Is Jesus GOD or the SON of GOD? The Mystery of GOD
Do you believe Jesus is God? Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Is He one or the other, or is He both? Trinitarians will say Jesus is God. They will say Jesus is also the Son of God. So, they believe Jesus is both God and the Son of God. If God is the Father, then how can Jesus be both the Father and the Son? In addition to THAT question, Trinitarians believe the Holy Spirit is also God. Do we have three gods in unity? That’s what ‘Trinity’ means.
Most of you may already know this, but some of you may not: The term 'Trinity' was first coined by a newly converted Catholic priest named Tertullian in the year 200 A.D. The Roman Catholic church has openly admitted to changing the words of our LORD, Jesus Christ in Mat 28:19 and inserted the wording of what is known as The Johannine Comma in 1 John 5:7. These are two pillars of Trinitarian theology we can crumble to the ground. Do you think they stopped there?
But there IS only one God,” they say. Too confusing? Their answer is, “This is a mystery we aren’t supposed to understand.” Do you THINK it’s kind of important to know Who God is? Are we NOT supposed to understand? Jesus said to His disciples in Mat 13:11, “’To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.’” Well, the Apostles certainly knew who Jesus was, especially after His resurrection and ascension – He plainly told them who He was in John 14.
In verse 22, “Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?"
This is in response to what Jesus said earlier in the chapter:
He said in vs. 7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." And in vs. 9, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '?”
“We do believe Jesus is God, but we’re not saying Jesus is both the Father and the Son”, Trinitarians say. The definition of ‘Trinity’ states that all three are God, but the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each not the other(s). “Jesus is equal with God and is God, but is not The Father.” So then, God must be a type of being, as humans are beings? Let’s say that God = Divine, while human = not divine. Jesus is, therefore, God (Divine) because He is God’s Son, as your child is human because s/he is your son or daughter. If that is the case, then we have God the Father, His only begotten (born) Son, the Holy Spirit, even the angels (created, not born), which are all ‘God’ (Divine), just as we have parents, children and ‘others’ who are human (not divine), right? Truly, the word ‘Elohim’ is defined as ‘gods’, inclusive of the Deity (translated as ‘Godhead’), the angels and even humans who are born again (born of the Spirit) by faith. Those of you who’ve studied Ps 82:6 and John 10:34 and looked up the definition of Elohim (Strongs H430) find this to be true. This is how the Word could both be ‘with’ Elohim or properly translated ‘to’ (Greek word ‘pros’) Elohim and yet be God Himself! (John 1:1) *I do not endorse Google ads placed on this page.
Like Father, Like Son?
People have likened the ‘family of God’ to the human family.For example, let’s compare the ‘subjection’ of the Son to the Father. Surely, a child is subject to the parent, yet equal in humanity, as the Son of God is subject to the Father, yet equal in Deity.The question then becomes, WHEN did Jesus become the Son of God? The answer? When He became the Son of Man, the last ‘Adam’ (1 Cor 15:45). All created things are subject to the Creator. If you believe in the ‘eternal subjection’ of the Son, there is yet more to learn by the Holy Spirit.
While we can read any translation of the Bible, we must not rely on private interpretation, based on 2 Pet 1:20.There is a difference between translation and interpretation. Would you believe an angel’s interpretation over your own, or that of your teachers? I certainly would.Time to read Daniel’s dream regarding the future subjection of the ‘Son’ in Chapter 7:13-14:
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
If you’re like me, you were taught the ‘son of man’ in this passage is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of Man/Son of God, while the ‘Ancient of Days’ is God the Father. However, the angel’s interpretation of this dream is given in the same chapter (reference vs. 21-22 and vs. 26-27):
"I kept looking, and that horn [Antichrist] was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.” “But the court will sit for judgment, and his [Antichrist] dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey him.”
I hope you caught that. Who does ‘one like the son of man’ represent? The SAINTS of the Highest One! See, God will restore ALL THINGS, just as it was in the beginning – before the fall of the first Adam.Truly, God created Man (Adam and Eve) to rule over everything. This is how it will be when full restoration is established.
Ponder the following scripture:
Ps 8:6-8 “You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.”
Who is this speaking of?
Reference Gen 1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’"
Does this give greater understanding (interpretation) of 1 Cor 15:27 and other cross-referenced passages in your Bible? The NIV mistranslates the Greek to read, “’For he has put everything under his feet.’ Now when it says that ‘everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.’” Simply click on the hyperlink of 1 Cor 5:17 to see the actual Greek wording. The KJV, even the NAS words it accurately: “For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.” Now, this agrees with Gen 1:28 and Ps 8:6-8 harmoniously.
Do you see how translations can negatively affect the accurate interpretation of Scripture? Eternally Begotten?
Back to comparing non-created (God) to created beings in both the spiritual and physical realms, God the Father is eternal, without beginning, without end. The Son of God is said to be “eternally begotten” (no scripture reference in existence), having no beginning or end. Do you know what ‘begotten’ means? It means to be literally born; to ‘come out of’. Jesus, as the Son of Man/Son of God, stated He came out from the Father (John 16:28). If God was ALWAYS a Father, Ps 2:7 would not be true: “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” Was He speaking of David or Jesus? It has to be Jesus because He is called the ‘only begotten Son’ in John 3:16. There cannot be more than one begotten Son of God. Therefore, we have verified there was a beginning to God’s role as ‘Father’, that being at the conception of the Son.
So, WHEN was the Son of God conceived, then born? Did He have both a Father and Mother in eternity? Or was He begotten of the Father without a Mother? Some think God the Father (male) and the Holy Spirit (female) came together and begat the Son in heaven. Egalitarians can’t be right, since there is no procreation in heaven (Mat 22:30). Even this concept would still lead to a beginning point for the Son of God. The idea of an eternal Son of God doesn’t make any sense. Though the Bible does not say anything about the 'eternal Son’, the Creed of the First Council of Constantinople (381 AD) does – it is an idea, a man-made declaration that does not align with scripture, but has been accepted and propagated throughout the centuries, right up to today.
“…And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds.”
Surely, we can declare the Son was not only ‘begotten’ of the Father, but ‘came out of’ the Father (John 16:28). Likewise, the Holy Spirit ‘came out of’ the Father (John 15:26), yet was not ‘begotten’ of the Father. To understand the difference, let’s look at the creation of Adam and Eve. Eve ‘came out of’ Adam (Gen 2:21-22), but was certainly not born. Rather, Adam was the source from which she came. Because of this, they were no longer two (2), but one (1) flesh (Mat 19:6). Jewish scholars have interpreted the ‘one flesh’ as the child they beget. Because Eve ‘came out of Adam’, should we therefore conclude that God is two Persons when we read the words of Jesus in John 10:30: “I and the Father are One”? (cross ref: Deut 6:4) Not if you understand that God can exist in Spirit and flesh at the same time. Consider when the LORD God appeared to Abraham in Gen 18:22 with two of His angels (19:1). When we ponder the words of Jesus in John 14, I can tell you Eve never said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen my husband.” Truly, God made man in His own image (Gen 1:27). Adam was made first, and Eve ‘came out of’ Adam later. We can see the singular, then the plural in this verse:
“God created man in His own image (singular), in the image of God He created him (1); male and female He created them (2).”
Breath of Heaven
Now, let’s consider how the Holy Spirit ‘comes out of’ (or out from) the Father in John 20:22:
"And when He [Jesus] had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.”
God gave me a ‘picture’ I’d like to share with you. Imagine The Holy Spirit (God) likened to Water. We can liken the Son of Man/Son of God as the Pitcher containing the Water that pours it into the ‘glasses’ of born-again believers. See, the definition of ‘Spirit’ (Ruach in Hebrew or Pneuma in Greek) is wind, breath, spirit. God is The Spirit! (John 4:24; 2 Cor 3:17) The LORD is the Spirit! (2 Cor 3:17) There is only ONE Spirit! (1 Cor 12:8-13). He is invisible! (Rom 1:20; Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:27) He is the wind, the breath of life! Do you think His breath is another ‘Person’, Who is NOT HIM, but distinctly separate from HIM?
Check this out – Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
This breath IS the Spirit of the Almighty God! There are all kinds of Biblical passages that prove Jesus claimed to be the Almighty God. YHWH (the LORD) declares He is the only God, that we are to have no other gods besides Him (Ex 20:3; Deut 5:7). Seven times YHWH declares He is the only Savior and there is no other Savior besides Him (Deut 32:39; Isa 44:6, 8; 45:5-6, 21 and Hosea 13:4). YHWH declares He is the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13), which means the First and the Last (Isa 41:4; 44:6; 22:13; Rev 1:, 11, 17; 2:8; 22:13), the Beginning and the End (Isa 41:4; 46:10; Rev 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). If there is more than one God, Almighty God, Savior and Alpha and Omega, the Bible does not declare it to be so. Therefore, if Jesus, both in the flesh and post-ascension declared to be God (John 8:58/Ex 3:14), is the Savior of your soul (Heb 10:39), declares to be the Almighty God, the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and End, He is both God AND the Son of God = one and the same LORD.
How is this possible? We’ve already established that God the Father is Spirit (John 4:24). No one can see Spirit. The Spirit of God is He who overshadowed Mary to beget Himself in mortal flesh as the Son of Man/Son of God, the last Adam (Luke 1:35; 1 Cor 15:45). Because the Spirit of God is omnipresent (Ps 139:7), we can look at the flesh of God as His tabernacle (dwelling place), the temple of His Spirit – now, is 1 Cor 6:19 coming to mind? Does Emmanuel, being interpreted “God with us” coming to mind (Mat 1:23)? The Creator of ALL Things
If the Father is the Creator and yet the Son of God is declared to have created ALL things, then either the Jehovah’s Witnesses are right – that the Son of God created all ‘other’ things or they’re wrong, which means, the One we know as Jesus (Yahushua = YHWH is Salvation), before He became the Son of Man/Son of God was the Almighty God who created ALL things. Surely, some Bible versions translate that all things were created THROUGH Him (the Word), while the KJV (the oldest translation of the Bible) states that all things were created BY Him, which confirms He is the one and only Creator of all things. For example, compare the translations of John 1:3 and Col 1:16. Now, God certainly created Adam and Eve (not begotten), then all humanity through humanity, did He not? If mankind didn’t procreate, we would have no human race on this planet.
“But Gen 1:1 shows the Trinity created all things!”, Trinitarians say. This interpretation, again, is due to man-made doctrine regarding the word ‘Elohim’. They read, “In the beginning God created…” (God = the Father). They read, “And God said…” (the Word = Jesus). They read, “And the Spirit of God moved…” (God = the Holy Spirit). Let’s compare this ‘idea’ with Isa 44:24 “Thus says the LORD (YHWH), your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the LORD (YHWH), am the Maker of ALL things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone.” Therefore, there is no way one can say the Father created all things through the 'eternally begotten' Son and the 'help' of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says it clearly, He (GOD/YHWH) created ALL things by Himself, alone.
No, brothers and sisters, God is not a ‘Trinity’ of three Persons. He is both invisible and visible all throughout the Old and New Testaments. If we were to count all the manifestations of God we would have seven: immortal flesh to Abraham (Gen 18:22); the Angel of the LORD (Ex 3:2-4); clouds by day and fire by night (Ex 13:21); the Rock at Horeb (Num 20:8; Isa 44:8; 1 Cor 10:4); mortal flesh of the Son of Man/Son of God (Mat 1:23; 1 Tim 3:16); and ‘like a dove’ (John 1:32). Any visible image of the invisible Spirit is the same God. It’s no wonder ‘Elohim’ (plural), when used of The God is prefaced by the singular article. Jesus has always been and will always be the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15). Consider the post-ascension ‘form’ He took when appearing to Saul (Paul) in Acts 9:3-5 ~ invisible, speaking LIGHT.
Speaking of Col 1:15, it also states of Jesus that He is “the firstborn of all creation”. What does that mean? We must go back to John 3. The context of the entire chapter has to do with humans being ‘born again’, in order to become a ‘new creation’ (2 Cor 5:17). The passage compares being born of the flesh (water of the womb – this is not speaking of water-baptism) and the Spirit (through faith in Jesus Christ as your LORD [YHWH] and Savior). Jesus, as the Son of Man was born of the flesh (of the water of the womb of Mary) and as the Son of God was literally born of the Holy Spirit. He was, therefore, as the last Adam, the firstborn of the NEW creation, amen! Because of Him alone, we have the [birth]right to become children of God! Our inheritance was lost through the first Adam; it is REDEEMED through the last Adam!
1 John 1:12 “But as many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”
Who Do You Say That I AM?
With all the religions in the world, the Truth boils down to the question, “Who Do You Say That I AM?” Who is Jesus? Surely, Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, while Jesus was in the flesh (Mat 16:16). But post-ascension, Peter called Him “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”! (2 Pet 1:1) He was right BOTH times. Do we understand now that there is NO WAY to the Father except through Him? (John 6:44) and that by denying Him, we deny the Father? We CAN’T have the Father without the Son! (1 John 2:23) He is the same God yesterday, today and forevermore.
The LORD (YHWH) IS the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:17), who became the Father (Ps 2:7) upon the conception of the Son in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:35). If you believe the Holy Spirit is a third ‘Person’ of this Trinity, then it is HE who is the Father of the Son and not God the Father. If God the Father conceived the Son THROUGH His Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is the ‘sperm’ or life-source of God, but is not the Father? Certainly, THAT makes no sense either. Doctrines such as Arianism will claim that Jesus is a god, as Moses (Ex 7:1), a king, as Solomon (Mat 12:43), and a savior of many saviors, as mentioned in Obadiah 1:21. Let me tell you something; Moses, Solomon and the other ‘saviors’ did NOT create ALL things and CANNOT save your SOUL. On the contrary, the kingdom of God is NOT of THIS world (John 18:36). YHWH, the LORD Jesus Christ, IS THE GOD of gods, the Creator of ALL things, THE SAVIOR of the world for all who will receive Him, the eternal King of kings and LORD of lords!
“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, THE great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” (Deut 10:17) “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Rev 19:16) “And there is SALVATION in NO ONE else; for there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) “Now to THE King eternal, immortal, invisible, THE ONLY GOD, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim 1:17).
~~~ Luke 24:45 "Then He opened their minds to understand the Scripture
