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Jesus
is not God - Part 2 The
Addition of Jesus to the Godhead John
1:1 We
propose, then, with Dr. Caird of Because
two or three NT passages spoke of the creation being “through”
Jesus (never “by” Jesus, as wrongly rendered in some versions in
Col. 1:16), the idea arose that Jesus was active in the Genesis
creation. This was despite the fact that Jesus said that his Father,
God, had “made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). And it was
God, not Jesus, who rested after working the six days of Creation
(Heb. 4:4). Gradually,
as the Jewish creed of Jesus and the New Testament was lost, it was
argued that the Son must have however been the “LORD” of the Old
Testament (although there is only “one Lord”! (Deut. 6:4) or
perhaps the “angel of the LORD” who appeared to Abraham. All
this speculation overlooked a fundamentally important fact: That the
LORD (Yahweh) of the Old Testament is not His own Son! (Ps. 110:1;
2:4-7). All sons are “begotten,” and to be begotten means that
one is by definition not God, who has no beginning. Yahweh is never
confused with Jesus, the promised Messiah. Certainly, activities
which the Old Testament expects Yahweh to perform may be performed
later by Jesus. This is because in Hebrew thought an agent may bear
the title of his principal (cp. Exod. As
James Mackey says, the “existence” of the Messiah in the plan of
God before his birth “is part and parcel of the revelation model
in human imagining by which God…had in mind in eternity, or before
anything else was created, the one who was the key to all
existence…and for whom, in whom and through whom all could
therefore be said to be created” (The Christian Experience of God
as Trinity, p. 57). Paul’s
statement in Colossians 1:15ff that all things were created in (not
“by”), through and for Jesus means that Jesus was the central
reason for God’s creation. It does not mean that Jesus was
actually alive before he was born in Hebrews
1:1-2 expressly tells us that God did not speak of a Son until the
New Testament period. God first sent prophets and finally His
uniquely—begotten Son. This proves that there was no Son of God
active in the Old Testament at all. He did not yet exist. But was
begotten, that is brought into existence, as described in Luke 1:35
and Matt. 1:18, 20, I John 5:18, not KJV.
One cannot exist before one exists, nor can a pre-human
person be a human person. One is what one is, according to one’s
origin and descent. And Jesus “our Lord was descended from
Judah” (Heb. 7:14) exactly as 2 Sam. 7:14 had predicted: “I will
be his Father and he will be My Son.”
How very confusing this prophecy would be if in fact God was,
at the time of His utterance in
2 Sam. 7:14, already the Father of the Son! A
leading commentary by the Roman Catholic scholar Raymond Brown says:
“The New Testament does not predicate ‘God’ of Jesus with any
frequency.” His findings correspond with those of the scholars
cited at the beginning of this article. Brown adds that “The way
the New Testament approaches the divinity of Jesus was not through
the title ‘God’ but by describing his activities in the same way
as it describes the Father’s activities” (Anchor Bible on John,
p. 24). This is exactly what the biblical evidence will support.
Jesus is not called “God” because he is not God. But Jesus, as
the perfectly obedient Son of God, performs the acts of God and
reveals the Father’s nature and purposes. He is God’s last word
to the world (Heb. 1:2). God’s self-expression, His plan for the
universe, became flesh — a real human being — in Jesus (John
1:14). Just as Jews spoke of Moses as being the embodiment of the
Law so Jesus was the embodiment of the perfect will of God, a living
demonstration of a human being exhibiting grace and truth (John
1:17). Phil.
2 has been misunderstood because readers imagined that it must teach
what they have learned in church. Paul knows nothing in this passage
of a preexisting Son of God. He is discussing the historical
“Messiah Jesus” whom he elsewhere calls “the Messiah Jesus”
(1 Tim. 2:5). He then
invites his readers, in the context of an exhortation to behave in a
humble manner, to observe and imitate the life and attitude of the
human Jesus. He was indeed in the form of God. He enjoyed the status
of God himself, and was in the image of God. (Cp. “He who has seen
me has seen God”), but he did not use his Godlike status, his
perfect functioning for God, as something to be exploited for his
own advantage. Rather he emptied himself, as the suffering servant
poured out himself (Isa. 53:12), and adopted the status of a
servant. He appeared like any other human being and humbled himself
to the point of going to his death on the cross. For this reason God
exalted him to the right hand of majesty. There is not a word here
about the Incarnation of a previously existing Son deciding to
become a man. Paul is describing, as a practical model for us all,
the human existence and behavior of the Son of God, who as God’s
King could have exercised his divine privilege, but did not. Instead
he acted as the servant of mankind. One
who is God, or an angel before his birth, is not a genuinely human
person. Belief in a non-fully human Jesus is the warning signal
given by John (1 John 4:2; 2 John 7) that anti-Christ is at work.
The real Son of God came into existence (not from a preexistence) at
his conception. This is what Luke tells us so concisely in Luke
1:35: “Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. For that reason the child begotten shall
be called holy, the Son of God.”
The angel Gabriel provides here a succinct theology of what
it means for Jesus to be the Son of God. He tells us how, why and
when the Son came into existence. It was by divine miraculous
begetting and it was in the womb of a human mother who had no
relations with a man. It was six months later than the conception of
John the Baptist, and the child was thus rightly called the Son of
God. He was Son of God for these reasons and based on these facts
and on no other. Students
of the Bible should give careful attention to the oracle provided
for our learning in Ps. 110:1. This text is the prince of OT
quotations and appears some 23 times in the New Testament. It
prophesies (as Peter taught in Acts 2:34-36) the exaltation of the
Messiah, Son of God, to the right hand of the One God, pending his
return in the future to rule the world on earth in the coming
Kingdom. The Psalm precisely defines the nature of the One God in
relation to the Son. Yahweh (Jehovah) addresses David’s Lord (adoni
[pronounced adonee] in Hebrew) and bids him remain at God’s right
hand until his enemies are to be defeated. The One God of Israel and
the Bible is Yahweh and he here addresses the Son and Messiah. The
Son is called “adoni,” a title never designating Deity, but
always, in all of its 195 occurrences, an address to a human
(occasionally angelic) superior. What
a grand opportunity Scripture had here for informing us that there
are two or more who are fully God!
The text makes a definitive statement about the role and
status of the Messiah. He is not Adonai (the Lord God, 449 times in
the OT) but the Lord Messiah, a human superior. Elizabeth indeed
visited “the mother of my lord,” (Luke 1:43) not as later
post-biblical theology taught “the mother of God”! May
students of the Bible return to belief in “the man Messiah,” the
unique Son of the One God of the universe (1 Tim. 2:5). This is the
great truth which God wishes all men to understand. Through it they
may achieve salvation (1 Tim. 2:4). There is no single occurrence
amongst 3,500 appearances of the word “God” in the Bible which
could possibly mean “God in Three Persons, “the Triune God.”
Meanwhile churches gather under the strict umbrella of that
“God in Three Persons.” Is not the problem glaringly obvious and
worthy of urgent investigation? Christians
claim to follow Jesus. This would have to mean following his example
and teaching. What could
prevent them then from insisting on Jesus’ unitarian creed found
in Mark 12:28ff.): “The Lord our God is one Lord.” Jesus and the
Jewish scribe were perfectly united in their understanding of who
God is. It was this
cardinal belief about the nature of the universe, of ultimate truth
and salvation, which Jesus sets at the center of his personal model
of faith for us. Are we going to follow him and declare that the
“The Father is the only one who is truly God” (John 17:3) and
that the Messiah is His uniquely commissioned Son, herald of the
saving Gospel of the Kingdom (Luke 4:43)? Or are we to perpetuate a
dangerous traditional view of God as “Three in One,” who gets
not a single mention within the pages of the Bible?
What
is the Kingdom of God - Part 2 “The Kingdom is not the church.
The apostles went about preaching the Some have asserted that when Jesus
said to Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world…” he meant
that his Kingdom is spiritual not physical.
This would contradict the evidence just shown from the Hebrew
Scriptures. “When
Jesus said that his Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), he
did not refer to his realm; he meant that his rule was not derived
from earthly authority but from God and that his kingship would not
manifest itself like a human kingdom but in accordance with the
divine purpose.3” Jesus’
Kingdom is coming from heaven with him when he returns.
The The good news is that because of
Jesus (the second Adam) man can be reconciled back to God.
But that is not where the story ends!
The believer will be able to enjoy the amazing sinless
fellowship that The Kingdom is not here yet.
This can be seen through a careful study of several
Scriptures5. One
well-known passage that demonstrates that the Kingdom is still
future is the Lord’s Prayer: “Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew Although it is true that the
spiritual principles of the The early Christian church knew
that the Kingdom was yet to come.
They were persecuted and had to have a solid hope on which
they could stake their lives. “While
some of the more cultured Christians tended to spiritualize
Christian hope, in the faith of the common people there was still
the vision of a Kingdom that would supplant the present order, of a
new Jerusalem where God would wipe away the tears of those who were
suffering under the social order of the Empire.8”
The people looked to the new material order in which Jesus
would reign over the earth and cause justice and peace to replace
the deception and violence with which they were so well acquainted.
However, something happened when Today Christians live between the
two advents of Christ. Jesus
has conquered Satan and sin through the cross.
However, they have not been destroyed.
Christians can live spiritual lives as citizens of the coming
Kingdom and enjoy fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit in a
remarkable manner today. “Jesus
must have taught both present and future forms of the Kingdom.
Thus the ‘mystery’ of the Kingdom consists in the open
secret that before God fully imposes His rule on earth when Jesus
comes back, believers enjoy its future blessings in advance.11”
It is important to understand that
the Kingdom is here in a sense today.
“The Kingdom has come among men and its blessings have been
extended in the person of Jesus.
Those who now receive this offer of the Kingdom with complete
childlike trust will enter into the future eschatological Kingdom of
life.12” Many of the
blessings of the Kingdom may be enjoyed presently, but there is a
day coming when the Kingdom will literally be established.
Then, the pure in heart will see God:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,
‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell
among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be
among them’…they will see His face, and His name will be on
their foreheads” (Revelation 21:3; 22:4).
The hope of the coming Kingdom, when the gentle inherit the
earth (Matthew 5:5), is the motivating power for every Christian to
get through life today. True
hope serves as an anchor to the soul (Hebrews The orthodox gospel/heaven system
is everywhere. If it is
a false system then perhaps the devil deserves more credit than he
has been given. In the
parable of the sower, Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of
the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and
snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19).
It is the devil’s job to deceive the whole world
(Revelation 12:9). Deceptions
are usually not a blatant lie, but a slight perversion of the truth.
For example, counterfeit money has to look and feel just like
the genuine or else no one will believe it is real.
The truth must be revealed; the gospel that Jesus preached
must resurface as the light in a dark place.
One day he will return and God will give him the nations and earth as his inheritance (Psalm 2:8). Jesus will break them with a rod of iron and destroy them like pottery (Psalm 2:9). There are only two options: (1) be part of the pottery and perish in the way or (2) do homage to the Son, take refuge in him (Psalm 2:12). Option two is rewarded to those who
hold their faith firm until the end: “He who overcomes, and he who
keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the
nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels
of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received
authority from my Father” (Revelation 2:26, 27).
If you have ears then you should use them (Revelation 2Everett F. Harrison, Geoffrey W.
Bromiley, and Carl F. Henry, 313.
Don't
Look Now! You're A Grandparent! Our family sat together watching
the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in "Mom…Dad…guess what? We're
expecting a baby." The news confirms it: a grandchild is on the
way! And whether this is your first, second, or tenth grandchild,
the announcement comes as a powerful reminder of the dynamic family
bonds you share. Expecting a grandchild is about accepting new roles
and responsibilities that arrive regardless of our advice or
consent. Our grandchildren are given to us ready to be
unconditionally nurtured, cuddled, and cared for. And opening our
hearts to them changes us for the rest of our lives. "Getting ready for
grandparenting is entirely different from getting ready for
parenting," explains Dr. Charmaine L. Ciardi. "There's no
morning sickness or swollen feet, but there are changes. Our place
in the family circle shifts, and subtle developments in our thoughts
and attitudes are necessary to give birth to the grandparent in each
of us." Grandparents in the Spotlight What Only Grandparents Can Offer?
Over the past decade, grandparents' involvement in providing
effective birth and parenting support has significantly increased.
As more couples realize the benefits of grandparenting to their
children—and themselves-they are inviting their parents to play a
more active part in their childrens’ lives from the very first
moments. They understand that the presence of caring, considerate
grandparents adds a rich dimension to family life that simply cannot
be achieved by any other means. The reasons for today's renewed
interest in reviving the grandparents’ role include these:
"Becoming a grandparent is a
deeply meaningful event in a person's life," confirm
researchers Andrew J. Cherlin and Frank F. Furstenberg in The New
American Grandparent. "Seeing the birth of grandchildren…is
an affirmation of the value of one's life and, at the same time, a
hedge against death. Grandchildren are also a great source of
personal pleasure. Freed from the responsibilities of parenthood,
grandparents can unabashedly enjoy their grandchildren."
Thankfully, grandparents are waking up to the challenge of nurturing
the next generation. Given current social challenges, our children
and grandchildren appreciate our assistance. And, as Dr. Kornhaber
reminds us, we have a higher level of education, better health, more
resources, and a longer life expectancy than any previous generation
has had. How are you sharing your faith and your relationship with
Christ with your grandchildren? I’m not going to be a grandparent
anytime soon. But for now...I need to figure out how to “call
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