Tag: Word of God

Oneness Or Trinity?

June 30, 2019

(Disclaimer: this post may generate controversy. This post will “turn some people off”. This post will cause some followers to unhinge and never follow this blog again.

However, there is nothing in this life more important to God than the saving of the soul. And this blog was birthed by the probing and pricking of God’s Holy Spirit for this blogger to come out of the proverbial “closet”, let his light shine and not be ashamed of his Savior. And this was all confirmed from a church pulpit on one particular Sunday morning over seven years ago).

So, before you turn off and travel on I ask you to hear out what is written here because this post raises one question that has eternal significance. That can be a pretty rash and arrogant statement to make, but when you consider we will all spend eternity in one place or the other we must make sure we get things right. Don’t you agree?

Depending on which “camp” or side of the Oneness or Trinity discussion you find yourself your answer to this one question will be starkly different. And this question IS perhaps one of the most important questions will ever answer about your Christian faith, the God you serve and about the identity of Jesus Christ.

Before we get into that question, let’s get back to the subject of Oneness and Trinity. Here are some facts differentiating the two:

  • Trinity is not mentioned nor the word used in the Bible.
  • The word “Trinity” entered the stage of church history at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD with the doctrine officially enacted at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.
  • Judiasm is a belief based on monotheism (Israel is a nation of people who believe God is One; not three, two or many, one and only one)
  • The Apostles believed in the Oneness of God.
  • The early Apostolic Church was comprised of Oneness believers.

The treasured “shema” spoken by the Jewish believer is immersed in oneness theology:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Deuteronomy 6:4

So What Is The One Question?

The one question referred to earlier is this:

Who died on the cross? Who really bled, agonized, and was shamed on Calvary’s cross?

If you are a believer in the Trinity you will say it was God’s Son, the second person of the Trinity, whom the Father “sent” to die for the sins of all mankind. Jesus Christ was one of three persons,  a proxy if you will, sent to save souls from the curse of sin.

A Oneness believer will answer the question differently. A Oneness believer will not say Jesus Christ is one person of three, a proxy, or God’s perfect, yet detached sacrifice for sin. A Oneness believer will say Jesus Christ is the manifestation of the One Holy God enrobed in flesh, the physical manifestation of the true, living God.

Oneness believers see God himself in human flesh at Calvary. The eternal Spirit of the living God, the same spirit infused in the body of Jesus (Rom. 8:11), the same Spirit that created the heavens, earth, seas, sun, moon, stars, animals, birds, vegetation, flowers, the atomic structures of oxygen, carbon, florine, gold and silver hung on Calvary’s cross.

It was Him. The Creator Himself. He felt the agony, pain, shame, rejection and humiliation.

The Litmus Test for False Doctrine

Many people are leery of beliefs contrasting their own. We naturally question the unfamiliar or ideas that clash with what we’ve grown to learn from our ancestry or family traditions. False doctrine pervades the landscape and even Jesus and the apostles warned of its prevalence in the last days (Luke 21:8, Mat 7:15, Acts 20:29, II Cor 11:14, II Tim 4:3, II John 1:10)

However, there is a test to identify false doctrine. It is a simple test, but highly accurate. It is this:

Within your belief system or religious persuasion can Jesus Christ be exalted to a position he is not worthy to occupy?

If you answer “yes” to that question it is a sign you are believing in or dwelling in unsound doctrine. It is that simple.

History and most people will affirm that Jesus Christ was ….

A good man.
A humble man.
A popular teacher.
An influential leader.
A charismatic figure to the masses.
A prophet.
Even … A worker of miracles.

But, there was one position Jesus was not worthy to occupy according to the established religious teachers of his day and as a whole to the religions in our day:

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. John 10:33

Jesus was not worthy to occupy the highest and most exalted position of all, God and Creator of the heaven and the earth. According to the established religious hierarchy of his day he wasn’t qualified to be elevated and called the Almighty, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace because only God can occupy these positions.

Well, was Jesus God? What qualifies him? The scriptures have this to say about Jesus Christ:

  • The Creator of All Things (John 1:1-3, 10, Col 1:16, Heb 1:2)
  • Existed in Eternity & before time (John 17:24, Col 1:17, I Peter 1:19-20)
  • Has all Power & Authority (Mat 28:18, Eph 1:10, 19-22, Heb 12:2, Acts 7:55-56)
  • Has the Power to Forgive Sins (Mat 9:6, Mark 2:7, Acts 26:18, Eph 1:7, Col 1:4)
  • Is the Image of the Invisible God (John 14:9, 17:21-22, Heb 1:3, Rev 1:12-18)
  • His Name Is Exalted Above All Others (Isa 9:6, Mat 1:21-23, Luk 1:35, Eph 5:20, Phl 2:9-10, Col 3:17, Rev 22:16)

What is your conclusion in light of these (and many other) scriptures? Is Jesus worthy to occupy the position of Almighty God?

The God I Want To Believe

Putting all controversy and debate aside let’s ask another honest question. The question is not what you believe, but which of the two would you want to believe?

Which God would you prefer to serve? One who sacrificed his only “son“, or one who sacrificed “Himself“? A God who instead of sending a proxy He came Himself as a person? Or instead of sending another He submitted himself?

Does this not make Calvary so much more poignant, and powerful? Oh, yes it does. The Creater allowed Himself to be placed into the hands of His Creation. There is no love greater than this that God Himself visited earth and laid down his own life.

Considering also this question : Would God ask of us a sacrifice that He himself would not first commit to himself? (John 6:51, 10:15-17, Rom 12:1)

God is love. God loves you. Oh, how He loves you!

Have you experienced the New Birth according to the scriptures?

John 3:1-15 & Acts 2:38

Be Blessed!

He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. Acts 19:2  

Four P’s of The Seed

March 12, 2016
Now the parable is this: The seed  
is the word of God.  Luke 8:11seed1
 
The parable of the sower is perhaps the hallmark of all parables Jesus ever communicated. In fact, as recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has this to say about this parable in particular:
 
And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?  Mark 4:13
 
In other words what Jesus is saying is  if you are to “get it right” concerning my word  and the way into the kingdom of God, this is the one you might want to get down and master. 
 
Why? Because it pertains to the most important aspect of one’s walk of faith – the word of God.
 
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God“.
 
Let’s dive a little deeper into this.
 
Protection – (The Unprotected Heart)
 
A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
 

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  Luke 8:5, 12

 The seed was devoured and snatched away. Why? Because the seed was left unprotected. Unprotected because it was not committed to heart and mind.
 
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalms 119:11
 
The word ‘hid’ in this verse is the Hebrew word ‘tsâphan‘. The word is translated into English to mean ‘to hoard, reserve or to protect‘.
 

Something is stolen because the thief was undetected and the goods were unprotected. The word of God must be PROTECTED in our hearts.

Penetration – (The Uncommitted Heart)

 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
 

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Luke 8:6, 13

 The seed failed because it never developed a root system: “these have no root”. The heart in this case was indifferent and uncommitted to the nurturing and care of the word of God.
 
Commitment is a hard phase to conquer in this journey. It takes a toll. It will be discomforting. It will demand something from us. It takes much effort to till and nurture the soil (heart) to accommodate conditions for seed growth.
 
Jesus said the other calamity befalling this seed was that it “lacked moisture“.
 
Roots have an inherent quality to seek out water sources. The root system failed to developed because it never reached an adequate water source (God’s spirit).
 
Roots will burrow through underground terra-cotta pipes and concrete to reach a source of light or water.
 
As the song of old sings:
 
I shall not be, I shall not be moved.
Just like a tree that is planted by the waters,
I shall not be moved.
 
We must allow our spiritual root system to be constantly refreshed by fresh influxes of God’s cool springs of living water. How? Through prayer, fasting , study of the word of God and worship.
 

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalms 1:3, 93:13
 
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
 
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.  Jeremiah 17:7-8
 

Perfection – (The Undisciplined Heart)

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  Luke 8:7, 14
 
Luke’s use of the word perfection (telesphoreō) is a compound of two Greek words –

telos and pherō̄.

Telos is translated to mean: ‘ the conclusion of an act or state, termination’.

Pherō̄ translated into English means: ‘to bear, carry or bring’.

Thus, the word perfection essentially means to bring or carry something to an act or state of conclusion – maturity.

Unripened fruit is of little value and certainly not desirable to eat. It is only when fruit is ripe that its true identity and distinctive nature (sweetness) is revealed.
 
Ripening is the final stage of fruit development. It is a lack of discipline at this stage that causes the seed to wither and die. Life, problems, sin, perplexities of the  mind and worldly cares all get in the way and snuff out any hope for the tender, vulnerable little seed to reach perfection.
 
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalms 34:8
 

The seed must be allowed to mature and ripen in our lives and to really “taste” the sweetness and goodness in living for God.

 
Discipline will bring the seed to full maturity, to a place of perfection where it becomes apparent that living for God is not a bitter taste of ‘drudgery‘, but a sweet one of ‘discovery‘.
 

Patience – (The Uncompromising Heart)

And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
 
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:8,15
 
The word of God has much to say on the subject of patience. Here are some “good” ones:
 
In your patience possess ye your souls. Luke 21:19
 
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4
 
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7
 
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God (word/seed) and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12
 
It’s one thing to start a great work for God. It is entirely another thing to sustain it and see it come to fruition. Mature fruit produces satisfaction in the one partaking it.

And it yields a seed or seeds for future growth and further production.

The mature fruit is able to reproduced itself and sustains the perpetuation of more growth (more seeds, more fruit, more growth).

 

In conclusion, Jesus illustrates in this parable the possible dimensions a human heart can experience as it reacts to the word of God (seed).

Note that in each ground type illustrated (the way side, shallow, thorns and good) the seed progressively increases both in depth and maturity. Ultimately, it is the condition of the soil (heart) that governs the seed’s ability to bear fruit.

Four P’s of the Seed – Protection  (Unprotected Heart), Penetration (Uncommitted Heart), Perfection (Undisciplined Heart) and Patience (Uncompromising Heart).

 “Jesus, help us to keep our hearts tender to the presence of your spirit so that we will allow your word to come to the place of perfection and maturity in our lives. Amen.”