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The ONE-NESS OF GOD
by
Robert Schmid
Much has been written and speculated about who and what God is. Is God one, two, three or many? How is God one? Who was the Word? Who is Jesus Christ?
How are we to become ONE with God as Jesus Christ is ONE with His Father?
When God gave His commandments to Israel (mankind), the first and most important one says:
"I am the Lord your God . . . . you shall have no other gods before me."
A very short and precise command not to have any other gods before the ONE true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great "I am". That's a tall order considering how many "other gods" there are. And yet, we must follow this command for the simple reason that only the one true God can save us from the penalty of sin, which is the second, the eternal death.
Now, we have to ask ourselves did God intentionally reveal Himself in such a way that it is impossible or at least very difficult to know the true God from the false gods. Did God tell us, in and through His Word, that in order to know Him, we must first attend a theological seminary, and study the creeds and statements of beliefs and essay's that men have written, in order to know who and what the true God is? No, we all know that He said no such thing, In fact, He said exactly the opposite; Matt 18:3-4 "And Jesus said: Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”.
God revealed Himself in such a way that we can know Him by approaching Him with a child like attitude, by seeing Him through the eyes of a child. And so, God gave us a threefold cord that can not be easily, or quickly broken (Eccl 4:12) to help us avoid wrong answers to our questions. The threefold cord God has given us to understand spiritual truth, to understand the things of God are:
No. 1 -- His Word; His written word the Bible, and His living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ (2.Tim 3:16).
No. 2 -- His Holy Spirit which is absolutely necessary (1 Cor. 2:10) and
No. 3 -- God said that we would know Him, even His eternal power and deity, by the things that have been made, or created (Rom 1:20).
Trying to understand the things of God without the Word of God, the Bible, would obviously be hopeless. Or consider, trying to understand the nature of an invisible God without God's Holy Spirit? No, one would surely end up with wrong answers, and so we want to rely on a threefold cord, the WORD, the HOLY SPIRIT and GOD’ S CREATION, a threefold cord which can not be easily broken, to answer the questions before us.
Before we define the true God, let’s talk for a moment about the false gods that we are to stay away from. There are obviously many, but I do want to say a few words about two concepts of God that are prevalent in Christianity and in Judaism. Two concepts of God, that I consider false. Two concepts, that need to be understood, in order to help us understand the ONE true God of the Bible.
First, let’s talk about the idea that God is a Trinity. One, of many, definitions of this doctrine is: “Father, Son and Holy Ghost, ONE God in THREE divine and distinct persons”. The primary problem with this Trinity doctrine is that it is not in the Bible.
The Trinity doctrine was formulated in the third century by men who were part of the Roman Catholic Church organization and the Roman civil government. This doctrine not only is not in the Bible, but is in direct contradiction to the concept that God is, or has, a family. A Trinity is obviously limited to three, and one can not add to a Trinity, otherwise it would no longer be a Trinity. What that means is that you and I could never become ONE with God, as Jesus is ONE with His Father.
A family, in contrast, consists of a minimum of TWO, with no limit as to the number of additions that can be. That means you and I and all people who are called by God can truly become a part of the God family, can truly become ONE with God.
It is my belief and my conviction, that the doctrine of the Trinity is false, and that it keeps one from understanding the true God, and how to become ONE with God.
There is another teaching of who and what God is, known as MONOTHEISM. The word monotheism like the word trinity is not in the Bible. The word monotheism consists of MONO which means ONE, and THEISM which comes from the Greek word THEOS, in other words it means ONE GOD. This concept (this false monotheism), like the trinity, affirms that there is but ONE God, but must out of necessity denounce the deity of the Word of God. It must denounce that Jesus Christ is God. In other words, this type of monotheism does not, and cannot, allow for Jesus Christ to be God simply because according to this teaching there is only ONE God and that is God the Father. Under this concept, Jesus Christ becomes a created being who had a beginning. He becomes God's Representative and is acknowledged that He is the Son of God, the Savior, many things, anything, but God. This type of monotheism is not only advocated by the Jews, for obvious reasons, but by other groups including individuals within the churches of God organizations as well.
Again, it is my belief and my conviction that this type of monotheism (also known as Biblical Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism) is false, for it will also keep us from understanding the true God, and from becoming ONE with God, and must therefore be rejected.
How are we then to understand the ONE-NESS of God, and how are we to become ONE with the ONE true God. We have already seen that we must approach God with a child like attitude. We obviously need His Holy Spirit, and God said that we would know Him, even His eternal deity, by the things He created. Now, I ask you, what was God's greatest creation? Was it not man and woman, which by the way was not only good, as were all other things God created, no the creation of Adam and Eve was VERY GOOD and when God says that something is very good, it is VERY GOOD. I hope that we all feel that way about ourselves, for we are truly God's crowning creation.
Let’s start in the beginning and go to Gen 1:1 "In the beginning God (a Spirit Being) created..... Then in verse 26 it says: "Let US create man in OUR image." These two little words US and OUR have caused more confusion than we can imagine. The US and OUR, are obviously plural. A few verses later however, in verse 29 it says: "Behold I (not WE) have given you every plant yielding seed etc...") The "I" is obviously singular. So, naturally the question arises is God plural or singular? Is He ONE, TWO, THREE or MANY? The Trinity doctrine makes the case that God is ONE in THREE, in other words both singular and plural, with emphasis on God being ONE. Monotheism makes the case that God is ONE or singular -- period.
There is an old saying that states that "the Bible is so simple that we need help to misunderstand it" (and Satan has given us plenty of help to misunderstand). It has also been said that the Bible interprets itself, and so in order to understand the apparent contradiction we go to John 1 for an explanation.
Now please, we need to take off our theological hats, and put on this childlike attitude which will make John 1 comprehensible and clear. When the disciples asked Jesus Christ to show them the Father, He said: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me"? He said: "He, who has seen me, has seen the Father"? What was Jesus Christ like? Was He not like any other human being, like any other Jew of his day? Of course He was. Jesus Christ looked like you and me today, so, as we go over John 1:1 look into a mirror to understand how God is ONE (singular), but also spoken off as TWO (plural).
John 1:1; "In the beginning was the Word" (the word "Word" is used in its most literal and simplest meaning). Have you ever asked yourself, why it doesn't say: "In the beginning was God?" Wouldn't that make a lot more sense? There is obviously significance to this!
Please look at yourself. In the beginning is "your word". It is the first thing that you can see and hear as it comes out of your mouth. It is your word that emanates from you, and reaches others through the magic of sound and hearing. Others can not perceive your thoughts with their five senses. That's why "in the beginning is the Word." Everything you want to communicate and accomplish you do with your word. That's how God does it. So, "In the beginning was God's Word, and God's Word was with God, and God's Word was God". What else! The Word of God was God's personal expression of Himself. Your word and you, that is your word and your mind, your head, are inseparably ONE, just like God's Word and God's mind are ONE. That's why Jesus Christ in John 12: 49 said:
"I have NOT spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has Himself given me commandment, what to say and what to speak. What I say, therefore, I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak."
The Word can only say what the mind, the head, what God, directs the Word to say. There is only ONE God, but depending on context, He is sometimes spoken of as TWO (the Word being personified, just as God's Holy Spirit or God's Wisdom are often personified). Please note that I did not say that God is ONE in two (or three) BEINGS. There were not TWO BEINGS. Your word and you are ONE BEING and so is God's Word, and God, ONE BEING. There is no conflict between the "US" and the "I" of Gen. 1. God is ONE for there is but ONE true God, but consisting of God's Word, that was with God, and therefore is God. That's the simple message of John 1:1.
Now let’s turn to John 1:14 and read what is happening to the Word: "And the WORD became flesh (a God/human Being) and dwelled among us." This is where faith (which is a gift from God) comes into the picture. You either believe that the Word of God became flesh, became human and thereby became the Son of God through procreation, or you don't. This is not so much a matter of understanding, as it is primarily a matter of faith and believing the Word of God. This is a miracle and miracles are not explained through superior intellect, theological prowess or long essays. Suffice it to say that God through His Holy Spirit caused His Word (seed/sperm) to be implanted into the Virgin Mary, impregnating here and nine month later she had a son whose Father was God. Lets take a look in Matt. 1 were it tells us what happened:
Matt 1:18-23 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way." When His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit (the Power of God); and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: ' Joseph, son of David, do not fear (do not be a coward) to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit (is of God); she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (Isaiah 7:14): "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanu-el (which means, God with us)."
Who is with us? Emmanu-el, God is with us. Not some created being as some would have us believe. Not just a great prophet, no it was the Word of God in the flesh full of grace and truth and we beheld His glory as of the only Son of the Father. So,
The Word of God “became” (not “was”) the Son of God (through procreation).
God Almighty “became” (not “was”) God the Father (through procreation).
BC, that is before the birth of Christ, there was God and His Word, ONE God, a "NUMERICAL ONE-NESS".
AD, that is after the birth of Christ, there was God the Father and Jesus the Son of God, the ONE God Family a "COMPOSITE ONE-NESS".
Jesus Christ clearly said in John 10:30, “I (one) and my Father (one) are ONE.”
In other words there are now TWO BEINGS who are ONE. The same ONE-NESS that existed between God and His Word, continues to exist between the Father and His Son. The Son being subject to the Father (a voluntary oneness), in the same way as the Word was subject to God (an involuntary oneness).
Through the begettal by God, and through the birth by Mary, the Word became Jesus Christ. Jesus was a BORN human being, but only a BEGOTTEN God being. As such He was able to sin and to die. He became a BORN AGAIN God being, when His Father resurrected Him from the dead, never able to die again.
Now, what about you and me? How are we to become ONE with God, as Christ is ONE with the Father? Well the same way as our example Jesus Christ, who came to show us the way. Jesus Christ who is our example said: "You (we) must be born again", born again as Jesus Christ was born and born again. We of course must first repent, something Jesus Christ did not have to do for He, as the Word of God, was sinless from the beginning. We must be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit which enters our mind and makes us BEGOTTEN children of God. At the resurrection we will be BORN, BORN AGAIN of the Spirit, BORN of God which makes us GOD BEINGS. What else? If what is reproduced from a flower seed is another flower, if birds reproduce other birds, if four-legged animals reproduce other four-legged animals, if humans reproduce other humans, and if God, who has already proven to us through His Son Jesus Christ, that, that which is BEGOTTEN and BORN of God, is God, then whatever else, or better, whoever else is BEGOTTEN and Born of God must also be of the GOD KIND. Yes, Jesus Christ was only the first-born of many brethren in the ONE God family, and He will bring many sons to glory, to reign and sit with Him on His throne. (John 17).
Now let me make a few comments about what it means to be BEGOTTEN and BORN of God, in contrast to what it means when God CREATES something. God spoke the universe and all that is in it into existence through His Word. It was an act of creation and Gen 1:1 plainly says so: "In the beginning God created....” God spoke and it was; an act of CREATION. In contrast, when the Word became flesh, as we read in John 1:14, it did not happen through a creative act, it happened through PROCREATION, through the re-productive process of a begettal and a birth. Creation is instant. God speaks and it is. Procreation, or to be born, is a process which takes time. In fact, physical creation took six days. Spiritual procreation will take 6000 years. Obviously creation and procreation is not the same thing.
Every human being, with the exception of Adam and Eve who were CREATED, came into existence through this process of BEGETTAL and BIRTH, which means that we all (should) know how it works.
So, when Jesus Christ said to Nicodemus and by extension to all of us that: "You must be born again", He meant exactly that same process, except instead of a physical birth He was talking about a spiritual birth. We must be born again, not a second time through human, physical seed, but through the holy seed of God's Holy Spirit. Anyone who has received God's Holy Spirit is BEGOTTEN of God and will be BORN of God at the first, the better, resurrection. In the meantime we see through a glass darkly, like the unborn in the mother’s womb, but then, when we are born, we will see God face to face. Now we know in part, then when we are BORN we shall understand fully. So, what does it take to become ONE with God? You must be born again. You must be born of God in order to become completely and fully ONE with God, and Jesus Christ was and is our example in all of this.
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