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GOD IS ONE PERSON
A. GOD IS ONE PERSON:
Scriptural Reference:
Hebrews 1:3 ?...who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image
of his person. . ."
There is a difference of understanding in the definition of the word
?person?. Some understand person to mean the body or appearance, the visible
expression. If we accept this definition, then clearly the Father is not a
person, for He is Spirit.
On the other hand, others understand person to be associated with
personality, individuality, self-consciousness, self-determination, etc. If we
accept this definition, then the Father is a person. However, this still will
not make two or three persons in the Godhead. There is only one God, and only
one personality of Deity. This personality is the one and same whether seen, as
Jehovah in the Old Testament, or as Jesus in the New Testament.
The Scriptural reference given, Hebrews 1:3, is the only place in the Bible
that the word ?person? is given when referring to the Godhead or Deity. In the
Greek, this Scripture reads, ?the expression of his substance?. In the Amplified
New Testament we read, ?He is the perfect imprint and very image of (God?s)
nature.
The conclusion is that the word ?person is not actually a proper word to use
when referring to Deity, but rather we should use the terms, ?substance, nature,
being, etc.?
B. GOD HAS PERSONALITY:
Scriptural Reference:
1 John 1:3 ?And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ.?
It is very important that we have a clear understanding on this truth, for if
we go wrong here, it will definitely lead to further mis?understanding. It is
very easy to miss. the true revelation and to turn to one extreme or the other.
We should pray that the Lord will enable us to remain solidly established in the
very center of revealed Truth.
In both the Old and New Testaments, man is able to have fellowship with God.
Man is able to talk to God and have communion with His Maker. We must never
think of God as being just an impersonal force or influence. He is a personal
God who loved us and manifested Himself in flesh to die for us. As such, He has
personality but He is still one God, one Divine Being.
A man cannot talk to an impersonal force such as sunlight, warmth, gravity,
mother nature, etc., but he can talk to his wife, his child, his father. Not
only can he talk to them, but there can be a communion, a fellowship because
they are living beings, individuals with minds and hearts of their
own.
This truth must be clearly understood when the personal pronouns are used.
The personal pronoun ?He? should always be used, never the neuter pronoun
?it?. This is also true when speaking of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:2 we find
the neuter pronoun, ?it?, but this is referring to the wind that filled all
the house. It is correct to refer to the experience of the Baptism of the Holy
Ghost as ?it?, but when we receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts, we receive
?Him
However, there are not three ?he?s? in the Godhead. When the
personal pronoun is used, we are referring to our one and
only God whether revealed to us in Creation, manifested to us in Redemption,
or coming into our hearts in Regeneration.
C. MAN IS BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT, BUT ONE PERSON:
Scriptural Reference:
1 Thessalonians 5:23 ?And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord
I John 5:7 ?For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
The titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are freely used in the scriptures,
but this fact does not make three persons nor three Gods. The Bible declares
that Father, Son and Holy Ghost is one person, bearing one name, ?JESUS?.
To understand this truth, let us consider man. He is spirit, soul and body;
but he is one person and bears one name. The three titles do not make three
persons any more than body, soul and spirit make three persons. In Colossians
1:3 we read these words, ?We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.. .? Please note: ?God and the Father?. Here are two titles
placed together. Does this make two persons?
D. GOD MANIFESTED HIMSELF IN THE FLESH:
Scriptural References:
John 1:14 ?And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
1 Timothy 3:16 ?And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory.?
1Timothy 3:16 is one of the key verses that can only be understood by
revelation, and yet must be understood if we are to grasp an under?standing of the Godhead. The Amplified New Testament reads, ?He (God)
was made visible in human flesh?.
In the past, God has manifested Himself in many ways to man. In creation,
on Mount Sinai, in the Theophanies, in the Tabernacle, God manifested Himself
in a measure to man and man was able to have a certain knowledge of God.
However, in the one Scripture that speaks of God being manifested we have the
greatest knowledge of God ever given, for in the incarnation Christ is the
express image of the invisible God. (Hebrews 1:3)
On this thought let us quote from Adam Clarke?s Commentary on his note on
John 17:6. ?A little of the
Divine nature was known by the works of creation; a little more was known by
the Mosaic revelation; but the full manifestation of God, His nature, and His
attributes, came only through the revelation of Christ.? - Adam Clarke.
In this regard let us always quote scripture
correctly:
1. John 1:14 ?The Word was made flesh.?
2. 1 Timothy 3:16 ?God was manifest in the
flesh.?
It was the LOGOS which was made flesh; God was manifest in the flesh. There
is an important difference in these two statements which we shall see as we
continue our studies.
E. THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS:
The mystery of godliness is God manifesting Himself in flesh; the mystery
of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7) is flesh manifesting itself as God. These
are contrasted in the Scriptures and man has his choice. If he does not accept
the mystery of godliness, he will be compelled to accept the mystery of
iniquity.
F. THE LOGOS IS DEITY EXPRESSED:
Scriptural Reference:
John 1:1 ?In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.?
?Word? is translated from the Greek ?Logos?. This Greek word ?Logos? means
not only the expression of an inward thought, but also
might attempt to define the meaning of ?Logos?.
We might say that the meaning of LOGOS is DEITY EXPRESSED. In other words, the
?Logos? is the expression of the invisible God. The Schofield Bible says,
?Deity told out"
Just as a man?s thinking and expression of that thinking cannot be
separated from the man himself and is in essence part of his very being, not
another person, so it is with God. The scripture written by the apostle under
inspiration to safeguard against the error of another person clearly states,
THE LOGOS WAS GOD.
G. JESUS CHRIST POSSESSES A DUAL NATURE:
Jesus Christ in the incarnation possessed a dual nature: divinity and
humanity. Note well that Jesus Christ was not two persons, nor did He possess
two personalities. But He was God-man, the Word incarnate, God manifested as
flesh. As a human being, He was the Son; as God He was the Father. As the Son
many times He spoke and acted as a man; as the Father many times He spoke and
acted as God. Once this truth is understood, the door is open to a clear
understanding of just who Jesus really is: THE MIGHTY GOD IN CHRIST:
JEHOVAH-SAVIOUR.
H. JESUS CHRIST IS NOT THE ETERNAL SON:
Scriptural References:
John 1:14 ?...the glory as of the only begotten of the Father...? John 3:16
?For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son...
Acts 13:33 ?. . .Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee.?
The eternal Son theory is not scriptural. It came as the result of the
Trinitarian theory and teaches a second person in the Godhead. Jesus Christ in
the flesh was the begotten Son. (John 3:16) The words ?begotten? and ?eternal?
mean the very opposite and contradict each other.
Let us quote from Adam Clarke?s Commentary on his note on Acts 13:33, ?Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.?
?The human nature of our blessed Lord was begotten by the energy of the
Holy Spirit in the womb of the blessed virgin; for as to his Divine nature,
which is allowed to be God, it could neither be created nor begotten... the
doctrine of the eternal Sonship of Christ is absolutely irreconcilable to
reason, and contradictory to itself. Eternity is that which has had no
beginning, nor stands with any reference to time: Son supposes time,
generation, and father; and time also antecedent to such generation:
therefore, the rational conjunction of these two terms, Son and eternity, is
absolutely impossible, as they imply essentially different and opposite
ideas.?
-
Adam Clarke
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