believers as possible. Be blessed!
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM…” [John 8:28 NAB]
God is not three people. There is no such thing as three persons in a “Godhead.” Most Christians don’t even know what a “Godhead” is. The term derives from a bad translation. It began in the King James Version of the Bible, which is over 400 years old.
“Godhead” only appears three times in the KJV New Testament. The word also appears in other versions. The NASV95, a much better translation, uses the terms “Divine Nature” and “Diety.”
Other versions use the terms, “God,” “that which is divine,” “divine being,” “divinity,” “existence,” and “God’s being.” These terms are derived from only three Greek words. Each word refers to the singular.
THE ONE GOD OF THE ANCIENT HEBREWS
The entirety of Old Testament Scripture NEVER teaches anything closely resembling a trinity of persons. To the Hebrews, NOTHING COULD BE MORE HERETICAL. It was the ancient Hebrews, and only the ancient Hebrews, who were originally blessed by the one God with the great revelation that God is one Being. Every other nation on the entire planet believed in a plurality of gods, a sad fact which the Old Testament refers to multiple times. The idea that God was one Being was rejected as heresy by all other nations and the Hebrews paid dearly for the truth God gave them.
But they prevailed. God blessed them. God multiplied them and raised them up. Then the day came when Egypt, the greatest nation on the planet, destroyed itself in attempting to force God’s hand and force His people to remain slaves.
Though Israel later proved itself to be unfaithful and became an adulterous nation which reverted to gross idolatry and a belief in multiple false gods, God remained faithful and there remained a small remnant of faithful believers in His one nation.
THE PROPHETS
No Hebrew prophet ever preached about God being a multiplicity of persons. The entire idea makes absolutely no sense whatsoever anyway. One must remember that when the “Trinity Doctrine” was officially formalized and adopted by Constantine in 325AD, the resultant theology which came much later was superimposed upon Holy Writ in a deceptive attempt to transform truth, and especially the truth of the Lord’s real identity. It is also why the Lord’s powerful Name was eliminated from water baptism.
Wrongheaded theologians began applying Trinitarian theology to a few verses here and there in the attempt to authenticate it upon the minds of their underlings. The OT prophets would have destroyed such theologians in a debate. They would have each insisted and proved that the classic “Trinity Doctrine” was absolutely false and full of holes in that it portrays God as being composed of three people.
“Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.” [Isaiah 44:8]
“I am the LORD (YHWH): that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. [Isaiah 42:8]
THREE PERSONS IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THREE PEOPLE
Christians theologians do not use the term “three people” when referring to God. They prefer the term “three persons.” They insist that “people” and “persons” are two completely different words with different meanings. Hence, if one says “God is three persons” one is correct. But if one says “God is three people” one is incorrect. Such a belief is beyond ridiculous and is nothing more than ultra-religious semantic jargon used in the attempt to prove something unprovable.
THE ONGOING REVELATION OF GOD’S REAL IDENTITY
In Genesis 1, God is known primarily by the Hebrew word Elohim. He is always referred to in the singular. ALWAYS.
In Genesis 2:4 a change occurs. It is the actual beginning of the second Genesis creation story. From this point on, God began being known by the words YHWH Elohim:
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD (YHWH) God (Elohim) made earth and heaven. [Genesis 2:4]
The name YHWH was considered so incredibly reverent and holy that is was not even written down by Hebrew scribes in the original OT Scriptures. Instead, the substitute word Adonai was used. Adonai is translated as “LORD” in English versions of the Old Testament and this is why “LORD God” is used in your Bible instead of YHWH God. “LORD God” is translated from YHWH Elohim.
Of course, YHWH is not actually a word in the typical sense but a descriptive Name of God using four Hebrew letters which illustrated a greater relational closeness to His creation. It comes into use just as Adam is created. It is singular. God is always referred to in the singular. ALWAYS.
“JEHOVAH” IS A CORRUPT AND INCORRECT TERM
Thousands of years later, this name of God—YHWH—was corrupted into the form many Christians are familiar with—“Jehovah.” Of course, there is no “J” in the Hebrew and the ancient Hebrews NEVER used this corrupted form. All Christians who use the corrupt term “Jehovah” should cease using it upon learning this truth and begin referring to the real term—the actual OT name of God—YHWH.
I AM WHO I AM
In Exodus 3:14 an even greater revelation of God came forth:
Then Moses said to God (Elohim), “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God (Elohim) of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
God (Elohim) said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God (Elohim), furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD (YHWH), the God (Elohim) of your fathers, the God (Elohim) of Abraham, the God (Elohim) of Isaac, and the God (Elohim) of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” [Exodus 3:13-15]
Only a few people were relationally close enough to God to use and understand this Name. Moses was the first.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued.]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The Name of God: The Name Above Every Name (Part 3)
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [2 Corinthians 4:1-4]
It appears that the god of this world has also somehow managed to blind the minds of the believing regarding the true identity of Jesus. How many different ways can the Word state that our Lord Jesus is God Himself in an effort to convince whomever that He is God Himself?
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [Colossians 1:15]
Due to rampant sin and rebellion among humanity and especially among the Lord’s own people, knowledge of God was largely lost in ancient times prior to the first century. How was He supposed to get our attention? How could He ever relate to humanity?
What if God became one of us?
Joseph the carpenter was a pretty cool guy, but even he was about to mess up big time. It seems that his new wife-to-be was already pregnant.
What?!
Also, the Torah clearly stated that a woman in such a predicament must be stoned.
What?!
Not only that, but Mary kept insisting she was a virgin.
What?!
(“You’re pregnant AND a virgin? What?!”)
What was he to do? Obey his denominational teachings? Run for his life? His religion had no satisfactory answer whatsoever, except to dictate that he simply could not do the will of God, that he could not do the one thing he must do. It was an impossible circumstance that required a miraculous out of the box response:
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” [Matthew 1:19-23]
So, in other words, an angel of YHWH informed Joseph that his betrothed was pregnant with a Child who was God, the long awaited Messiah prophesied by Isaiah, and that the Father of this Son was the Holy Spirit.
Right.
These facts do not seem to fit standardized Christian theology…
Have a great many Christians become misinformed and unknowing Samaritans?
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” [John 4:20-26]
Uh Oh.
Like He did with other people on numerous other occasions, the Lord just told the Samaritan woman at the well that He is I AM.
Did He also tell her He was the Father?
“I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” [John 10:30-33] [1]
Uh Oh.
We must remember that we are dealing with the world’s only pure monotheists at that time in the early first century. The Jews were the only people on the planet who believed in one God, and were condemned and ridiculed for such “nonsense” ad nauseam by a pantheistic heretical world of idol worshippers. Yet, Isaiah and others had made ancient claims that the Messiah would come, and that He would be God Himself. Therefore, those guys in the passage above did not necessarily disbelieve the accurate scriptural prophecies; they simply refused to believe that Jesus could be the guy. Why?
Maybe it was because the Lord wasn’t attituded and duded up like General George S. Patton, four stars, ivory handled sidearms, polished helmet and all, though He greatly outranked Patton or anyone else who ever walked the earth in pure manhood and warrior ability (something Patton would instantly agree with).
Maybe it was because it was also prophesied that the Messiah would first arrive as a humble suffering servant. Or maybe it was because religious people are generally blind as bats.
But even His own disciples didn’t get it most of the time:
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” [John 14:7-9]
Uh Oh.
© 2011 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [Part 3 of 10]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
