Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Like It Or Not... THE Name of God Is...

Like it, or not, we human beings often try to find some OTHER way to avoid doing what is clearly right in front of us, AND... like it or not, God says that He and Jesus, His Christ (also known, biblically as Immanuel or Messiah), and His Spirit are one and the same being or person. He, furthermore, warns us that if we neglect, or seek to attack, or try to avoid His truth, in any way, then we are NOT on God's side. He warns us that we shall remain at enmity with God UNTIL we personally admit, accept, AND receive God's Word and the promises that go along with recognizing who He is. This is an urgent matter for all of us to settle with Him, as this is a one life offer, with no replays and no other ways to escape



The Bible is LOADED with references to the triune nature of God. Here are a few verses that illustrate God's point.

In the beginning, Genesis, God introduces us to His three-part nature, speaking of Himself, of making humanity in "our" image, and introducing the working of His Spirit, and God says that all this happens within the context of Him being one God.

When God called Moses to lead Israel out of slavery and away from Egypt, Moses wanted to be sure of what to call God. Here's part of their conversation, in Exodus 3:13-14:

Don't be intimidated whenever you read "I AM", or "I AM THAT I AM", or "LORD", or "GOD" in all capital letters in the Bible. The translations of those capitalized words literally mean, the Self-Existant One or the Eternal One, that is, the very person of God, as He experiences and describes Himself. 

In Isaiah 44, God speaks of Himself AND of His Redeemer. In the same passage, and in the same grammatical person, God includes and unifies the idea that He is a complex being, but that there is only one God, even as we are complex, having multiple roles that we manifest in our lives, yet we remain the very same person no matter which role we are fulfilling at any given moment.

God describes the revelation of His Arm that accomplished His salvation for humanity.

God describes that some of the other work of His Arm is to instruct, correct, punish, and lead.

God even speaks of His Arm as a commander speaks of one of his soldiers.

At one point, God even calls Himself, "The LORD liveth".

Those are some foundational Old Testament verses, but the New Testament is also filled with references to godhood of God's Christ, Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain references to bits and pieces of the three-part nature of God and Christ, but it is the Book of John that most clearly unifies and illuminates the doctrine. Chapter One is brilliant in its establishment of that fact.

Christ Jesus goes on, later in the John, to heal, instruct, rebuke, encourage, receive praise and glory, and all of it as God, without any apology or fear. 

In John 10:30, Christ says that He and God are one, and Christ speaks of the power that is subject to His will, with regard to laying down His life to pay for our sin and then taking His life back from death, at His own discretion AFTER He was killed.

Later on, in John 16:7-15, Jesus clearly equates the Personhood of the Holy Spirit with Himself and God the Father, that the unified doctrine might be clear.

Though God is without end, yet He speaks of Himself as being, AND being with, the One who is  "the First and the Last": Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12, and Revelation 1:11-18.

Learning to submit to God, on His terms, is the only way that how we can hope to learn, grow, and survive, spiritually. Jesus was VERY clear about that throughout His teachings, especially in the Book of John. It is not about making sacrifices in our lives or trying to pray or buy our way out of a tough spot, for those things can never cleanse us of our sin. As God says, in Ephesians 2, to those who have trusted Him for the only eternal salvation available to humanity,


I encourage you to read John and Romans for a 'nutshell' view of what God calling out to you, personally. Those fascinating books of the Bible are a treasure trove of information to feed and protect our souls.

Also check out these links:


Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment