|
The Godhead
There Are
Several Things I Require for Any Bible Study:
Get a Good
Notebook and use it
exclusively for Bible Study
When you have
a question, ESPECIALLY when studying the subject of the Godhead (like when a particular verse pops into your head as you
study) write it down ....immediately...You
will often find that the question will be answered as the study
progresses. WRITE IT DOWN. If you are studying this over the internet,
please use WORD or a similar text editor as your notepad.
WRITE DOWN all
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES IN ORDER .
There is a logic and a reason for presenting scripture in order. Just as
in any class, you must have a BASIC understanding before you can have an
Advanced understanding.
If you Don't
Understand a particular passage, MARK IT or FLAG IT.
Many times Scriptures are given later that will help you understand the
ones you missed. DON'T just 'skip' them because you don't understand.
You need 2+2 to understand 2x2. In other words, LAY THE FOUNDATION FIRST
MAKE SURE YOU
READ YOUR BIBLE and SEE
THE VERSES for yourself.
NEVER...EVER...EVER just
take someone's word for it. READ IT FOR YOURSELF.
Finally,
I require ALL bible students to have a decent PRAYER life . That
doesn't mean that you regularly pray over your food. SPEND SOME TIME in
fasting and prayer. The Word of God is to be handled with reverence and
respect. You need to PRAY anytime you are studying the Word of God.
If you are using your PC and
studying this over the web, you CAN if you would like, use an online
bible, HOWEVER, there is NO SUBSTITUTE for READING it for yourself. By
reading, I mean in black and white PRINT.
A link to the Blue Letter Bible
is provided here for your reference
I highly recommend that you
bookmark that link
(add it to your internet
favorites).
We will be providing this
study in real audio format and in print form in the near future for
internet users. Audio Tapes of the Study (there is nothing like a live
recording to help you understand) are also available in our
Multimedia Section
of the site.
Now that we've completed all
that......MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR BIBLE READY AS WE BEGIN. There will be MANY Scriptures to read and study.
ALL SCRIPTURE IS TAKEN FROM THE
KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE
I want to make a couple of
opening comments before we actually start to those who claim to be wise by
using some of the "it's not in the Bible" phrases.
There are those who will use the
argument (when it comes to the Bible) of "WELL, the word 'Trinity'
isn't even in the Bible. Fine. Guess what, though? The word 'oneness'
isn't either. I had a man say, yeah but ONE is. Guess what again? So is
the word THREE, and TWO, etc. Let me give you a secret. You will never see
the word cat, nor whitetail, nor shark. You won't find turkey, computer,
automobile, airplane, casket, or elephant either, but we know those things
exist. It is ridiculous and futile to use the argument of
"it's not in the bible" to try to disprove something. It is a
foolish waste of time to present one of these arguments to disprove
something. It is ALSO a waste of your time and mine to present ONE
or two scriptures to attempt to disprove literally hours of teaching.
Chances are very good that the scripture you are trying to use is already
covered in the teaching anyway!
Why don't you do this? Go STUDY
and provide some valid arguments from the Word of God. You will NEVER
convince anyone of anything by using "it's not in the bible". You can
argue with me all you want, but you will NEVER prove to me that a turkey
does not exist. I happen to be an avid turkey hunter and have harvested
many birds over the years. Not only would your argument be in vain, you
will have only succeeded in gendering strife.
If
you wish to submit a rebuttal, feel free to do so. Please don't,
however, email me constantly with one scripture demanding an "explanation"
of your single scripture. After you've completed this entire study,
if you're still concerned, then do the right thing. Write me an
essay, page by page and dispute this study. Explain the scriptures
line by line and precept by precept. Then, if you wish, let's have a
CIVILIZED discussion!
Let me get off my soapbox and
get on to the study!
The
Godhead
Let's begin
with Colossians 2:6-10.
"As
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been
taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man 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
fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power:..."
Does God want you to be
established? Does He want you to be rooted and grounded on a solid
foundation? Of course He does and the bible tells us that many times
throughout. God does not want his people to be ignorant.
God wants us to be strong ( verse
7), to be rooted and built up in HIM, stablished (or
established if you prefer) in the faith. If there is one thing that you
MUST be, especially in the troubled times in which we live, it is
ESTABLISHED. YOU MUST BE ROOTED or Satan will knock you off your pew. You
will be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine if you are not
careful.
Look at the first word in
verse 8.
BEWARE. That is such a strong
word. BEWARE lest any man spoil you (rob you, take from you, ruin you,
deprive you of your faith). We know that Satan has one purpose in mind
when it comes to the things of God. Don't be ignorant, brethren, for
Satan's purpose is to STEAL to KILL and to DESTROY. (John
10:10). Don't be deceived, Satan has MANY men planted all over the
world that would just love to destroy you, that would love to shake you
from your faith, that would love to SPOIL you. BEWARE. It is interesting
to note the rest of that passage. Paul states "…through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ." This alone should wake you up to the fact that
philosophy, tradition and the world's thinking (referring to carnality),
WILL DESTROY YOU.
If you will hold to this next
verse and refer to it, it will give you a base for understanding the
Godhead. NO, I am not a "one scripture" theologian, however, every
teaching needs a good starting place. This just happens to be my starting
place.
Colossians 2:9 states FOR IN HIM (read verse 8 to get the
"him"), IN CHRIST, dwelleth ALL the fullness of the Godhead
Bodily. Let's examine this again and break the scripture down piece by
piece.
IN HIM
(In Christ)
DWELLETH
(resides,
lives)
ALL
(awww…come on
now, this is easy) ALL. If ALL is there, is there room for any more? What
does the word ALL mean? Does it exempt ANY if ALL is there?
The FULLNESS
(complete, not
lacking any, room for no more) Doesn't this mean EVERY SINGLE BIT?
Of the GODHEAD
(Another easy
one….you know….Father, Son, Holy Ghost, that's what we call the Godhead))
BODILY.
(HOW?
Bodily….in HIS BODY… What could be more
plain?)
FOR IN
CHRIST DWELLETH ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD
BODILY!
Colossians 2:10 reads:
"And ye are complete in him, which is
the head of all principality and power"...
Now I ask you this: If you are
COMPLETE, do you have need of anything else to make you complete? (I know
that sounds like double talk, but bear with me). Is there a need of
anything else if you are COMPLETE? NO! Of course there is no need of
anything more if you are complete!
Before we go further, let me
clarify a few things and let me state my position concerning the Godhead.
I AM NOT 'JESUS
ONLY', however, I do not believe that the Word of God supports 3
PERSONS of God either. That teaching is not there.
I AM "oneness", I believe in
complete oneness. I DO NOT DENY THE FATHER, I DO NOT DENY THE SON, I DO
NOT DENY THE HOLY GHOST. Please DO NOT email me accusing me of
denying the nature of God! With that said let me further state: I do not believe in 3
bodies, 3 persons,
or 3 thrones (not thrones of Almighty God) set in heaven and there is No
scripture to show this. Many try to explain away their belief in 3
physical bodies of God by claiming that they believe in 3 "personalities"
and then say this is what the word "persons" means. This is simply
not the truth by the scriptures themselves.
You will never see that; the
Bible does not support that; and it is not true. I know that some of you at
this point have labeled me a heretic, some of you are mad already some of
you are already crying FALSE DOCTRINE. You are certainly entitled to your
opinions.
Before you go screaming and
throwing a fit, why don't you do this:
Study it for yourself: Complete
this study and then ask yourself WHAT YOU believe. If you still believe in
3 persons of God, you need to be able to explain WHY you believe that way
BY USING THE WORD OF GOD….not your concordance, not your "footnotes"
or "side notes" in the margins of your bible, not
your ideas, not your tradition, not a perversion of the scriptures. Read and explain
by the scriptures themselves what you believe.
The excuse of "Well that's what
I've been taught" should cut you to your core. It matters very little what
you've been taught UNLESS it's true. Here is my challenge: Study it for
yourself, then prove me wrong. USE THE WORD OF GOD (and only the
Word) to explain your faith and your belief.
Turn to John 17:1-6
Where do we find ourselves in
the Word of God? What was happening here? What was about to happen? We see
that Jesus was about to be betrayed. He was just about to enter
Gethsemane. Jesus was nearing the end of his life and was ready to be
crucified and was praying in the Garden. Now, ask yourself:
To whom was Jesus Praying?
For you who believe 'Jesus Only'
let me shake your rocker. Jesus was NOT praying to HIMSELF. The scripture
NEVER supports that. In taking that position, you are denying the Father.
Now, I know that you say, No …I'm not denying the Father because Jesus was
the Father. That is a wonderful statement and if you'll bear with this
study, you'll soon see that the Father and Jesus WERE NOT the same
"entity". In fact, when Jesus was on the earth was he Spirit or Flesh? Was
God still a Spirit? Of course he was. Was Jesus Spirit? NO, he was flesh.
If he were spirit you have some reconciling to do with his Apostles when
he told them that he was NOT a spirit, even AFTER the resurrection. (Luke
24:29) He had a Fleshly Body until after the resurrection when he
received a glorified body.. Anyway.....bear with me. We'll get to that.
Jesus was not
praying to himself.
To further support this, there
are many verses that must be reconciled if you wish to believe that. Look
at John 17:2: Who gave him power? The
Word of God tells us very plainly. Verse 2
reads: " As thou hast given him power
over all flesh,"
Again, I ask you, WHO GAVE JESUS
POWER? Was it he HIMSELF? NO, NO, NO. That is not what the Word of God
says. The Word says THE FATHER gave him power.
I know that some of you are now
saying. "Yes" "Exactly"... and others are saying, yeah, but....
All I can suggest is that you
read Proverbs 18:13 and just hold on a
little while.
Read
John 17:5. Did Jesus have power with God before the World was?
Of course he did. Hebrews 13:8 reads "Jesus
Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
John
17:6 gives us something interesting. Jesus states "I have
manifested THY name unto the men which thou gavest me ..." Wait a minute
...... THY NAME? THY name? To whom is he praying? (Hint: John 17:1)
"These words spake Jesus, and
lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify
thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: ..."
At what point did Jesus manifest
the name of the Father to the disciples? Where do you read that? What
book, chapter and verse states that? Where does it state that any other
name was given to them, other than JESUS? Keep looking...it's not there.
Well,
what was the Father's name? Jesus said he manifested the name of the
Father (thy name) to the men (the disciples), but where? Jesus states in verse 12, "I kept them in thy name:"
Where do you find a reference to the name that Jesus "kept" them in? What
Book, Chapter and Verse? Notice also that Jesus prayed that his disciples
might be ONE and states "AS WE ARE. (See also 1
John 5:7)
Now on to verses 20-26. (Still in John chapter 17).
John
17:20-26
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word; 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. And the glory which
thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are
one: 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. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given
me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast
given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O
righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them
thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me
may be in them, and I in them."
Jesus is still on the subject of
being ONE. Notice in verse 25 Jesus
stated "THE WORLD HATH NOT KNOWN THEE:" and further in that verse
"THESE
HAVE KNOWN THAT THOU HAST SENT ME" Why didn't he say 'these have known
thee' instead of 'these have known that thou hast sent me'? Could it be
because they had not yet understood the reality of God IN CHRIST? (2
Corinthians 5:19)
Now, look very closely at verse 26:
"And I have declared unto them
thy name, and will declare it ... "
One more time, I ask you: WHAT
IS THE NAME THAT JESUS DECLARED UNTO THEM? Was there some sort of "secret"
name (like the Masons claim) that no one knew except the disciples? Was
there a name somewhere that we have no record of? If that is your belief
at this point, then look who Jesus was praying for in John 17:20.
He was no longer praying for
just His disciples at that point, but for ALL believers. WHAT THEN WAS THE
NAME HE DECLARED? Where do you find the declaration of "THY NAME" unto
believers or unto the disciples? Let's look at the NAME that Jesus claimed
to have come in. He did say that he came in his Father's name.
John
5:43 "I am come in my Father's name..."
John
10:25 "Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not:
the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me."
So, Just What Name Did Jesus
Come in? How can we find the name?
To understand the name(s) that
Jesus may have came in, we must look at His name. There are several
scriptures containing information about the name of Jesus.
Read
Isaiah 9:6. Who can deny this is descriptive of Jesus? Do you
know the verse? Have you ever read it (other than at Christmas)?
It reads:
"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."
Hold on just a minute. I know
you didn't just "skim through" that passage did you? Did
you actually stop to read it carefully? LOOK at what it reads. LOOK
at the words.
Here, let me help you:
...and his
name shall be called:
Wonderful
Counsellor
Mighty God
( hey, I skipped something....look again!
the Word doesn't just say "Mighty God" but it says
...
THE ... Mighty God).
Here comes
that little word again.......
THE everlasting FATHER
... Now just wait another minute. THE
what?
THE EVERLASTING FATHER? .............. HIS NAME SHALL
BE CALLED THE EVERLASTING FATHER?
How can this be? How can the Son be called the everlasting
Father? (We'll get to that later)
and lastly,
T he Prince of
Peace
NOW, it gets
interesting.
Α Ω
|
