Recently my beliefs were challenged in a way that I believe all Christians should be challenged every now and again. For it is only when we are challenged that we can truly grow, and only through challenges do we find out what we truly believe, and why we believe it. Now for some of you, the answer to: "Who is Jesus?" has already been answered a long time ago, and nothing will ever change that. But what about when we are asked to start thinking about the minor details that many feel are irrelevant? For some, it may be irrelevant, but for others, it might be the difference between being saved or not.
So the basic faith related question that was brought to me, and had me seeking more of God was:
Was Jesus, God in human form that sent us His Holy Spirit after He went back to Heaven?
or
Was Jesus, a perfect man (made by God) who received the Christ- or God Spirit at His baptism, and now believers receive that same Christ Spirit?
At first glance this seemed to be a strange, but intriguing question. It seemed simple enough to answer, but to find the complete truth should always be our first priority. This made me want to examine what I believe to be true, so that I could either correct what I believed, or help others see what they might be missing or misunderstanding.
Needless to say I spent many following days going through the scriptures and listening to the Spirit to find the what I believe is the confirmed truth. This is the same truth I would like to share with you today. To do this, I would like to look at a few scriptures that illustrate how our God truly is the Tri-une/Three-in-one God:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
- John 1:1 KJV (Emphases mine)
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
- John 1:14 KJV (Emphases mine)
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:
and these three are one."
- 1 John 5:7 KJV (Emphases mine)
These text tell us directly and explicitly the Word was with God and that the Word was God. It doesn't say that the Word entered into flesh, it says that the word was made flesh. Jesus is the physical form of God. Our God is the 3-in-1 God as it says in 1 John 5:7: "...these three are one".
For arguments sake, I would like to look at one more illustration. In Isaiah we see that God is also called: "The first and the last":
"Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he."
- Isaiah 41.4 KJV (Emphases mine)
In Revelation we see the same thing:
"Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."
- Revelation 1:11 KJV (Emphases mine)
"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."
- Revelation 1:17-18 KJV (Emphases mine)
As we know and as we see here, God calls Himself the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. So my question in relation to the last scripture is:
If Jesus was not fully God in human form,
how can God say that He, Himself was dead at some point?
Why do we try to complicate what the Bible teaches so clearly? Why do we look for hidden messages and complicate what is actually so simple?
I have heard it said that: The problem with the Bible is that when it is taken out of context, it can be used to say almost anything imaginable. I would like to correct that statement: The problem is not the Bible, the problem is people. We do not know God, and we do not know what the Bible teaches. We read the Bible in small drips and drabs and then expect to understand it as a whole. And even when we do start reading it as a whole, our humanity kicks in and we get stuck on verses that could be understood in 10 different ways, and then for some reason stick to the one that confuses us most.
May prayer and innermost desire today is that we all, including myself, stop trying to complicate God and what He is trying to tell us. Trusting God means that we stop trying to find human mistakes in the Bible or in what He does. May we all be sensitive to the teaching of His Spirit in regards to all things.
26/5/2015