The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his107/isue29.arj/ISUE29.TXT

Text File | 1990-12-23 | 14.9 KB | 298 lines

                       Thoughts on the Trinity
                                and
                        The divinity of Jesus


.    I am constantly amazed and dismayed at how many people are
questioning the divinity of Jesus.  One hears and reads that Jesus was
a good man and teacher.  He is the Archangel Michael.  He was a
prophet.

.     Friends, don't let Satan deceive you.  Jesus is God!  Jesus and
God are the same.  Jesus never was and never will be an angel.  To
those that would like to claim that Scriptures never say that Jesus is
God, or that nobody ever prayed to Jesus in the Bible, then please
follow along as I quote chapter and verse right out of the Bible.  At
the end of this article I will also quote chapter and verse on how a
person can go about being saved.  Finally, I will show you Scriptures
that debunk salvation by works.  With the false teachings of the
Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, the myriad beliefs of the New Age,
and many other cults, I feel it imperative to set the record straight.

.    To those that claim that Jesus is an angel, I would like to quote
the following:

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of
angels disqualify you for the prize.  Such a person goes into great
detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up
with idle notions.  He has lost connection with the Head, from whom
the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and
sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (COLOSSIANS 2:18-19)

.    This passage as well as all the others I will quote are from the
New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.

.    Paul is specifically warning us not to fall into the trap of
assigning to Christ a place subordinate to the true Godhead.  Paul
combats this heresy in these verses:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before
all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head
of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from
among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through
him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the
cross. (COLOSSIANS 1:15-20)

.    What do people say to a father when they look at his son?  "Why
he is the image of his father."  So it is with God.  Jesus is the only
begotten son of God.  Not his creation.  By the way, I would like to
point out the last word in the Scriptures I just quoted.  It's the
word cross.  Jesus shed his blood for our sins on the cross, not the
torture pole as the Jehovah's Witnesses claim.  Did you notice that it
says "by him all things were created"?

.    What about the claim that the Bible never, ever calls Jesus God?
Let's clear that one up right now for once and for all.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of
his government and peace there will be no end. (ISAIAH 9:6-7)

.    The description of Jesus is clear and unequivocal.  He is called
the Prince of Peace and Mighty God.  Please note that he is not called
a god.  There is an important distinction.  Many cults try to deflect
the divinity of Jesus by stating he is a god.  This is obviously false
as the next verses will indicate.

So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has
inherited is superior to theirs.  For to which of the angels did God
ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again,
"I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?  And again, when God
brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels
worship him."

    In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes his angels
winds, his servants flames of fire."  But about the Son he says, "Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteous will be the
scepter of your kingdom.  You have loved righteousness and hated
wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.  He also says, In the beginning,
O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the
work of your hands. (HEBREWS 1:4-10)

.    Can anything be clearer than what I just quoted?  God calls the
son God.  ALL angels worship him, and that also means the Archangel
Michael.  I don't think all means anything less than what is says.
Then again later God says that Jesus laid the foundations of the
earth.  If you would, please turn to Job 38:4 where it says: "Where
were you when I laid the earth's foundation?  Tell me if you
understand."

.    The correlation is impossible to confuse.  In Hebrews God says
Jesus laid out the foundations of the earth.  Yet in Job, an Old
Testament Book, God says he laid the foundations.  Now, either the
Bible is false or God and Jesus are one and the same.  The fact that
the Trinity is hard for us mortal folks to understand has been obvious
for centuries.  That, however does not make the concept false.  The
only falsehood we have seen so far can be attributed to those that
would make Jesus less than God.

.    One of the most compelling passages showing that Jesus is God can
be found in the following passage of Scripture:

Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe
in me only, but in the one who sent me.  When he looks at me, he sees
the one who sent me. (JOHN 12:44-45)

.    It's awful hard to explain away the meaning of "When he looks at
me, he sees the one who sent me.  The meaning is clear, if you look
upon Jesus you see God.  The fact that humans do not fully understand
the Trinity does not somehow make the Trinity invalid.  Indeed, it
really proves that the Trinity exists because if we were to fully
understand the Trinity, then we would also fully understand God.  To
make such a claim is of course, sheer blasphemy.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and
you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every
power and authority. (COLOSSIANS 2:9-10)

.    I don't think I need to comment on these verses at all.  The
total meaning and beauty stand there for all who will look to see.

"The days are coming", declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to
David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is
just and right in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved and
Israel will live in safety.  This is the name by which he will be
called: The LORD Our Righteousness." (JEREMIAH 23:5-6)

.    Please note that the first LORD applies to God Almighty, and the
last LORD applies to Jesus.  The term LORD Our Righteousness is
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU!  Is anybody out there still in doubt as to whether
Jesus is God or not?  Well, just in case there is, please let me
continue.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, "What do
you think about the Christ?  Whose son is he"?  "The son of David,"
they replied.  He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking
by the Spirit, calls him Lord?  For he says, 'The Lord said to my
Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your
feet."' "If then David calls him 'Lord', how can he be his son?"
(MATTHEW 22:41-45)

.    The devastating thrust of this paradoxical question was how David
could call one of his sons 'Lord', a title for God Himself, if his son
was only a man, or angel.  Jesus could just as well have asked this
question to any number of the different cult leaders active today.

.    A lot is made of the fact that Jesus came to us in human form and
by that fact somehow Jesus is not God.  Cultists love to point out
that Jesus came to us to do the will of God, not realizing that Jesus
is God.  I see no contradiction here.  The fact of the matter is that
Jesus did temporarily put aside some of His powers while He was in the
form of a man.  Look at Philippians 2:5-8:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being
in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death
on a cross!

.    God knew that we would have problems trying to understand the
Trinity, and here again tells us just that.  The fact that folks can't
understand something does not alter the fact of its existence.  Once
again I would also like to point out that Jesus died on the cross and
not some pole. Why some folks can't even get that right is beyond me.

.    Now let's look at one of the most powerful and oft-debated verses
in the book of John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things
were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him
was life, and that life was the light of men. (JOHN 1:1-4)

.    The Jehovahs Witness new Bible, called "The New World Translation
of the Holy Scriptures" tries to change this part of Scripture to
where it says "the Word was a god".  A subtle change of words, but oh
how radical the change in meaning.  This translation has been
thoroughly disavowed by Biblical scholars because of the fact that the
translation makes such blatant and obvious changes to the word of the
Lord.

     The reason they felt they had to change the meaning of this
verse is obvious.  In this one little verse John totally destroys any
doubt about the Deity of Jesus.  "In the beginning" does not, as some
believe mean the beginning of the world.  This really means forever.

    Please pay particular attention to the fact that "NOTHING was made
that has been made."  The emphasis is mine because I wanted to clearly
point out Jesus could not be a created being because "nothing was made
that has been made" without Jesus.  At this point it would be fair to
ask why Jesus never specifically called Himself God but rather only
the Son of God.  The answer lies in how Jesus came to us the first
time.

    He came as a simple and humble human being.  A carpenter.  That
is how He came to the world.  His mission of course was to become the
perfect sacrifice for our sins.  As far as I know, He never once
claimed to be God.  The situation changes once Jesus died and ascended
into Heaven.  Look how radically different Jesus speaks in the book of
Revelation.

I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who
was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (REVELATION 1:8)

.    This is Jesus Christ speaking.  He is telling us He is God, not
some angel, not some avatar, not some good man or teacher or prophet,
but GOD ALMIGHTY!  To deny that Jesus is God is to deny the book of
Revelation, indeed the entire Bible because I have shown passages of
not only the New Testament but also right out of the Old Testament. Do
not let Satan deceive you in this matter.

.    What about those that would claim that nobody ever prays to
Jesus?  Please read Acts 7:59-60:

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit."  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord do not hold
this sin against them."  When he had said this, he fell asleep.

.    So how does a person become "SAVED" and have life everlasting?
Please read the following verses:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For
it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is
with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (ROMANS 10:9-10)

.    Please note the importance of publicly and openly stating "Jesus
is Lord".  Do you now see and understand why I made such a point of
quoting so many Scriptures to show you that "Jesus is Lord"?

.    It is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior that you
are saved.  Not by anything you could buy or earn.  Please read on:

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing
the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.  But now
a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to
which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no
difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came
by Christ Jesus. (ROMANS 3:20-24)

.    You will not be able to buy or work your way to salvation.  The
only way is through faith in Jesus Christ.  That is it.  How simple
could God make it for us?  How can anybody get this wrong?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one
can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (EPHESIANS
2:8-10)

.    It's not by handing out zillions of tracts or giving thousands of
dollars that you become a Christian.  Don't let anybody fool you.
There is only one way and that is believing that Jesus Christ is Lord
and that He died for our sins on the cross.

.    Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the one who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ.  He did
not come by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit
who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three
that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are
in agreement. (1 John 5:6-7)

.    Finally, I wish to define the word Lord.  Unger's Bible
Dictionary defines the word Lord as:

 1. Jehovah (Yahweh) or self-existent
 2. Adon or one who has absolute control
 3. Adonai meaning THE LORD (Exodus 4:10)
 4. he to whom a person or thing belongs
 5. Baal or heathen deity
 6. Several other less important titles were translated as Lord from
the Greek text.

.    As you can see from the definitions, in not one instance is Lord
be construed as anything but God.  Not some angel or wise man.
Definitions one through 4 clearly refer to Deity, while definitions 5
and 6 obviously do not apply to the Lord since He is neither heathen
nor unimportant.  It's absolutely mind-boggling how anybody can get
the Lord's title so wrong.  Lord equals God!  Even the secular
Dictionaries in use today at least include Jehovah and Jesus among
their definitions for Lord.  Don't be mislead.  Jesus is The Lord!

May the Lord be with you.

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