搜寻结果

返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 Read in English 下一篇 圣经里的上帝是谁 圣经里的上帝是谁？以下这一些是否符合我们对圣经里上帝的了解？如果是的话，就证明我们与圣经的真理和谐一致，若不是的话那我们就要重新研究谁是圣经里这位独一的真神了！ 别忘记末世最大的考验将会是关乎敬拜。你选择敬拜的是谁？圣经里的上帝，那独一的真神；还是巴比伦奥秘的三位一体神？ 让我们来看看圣经里的上帝是谁！ 1。圣经对于上帝提出了什么重要的问题？ 约伯记 11：7 你考察，就能测透上帝吗？你岂能尽情测透全能者吗？ *我们不能靠自己的聪明来认识上帝。上帝会启示祂自己让我们认识祂。 2。 上帝如何诉说祂自己呢？ 以赛亚书40：26 你们向上举目，看谁创造这万象，按数目领出，他一一称其名，因他的权能，又因他的大能大力，连一个都不缺。” 以赛亚书40：9-10 9 你们要追念上古的事，因为我是上帝，并无别神；我是上帝，再没有能比我的。10 我从起初指明末后的事，从古时言明未成的事，说：‘我的筹算必立定，凡我所喜悦的，我必成就。’ *上帝是全能的，也是全知的，并且祂是独一的上帝，在祂以外并无别神。 3。 圣经向我们显明了几位真神？ 申命记6：4 “以色列啊，你要听！耶和华我们上帝是独一的主。 申命记4：35 这是显给你看，要使你知道，惟有耶和华他是上帝，除他以外，再无别 神。 耶利米书10：10 惟耶和华是真 神，是活 神，是永远的王。他一发怒，大地震动；他一恼恨，列国都担当不起。 4。谁最有资格对我们说明那独一的真神？ 约翰福音1：18 从来没有人看见上帝，只有在父怀里的独生子将他表明出来。 *上帝的儿子耶稣是在此课题上最有威严的。 约翰福音3：11 我实实在在地告诉你：我们所说的，是我们知道的；我们所见证的，是我们见过的；你们却不领受我们的见证。 *耶稣说只有他见过父上帝并认识祂。事实上，耶稣来到世上的其中一个任务就是向我们显明他的父，让我们认识祂。 5。根据耶稣，谁是那位“独一的真神”？ 约翰福音17：1，3 1 耶稣说了这话，就举目望天说：“父啊，时候到了，愿你荣耀你的儿子，使儿子也荣耀你；3 认识你独一的真神，并且认识你所差来的耶稣基督，这就是永生。 *耶稣亲口说到那位独一的真神就是父上帝。 6。 根据耶稣，谁是天地的主？ 马太福音11：25 那时，耶稣说：“父啊，天地的主，我感谢你！因为你将这些事向聪明通达人就藏起来，向婴孩就显出来。 *上帝是天地的主 （另外请参考路加福音10：21）。 7。真正的敬拜者会敬拜谁？ 约翰福音4：23 时候将到，如今就是了，那真正拜父的，要用心灵和诚实拜他，因为父要这样的人拜他。 8。耶稣说我们应该向谁祷告呢？ 马太福音6：9-13 “所以，你们祷告，要这样说：‘我们在天上的父，愿人都尊你的名为圣。愿你的国降临。愿你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上 。。。因为国度、权柄、荣耀，全是你的，直到永远。阿们。” 9。 诫命中哪是第一要紧的呢？ 马可福音12：28-32 有一个文士来，听见他们辩论，晓得耶稣回答的好，就问他说：“诫命中哪是第一要紧的呢？”29 耶稣回答说：“第一要紧的，就是说：‘以色列啊，你要听，主我们上帝，是独一的主。30 你要尽心、尽性、尽意、尽力爱主你的上帝。’31 其次就是说：‘要爱人如己。’再没有比这两条诫命更大的了。”32 那文士对耶稣说：“夫子说，上帝是一位，实在不错。除了他以外，再没有别的上帝。 *我们必须先认识上帝才能够爱祂。要和上帝建立一个美好的关系就要对祂有正确的认识。文士同意耶稣所说的，上帝只有一位，除他以外再没有别的上帝。 10。 耶稣有没有纠正文士所说的话？ 马可福音 12:34 耶稣见他回答的有智慧，就对他说：“你离上帝的国不远了。”从此以后，没有人敢再问他什么。 *耶稣不但没有纠正他，而且还说他离上帝的国不远了。文士所相信的代表了全犹太民族。犹太人都相信独一一位上帝。 约翰福音8：41 你们是行你们父所行的事。”他们说：“我们不是从淫乱生的，我们只有一位父，就是上帝。” 11。耶稣是否表明犹太民族独一的上帝是谁？ 约翰福音8：54 耶稣回答说：“我若荣耀自己，我的荣耀就算不得什么；荣耀我的乃是我的父，就是你们所说是你们的上帝。 12。 上帝只作犹太人的神吗？ 罗马书 3:29 难道上帝只作犹太人的上帝吗？不也是作外邦人的上帝吗？是的，也作外邦人的上帝。 13。耶稣的使徒们是否把同样关于上帝的真理教导于外邦人呢？ 雅各书2：19 你信上帝只有一位，你信的不错；鬼魔也信，却是战兢。* 雅各* 提摩太前书2：5 因为只有一位上帝，在上帝和人中间，只有一位中保，乃是降世为人的基督耶稣。*保罗* 14。谁是这位独一的真神？ 哥林多前书8：4-6 论到吃祭偶像之物，我们知道偶像在世上算不得什么；也知道上帝只有一位，再没有别的神。虽有称为神的，或在天、或在地，就如那许多的神，许多的主。 然而我们只有一位神，就是父，万物都本于他，我们也归于他；并有一位主，就是耶稣基督，万物都是藉着他有的，我们也是藉着他有的。 *那独一的上帝是父。 雅各书3：9 我们用舌头颂赞那为主、为父的，又用舌头咒诅那照着上帝形像被造的人。 罗马书15：6 一心一口荣耀上帝、我们主耶稣基督的父。 以弗所书4：6 一上帝，就是众人的父，超乎众人之上，贯乎众人之中，也住在众人之内。 哥林多后书1：3 愿颂赞归与我们的主耶稣基督的父上帝，就是发慈悲的父，赐各样安慰的上帝。 15。谁是那位又真又活的上帝？ 帖撒罗尼迦前书1：9，10 因为他们自己已经报明我们是怎样进到你们那里，你们是怎样离弃偶像，归向上帝，要服侍那又真又活的上帝， 等候他儿子从天降临，就是他从死里复活的、那位救我们脱离将来忿怒的耶稣。 *那又真又活的上帝是天父，耶稣基督的父亲。 16。早期基督教是否持有与使徒们相同的信仰？ 使徒行传 2:42 都恒心遵守使徒的教训，彼此交接、擘饼、祈祷。 17。谁是宇宙万物的创造主？ 启示录4：9-11 9 每逢四活物将荣耀、尊贵、感谢归给那坐在宝座上、活到永永远远者的时候，10 那二十四位长老就俯伏在坐宝座的面前敬拜那活到永永远远的，又把他们的冠冕放在宝座前，说：11 “我们的主，我们的上帝，你是配得荣耀、尊贵、权柄的，因为你创造了万物，并且万物是因你的旨意被创造而有的。” 使徒行传17:24 创造宇宙和其中万物的上帝，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿， *刚才我们已经知道了这天地的主就是父上帝，祂是万物的本源并且创造了万有。 18。父上帝如何创造一切？ 在以弗所书3:9中我们读到：“又使众人都明白，这历代以来隐藏在【编按：英王钦定本圣经有：藉着耶稣基督】创造万物之神里的奥秘，是如何安排的。” 歌罗西书 1:16 因为万有都是靠他造的，无论是天上的、地上的、能看见的、不能看见的，或是有位的、主治的、执政的、掌权的，一概都是藉着他造的，又是为他造的。 希伯来书 1:2 就在这末世藉着他儿子晓谕我们，又早已立他为承受万有的；也曾藉着他创造诸世界。 约翰福音 1:3 万物是藉着他造的；凡被造的，没有一样不是藉着他造的。 19。谁是万有之首？ 哥林多前书11:3 我愿意你们知道，基督是各人的头，男人是女人的头，上帝是基督的头。 20。基督是否有一位上帝？ 马太福音 27:46 约在申初，耶稣大声喊着说：“以利，以利！拉马撒巴各大尼？”就是说：“我的上帝，我的上帝！为什么离弃我？” 约翰福音 20:17 耶稣说：“不要摸我，因为我还没有升上去见我的父。你往我弟兄那里去，告诉他们说：我要升上去见我的父，也是你们的父；见我的上帝，也是你们的上帝。” 以弗所书 1:17 求我们主耶稣基督的上帝，荣耀的父，将那赐人智慧和启示的灵赏给你们，使你们真知道他。 启示录 3:12 得胜的，我要叫他在我上帝殿中作柱子，他也必不再从那里出去。我又要将我上帝的名和我上帝城的名（这城就是从天上、从我上帝那里降下来的新耶路撒冷），并我的新名，都写在他上面。 希伯来书 1:9 你喜爱公义，恨恶罪恶，所以上帝，就是你的上帝，用喜乐油膏你，胜过膏你的同伴。” *注：此教导不止出现在新约而旧约也有同样的真理（看诗篇45：7）。父上帝一直都是，也一直将会是主耶稣基督的上帝。 21。基督是属于谁的？ 哥林多前书 3:23 并且你们是属基督的；基督又是属上帝的。 22。谁是我们在天国敬拜和侍奉的对象？ 启示录21：22-23 22 我未见城内有殿，因主上帝全能者和羔羊为城的殿。23 那城内又不用日月光照，因有上帝的荣耀光照，又有羔羊为城的灯。 启示录 22:3 以后再没有咒诅。在城里有上帝和羔羊的宝座，他的仆人都要侍奉他， *我们将敬拜和侍奉上帝和羔羊，因为这就是永生。我们主要的目标将会是在永恒里继续认识父和子。 23。我们要等到进天国才能与父上帝并祂儿子耶稣相交还是现在就可以开始？ 约翰一书1:3 我们将所看见、所听见的传给你们，使你们与我们相交。我们乃是与父并他儿子耶稣基督相交的。 *我们此时此刻就可以开始与天父并祂儿子相交，因为我们已经知道关于祂们的真理并认识祂们。基本上，我们看到上帝的话语如此清楚地表明上帝只有一位。这独一的上帝无疑就是天父。祂是宇宙万物和一切生命的本源。所以我们可以肯定地说上帝是独一的真神，不是什么三位一体神。那是圣经从不曾教导的谬论。 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Before Abraham Was, I AM “I AM or I existed?” Why do so Many Get This Wrong? The phrase “I am” in John 8:58 comes from two Greek words “egō” and “eimi.” The Strong's Definitions are:“egō : “I” (only expressed when emphatic): - I, me.”“eimi: I exist (used only when emphatic): - am, have been, X it is I, was.” How would you expect Jesus to respond to this comment? “Then said the Jews unto him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” John 8:57 Not knowing Jesus existed before Abraham, the Pharisees are saying how could you have seen Abraham because you are not yet 50 years old. Since the Greek words for “I am” also mean I exist or existed, what is the obvious translation and response from Christ who existed before Abraham? “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58Or“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I existed.” John 8:58 Both are valid translations and the majority of Bible translations agree with the last one in fact with good reason! *** Here Are Many Translations That Had No Trouble Getting This Right! *** The Living Bible:“The absolute truth is that I was in existence before Abraham was ever born!” The New Testament in the Language of Today, 1964 ed., William F. Beck:“I was in existence before Abraham was ever born” New Believers Bible, New Living Translation, (1996):“Jesus answered, “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!” The Concise Gospel and The Acts, C.J. Christianson, (1973):“I existed even before Abraham was born.” New Simplified Bible:“Jesus said, I tell you the truth, I existed before Abraham was born.” An American Translation, Smith and Goodspeed, (1939):“Jesus said to them, “I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born!” The New Testament in the Language of the People, Charles B. Williams, (1937):“Then Jesus said to them, “I most solemnly say to you, I existed before Abraham was born.” Cotton Patch Version, (1970):“To this Jesus replied, I existed before Abraham was born.” New Testament, Noli, M.F.S., (1961):“Jesus answered them: Well, well, I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born.” The Original New Testament, H.J. Schonfield, (1956):“I tell you for a positive fact, I existed before Abraham was born.” The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, George Swann, (1947):“Jesus said to them, verily, verily I say unto you, I existed before Abraham was born.” The Clarified New Testament, P.G. Parker:“Jesus answered, before Abraham existed, I existed.” A Translators Handbook to the Gospel of John, Nida:“Before Abraham existed, I existed, or I have existed.” The Documents of the New Testament, G.W. Wade, (1934):“Jesus said to them, in very truth I tell you, before Abraham came into being, I have existed.” The Complete Gospels Annotated Scholars Version, Miller, (1992):“I existed before there was an Abraham.” The Bible, A New Translation, Dr. James Moffatt, (1935):“Truly, truly I tell you,” said Jesus, “I have existed before Abraham was born.” The New Testament Or Rather the New Covenant, Sharpe, (1881):“I was before Abraham was born.” The Worldwide English New Testament Bible:“Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. I already was before Abraham was born.” Good News for the World, (1969):“Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. I already was before Abraham was born.” International English Version, (2001):“I was alive before Abraham was born.” International Bible Translators, (1981):“Jesus said to them, I am telling the truth: I was alive before Abraham was born!” The Simple English Bible, (1978):“Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth: I was alive before Abraham was born.” The Four Gospels and Revelation, Richmond Lattimore, (1979):“Truly, truly I tell you, I am from before Abraham was born.” New Covenant, J.W. Hanson, (1884):“Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am before Abraham was born.” A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, James Murdock, D.D., from 5th century manuscripts, (1896):“Jesus said to them: Verily, verily I say to you, That before Abraham existed, I was.” Twentieth Century New Testament:“In truth I tell you,” replied Jesus, “before Abraham existed I was.” The New Testament According To The Eastern Text, George Lamsa Translation, (1940):“Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was born, I was.” The Curetonian Version of the Four Gospels, Burkitt, from 5th century manuscripts, (1904):“Before Abraham came to be, I was.” The Old Georgian Version of the Gospel of John, P. Blake, M. Briere, in Patrologia Orientallis, Vol. XXVI, faxcicle 4, Paris, from 5th century manuscripts, (1950):“Before Abraham came to be, I was.” Ethiopic-Edition: Nouvum Testamentum Æthiopice, T.P. Platt, revised by F. Praetorius, Lepzig, (1899:“Before Abraham was born, I was” The New Testament, Curt Stage, (1907):“Before Abraham came to be, I was.” The New Testament, Kleist & Lilly, (1956):“I tell you the plain truth. replied Jesus, I am here - and I was before Abraham.” New American Standard Bible, 1963 and 1971 editions alternative rendering:“I have been” The New Testament, George Rh. Noyes, D.D., “Professor Of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature in Harvard University”, (1869):“Jesus said, truly I tell you, from before Abraham was, I have been.” “The Four Gospels” According to the Sinaitic Palimpsest, Agnes Smith Lewis, from a 4th-5th century manuscript, (1886):“He said unto them, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I have been.” The New Testament in Hebrew, Franz Delitzsch, 1937 edition:“Before Abraham was, I have been.” The Unvarnished New Testament, Andy Gaus:“Truly, truly I tell you, Before Abraham was born, I have already been.” The New Testament: a New Translation and Explanation Based on the Oldest Manuscripts, Johannes Greber, (1937):“I am speaking the truth, Jesus answered, I am older than Abraham.” The New Testament (in German), Friedreich Pfaefflin, (1949):“Jesus: Before there was an Abraham, I was already there.” The New Testament in Hebrew, Isaac Salkinson and David Ginsberg, 1941 edition:“I have been when there had as yet been no Abraham.” Translation of New Testament, Wakefield, G., (1795):“Jesus said unto them: Verily verily I say unto you, before Abraham was born, I am He.” Ledyard, G.H. New Life Testament, (1969):“Jesus said to them, for sure I tell you, before Abraham was born, I was and sum and always will be.” The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Southern Dialect, George William Horner, (1911):“Before Abraham became, I, I, am being.” The New Testament, James A. Klist, S.J., and Joseph L. Lilly, C.M., (1954):“I am here - and I was before Abraham.” Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download 看中文 Next Unmasked Bible Study Bible Study Lesson 1 IS IT IMPORTANT, AND CAN WE KNOW? 1. Is God pleased when His people do not know Him? Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.” (Controversy: strife, dispute, quarrel, something against) 2. What is the whole duty of man?Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” 3. What does it mean to “fear God?”The Bible writers, often used a style of writing called parallelism where they would write a thought and then repeated it using different words, yet implying the same meaning. Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 2:5 “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” “fear of the Lord” = “knowledge of God” 4. What is the first message that we are to give in the last days? Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (A part of the first angels message is to bring back the knowledge of God to the people.) 5. Is it important to know God? Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” 6. Why is knowing God so important? John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” 2 Peter 1:2 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord...” 7. What does knowing God involve? a. Know who God is 2 Timothy 1:12 “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (Paul knew who God is, that is why he was able to declare Him to those who worshiped Him ignorantly: Act 17:23) b. Know His ways/glory/character Exodus 33:13 “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” Exodus 33:18 “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” (ways = glory) Exodus 34:6,7 “And the LORD passed by before him, and pro-claimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (God’s character is here displayed as his glory.) 1 John 4:7-9 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (know God = love God and man, because God is love) c. Keep His commandments Titus 1:16 “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Knowing God leads to obeying Him. Doctrine is not the end; it is the means to know God better, to get closer to Him. ) 8. What must I do to know God intimately? Proverbs 2:3-5 “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding. If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” 9. Can we know who God is? Has God revealed Himself to us in His Word? Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse ...” 1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” 10. What is the only thing we can glory in? Jeremiah 9:23,24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Bible Study Lesson 2 WHO IS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE? 1. According to the Old Testament, how many Gods are there? Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD...” Deuteronomy 4:35 “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.” Jeremiah 10:10 “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.” (see Question 6) 2. According to the New Testament, how many Gods are there? 1 Corinthians 8:4 “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 1Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;...” James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” 3. Who is the most qualified person to tell us about the true God? John 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 3:11 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.” 4. According to Jesus— a. Who is “the only true God”? John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” b. Whom did Jesus say we should pray to? Matthew 6:9-13 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” c. Which is the first commandment of all? Mark 12:28-32 “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:” Knowing God is required before we can love Him. A correct knowledge of God is vital for our relationship with Him. The scribe agreed that there is only one God, and none other but He. d. Did Jesus correct the scribe? Mark 12:34 “And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.” (The belief of the scribe reflected the faith of the entire Jewish nation. The Jews believed in one God only.) John 8:41 “Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” e. Who is the God of the Jews? John 8:54 “Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: ...” (see Romans 3:29) f. Who will the true worshippers worship? John 4:21-23 “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” 5. According to the apostles, who is the one God? 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” James 3:9 “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” Romans 15:6 “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;...” 6. Who is the living and true God? 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10 “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” Bible Study Lesson 3 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD THE FATHER What does the Bible have to say about the sovereignty of the Father? Here are some facts about God the Father that will shed some light on this topic. The Father is the ultimate Source of all things. 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” 2 Corinthians 5:18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;...” Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14,15 “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,...” 2. The Father is the God of Christ. a. During the Incarnation Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” b. After His Resurrection John 20:17 “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: …” Revelation 3:12 “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” (see Hebrews 1:9, 1 Peter 1:3) 3. The Father is exclusively called the Most High … Compare the following two verses: Psalms 78:17 “And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.” Isaiah 63:8-10 “For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.” God the Father is the subject of these verses. Two Beings are mentioned, God the Father (who is called “their Saviour”) and Christ (who is called “the angel of his presence”). … While Jesus is called the “Son of the Most High.” Mark 5:7 “And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” Luke 8:28 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee,torment me not.” The above verses clearly distinguish between the Father and the Son. The Father is called “the Most High,” while Jesus is called the “Son of the most high God.” 4. The Father is older than Jesus. John 14:28 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” The word “greater” in the above text comes from (G3187 “μείζων” meizon) which can mean “older” as translated in Romans 9:12, “It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger.” 5. The Father is greater than all. John 10:29 “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” 6. The Father is the head of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” 7. The Father is above all. Ephesians 4:4-6 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 8. The Father is the Lord of heaven and earth. Matthew 11:25 “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” (See Luke 10:21) Not only that, but the Bible also reveals to us some things which Jesus received from His Father which sheds a bit more light on the sovereignty of God the Father. 9. What did Jesus receive from His Father? a. His life John 5:26 “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;...” b. His power and authority Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (see Matthew 11:27; John 5:22-27; 17:2) c. His kingdom Daniel 7:14 “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Luke 1:32 “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: ...” (see also 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:22) d. His right to receive worship John 5:22-23 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” (see Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:6) e. His name Philippians 2:9-10 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;...” Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” f. All things John 3:35 “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. John 13:3 “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; ...” (see Hebrews 1:2) The above verses are ample evidence to prove to us the sovereignty of God the Father. But, by this, we do not diminish the position, value or divinity of Jesus, the Son of God. (For further information on the equality of the Father and the Son, please refer to Lesson 5.) Bible Study Lesson 4 WHO IS JESUS? 1. Who did Jesus claim to be? John 10:36 “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” 2. What did God the Father say regarding the identity of Jesus? Matthew 3:16, 17 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 17:5 “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” 3. Who did the disciples understand Jesus to be? Matthew 16:15, 16 “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 11:27 “She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” Matthew 14:33 “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” Acts 9:20 “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” 4. Did the fallen angels know that Jesus was the Son of God? Luke 4:3 “And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.” Luke 8:28 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.” Mark 5:7 “And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”Satan and the fallen angels knew before their fall that Jesus was the Son of God, hence Satan’s challenge in the wilderness and the demon’s confession. 5. Who else is referred to as the “son of God” in the Scriptures? Luke 3:38 “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” Adam was the son of God by creation (Genesis 5:1), as also were the angels ( Job 38:7). 1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” We are sons of God by adoption (Romans 8:15). 6. How is Christ the Son of God? 1 John 4:9 “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” Jesus is not a son by creation, as Adam was; nor a son by adoption, like us; but He is the only begotten Son; He is the Son because He was begotten of the Father. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God giving His only begotten Son indicates that God must have had a Son, before the Incarnation, to give. 7. When did Jesus become the Son of man? Galatians 4:4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” Luke 1:31 “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” Jesus became the Son of man when He was brought forth of Mary; at the Incarnation. 8. When was Christ begotten of the Father? Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” “Goings forth” also means “origin.” Jesus was brought forth in the days of antiquity, or from everlasting (margin: the days of eternity). 9. What happened in the days of eternity? Proverbs 8:22-30 “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.” In the above passage, speaking under the title of wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30; Colossians 2:3), Jesus points the reader to the duration, before the creation of anything, as the time when He was “brought forth” or “possessed” by the Father. 10. Was Jesus referred to as the ‘Son of God’ before Bethlehem? Proverbs 30:4 “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Daniel 3:25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Psalms 2:12 “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” 11. During the Incarnation, did Jesus teach that He came forth from the Father? John 8:42 “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” John 16:27 “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” 12. Is it important for us to believe that Jesus is the real and literal Son of God? 1 John 2:22, 23 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” 1 John 5:10, 11 “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” 13. Why did the Jews kill Christ? Matthew 26:63-65 “But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.” John 19:7 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Jesus preferred to die than to deny His true Sonship! How much more should we mere mortals confess the Sonship of Jesus? 14. What is promised to those who receive Jesus as the Son of God? John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Bible Study Lesson 5 EQUALITY OF THE FATHER AND THE SON We have established that Jesus is the Son of God because He was begotten/brought forth from the Father in the days of eternity. 1. Are the Father and the Son equal? Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:...” In this lesson we will search the Scriptures to see if God reveals to us the basis of this equality. Why are the Father and the Son equal? 2. What did Jesus inherit by virtue of His divine Birth? Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Exodus 23:20, 21 “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” Jesus, as the Son of God, inherited His Father’s name. We also know that Jesus, who was the Angel that went before the Israelites, had the Father’s name back then. Hence, we conclude that Jesus inherited the Father’s name before Bethlehem, which means that Jesus’ Sonship predates the Incarnation. 3. What does “name” mean? Nature: ”Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Genesis 5:2 Authority: “I am come in my Father’s name.” John 5:43 (see John 10:25; Matthew 21:23) Character: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Proverbs 22:1 (see Ecclesiastes 7:1; Proverbs 15:30) By inheriting the Father’s name, Jesus inherited the Father’s God-nature or divine nature. 4. What does this fact make Christ? Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Christ is the express image of the Father. He has the same divine nature and life as His Father has. His sonship and inheritance qualified Jesus to be: a. Owner—“heir of all things”b. Creator—“by whom also he made the worlds”c. Image of and equal with God—“the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person”d. Sustainer—“upholding all things”e. Saviour—“himself purged our sins”f. Mediator—“sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” Does the Bible reveal to us that Christ was the image of God before the Incarnation? Revelation 12:7 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.” “Michael” means “one who is like God.” Again this confirms the fact that Jesus inherited this name in the days of eternity. 6. What else did Christ inherit? John 5:26 “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” The very same life that the Father has, was given to His Son by inheritance. This is immortal, original life that the Son can give to those who believe ( John 17:2). 7. Does this make Jesus, a divine Being, worthy of our praise and worship? Hebrews 1:8, 6 “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” Colossians 2:9; 1:19 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” The fullness of the Godhead, or divinity, dwells in the Son. He is fully divine because His Father is God. 8. Should we honor the Son as we honor the Father? John 5:23 “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” We honor and worship the Son as much as the Father. They are both of the same divine nature. We pay supreme honor to God when we honor and reverence His Son (Philippians 2:11). 9. Did the Jews understand that Jesus claimed equality with the Father? John 5:18 “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” 10. Why did the Jews want to stone Jesus? John 10:33-36 “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” By claiming to be the Son of God, the Jews understood Jesus to mean that He is equal with God. Jesus also understood that. Jesus’ equality with the Father is based on His Sonship. Bible Study Lesson 6 HOLY SPIRIT—PART 1:GOD’S SPIRIT/MAN’S SPIRIT 1. In what image was man made? Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:...” 2. Who was God talking to? Is there another divine Being in the image of God? The Bible describes Christ as the only divine being in God’s image. 2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:...” Colossians 1:15 “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:...” Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Unless the Bible reveals to us another divine Being in the image and likeness of God, we must conclude that, in Genesis 1:26, God the Father was talking to His Son. 3. What does the term “image” and “likeness” entail? Genesis 5:3 “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth” We see here that Seth was in the likeness and image of Adam. That includes physical and spiritual aspect. 4. What is man (living soul) made of? Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” human body + human spirit = living human being 5. If man was made in the image of God, and man has two aspects, a spirit and a body, does that mean that God and Christ have a spirit and a bodily form? a. Does God have a bodily form? •Prophets saw God: –Jeremiah 1 Kings 22:19 “And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.” – Isaiah Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Also Daniel [Daniel 7:9, 13] and John [Revelation 4:2, 3] saw God) •Christ was in the form of God before the Incarnation: Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:...” • Jesus said that His Father has a form which no man has seen: John 6:46 “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” (see also John 5:37) •We will see God: Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” b. Does God have a spirit? Father: John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (see also Matthew 10:20) Jesus: 1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (see also Philippians 1:19) Divine Body/Form + Divine Spirit = Divine Being 6. Are there any parallels between “man and his spirit” and “God and His spirit?” 1 Corinthians 2:11 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (“even so” means “in like manner”) The above text tells us that “what man’s spirit is to man” is the same as “what God’s spirit is to God.” Yet the text marks out a very important difference. While the spirit of man is “in him,” the spirit of God is not limited to the bodily form of God. 7. What does the spirit of man refer to? • Mind—Daniel 2:1 “And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.” (Obviously Nebuchadnezzar could not sleep because he was thinking of the dream he had. In other words, his mind was troubled.) •Heart—Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (see also Psalms 51:10, 17; 77:6; 78:8; Ezekiel 36:26) • Life/breath—Job 27:3 “All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;...” (Isaiah 38:16; see also Job 27:3; Revelation 11:11) The spirit of man is the personality, character and life of the man. It is one’s own person. 8. How does the Bible explain God’s Spirit? • Mind—compare Isaiah 40:13 with Paul’s quote in Romans 11:34. Isaiah 40:13 “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?” Romans 11:34 “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (see also 1 Corinthians 2:16) •Life—John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Romans 8:10 “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (see also Genesis 2:7; Job 27:3; 33:4; Revelation 11:11) Just like the relation between man and his spirit, so is the relation between God and His spirit. The spirit of God is His own personality, character, life and thoughts. 9. If the spirit of man is none other than his own presence/person, then can we say that the spirit of God is His own presence? Psalm 139:7 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 51:11 “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” Conclusion: God has a bodily form and has a spiritual presence. His spirit is not limited to His body. In the same way that your spirit is your own person, mind, and presence so is God’s spirit His own person, mind, presence. Bible Study Lesson 7 HOLY SPIRIT – PART 2: IDENTITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT In the previous lesson we established that God’s spirit is His own mind, life, presence and person. In this lesson we want to see where the Spirit proceeds from and the identity of the Spirit. 1. What did Jesus promise before He left? John 14:16, 17, 26 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. … But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” 2. According to the Bible, whose spirit is the “Holy Spirit?”Compare the following two verses: Mark 13:11 “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye:for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.” Matthew records it as follows: Matthew 10:19, 20 “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Holy Spirit = Spirit of the Father Also compare the following two verses: 2 Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” While in his first letter talking about the same thing, Peter says: 1 Peter 1:10,11 “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Holy Spirit = Spirit of Christ According to the previous four verses, we can safely conclude: Spirit of Christ = Holy Spirit = Spirit of your Father 3. How many holy spirits are there? Ephesians 4:4 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” (See also 1 Corinthians 6:17; 12:13; Ephesians 2:18) 4. When we receive the Holy Spirit who do we receive? John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” According to Jesus, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive both, the Father and the Son. 5. Do the Father and the Son possess the same Spirit/life? Romans 8:9, 10 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” In this verse, while talking about the same spirit, Paul uses the following terminologies: Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Christ. This tells us Paul believed that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit/ Life of both, the Father and the Son. 6. Where does the Spirit come from? John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:...” 7. Why does the Spirit proceed from the Father? 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” The Spirit (life of God) proceeds from the Father, because all things are of Him. He is the source of all things. (Please see Lesson 3 for further information.) 8. Through whom does this spirit come to us? Ephesians 2:18 “For through him [Jesus] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:...” The Spirit of the Father comes to us through Jesus, and through Him, it returns. 9. Who comes to us to be our Comforter? John 14:18, 19 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.” 10. How does the Father send Jesus to us? Is it Jesus in flesh or in Spirit? Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Note: Paul tells us in Galatians that when we receive the Spirit of Jesus, we cry “Abba Father.” Yet, he also tells us in Romans 8:15 that when we receive the Spirit we cry “Abba, Father.” This is another confirmation that the Holy Spirit is none other than the spirit of Jesus. Also compare Galatians 4:6 with Acts 3:26 11. When we receive the Spirit of Jesus, is that someone different to Christ? 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Paul told us, in 1 Corinthians 8:6, that there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and in Ephesians 4:4, that there is one spirit. Yet Paul tells us in the above verse, that “the Lord is that Spirit.” If the Lord is Jesus and there is one spirit, then it is only logical and scriptural to believe that the Holy Spirit is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit form. Jesus Himself comes to us as a personal Comforter. The Spirit is the person of Jesus. 12. Does the Bible tell us that Jesus became a spirit? 1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” 13. Why does the Bible sometimes say that when the Comforter comes both the Father and the Son will come, while in other places it says Jesus is that Spirit? 2 Corinthians 5:19 “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,...” John 14:10, 20 “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” 14. Who is it that knocks on the door of our heart? Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” 15. What is the hope of Glory? Colossians 1:27 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:...” Bible Study Lesson 8 THE FATHER AND SON IN THE SANCTUARY 1. Where can we look to study and learn more about God’s way?The Bible tells us that God’s way is in the sanctuary: Psalms 77:13 “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” What does the sanctuary have to say about the Godhead? How many Beings does the sanctuary and its services reveal to us? 2. How many stages does the sanctuary service entail? The sanctuary service entailed three stages the courtyard, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. We will look at the three stages independently to see what we can learn from them. I. The Most Holy Place: a. What lessons can we learn from the Most Holy Place in regards to the Godhead? God gave strict instructions that only one being, other than Himself, is allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. 1. Jesus, our High Priest: Only the high priest was allowed to enter into the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 9:6, 7). Jesus is our heavenly High Priest (Hebrews 4:14; 5:10; 6:20). 2. God the Father on the throne: God’s presence dwelt on top of the mercy seat -(Exodus 25:21, 22; Psalms 80:1). God the Father is the One sitting on the throne in the heavenly sanctuary (Revelation 4:2; 5:1-6). 3. Jesus presents our prayers to the Father: Only one being, the high priest, was able to take the incense in before the presence of God on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:11-13). The incense represents the prayers of the saints mingled with Christ’s righteousness (Psalms 141:2, Revelation 5:8; 8:3). It is Christ who receives our prayers and presents them to His Father mingled with His merit and righteousness. b. How many divine Beings does the Most Holy Place present us with? And who are They? A simple study of the Most Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary presents us with only two divine Beings, the Father and the Son, represented by the earthly high priest and God’s presence on the throne. II. The Holy Place: a. What lessons can we learn from the earthly Holy Place in regards to the Godhead? 1. Jesus is our heavenly Priest/High Priest: The priests or the high priest who officiated in the first apartment is a symbol or type of Christ, our High Priest. 2. God’s presence in the Holy Place: The Bible also tells us that in the earthly sanctuary God manifested His glory in both apartments. Exodus 33:9-11 “And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” (See also Exodus 29:42-44; 30:36; 40:34, 35; 1Kings 8:10, 11; 2 Chronicals 5:13, 14; 7:1, 2.) In Exodus 33:9-11, we have the example of the presence of two living beings—Moses, the Mediator, and God. Of course we know that Moses represents Jesus, the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Hence, this example points forward to the presence of both—Jesus, our Mediator and High Priest, and God the Father in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. 3. Table of Showbread: The Table of Showbread had two rows of bread on it, six in each row (Leviticus 24: 5, 6). These two rows represented the Father and the Son; here is why: • Two Crowns: The Table of Showbread had two crowns or a double crown on it (Exodus 25:2325). Why two? • Jesus is the Bread: The bread represents Jesus (John 6:51). But Jesus said “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Hence, the bread could represent the Father as well. That is why God instructed the priest to place the bread in two stacks (not 1 or 3), representing the Father and the Son, on a table, which had two crowns (not 1 or 3). • Jesus shares the Father’s throne: Revelation 3:21 tells us that Jesus shares His Father’s throne; hence, there are two divine Beings on the throne. • The Table of Shewbread with the two stacks on it is a fit representation of the Father and Son’s presence in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary in which Jesus fulfilled His ministration in the Holy Place. b. How many divine Beings does the earthly Holy Place present us with? And Who are They? A study of the earthly Holy Place proves the presence of only two Beings: Jesus, the Mediator/Priest, and God the Father. Again only two living Beings, not three. c. What about the Holy Spirit? Is it present in the Holy Place? In the Holy Place there are impersonal and inanimate elements that represent the Holy Spirit, such as the oil used to light the candle stick. But the point is, that nowhere do we see a third living being representing the Holy Spirit. The spirit is there, yes, but not bodily like the Father and the Son. The oil is a symbol of the spirit, yet the oil is used in the Holy Place to produce light, which is a symbol of Jesus (John 8:12, 9:5). II. The courtyard: a. What lessons can we learn from the courtyard in regards to the Godhead? The service in the courtyard involved three living beings: 1. Jesus is the Sacrifice: The sacrifice, whether a lamb or a bullock, etc. (Leviticus 4:3), represented Jesus, the Son of God (John 1:26, 39). 2. We are the sinners: The sinner, who slew the sacrifice with his own hands (Leviticus 4:4) represented the sinner who confesses his sins and offers up spiritual sacrifices (1Peter 2:5). 3. Jesus is the anointed Priest: The anointed priest took the blood into the sanctuary (Leviticus 4:5). This also represents Jesus, our High Priest. (Hebrews 4:14; 5:10; 6:20) b. How many divine Beings does the courtyard service present us with? These were the only living beings that were involved in the courtyard service. We only see one divine Being. c. What do the other priests represent? Of course, more than one priest officiated in the courtyard as well as in the Holy Place. These priests can represent one of two options: 1. a type of Christ 2. all the saints (The Bible calls the followers of Jesus a “royal priesthood” (1Peter 2:9). They represent the people working in cooperation with Divinity.) Regardless which one you believe to be the correct one, the point still stands, there is no living being representing the Holy Spirit. d. What about the Holy Spirit, is it represented in the courtyard? Again we see in the courtyard some representations of the Holy Spirit, but they are impersonal and inanimate unlike the representations for Jesus. For example: 1. fire on the altar of burnt offering—In Acts 2:3, we see the Spirit poured out in the appearance of cloven tongues of fire. 2. water in the laver—In the New Testament, water has been used to represent the Spirit (see John 4:14; 7:38, 39; Revelation 22:1). But the point still stands, nowhere do we see the Spirit represented as a living being like the Father and the Son. e. What is one of the roles of the high priest in the courtyard that relates to Jesus’ work on Earth? It is important to note that one of the roles or duties of the high priest was to teach the people (Ezekiel 44:23), which of course took place outside the tabernacle since none other than the priests could enter therein. In other words, the priest was not only to minister in the sanctuary before God, he was also to go out and teach the people. The fascinating thing is that the priests were to change their garments before going out to the people. They had to put on a different garment (or outfit) than the one they wore in the presence of God. Ezekiel 44:19 “And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.” It is here where I believe the type gives us a very interesting and illuminating insight. One of the duties of Christ, our High Priest, is to teach the people outside the sanctuary. Not only that, but according to the type, He is to wear a different outfit, or He is to appear in “another form,” different than while in the presence of God. And that is exactly what Christ is doing. While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above in His physical or bodily form, He is still—by His Spirit—the minister of the church on Earth. (Galatians 4:6). Jesus Has promised to be with us always, and never leave us or forsake us (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). The Bible tells us that Jesus was with His followers “working with them” (Mark 16:20). As you can see, the earthly sanctuary presents us with only two divine Beings: the Father and the Son. There is no room for a third living being in the sanctuary. In addition to that, the sanctuary service teaches us that to fulfil the type, Jesus has to do what the priest did, namely: go out and teach the people, which He does through His own spirit, the Holy Spirit. The apostles understood that, hence Paul’s declaration that Jesus is the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17, 1 Corinthians 8:6; also please refer to Lesson 7 for further information.) Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next The Sabbath School Lesson Is Lying to Us EVERY SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON IS LYING TO US ______________ DO NOT FORGET WE HAVE JESUITS IN THE SDA CHURCH When we grieve the Holy Spirit, whose Spirit do we grieve? NOTE:::Your soul depends on knowing this truth! (Please note that I am an Adventist and my intention is not attacking the Church but to wake up Adventists to save souls and restore the truth God gave His remnant) The Sabbath School lesson for March 13th says, “Read Ephesians 4:30. Here Paul uses an imperative and admonishes us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is a personal being, not just a divine force. That is why He can be grieved.” Sounds believable but is it right? This is what the satanic doctrine of the Trinity teaches but it is NOT correct! Please allow me to give proof from the words of Christ through His prophet to show we are being lied to since a Jesuit brought the Trinity doctrine into the SDA Church. First, the Holy Spirit is NOT a personal being. A spirit is a spirit, NOT a being. A being has a spirit and the Holy Spirit belongs to the Father and Son. The Bible says “Spirit OF God”, NOT “god the spirit.” And no, it is NOT a divine force. This is said to try and discredit those with truth, yet this is another lie as those with truth do not teach this at all. What does Christ say through His prophet? Is it a being? A force? NO! It is the PRESENCE and POWER of GOD Himself! “In giving us HIS SPIRIT, God gives us HIMSELF,” — (E.G. White, 7T 273.1, 1902) “The DIVINE SPIRIT that the world's Redeemer promised to send, is the PRESENCE and POWER of GOD.” — (E.G. White, ST, Nov 23, 1891) NOT a force! The Holy Spirit is the mind, POWER AND PERSONAL PRESENCE OF THE VERY LIFE OF GOD that the Father sends through His Son to us. Or to put it another way to make sure this is clear; the Holy Spirit is the presence and power of the Father manifested through Jesus Christ, His only begotten son. This is not a separate person of the Godhead who is being sent, it is the very life of God coming to us through His Son. Ellen White wrote it this way… “They were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet ONE IN SPIRIT, and heart, and character.” — (E.G. White, YI, Dec 16, 1897) “The Father gave his Spirit without measure to his Son, and we also may partake of its fulness.” — (E.G. White, RH, Nov 5, 1908) “The Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the only begotten Son of God,” — (E.G. White, RH, April 5, 1906) And so she wrote: “We want the HOLY SPIRIT, which is JESUS CHRIST.” — (E.G. White, Lt66, April 10, 1894) “but it is the leaven of the SPIRIT of JESUS CHRIST, which is sent down from heaven, called the HOLY GHOST,” — (E.G. White, Ms36-1891) “The HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT of CHRIST, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency,” — (E.G. White, 14MR 84.3) And so when we grieve the Holy Spirit, whose Spirit do we grieve? Is it another being as the lie we have been told to match the satanic doctrine of the Trinity a Jesuit brought into the SDA Church or is it the Spirit of Christ? “O, HOW WE GRIEVE the pure, HOLY SPIRIT OF CHRIST with our defiling sins! We are not prepared for the appreciation of the holy communion with Christ and with one another unless we are cleansed by his efficacy.” — (E.G. White, RH, July 5, 1898) So when we grieve the Holy Spirit we grieve Christ Himself as it is His Spirit. For another example. Daniel wrote: “I Daniel was grieved in my spirit...” Daniel 7:15 Who was grieving? Another being or Daniel himself? IT WAS DANIEL! NOT another being! Make no mistake, we are being lied to. This is supported from the words of Christ through His prophet above. These are not my words. You either accept the above info as truth or you have to call Christ a liar as these words come from Him. ______________ NOTE: God raised the Adventist Church as non-Trinitarian. The Trinity doctrine was slowly brought into the Adventist Church long AFTER the death of Ellen White and the pioneers by a suspected Jesuit who is also a known Freemason. The idea of the Holy Spirit as another being was Satan's idea so he could get worship for his creation. The real truth is that the “Holy Spirit” is the power and presence of God and of Christ which can function independently of themselves like a third (but not a literal third) and is how “They” represent “Themselves” where they are not personally present. ______________ Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Is Jesus Christ GOD (Short version) Is Jesus God? The word God is used in two different ways in Scripture. Firstly, the word “God” is used to refer to the Supreme Being of the universe who is the ultimate source of all things. Every time the Bible refers to the one true God, it is referring to this supreme being who is the one that was before all else and from whom all life ultimately came. In this sense no one else is God. But the word God is also used to refer to someone who possesses the attributes of divinity, or the characteristics of God. Many times the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the begotten Son of the one true God the Father, and being the Son, He possesses the same attributes and characteristics as His Father. It is an obvious fact that every son inherits the nature of his father. And since Christ came out of the Father, He is of the very substance of His Father and hence has the same God nature of His Father as He possesses by birth all the attributes and characteristics of His Father. In fact, Hebrews 1:3 says He is the “express image of His person.” A son also and always rightfully takes the name of the father and so Christ as the only begotten Son of God has rightfully the same name. Note that Hebrews 1:1-9 says that Jesus is an heir who has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than the angels and that name is God! So Jesus inherited His Father's name, character and divine nature in the same way a human son inherits the human nature and name of his parents. So Jesus is God because He is the Son of God. But He is not and cannot be “God the Father.” He is the “Son of God” just as the Bible so plainly states more than one hundred times. He is God's literal Son. To say that Jesus is God the Father is to say that the “Son is the Father” which means the Son is not really a Son and the Father is not really a Father. Or to put it another way, to say that Jesus is the Father because He has the same God nature as His Father is no different to saying that since my Father is Human and I am Human, therefore I must be my father! This is not good logic or theology and suddenly hundreds of Scriptures supposedly would no longer mean what they say at all. The truth is that Scripture means what it says and says what it means. God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. The Bible never calls Jesus “God the Son” as Trinitarians do and with very good reason. It is always the “Son of God” because that is who He is. Satan's plan is for us to deny the Father and Son as this is what John called antichrist. 1 John 2:22-23. He does not care if our belief is Trinitarian, Unitarian or other. As long as it denies Jesus is the literal Son of God which also denies God is a Father. Confessing Jesus is the Son of God is our only means to the Father and to deny this has eternal consequences. In conclusion, Jesus is not “a” God or “the” God but God only by nature through inheritance being the Son. Jesus is a divine being but He is not the supreme being. The Father is the supreme being and the source of all things and the life of the Father flows through the Son and out to all. Jesus is the channel through which all things come and why the Father has given all things into His hands. Only the Father is described as the one “of whom are all things.” He is the great Source of all. Jesus is not another source “of whom are all things.” That would make Him another God. Rather Jesus is described as the one “by whom are all things.” The Father has given Christ authority to rule over all things but this does not include the Father Himself. The Father is greater in authority and always will be. God the Father is the source of all things including His Son. Thus all things proceed from the Father; including Christ Himself, but it has pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell (Colossians 1:19). So when we say “Jesus is God,” we have to be careful to state exactly what we mean. Christ is a divine being, but not the supreme being. When we speak of the Supreme Being there is only one such person and it is not Jesus. So there is but “one” God. Jesus is “not” God, He is the Son of God. He carries the “name” of God by virtue of His “inheritance.” And because He is the Son of God, He is “equal” with God. “But to us there is but one God, the Father, OF WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we by him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:6 “GOD IS THE FATHER OF CHRIST; CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD. To Christ has been given an exalted position. HE HAS BEEN MADE EQUAL WITH THE FATHER.” — (E.G. White, 8T 268.3) “HE [CHRIST] WAS NOT THE FATHER but in him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” — (E.G. White, Lt8a, July 7, 1890) “The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty,” — (E.G. White, Ms140, Sept, 1903) “Only one being in the universe besides the Father bears the name of God, and that is His Son, Jesus Christ.” — (J.E. White, Coming King, p. 33) Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Does the Seventh day Adventist Church admit 1 John 5 Does the Seventh day Adventist Church admit 1 John 5:7 has added text? THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST BIBLE COMMENTARY: “The passage as given in the KJV is in no Greek MS earlier than the 15th and 16th centuries. The disputed words found their way into the KJV by way of the Greek text of Erasmus (see Vol. V, p. 141). It is said that Erasmus offered to include the disputed words in his Greek Testament if he were shown even one Greek MS that contained them. A library in Dublin produced such a MS (known as 34), and Erasmus included the passage in his text. It is now believed that the later editions of the Vulgate acquired the passage by the mistake of a scribe who included an exegetical marginal comment in the Bible text that he was copying. The disputed words have been widely used in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, but, in view of such overwhelming evidence against their authenticity, their support is valueless and should not be used. In spite of their appearance in the Vulgate A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture freely admits regarding these words: “It is now generally held that this passage, called the Comma Johanneum, is a gloss that crept into the text of the Old Latin and Vulgate at an early date, but found its way into the Greek text only in the 15th and 16th centuries” (Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1951, p. 1186).” — (The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 675) SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST BIBLICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The Seventh day Adventist Biblical Research Institute also admits this text in 1 John 5:7 is added. So their final conclusion and advice to Seventh day Adventists was “...you should not use this text.” So the SDA BRI and the SDA Bible Commentary both acknowledge this text is added and say it should not be used, and yet you constantly see Adventists and their key organizations using this verse anyway. So Seventh day Adventists are not following their own advice. SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST SABBATH SCHOOL QUARTERLY: “In some versions of the Bible the words “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit’ and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth” appear in 1 John 5:7, 8 (NKJV). The only problem is they are a later addition, not found in the original manuscripts. “Among biblical scholars there is agreement that this statement is not genuine and has been added, probably to support the doctrine of the Trinity…” — (Sabbath School Bible Study Guide: July – Sept 2009 pg 108) SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST ELLEN G. WHITE ESTATE: Question about 1 John 5:7 Question: “Some years ago I had read some of your publications. At the time I seem to remember a discussion of the devinity of Christ. A refference to 1 John 5:7 was quoated but I cannot find it...can you please tell me where this strong scriptual argument is used? Thanking you in advance, dws” Answer: “Thank you for contacting the Ellen G. White Estate. In answer to your question, though I have to tell you that I have not found any place in the published writings of Ellen G. White where she quotes this passage. Perhaps that is just as well, because it may not be such a “strong scriptural argument” after all. The verse appears in no ancient Greek manuscript earlier than about the 13th century A.D. That is, despite its inclusion in the 1611 original of the King James Version translation into English, it is highly unlikely that it was in the original version of 1 John as John wrote it. No modern Bible translation that I am aware of includes it in the text except the New King James Version, and even this version carries a footnote about the text's absence from Greek manuscripts until relatively recent times. Apparently, it is some scribe's note to himself about the trinity, originally written in the margin of the manuscript he was copying, and later incorporated into the text by another scribe who may have been uncertain about whether or not it was a correction that belonged in the text; in any case, he opted to include it there.” — ( http://ellenwhite dot org/content/file/did-ellen-g-white-believed-doctrine-trinity#document) SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST MINISTRY MAGAZINE: R.M. Johnston: “The term “Trinity” is nowhere to be found in the Bible. But the doctrine is there— this conclusion is inescapable. Nor need we be disturbed by the knowledge that certain words in 1 John 5:7, 8 are spurious additions that found their way into our King James Version from certain manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate, where they originated. For while it is true that no formal statement of the doctrine can be found in the most reliable Biblical manuscripts, nevertheless a comparison of Scripture with Scripture makes any contrary teaching untenable.” — (R. M. Johnston, Ministry, November 1964, What can we know about the Holy Trinity?) SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST PIONEERS: D.W. HULL: “The objector contends that Christ and his Father are one person, and in proof of his position quotes 1 John 5:7. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” This is claimed as very strong proof in support of the trinity. The three persons are spoken of as God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Ghost. I believe I may safely say that, aside from scripture, no such license would be allowable. Men have been so used to perverting scripture, and taking advantage of terms, and pressing them into their service,that they do not realize the magnitude of the crime as they otherwise would. The same expression is frequently used about man and wife; yet no person doubts that a man and his wife are two separate persons, inasmuch as they may be separated by hundreds of miles. Dr. A. Clarke expressly says that this passage[1 John 5:7] is an interpolation. See his Commentary in loco.” — (D. W. Hull, Review and Herald November 10, 1859) J.N. LOUGHBOROUGH: “The word Trinity nowhere occurs in the Scriptures. The principal text supposed to teach it is 1 John i, 7, which is an interpolation” — (J.N. Loughborough, Review and Herald November 5, 1861) Ellen White confirms changes have been made to Scripture also. “I saw that God had especially guarded the Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned men had in some instances changed the words, thinking that they were making it more plain, when in reality they were mystifying that which was plain, by causing it to lean to their established views, which were governed by tradition.” — (E.G. White, EW, 220.2, 1882) So why do so many Adventists not know this and continually quote it? This text is also missing from most of the Bible translations. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Is Jesus Christ GOD (Long version) Is Jesus Christ GOD? Is Jesus God? There are actually two answers to this question. One is most definitely yes! The other answer is no! And the answer depends upon what you mean by "God". Confused? There's no need to be! You see, the word "God" in the Bible refers to two things. In one instance it refers to the 'all supreme being', the 'almighty God'. And in another instance it refers to the divine nature, the 'God nature'. So we will show you that while Jesus is FULLY divine and is FULLY God by nature (being begotten of the Father from eternity, Micah 5:2, Proverbs 8:22-30), he is not the 'all supreme being' and 'almighty God', as that is His Father alone. Quick Note: Jesus is NEVER called 'God the Son' in the Bible. He is always called the 'Son OF God'. Now according to the Trinity doctrine, Jesus Christ is the 'eternal, self-existent God', known as 'God the Son'. Some even view Him as the 'One God', even thinking Jesus is the Father also. But to believe that Jesus is the 'almighty God' and 'Father' Himself is to believe that Jesus is the immortal God but died, is the invisible God that no man can see, but was seen, is the omnipotent God but needed strength from angels, is the omniscient God but did not know the day of his return, is as great (in authority) as His Father but said His Father is greater than He, is the begotten Son and the unbegotten God, came out from Himself, prayed to Himself, gave power to Himself, thanked Himself, bore witness of Himself, went back to Himself, sits at the right hand of Himself, is His own Father and His own Son, left Heaven and yet was there all the time. And so the CONFUSION of Babylon continues! And the whole world is deceived! So let us unravel the confusion. We will start with the most used verse to support the theory that Jesus is 'the almighty God' Himself, John 1:1: John 1:1-2 ...'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.' Those four words above, 'the Word was God' has convinced many a Christian to believe that Jesus is the 'almighty God' Himself. And yet they miss the simple meaning of what John was saying. Is this all John had to say about Christ? No. Look at what he said towards the end of his gospel: John 20:31 ...'But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.' Why did John write his gospel? So that people might believe that Jesus Christ is the 'almighty God'? No! That people might believe He is the SON OF God. And John records this just a few verses after John 20:17, where he records Christ telling Mary ... "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Revelation 3:12 ...'Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name' Do you see the problem with taking John's words in John 1 and applying a teaching to it without comparing scripture with scripture? So how can we reconcile this? How can John say that Jesus 'is God' and also say He is the 'Son OF God' and also record Jesus saying that the Father is 'HIS GOD'? Well, as I mentioned above, people are missing the simple message of John 1 and have a wrong understanding of it. To begin with, the English translations of John 1:1 have a small but yet important word missing, which is in the original Greek. Let's add that word back in and see how it changes the verse ... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with [THE] God, and the Word was God." ... So Christ was with THE God in the beginning. So He was with someone who is THE God. Who is that? Again, John records it for us: John 17:1-3 ...'Father ... this is life eternal, that they might know thee THE only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' So John records a prayer that Jesus made to His Father in heaven, and Jesus confirmed in this prayer that His Father is THE only true God. So now we know who Christ was with in the beginning. And who is [THE] God? It is God the Father. The only being that is ever called "God the ..." in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is never called 'God the Holy Spirit' and Jesus is never called 'God the Son'. Only the Father is called this, as He is 'THE only true God', which Jesus confirmed in John 17:3 and Paul confirmed in 1 Corinthians 8:6. Just think about this example for a moment. Let us reapply John 1:1 to Adam and Eve ... "In the beginning was the woman and the woman was with the human, and the woman was human.". Now does this mean Eve is as old as Adam? No, because we know Adam was created first (to represent the Father). Or does it mean that Eve is actually Adam herself? No, of course not. It is simply stating that Eve is human, just like Adam. Keep this thought in your mind as we look further. Now let us go a bit deeper into God's Word to further clarify this truth, that Jesus is God (divine) because He is the SON OF God, but not the 'almighty God' Himself. There is a deep and beautiful truth in the creation of Adam and Eve that the majority of Christians miss today. Let's take a look. Genesis 1:26 ...'And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' "Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to Christ. His countenance, like those of the other angels, was mild and expressive of happiness. His forehead was high and broad, showing great intelligence. His form was perfect; his bearing noble and majestic. But when God said to His Son, 'Let us make man in our image,' Satan was jealous of Jesus." (E.White, Early Writings, p.145) Genesis 2:21-23 ...'And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' John 16:27-28 ...'For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, AND am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.' John 17:7-8 ...'Now they have known that all things whatsoever you have given me are of you. For I have given unto them the words which you gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from you, and they have believed that you did SEND me.' Proverbs 8:22-25 ...'The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.' There is such a beautiful truth in these words which many miss. God said 'let us make man in our image'. So first of all, if the trinity was truth, then why didn't God make three people? Why did He only make two? Not only that, can you see what happened with Adam and Eve is an IMAGE of what happened with God the Father and Jesus Christ? The man existed first and then the woman was taken out of man. And Jesus confirmed Himself as you can see above, that this is also what happened with Him. He came OUT of the Father, which is what Proverbs 8 and Micah 5:2 also confirm. So for Jesus to come out of the Father, it means God the Father existed first, and is represented by Adam. Then Jesus came OUT FROM or 'begotten' of the Father, and is represented by Even being taken OUT OF Adam. So what does this mean? It means that just as Eve shared the same human nature as Adam, being taken out of Adam, Jesus shares the same nature as God the Father, because He was taken out of God. This is why John said that Jesus is 'God' in John 1. He wasn't saying that Jesus is the 'almight one true God'. He was simply stating the fact that Christ shares the same nature as His Father, being the SON OF God the Father. And that makes Him 'God'. I am human, so my son is human. God the Father is God (divine), so Jesus His Son is also God (divine). Do you see this? Now take a look at the following verse in Revelation ... "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." (Rev.3:14) ... So this verse confirms that Jesus is 'the beginning of the creation of God'. And who wrote this? John! The very person who wrote 'in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with [THE] God.' So in what way was Christ the beginning of the creation of God? Was Christ created by God? No! Christ was 'begotten' of the Father and literally 'came out of God'. This verse is saying that Christ is the very first 'action' of God. Christ 'coming out of God' was the very first action that the Father did, before anything was created. And this is what John is referring to in John 1:1. He is confirming that at the beginning of creation, Christ was with God. Many people miss the word 'beginning' and forget that it must mean the beginning of something. So John 1:1 is talking about the beginning of creation. And because Christ was 'brought forth' from the Father BEFORE anything was created, then John simply confirmed that Jesus was with God the Father at the beginning of creation. John is not saying that Jesus never had a beginning Himself. He is simply saying that Jesus was with God at the beginning of creation. Now read Proverbs 8 again ... "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.' ... Now can you see what John meant by 'in the beginning'? Christ is speaking through Solomon about Himself! And He confirms that 'in the beginning' of the Father's way, Christ was 'brought forth' as God's Son, before anything was created! "Oh!! ... But Thomas said to Jesus ... 'My Lord and My God'!" (John 20:28) This is the other verse that many Christians fall back on today to say that Jesus is 'the almighty God'. But again, they miss the simple truth of it. Remember that this is just a few verses before John says ... 'But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.' (John 20:31). So what do you think John is believing when he writes the account of Thomas? That Jesus is 'the almighty God'? No, that cannot be, because John focuses, as stated, in proclaiming that Jesus is the 'SON OF God', not the 'one true God' Himself (John 17:3). So what about the proclamation of Thomas? Well what did Jesus tell the disciples previous to this? John 14:8-10 ...'Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.' Again, this is one of those verses that people misuse to say that Jesus is the Father, and they completely ignore the rest of scripture, and common sense, which says Jesus is the Son of the Father, not the Father Himself. But what is Jesus saying above? That He reveals the Father to us. Jesus revealed the character of God, and it was God the Father dwelling in Jesus, by His Spirit, just as He dwells in us through His Spirit, guiding and helping us. And who else heard the above words to Phillip? Thomas! So Thomas knew that the Father was dwelling in Christ, through His Spirit, which is why he proclaimed "My Lord and My God". But the proclamation of Thomas in no way makes Jesus the Father or the 'one almighty God'. Please don't forget this important point. This is all from the gospel of John. And what did John say he wrote all this information to show us? That Jesus is 'the one true God'? No. To show us that Jesus is the 'SON OF' the one true God the Father. "Oh!! ... but Jesus is called the 'everlasting Father' in Isaiah 9:6". Well, what does that verse say? It says that Jesus 'SHALL be called' the everlasting Father. So this is talking about a FUTURE time. And what future time could that be referring to? The cross! And what did Jesus become at the cross? 'the AUTHOR of eternal life' (Hebrews 5:9), and the 'CAPTAIN of our salvation' (Hebrews 2:10). So yes, Jesus is our 'Father' of eternal life, because as the Bible says, God has 'put all things under His feet' (Hebrews 2:8). And Jesus declares that we are the 'children' whom God the Father has given to Jesus (Hebrews 2:13). So this prophecy in Isaiah is foretelling a time when Jesus would become a 'Father' to us IN OUR HUMANITY, as Jesus became one of us. But He is not God the Father. The Bible is so clear on this. Take a look at this quote ... "However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our 'everlasting Father.' And He says, 'I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father.' John 10:14, 15, R. V. What a statement is this!--the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be 'the Man that is My fellow' (Zech. 13:7), --the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and His children on the earth! Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children." (E.White, Desire of Ages, p.483) Can you see what is being said above? Jesus as our 'Father' is a REPRESENTATION of the relationship between Himself and His Father which is God the Father, the one true God (John 17:3, 1 Cor.8:6). So we can see that Isaiah 9:6 is not prophesying that Jesus 'IS' the Father. It is prophesying that Jesus would 'become' a 'Father' to us. Like a Father-figure to us. Those who believe in the trinity and believe that Jesus is also the one God, have to believe that ... "God sent himself into the world, died to reconcile the world to himself, raised himself from the dead, ascended to himself in heaven, pleads before himself in heaven to reconcile the world to himself, and is the only mediator between man and himself ... We must believe also that in the garden God prayed to himself, if it were possible, to let the cup pass from himself, and a thousand other such absurdities." (J. N. Loughborough). And as J.N.Loughborough said, it is just 'absurd'. Some of those other absurdities attached to this belief is that Jesus is the immortal God but died, is the invisible God but was seen, is the omnipotent God but needed strength from angels, is the omniscient God but did not know the day of his return, is as great (in authority) as His Father but said His Father is greater than He, is the Son but the same age as the Father, is the begotten Son and the unbegotten God, is very God and very man, came out from Himself, prayed to Himself, gave power to Himself, thanked Himself, bore witness of Himself, went back to Himself, sits at the right hand of Himself, is His own Father and His own Son, left Heaven and yet was there all the time. And so the CONFUSION of Babylon continues! And the whole world is deceived! But the truth that is found in God's Word is clear, without confusion and very logical, as we have shown above. Friend, Satan wants you to turn away from the one true God, which is the Father. And he also wants you to reject Jesus as the literal Son of God. Satan wants you to be confused about God so that your relationship with God and Jesus cannot grow. I mean, how can we truly have a relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father, when we are confused about who they are? It's impossible to have a true relationship with the 'trinity god'. Let me state that again - It is impossible to have a true relationship with the 'trinity god'. And if Satan stops you having that true relationship with the Father and Son, then he wins in your life. John 17:3 ...'And this is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' John 8:16-18 ...'And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.' John 3:16 ...'For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' 1 John 5:5 ...'Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?' Proverbs 30:4 ...'Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, AND what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?' 1 Corinthians 8:6 ...'But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; AND one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.' 1 John 1:3 ...'Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.' It cannot be made any clearer that there are only two divine beings in the Godhead, and that Jesus Christ is not the Father, or the one true God. Jesus is the SON OF the one true God. There is one God, the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ, whom is the Son of the Father. This is very clear, logical and Biblical Truth. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next E. J. Waggoner on the Trinity E. J. Waggoner on the Trinity Once again, these are the words of one of the founding members of the Seventh day Adventist Church and the truth the Adventist Church was founded on. “In arguing the perfect equality of the Father and the Son, and the fact that Christ is in very nature God, we do not design to be understood as teaching that the Father was not before the Son. It should not be necessary to guard this point, lest some should think that the Son existed as soon as the Father; yet some go to that extreme, which adds nothing to the dignity of Christ, but rather detracts from the honor due him, since many throw the whole thing away rather than accept a theory so obviously out of harmony with the language of Scripture, that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. He was begotten, not created. He is of the substance of the Father, so that in his very nature he is God; and since this is so “it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.” Col. 1:19 ... While both are of the same nature, the Father is first in point of time. He is also greater in that he had no beginning, while Christ's personality had a beginning.” — (E.J. Waggoner, Signs of the Times, April 8, 1889) “In Ps. 45:6 we read these words, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scepter.” The casual reader might take this to be simply the Psalmist's ascription of praise to God, but when we turn to the New Testament, we find that it is much more. We find that God the Father is the speaker and that He is addressing the Son, calling Him God. See Heb. 1:1-8.This name was not given to Christ in consequence of some great achievement, but it is His by right of inheritance. Speaking of the power and greatness of Christ, the writer to the Hebrews says that He is made so much better than the angels, because “He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Heb. 1:4. A son always rightfully takes the name of the father; and Christ, as “the only begotten Son of God,” has rightfully the same name. A son, also, is, to a greater or less degree, a reproduction of the father; he has to some extent the features and personal characteristics of his father; not perfectly, because there is no perfect reproduction among mankind. But there is no imperfection in God, or in any of His works, and so Christ is the “express image” of the Father's person. Heb. 1:3. As the Son of the self- existent God, He has by nature all the attributes of Deity.It is true that there are many sons of God, but Christ is the “only begotten Son of God,” and therefore the Son of God in a sense in which no other being ever was or ever can be. The angels are sons of God, as was Adam (Job 38:7; Luke 3:38), by creation; Christians are the sons of God by adoption (Rom. 8:14, 15), but Christ is the Son of God by birth. The writer to the Hebrews further shows that the position of the Son of God is not one to which Christ has been elevated but that it is one which He has by right. He says that Moses was faithful in all the house of God, as a servant, “but Christ as a Son over His own house.” Heb. 3:6.” — (E.J. Waggoner, Christ Our Righteousness, pp. 11, 12) “The Word was “in the beginning.” The mind of man cannot grasp the ages that are spanned in this phrase. It is not given to men to know when or how the Son was begotten; but we know that he was the Divine Word, not simply before He came to this earth to die, but even before the world was created. Just before His crucifixion He prayed, “And now, O Father, glorify thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” John 17:5. And more than seven hundred years before His first advent, His coming was thus foretold by the word of inspiration: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2, margin. We know that Christ “proceeded forth and came from God” (John 8:42), but it was so far back in the ages of eternity as to be far beyond the grasp of the mind of man.” — (E.J. Waggoner, Christ and His Righteousness, p. 9, 1890) “The Scriptures declare that Christ is “the only begotten son of God.” He is begotten, not created. As to when He was begotten, it is not for us to inquire, nor could our minds grasp it if we were told. The prophet Micah tells us all that we can know about it in these words, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2, margin. There was a time when Christ proceeded forth and came from God, from the bosom of the Father (John 8:42; 1:18), but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning. But the point is that Christ is a begotten Son and not a created subject. He has by inheritance a more excellent name than the angels; He is “a Son over His own house.” Heb. 1:4; 3:6. And since He is the only-begotten son of God, He is of the very substance and nature of God and possesses by birth all the attributes of God, for the Father was pleased that His Son should be the express image of His Person, the brightness of His glory, and filled with all the fullness of the Godhead.” — (E.J. Waggoner, Christ Our Righteousness, pp. 21, 22) Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 下一篇 基督是不是上帝 (四部份) 基督是不是上帝？（一） 1. 基督是不是父上帝？ 耶稣说过80多次祂不是父上帝。耶稣与父虽然保持着意志上的合一，但祂们明显是两个分开不同的生物，我们之前也看过了这一点。父在超过一次的场合上从天上对耶稣说话。（马太福音3:17）“从天上有声音说：这是我的爱子，我所喜悦的。” 要么耶稣与父是两个不同的生物，要么耶稣是一个专业的腹语术表演者。 给复临信徒参考： “基督本体的神性没有变为人性，而人子的人性也没有变成神性，而两者是在人类的救主身上神秘地混合在一起的。祂不是父，但神本性一切的丰盛都有形有体的居住在祂里面。” （怀爱伦著，《信函8a》1890年7月7日） “人子耶稣基督不是主神全能者，然而基督与父原为一。” （怀爱伦著，《文稿140号》1903年） “基督与祂门徒之间所存在的合一没有毁灭他们双方的位格。他们在意志、思想、品格上合而为一，但在本体位格上他们是分开的。上帝与基督也是这样合而为一的。” （怀爱伦著，《教会证言卷八》原文第269页第4段，1904年） 2. 耶稣是不是永在的父？ “因有一婴孩为我们而生，有一子赐给我们，政权必担在他的肩头上，他名称为奇妙，策士，全能的神，永在的父，和平的君。”（以赛亚书 9:6） 答案在于希伯来文本的正确翻译。巴恩斯（Albert Barnes）的《圣经注释》（Notes on the Bible ）解释说：“《迦勒底文本圣经》（The Chaldee）把这词翻译成‘永存者’。《通俗拉丁文本圣经》（The Vulgate）译成‘未来岁月之父’。《洛斯版本圣经》（Lowth）则译成‘永恒岁月之父’。在其字面意义上，就是指永恒之父。” 所以在希伯来文本当中，这词句按照字面解读就是“永恒之父”，而不是“永在的父”。故此，以赛亚书9:6并不是表达基督是父上帝，而是表达祂是将来永恒岁月之父。《杨氏直译本》（Young's Literal Translation）和《达秘译本》（Darby Bible）是少数把这词翻译得正确无误的两本译本。 “因有一婴孩为我们而生，有一子赐给我们，君权必担在他的肩头上，祂称他名为奇妙，策士，全能的神，永恒之父，和平之君。”（以赛亚书 9:6 《杨氏直译本》） “因有一婴孩为我们而生，有一子赐给我们，政权必担在他的肩头上，他名称为奇妙，策士，全能的神，永恒之父，和平之君。”（以赛亚书 9:6 《达秘译本》） 耶稣创造了万物，而同样的，祂也是受造物之父（来1:2；约1: 3 ；西1:16, 17）。还有意思的是，耶稣和使徒们所引用的希腊文《七十士译本》（Septuagint）并不含这个词语。那么这个大多数译本都错误翻译的词语到底是怎样进入希伯来文圣经的呢？ 《七十士译本》的以赛亚书9:6是这样翻译的：“因有一婴孩为我们而生，有一子赐给我们，政权必担在他的肩头上，他名称为伟大策士的使者，因我必给众君王带来和平，并给他健康。” 耶稣所引用的旧约希腊文《七十士译本》透露了以赛亚书9:6原本最有可能的说法。它是由70至72位犹太学者于公元前300至200年间翻译的，所以它是取自最古老及最可靠的手抄本。然而，希伯来文的旧约圣经是由一批马所拉学士于公元第6世纪编制的。公认的事实是，在第六和第七世纪间，很多文本变体和添加悄悄然地进入了希伯来文本之中。那么以赛亚9:6这句添加的文本是从哪里来的，而且还被大多现代学者错误翻译呢？ 有一件事无人能否认的是，只有其中一个翻译本是正确的。但是哪一个呢？是从最古老的手抄本翻译的《七十士译本》呢，还是那些于第六和第七世纪之间出现变体的后期版本呢？ 3. 我与父原为一？ 在约翰福音10:30中，基督宣告说：“我与父原为一。” 这一节经文应该是当今最被三位一体论信徒误用误解的经文了。许多人结论说，这意味着耶稣和父是同一位生物，正如三位一体论的解说。然而这一节不应该被误解，因为耶稣在约翰福音中稍后解释了祂这句话的具体意思。所以这是一个典型的例子，显示这么多三位一体论信徒如何已经被满脑子灌入了先入为主的观念。 对于神性生物的数目所产生的混淆，一部分是来自人们对“一”字的误解。简单来说，《圣经》所说的“一”不一定代表数量。《圣经》经常用“一”字来代表团结合一。 我们看到这个原则在《圣经》中很早就已经立定了。创世记2:24 “因此，人要离开父母，与妻子连合，二人成为一体。” 这里的“一体”不代表两个人结婚后就融化成为一个人的意思，而是说两人结合成为一家人。罗马书12:5 “我们这许多人，在基督里成为一身，互相联络作肢体，也是如此。” 那么这是否把我们大家都变成单一的基督徒呢？如果你按照三位一体论的方程式的话，答案就必须是肯定的！ 犹太领袖听了耶稣在约翰福音10:30这一番话，就勃然大怒，于是想办法处死祂，因为他们认为耶稣自称自己与上帝同等。约翰福音10:33： “犹太人回答说：我们不是为善事拿石头打你，是为你说僭妄的话，又为你是个人，反将自己当作神。” 再过三节我们看到耶稣澄清祂这话的意思，自称是上帝的儿子。约翰福音10:36 ：“父所分别为圣，又差到世间来的，他自称是上帝的儿子，你们还向他说：你说僭妄的话吗？” 所以耶稣没有说祂与圣父是同一位，因为圣父跟圣子是不同的一位，圣子跟圣父也是不同的一位。根据《约翰•吉尔圣经注释》对约翰福音10:30的解释，另一个显示耶稣与圣父不是同一位的证据是，这一节中的动词是复数的，因此应该翻译成“我与父，我们原为一。” 无论如何，我们不需要猜测耶稣所说祂与祂父原为一的意思，因为稍后在约翰福音里基督自己的话显示了祂话中的确切含意。基督的意思是合一，因为祂祷告祈求，叫祂门徒也能合一，如同祂与祂父合一一样。这个祷告不是叫12个门徒变成一个12头的门徒，而是叫12个门徒在合一中同心协力的合作同工。 约翰福音17:22 “你所赐给我的荣耀，我已赐给他们，使他们合而为一，像我们合而为一。” 约翰福音17:11 “圣父阿，求你因你所赐给我的名保守他们，叫他们合而为一像我们一样。” 约翰福音14:11也是经常被错误引用来指圣父和圣子是同一位上帝。在这里，耶稣说：“我在父里面，父在我里面。” 按照这种误解的逻辑，不知道这些人要怎样解释我们也在祂里面，而祂也在我们里面这句话。约翰福音14:20 “到那日你们就知道我在父里面，你们在我里面，我也在你们里面。” 约翰福音17:21 “使他们都合而为一，正如你父在我里面，我在你里面，使他们也在我们里面...。” 既然三位一体论教导说有三位全方位同等的生物，那么按照这个说法，约翰福音10:30应该是这样写的：“我与父与圣灵原为一。” 但事实并不是这样的。的确有三个实体，但只有两个生物。 给复临信徒参考： “基督本体里的神性没有变为人性，而人子的人性也没有变成神性，而两者是在人类的救主身上神秘地混合在一起的。祂不是圣父，但神本性一切的丰盛都有形有体的居住在祂里面。” （怀爱伦著，《信函8a》1890年7月7日） “人子耶稣基督不是主神全能者，不过基督与圣父原为一。” （怀爱伦著，《文稿140号》1903年） “基督与祂门徒之间所存在的合一并不毁灭他们双方的位格。他们在意志、思想、品格上合而为一，但在本体位格上他们是分开的。上帝与基督也是这样合而为一的。” （怀爱伦著，《教会证言卷八》原文第269页第4段，1904年版） “基督祷告叫祂的门徒都能合而为一，像祂与父合而为一一样。” （怀爱伦著，《评阅宣报》，1888年5月29日） 4. 人看见了我就是看见了父 在约翰福音14:9中，耶稣说：“人看见了我，就是看见了父。” 基督是不是说祂自己就是父，或者说祂是祂父“本体的真像”，从而有同样的本性、特性和荣耀呢？换句话说，人看见了一个，就等于看见了另一个。下面我们来看两位学者的评论。 《约翰•吉尔圣经全释》对约翰福音14:9的解释是： “人看见了我，不是用肉眼来看，而是用慧眼来看，人看见了我里面的神性完美，就是看见了父，在祂里面的完美。因为在我里面的，也同样在祂里面，而在祂里面的，也同样在我里面。我是祂的真形像，我有和祂同样的本性、特性和荣耀，以至人看见了一个，就是看见了另一个。” 基督是祂父的真像。哥林多后书4:4 “此等不信之人，被这世界的神弄瞎了心眼，不叫基督荣耀福音的光照着他们，基督本是上帝的像。” 《巴恩斯圣经注释》对哥林多后书4:4的解释是：“谁是上帝的像？基督被称为上帝的像： （1）是基于祂的神性，祂在祂的神性特性和完美上与上帝一模一样。参阅西1:15和来1:3。 （2）是在祂身为中保的道德特性上，祂向人展现出圣父的荣耀。祂像上帝。在祂里面，我们看见了祂所体现和发出的神性荣耀和完美。 由于祂在各方面都像上帝，所以祂被称为上帝的像。通过祂，神性一切的完美得以向人彰显。撒但最讨厌最憎恨的，就是基督作为上帝的像，祂的荣耀照在人身上，并充满他们的心。撒但恨这个像，他恨人们变得像上帝，他恨一切与伟大荣耀的耶和华相似的人物。” 歌罗西书1:15 “爱子是那不能看见之上帝的像，是首生的，在一切被造的以先。” 希伯来书1:3 “他是上帝荣耀所发的光辉，是上帝本体的真像，常用他权能的命令托住万有，他洗净了人的罪，就坐在高天至大者的右边。” 儿子或多或少是他父亲的复制品。他在某种程度上有他父亲的特征和个人品质，当然不是完全一模一样，因为在人类当中是没有十全十美的复制的。但在上帝或祂的任何创造当中是没有不完全的，所以基督是父本体的“真像”。 由此可见，耶稣的意思是，祂是祂父的真像，并有同样的本性、特性和荣耀。基督的话不可能意味着祂就是父，因为《圣经》告诉我们，约翰一书4:12说： “从来没有人见过上帝，我们若彼此相爱，上帝就住在我们里面，爱他的心在我们里面得以完全了。” 只有基督才看见过独一真神父上帝。约翰福音6:46 “这不是说：有人看见过父，惟独从上帝来的［耶稣］，他看见过父。” 给复临信徒参考： “基督明显地烙印在门徒的脑海中这个事实，他们只能凭信心看见父上帝。没有人能看见上帝的外形。唯独基督能向人类彰显父上帝。［引用约14:9］” （怀爱伦著，《评阅宣报》，1897年10月19日） 根据三位一体论的教导，这一节应该是这样写的：“人看见了我，就是看见了父和圣灵。” 但是事实并非如此。神里面虽然有三个实体，但只有两个是生物。第三个是他们的灵。 5. 多马是否相信耶稣是圣父 约翰福音:20:28 “多马说：我的主，我的上帝。” 我们只能推测多马为什么会这么说，但既然他被称为“怀疑”的多马，我们可以理解，他这句话或是在惊奇和难以置信的顷刻间脱口而出的。多马是犹太人，所以有可能是用了旧约时代一种普遍的表达方式，就是把上帝所认可的代表都称为“上帝”。希伯来语用elohim来指上帝，但同时也可以指下列的任何例子。 （1）统治者、审判官，在神圣地点供职的神圣代表人，或反映出神圣威严与大能者。 （2）神物，超乎人类的生物，包括上帝和天使。 因此，多马不是称呼耶稣为上帝，至少在三位一体论的意义上，而可能是称呼祂为一位反映神性大能与威严的人，或是一位统治者。如果不是这样的话，那下面是为何多马这么说的最大可能性原因。 按着正当的文法范畴来说，我们发现“我的主，我的上帝”这句话称呼了两个不同的个体。不过，按原文的文法来看，多马是对耶稣一个人说的。 所以我们必须找出一个不违背文法的诠释。这是可行的，只要我们明白，多马在说这句话的时候，虽然他是对着耶稣说的，但他同时也称呼在耶稣里面的父上帝。它的上下文也支持这个论点。我们来看耶稣之前与怀疑的多马和腓力所谈的一段话。 约翰福音:14:5-10 “多马对他说：主阿，我们不知道你往那里去，怎么知道那条路呢？耶稣说我就是道路、真理、生命；若不借着我，没有人能到父那里去。你们若认识我，也就认识我的父，从今以后，你们认识他，并且已经看见他。腓力对他说：求主将父显给我们看，我们就知足了。耶稣对他说：腓力，我与你们同在这么长久，你还不认识我吗？人看见了我，就是看见了父，你怎么说：将父显给我们看呢？我在父里面，父在我里面，你不信吗？我对你们所说的话，不是凭着自己说的，乃是住在我里面的父作他自己的事。” 腓力当着多马的面告诉耶稣说，他能看见父也就知足了。耶稣回答多马和腓力说，看见了祂（耶稣）就等于看见了父，因为父在祂里面。但是多马还是不明白。 多马下一次与耶稣对话是在约翰福音20:28。现在多马已经明白父在耶稣里面做工，甚至叫耶稣从死里复活，所以看见了耶稣，也就是看见了父。因此多马才会发出这样的惊叹：“我的主（耶稣），我的上帝（父）！” 多马并没有称呼耶稣为他的“主和上帝”。 我们也知道，怀疑的多马不可能宣告耶稣是那独一真神上帝。原因是在上面几节，在约翰福音20:17，约翰记载了复活的耶稣向末大拉的玛利亚显现，并告诉她说，“不要摸我，因我还没有升上去见我的父，你往我弟兄那里去，告诉他们说：我要升上去，见我的父，也是你们的父，见我的上帝，也是你们的上帝。” 耶稣说祂的上帝是祂父亲，而祂的上帝也是玛利亚的上帝。耶稣有没有告诉玛利亚说祂是她的上帝呢？没有，相反的，耶稣非常具体地说祂的上帝也是玛利亚的上帝。 既然复活的基督称呼圣父为“我的上帝”，那耶稣怎么可能是上帝，如果连祂自己都有上帝呢？约翰确实不可能说多马用三位一体论的意义来称耶稣为“我的上帝”，因为约翰刚才记载了耶稣称呼父为“我的上帝”。多马不可能称耶稣为上帝，因为约翰写道，耶稣升上去见玛利亚和多马两人的同一位上帝。 再说，在多马承认了耶稣之后的仅仅一节里，约翰福音20:30-31，约翰就结论说： “耶稣在门徒面前，另外行了许多神迹，没有记在这书上。但记这些事，要叫你们信耶稣是基督，是上帝的儿子，并且叫你们信了他，就可以因他的名得生命。” 约翰没有说“要叫你们信耶稣是上帝”。如果是这样的话，那么约翰宣告耶稣为上帝就远远大于宣告祂为上帝的儿子了。 由此可见，耶稣不是父上帝，也不是上帝，而是上帝的儿子。我们若相信祂是真的上帝的儿子，我们就能因祂作为圣子的名分而得永生。阿们。 基督是不是上帝？（二） 1. 只有上帝才能赦罪吗？ 三位一体论老是聚焦于一个法利赛人所说的话，却对耶稣亲口所说的话视而不见。从这一点就能看出其迷惑人之处。有些人称耶稣就是上帝，因为这些法利赛人说只有上帝才能赦罪。 马可福音2:7“这个人为什么这样说呢？他说僭妄的话了，除了上帝以外，谁能赦罪呢？” 但是这些耶稣说进不了天国的法利赛人（马太5:20；23:13）不知道或不接受耶稣是上帝的儿子，他们也不相信父上帝已经把做这些事的权柄都交给了耶稣。三节之后，耶稣说祂已经被赋予赦罪的权柄了。 马可福音2:10“但要叫你们知道人子在地上有赦罪的权柄... ” 不单只是赦罪的权柄，耶稣也说：（马太福音28:18）“天上地下所有的权柄，都赐给我了。” 约翰也说：（约翰福音3:35）“父爱子，已将万有交在他手里。” 注意，上帝已经将“所有的权柄”、“万有”都“赐给”祂儿子了。如果圣子是上帝如同圣父是上帝一样，又如果圣子是全能者如同圣父是全能者一样，那么圣子怎能被赐予任何事物，假如祂本身是上帝呢？上帝本身自然就有这些东西，怎么可能还需要任何生物把这些东西“赐给”祂呢？上帝不依靠任何人或物来获取这些东西。但是我们清楚看到，耶稣必须依靠祂父亲来将万有交在祂手里。耶稣也照样获得了祂父亲所赐给祂的赦罪的权柄。 2. 我们应当只敬拜上帝吗？ 有人说马太福音吩咐我们应当只敬拜上帝。那么既然耶稣也受人敬拜，他们就结论说耶稣必定是上帝。 马太福音4:10“耶稣说：撒但退去吧。因为经上记着说：『当拜主你的上帝，单要事奉他。』 当耶稣说“因为经上记着说”这句话的时候，祂是在引用申命记6:13，祂所用的是希腊文旧约的《七十士译本》，它上面是这样说的：“你要敬畏耶和华你的上帝，并且要单单事奉他。” 我们注意到的第一点是，这两个章节在技术上并没有说“要单单敬拜上帝”。它只说“要单单事奉上帝”。然而，在这一节中，“事奉”这两个字带有敬拜的色彩。无论如何，耶稣曾教导说，我们应当事奉别人，不过这一节的“事奉”明显不是这个意思。再说，上帝也曾命令众天使敬拜祂儿子，所以这里的事奉也不是敬拜的意思。（希伯来书1:6）“再者，上帝使长子到世上来的时候，就说：『上帝的使者都要拜他。』” 不要忘记腓立比书2:6 “他本有上帝的形像，不以自己与上帝同等为强夺的。” 这告诉我们耶稣在本性上与上帝同等，所以祂是全然神性的，祂因此当然配得敬拜。耶稣也说：（约翰福音5:23）“叫人都尊敬子如同尊敬父一样。不尊敬子的，就是不尊敬差子来的父。” 那么耶稣对撒但所说的是什么意思呢？那么多人误会了祂的意思。其实答案并不难找。在马太福音4:10，耶稣说“因为经上记着说”。那么这意味着耶稣是指着旧约圣经中某个相关的例子。要找到答案，我们只需看耶稣所指的是什么，再应用到祂对撒但所说的话。我们来看看耶稣所引用的章节。 申命记6:13-15“你要敬畏耶和华你的上帝，事奉他，指着他的名起誓。不可随从别神，就是你们四围国民的神。因为在你们中间的耶和华─你上帝是忌邪的神，惟恐耶和华─你上帝的怒气向你发作，就把你从地上除灭。” 这段经文凸显了所争议的课题，就是关于拜偶像，或拜假神。敬拜基督并事奉祂不等于拜偶像。以赛亚书14:12-14告诉我们说，撒但要像至高者上帝一样受敬拜。耶稣在旷野受试探时，撒但要耶稣俯伏在地向他下拜，拜他为神，因此耶稣就引用旧约圣经应对他，说，你不可敬拜或“随从别神”。所以基督的话必须从他所引用的经文语境中去了解。很多基督徒经常都无视经文的上下文语境，结果错误的应用了特定的词句而偏离了经文原来的意思。 所以我们要敬拜真神上帝，不要拜假神。因此这不排除我们对祂儿子的敬拜，因为祂儿子与父亲是同等的。而我们也当事奉上帝，不事奉假神，所以这也不排除事奉基督。 3. 耶稣叫自己从死里复活吗？ 那些声称耶稣必定是上帝的人，是根据约翰福音10:18里耶稣的一句话。他们声称基督叫自己从死里复活。但是他们却忽略了《圣经》至少22次明白地说，是祂父亲叫祂从死里复活的。 翻译成“权柄”的希腊原文“exousia”，它的意思还包括“权威”、“管辖权”、“自由”、“能力”、“权利”和“力量”。在这里适当的翻译成“权柄”。 约翰福音10:18 “没有人夺我的命去，是我自己舍的。我有权柄舍了，也有权柄取回来，这是我从我父所受的命令。” 英王钦定本把它翻译成“能力”，于是让一些人误以为耶稣有能力叫自己复活。如果翻译对了，这一节就会呈现全新的意义，从而消除一切看似自相矛盾的问题。下面是所有说明是上帝叫祂儿子从死里复活的经文。 使徒行传2:24 “上帝却将死的痛苦解释［解除］了，叫他复活... 。” 使徒行传2:32 “这耶稣，上帝已经叫他复活了... ” 使徒行传3:15 “你们杀了那生命的主，上帝却叫他从死里复活了... ” 使徒行传4:10 “... 这人得痊愈，是因你们所钉十字架，上帝叫他从死里复活的，拿撒勒人耶稣基督的名。” 使徒行传5:30 “你们挂在木头上杀害的耶稣，我们祖宗的上帝已经叫他复活。” 使徒行传10:40 “第三日上帝叫他复活，显现出来... ” 使徒行传13:30 “上帝却叫他从死里复活。” 使徒行传13:33 “上帝已经向我们这作儿女的应验，叫耶稣复活了... ” 使徒行传13:34 “论到上帝叫他从死里复活，不再归于朽坏... ” 使徒行传13:37 “惟独上帝所复活的，他并未见朽坏。” 使徒行传17:31 “... 并且叫他从死里复活，给万人作可信的凭据。” 罗马书4:24 “也是为我们将来得算为义之人写的，就是我们这信上帝使我们的主耶稣从死里复活的人。” 罗马书6:4 “... 像基督借着父的荣耀，从死里复活一样。” 罗马书10:9 “你若口里认耶稣为主，心里信上帝叫他从死里复活，就必得救。” 哥林多前书6:14 “并且上帝已经叫主复活，也要用自己的能力叫我们复活。” 哥林多前书15:15 “... 因我们见证上帝是叫基督复活了，若死人真不复活，上帝也就没有叫基督复活了。” 哥林多后书4:14 “自己知道，那叫主耶稣复活的，也必叫我们与耶稣一同复活，并且叫我们与你们一同站在他面前。” 加拉太书:1:1 “作使徒的保罗，（不是由于人，也不是借着人，乃是借着耶稣基督，与叫他从死里复活的父上帝）” 以弗所书:1:20 “就是照他在基督身上，所运行的大能大力，使他从死里复活，叫他在天上坐在自己的右边，” 歌罗西书2:12 “你们既受洗与他一同埋葬，也就在此与他一同复活，都因信那叫他从死里复活上帝的功用。” 帖撒罗尼迦前书1:10 “等候他儿子从天降临，就是他从死里复活的，那位救我们脱离将来忿怒的耶稣。” 彼得前书1:21 “你们也因着他，信那叫他从死里复活，又给他荣耀的上帝... 。” 基督是不是上帝？（三） 1. 以赛亚书43:11或何西阿书13:4证明耶稣是上帝吗？ 既然这两节说，除了耶和华上帝以外，再没有救主了，而其他经文例如约翰壹书4:14 则说耶稣是我们的救主，那么很多人就争论说，耶稣必定是那个耶和华上帝了。但这个论点是站不住脚的。 以赛亚书:43:11 “惟有我是耶和华，除我以外没有救主。” 何西阿书:13:4 “自从你出埃及地以来，我就是耶和华你的上帝，在我以外，你不可认识别神，除我以外并没有救主。” 在这两节里翻译成“救主”的希伯来词最普遍的翻译是“拯救”或“得救”，也有被翻译成“拯救者”的。在摩西的时代，上帝拯救了祂的子民脱离埃及的势力，而在以赛亚的时代，上帝拯救了他们脱离亚述国的势力。再没有其他人可以拯救他们脱离这些势力，所以经文清楚地显示，除了上帝以外，他们并没有其他的救主。 《巴恩斯圣经注释》对以赛亚书第43章做了这样的解释：“这一章... 主要是针对上帝给祂被掳到巴比伦的子民所应许的拯救。上帝的子民依然被先知看为在长时间痛苦的掳掠中受苦受罪，而先知的目的是以拯救的保证来安慰他们。” 何西阿书13:4当然是指上帝拯救祂的子民脱离埃及人那个时候。 当然耶稣是我们的救主。但是在这些经文中，上帝是祂子民以色列的救主这个背景，是关乎拯救他们脱离巴比伦和埃及的奴役，而不是拯救他们脱离他们的罪。那是基督为全人类所做的事。人类最大的拯救是脱离罪恶的权势，而这就是上帝交给祂儿子的任务了。 2. 还没有亚伯拉罕，就有了我 另一个备受争议的经文是约翰福音8:58。“还没有亚伯拉罕，就有了我。” 但所争议的主要是英文版圣经。英皇钦定本圣经KJV翻译成“还没有亚伯拉罕之前，我是。” “我是”这两个词也意味着“我存在”。有人称耶稣在约翰福音8:58里宣告自己为上帝，因为他用了“我是”这两个字。他们错误地把“我是”这两个字与出埃及记3:14联系在一起。从这节经文，他们便引出一个结论说，耶稣在隐喻一个神性的名字并以此来告诉犹太人祂是上帝。三位一体论信徒进一步尝试支持他们的论点，说这就是为什么犹太人拿起石头要打死祂的原因。但这其实是因为耶稣在约翰福音第8章的整篇中对他们说了许多事情，而逐步的激怒了他们。最后因为耶稣说祂比他们的国父亚伯拉罕还要大，而彻底让他们忍无可忍了。所以耶稣称祂的权柄比先祖亚伯拉罕还要大，这也意味着祂也比他们大。 约翰福音8:58的“我是”这两个字，是来源于两个希腊词“ego”跟“eimi”。《斯特朗圣经词典》的定义是：ego是指“我”（只作强调性用词）。eimi则是指“我存在”（只用于强调性），我是... 你想耶稣应该如何回应犹太人这句话：（约翰福音8:57） “犹太人说：你还没有五十岁，岂见过亚伯拉罕呢？” 法利赛人不知道耶稣早在亚伯拉罕之前就已存在，于是他们说，你怎么可能见过亚伯拉罕呢，你都还没有50岁呀！既然希腊文中的“我是”也意味着“我存在”或“我已存在”，那么还没有亚伯拉罕就已存在的基督，来自祂的回应明显应该怎么翻译呢？ “耶稣对他们说，我实实在在地对你们说，还没有亚伯拉罕之前，我是。” 或者是 “耶稣说：我实实在在的告诉你们，还没有亚伯拉罕，就有了我。” 两个版本都是合法的译本，但是大部分的圣经译本实际上跟第二个版本相吻合。这是有充分理由的。这两个词也可翻译成“我存在”、“我是（过去式或现在完成式）”。除了在约翰福音8:58，还有其他章节也出现这两个词的。比如说，在路加福音19:22，ego eimi 被翻译成“我是（过去式）”。 这两个词是犹太人和基督徒以及第一世纪在新约圣经中普遍常用的词语。它不是任何神明的名字，圣经的上帝也好，其他神明也好，都不用这个名字的。它从来都没有被犹太人或基督徒理解作宣告自身为上帝的词语。如果他们认为是这样的话，那犹太人肯定不会把这两个字用在他们自己身上，不过事实却相反，他们经常都用这两个字。彼得、保罗、加百列和撒迦利亚都说过“我是...某某 ”。但是他们没有一个宣称自己为上帝的。 路加福音1:18 “撒迦利亚对天使说：我凭着什么可知道这事呢？我已经老了［原文作：我是（ego eimi）一个老人］，我的妻子也年纪老迈了。” 路加福音1:19 “天使回答说：我是（ego eimi）站在神面前的加百列...” 约翰福音1:27 “就是那在我以后来的，给他解鞋带，我是（ego eimi）不配的。” 使徒行传10:21 “于是彼得下去见那些人，说：我就是（ego eimi）你们所找的人... ” 使徒行传21:39 “保罗说：我本是（ego eimi）犹太人，生在基利家的大数... 。” 连那生来瞎眼的人也说“我是”或“是我”来介绍自己。 约翰福音9:9 “有人说：是他，又有人说：不是，却是像他，他自己说：是我（ego eimi）。” 也没有一个犹太人认为这个瞎子在宣告自己为上帝。 下面是耶稣在四福音中说ego eimi的所有其它章节。没有一句可以被理解为耶稣自称为上帝。马太福音24:5、马可福音13:6、路加福音21:8、约翰福音8:24, 28；13:19 “我是基督”。约翰福音18:5, 6, 8 “我就是”。马太福音20:15 “我作［我是］好人”。马太福音28:20 “我就常与你们同在... ” 马可福音14:62 “耶稣说，我是（上帝的儿子）...” 路加福音22:27 “... 我在你们中间，如同服事人的。” 路加福音22:70 “他们都说：这样，你是上帝的儿子吗？耶稣说：你们所说的是。” 约翰福音6:35, 48, 51“耶稣说：我就是生命的粮...” 约翰福音7:34 “我所在的地方... ” 约翰福音12:26；17:24；14:3 “我在哪里... ” 约翰福音8:12 “我是世界的光... ” 约翰福音8:18 “我是为自己作见证... ” 约翰福音8:23 “... 我是从上头来的，... 我不是属这世界的。” 约翰福音10:7, 9 “我就是（羊的）门...” 约翰福音10:11, 14 “我是好牧人... ” 约翰福音11:25 “复活在我，生命也在我［原文作：我是复活和生命］” 约翰福音14:6 “我是道路... ” 约翰福音15:1, 5 “我是真葡萄树... ” 约翰福音:17:14, 16 “我不属世界... ” 约翰福音18:37 “你说我是王... ” 到了基督行将结束祂的布道工作时，有关祂的消息已经传遍远近四方。这时，犹太人理解基督自称祂是谁？他们又告祂什么控状呢？ 马太福音26:63 “耶稣却不言语。大祭司对他说：我指着永生上帝，叫你起誓告诉我们，你是上帝的儿子基督不是。” 马太福音27:40 “...你如果是上帝的儿子，就从十字架上下来吧。”马太福音27:43 “他倚靠上帝，上帝若喜悦他，现在可以救他，因为他曾说：我是上帝的儿子。” 马可福音14:61 “... 大祭司又问他说：你是那当称颂者的儿子基督不是。” 马可福音14:62 耶稣说：我是（ego eimi）... ” 马可福音15:39 “对面站着的百夫长，看见耶稣这样喊叫断气，就说：这人真是上帝的儿子。” 路加福音22:67 “你若是基督，就告诉我们。” 路加福音22:70 “他们都说：这样，你是上帝的儿子吗？耶稣说：你们所说的［我］是（ego eimi）。” 约翰福音19:7 “犹太人回答说：我们有律法，按那律法，他是该死的，因他以自己为上帝的儿子。” 在以上的几节经文中，有两次耶稣回答说，“我是”（ego eimi）。他不是在说他是上帝，而是在证实他是上帝的儿子。犹太人明显从来不以为耶稣宣告自己为上帝。假如耶稣宣告自己为上帝的话，那么这骇人听闻的事就必传遍远近四方。整本新约圣经都没有记载到有任何人问他是不是上帝。所以在约翰福音8:58节中犹太人怎么可能会以为他在宣告自己为上帝呢？ 另外我们也当注意，出埃及记3:14的这个词组“我是自有永有的” （英皇钦定本翻译成“我是那我是”）它的具体意思也有各种说法。《通俗拉丁文本圣经》翻译成“我是那我是”。《七十士译本》翻译成“我是那存活的”。《约拿单的塔古姆》希伯来圣经意译本和《耶路撒冷塔古姆》将这词组意译为“祂那一说，世界就有了，祂那一说，万物就存在了。” 原文的字面意义是“我会是那我会是的。” 如果用希腊文旧约《七十士译本》来对照一下出埃及记3:14和约翰福音8:58，我们会发现上帝说：“我是那生物（ego eimi ho ohn， OHN翻译成英文的BEING，也是“是”字的进行式，中文和合本翻译成“自有的”），而耶稣则说：“还没有亚伯拉罕，我是（ego eimi）。” 由此可见，上帝的名其实是Ho Ohn (The Being 那生物/那自有的）而不是ego eimi（我是）。出埃及记3:14的最后一句也进一步证明这一点。“那自有的（Ho Ohn）打发我到你们这里来。” 经文不是说“我是（ego eimi）打发我到你们这里来。” 无论这词组翻译成什么，ho ohn跟ego eimi 是不同的。所以出埃及记的“我是”和约翰福音的“我是”两者之间并没有必然的关系。约翰福音8:58不可能将耶稣等同于上帝，除非是用不正确的译本和错误的文法持着自己的偏见去推断出来的。 总结来说，约翰福音8:58的正确含义，中文和合本圣经还是翻译得正确的。“还没有亚伯拉罕（的存在），就有了我（的存在）。” 今天的研究再次证明耶稣是上帝的儿子，而不是上帝本身。好了，本期的节目就到这里，愿上帝继续保守我们各人，更深的认识祂并爱祂，使我们的生命重新得力。我们下次再会。 基督是不是上帝？（四） 1. 阿拉法与俄梅戛，初与终 启示录1:8 昔在今在以后永在的全能者，主上帝说我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛。 （【以上乃此经文的正确翻译。整段话是耶稣说的，祂说祂的父（那昔在今在以后永在的全能者主上帝）说祂（耶稣）是阿拉法、俄梅嘎。】 启示录21:6 他又对我说：都成了。我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛，我是初，我是终。我要将生命泉的水白白赐给那口渴的人喝。 启示录22:13 我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛，我是首先的，我是末后的，我是初，我是终。 初，就是起初/开始（the beginning） 终，就是终结/结束（the end） 有些人相信“阿拉法”与“俄梅戛”这两个概念是指基督没有开始，也没有结束。但是圣经没有这样讲。启示录说，基督是某一件事的首先或初始，和末后或终结。不止这个，一个开始是指某一事物的根源，而一个终结是指某一事物的终止/结束。永恒就是没有开始的，也是没有结束的。许多基督徒对圣经中的开始/起初有着错误的观念。我们知道上帝是没有开始的，祂是常存的。“阿拉法”是希腊字母中的第一个字母，所以它是希腊字母的“初/开始”，而“俄梅戛”是希腊字母中的最后一个字母，所以它是希腊字母的“终/结束”。所以这些词只不过是指某一件事的开始和结束。那是什么事呢？我们不要作任何假设，只要看圣经怎么说，还有这些话对犹太人有着什么样的意义。 我们注意到，凡是提到阿拉法和俄梅戛的章节每一次都是随着基督复临和世界末日的景象而来的。这并不是什么巧合。基督创造了这个世界，给世界带来了一个全新的开始，而到了世界末日，基督要从天降临，给世界带来毁灭的结局。所以说，基督是阿拉法与俄梅戛，是开始也是结束，是第一个也是最后一个。这三种说法都是同一个意思的。在启示录1:17, 18，耶稣说：“我是首先的，我是末后的。又是那存活的；我曾死过，现在又活了，直活到永永远远。” 谁是阿拉法与俄梅嘎（最先和最后的），那曾死过而现在又活到永远的呢？就是基督。 我们也注意到，启示录21:1-8和22:12-14虽然谈到了末时，但也直接地透露，那些遵守上帝诫命的人必能吃生命树的果子，而那些行邪术的、淫乱的、杀人的、拜偶像的、并一切喜好说谎言编造虚谎的（启21:8和22:15），都必永远灭亡。注意启示录21:7（启21:7 得胜的，必承受这些为业，我要作他的上帝，他要作我的儿子。） 如何连系到启示录2:7（启2:7 圣灵向众教会所说的话，凡有耳的，就应当听。得胜的，我必将神乐园中生命树的果子赐给他吃。），而2:7又连系到启示录22:14，这里说那些能吃生命果的人，就是那些遵守上帝诫命的人。（启示录22:14［和合本］ 那些洗净自己衣服的有福了，可得权柄能到生命树那里，也能从门进城。［英皇钦定本］那些遵行他诫命的有福了，可得权利能到生命树那里，也能从门进这城。） 那么我们发现，阿拉法和俄梅嘠这句话的上文是关于世界末日和基督再来的。而这句话的直接下文是关于两件末日之后所要马上发生的事。有太多证据显明这不是什么巧合。既然启示录是圣经的结局篇，同时也是关于末后的事，那么这就说明为什么这几个章节只提到“终”。那如果“终”是指这世界的结局的话，那么“初”明显是指世界的起初了。这起初就在圣经的开头，比如创世记1:1，和其它提到创世记第一章的经文。我们至今所看过的一切告诉我们，阿拉法俄梅嘎这几个章节是指基督复临和世界末日，到那时，那些忠心遵守上帝诫命的人必然吃到生命树的果子，而其他人则必灭亡。 《克拉克圣经注释》对启示录1:8所作的分析，说明了这句话如何被犹太人所用和理解。犹太人有没有把这句话诠释成基督永远存在而且祂又是上帝呢？这当然又与箴言第8章产生矛盾，那里说基督是生出的。所以这怎么说也是说不过去的。 如犹太人对这句话的意思之理解，从起初和圣经的第一本书，直到末后和圣经的最后一本书，耶稣都包含了一切。犹太人实际上明白这句话的含义，这样，他们必不同意三位一体论的说法。这几节经文所提到的初与终，初是指这世界被基督创造的开始，而终则是指基督复临和世界末日还有新天新地的产生。基督造成这世界的开始，祂也把世界带到她的结局。 启示录所说的起初与终结既然是指这世界的创造和开始，那我们就来看看下面这几个章节。 创世记1:1 “起初，上帝创造天地。‘ 箴言8:23 “从亘古，从太初，未有世界以前，我已被立。” 约翰福音1:1-3 “太初有道，道与上帝同在，道就是神。这道太初与上帝同在。 万物是借着他造的，凡被造的，没有一样不是借着他造的。” 以弗所书3:9 “又使众人都明白，这历代以来隐藏在创造万物之神里的奥秘，是如何安排的。” 希伯来书1:10 又说：『主阿，你起初立了地的根基，天也是你手所造的。』 这样，在这个背景下，所有提到起初的经文，贯彻始终都是一致的。这也进一步支持阿拉法和俄梅嘎这两个词的意思。 给复临信徒参考： “基督说，我是真实的见证。我是阿拉法与俄梅戛，初与终，首先的和末后的。” （怀爱伦著，《证道与短讲》第一集，原文第231页） “... 甚至从创世记至启示录，基督是阿拉法，福音链的第一环，也是俄梅戛，福音链的最后一环。这条链是在启示录里鋳成的。”（怀爱伦著，《文稿汇编》第10集，原文第171页） “祂是我们信心的创始成终者，是阿拉法与俄梅戛，初与终，首先的与末后的。” （怀爱伦著，《1888年资料集》，原文第783页） “所以说，祂是上帝创造的开始或首领这句话的意思是，受造之物的开始都在祂里面，如祂自己所说，祂是阿拉法与俄梅戛，初与终，首先的与末后的。启21:6; 22:13。祂是万物的起源。”（瓦格纳著，《基督与祂的义》原文第20页，1890年） 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next The Bible was Written by Non-Trinitarians The Bible was Written by Non-Trinitarians and so is a Non-Trinitarian Book! Have you ever heard it said that the word TRINITY is NOT in the Bible? The deceived often respond by saying, “The word is NOT in the Bible but the doctrine is.” Not only is the word Trinity NOT in the Bible, but neither is the doctrine. And it is in fact IMPOSSIBLE for it to be in the Bible! Here are the facts… True Christianity originated from Judaism, not Catholic paganism. You cannot argue the doctrine of the Trinity from the words of the Jews who wrote them when they never believed in it. Most of the Bible was in fact written by the Jews who never believed or taught the Trinity doctrine and still do not today! And Jesus of course was a Jew as were His disciples. How do you teach a 3 in 1 god from the Bible when it is a non-Trinitarian book? The apostle John for instance could never have been teaching that the Comforter and Spirit of truth is another being as the Jews have never taught or believed that ever! So the Bible had non-Trinitarian authors in fact. In a discussion between Summerbell and Flood on Trinity, p. 38, in regards to the Trinity he says, “it is certain that the Jewish church held to no such doctrine. Says Mr. Summerbell, “A friend of mine who was present in a New York synagogue, asked the Rabbi for an explanation of the word 'Elohim'. A Trinitarian clergyman who stood by, replied, 'Why, that has reference to the three persons in the Trinity,' when a Jew stepped forward and said he must not mention that word again, or they would have to compel him to leave the house; for it was not permitted to mention the name of any strange god in the synagogue.” We also know the Bible is a non-Trinitarian book as the word Trinity did not exist until about 200 AD at which point the idea of the Holy Spirit as a third being and the 3 in 1 still did not exist. The fully developed Trinity doctrine did not exist until 381 AD. The word “Trinity” originated from Tertullian who was a pagan turned Catholic theologian around 200 AD. This word can have no relationship with Scripture as it came from the Platonic term “trias” which is philosophical in origin, and the Bible does not teach Greek philosophy! “The term trinity is not itself found in the Bible. It was first used by Tertullian at the close of the 2nd century, but received wide currency and formal elucidation only in the 4th and 5th centuries.” — (“Trinity,” New Bible Dictionary, 1996) Tertullian did NOT teach the Holy Spirit as a third being and he NEVER taught the 3 in 1 god as the Trinity doctrine does today. So we know this doctrine developed in stages as Tertullian who introduced the word TRINITY did NOT teach it! So we know that the Trinity doctrine did NOT exist before 200 AD. It was about 225 years “after” the death of the Apostles that the Nicene Council (325 AD) under the pressure of Emperor Constantine ruled in favour of Athanasius who taught a 3 in 1 god. It was about 280 years “after” the death of the Apostles in 381 AD when the Holy Spirit was officially declared as a third being. The Trinity doctrine was now fully established as we know it today. So the Trinity doctrine is a manmade doctrine from the Catholic Church which was formed in two parts. The first part was made up in 325 AD which states it is a 3 in 1 god. The second and final part was made up in 381 AD. This final part states that the Holy Spirit is a third being. So it is impossible for any of the Bible authors to have written about something that did not exist in their lifetime, and not forgetting that the Bible authors were non-Trinitarian! Christians have been indoctrinated with many nice sounding erroneous ideas to make them think the doctrine is in the Bible when in fact it cannot be. It is time to wake up and look at what the real truth is which makes much more sense than the lie. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 Read in English 下一篇 让我的子民思考 让我的子民思考 （第一部分) 让我的子民思考。让他们清楚地阅读这道，以便他们可以相信。我们身处末时，因此应当赎回光阴，不再闲懒散漫。 我们的救恩是在于我们所认识的神，而不是我们所做的事。将来会有一个审判。我们的行为现今正被称在天平里，以显明我们是否要遵行上帝的话，即是我们所自称相信的。 这是生死攸关的 。我们应该是与“父并祂儿子耶稣基督”相交的。 只有一位上帝。祂和祂的独生子一起生活。 申命记 6:4“以色列啊，你要听！耶和华我们上帝是独一的主。 申命记 4:35，39 35 这是显给你看，要使你知道，惟有耶和华他是上帝，除他以外，再无别神。39 所以今日你要知道，也要记在心上，天上地下惟有耶和华他是上帝，除他以外，再无别神。 惟有一位是上帝。祂不是由多位所组成的。这里所用的所有代词都是单数代词“他”。 申命记 6:5-7 5 你要尽心、尽性、尽力爱耶和华你的上帝。6 我今日所吩咐你的话都要记在心上，7 也要殷勤教训你的儿女，无论你坐在家里，行在路上，躺下，起来，都要谈论； 申命记 10:20你要敬畏耶和华你的 上帝，侍奉他，专靠他，也要指着他的名起誓。 我们要爱祂。我们要敬畏祂。祂叫什么名字？ 出埃及记 15:3耶和华是战士，他的名是耶和华。 出埃及记 6:3我从前向亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各显现为全能的上帝，至于我名耶和华，他们未曾知道。 诗篇 68:4你们当向上帝唱诗，歌颂他的名，为那坐车行过旷野的修平大路。他的名是耶和华，要在他面前欢乐。 诗篇 83:18使他们知道，惟独你名为耶和华的，是全地以上的至高者。 上帝说祂不是三位一体。惟独祂是上帝。祂有一个真实的名字。祂的儿子不是三位一体的一部分，也不是三位一体信徒。耶稣显明祂的父为独一的真神。 马可福音12:32-34 32 那文士对耶稣说：“夫子说，上帝是一位，实在不错。除了他以外，再没有别的 神。33 并且尽心、尽智、尽力爱他，又爱人如己，就比一切燔祭和各样祭祀好得多。”34 耶稣见他回答的有智慧，就对他说：“你离上帝的国不远了。”从此以后，没有人敢再问他什么。 让我的子民思考 （第二部分） 约翰福音 17:3认识你独一的真神，并且认识你所差来的耶稣基督，这就是永生。 约翰福音 3:16“上帝爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生。 上帝没有差派祂自己。祂差派祂独生儿子。上帝的儿子是祂亲生的，并被上帝所差到世间来。祂肯定是在被差派以先为上帝所生。祂不是被差派了之后才变成亲生儿子的。这是经上记着说的。耶稣说祂是”从上帝出来的。” 祂是“从父出来的。” 门徒们都相信耶稣的见证，即祂是从上帝出来的。门徒们都不是三位一体信徒。 约翰福音16:27-30 27 父自己爱你们，因为你们已经爱我，又信我是从父出来的。28 我从父出来，到了世界；我又离开世界，往父那里去。”29 门徒说：“如今你是明说，并不用比喻了。30 现在我们晓得你凡事都知道，也不用人问你，因此我们信你是从上帝出来的。” 约翰福音 8:42耶稣说：“倘若上帝是你们的父，你们就必爱我；因为我本是出于上帝，也是从上帝而来，并不是由着自己来，乃是他差我来。 箴言 8:22-25 22 “在耶和华造化的起头，在太初创造万物之先，就有了我。23 从亘古，从太初，未有世界以前，我已被立。24 没有深渊，没有大水的泉源，我已生出。25 大山未曾奠定，小山未有之先，我已生出。 箴言8:27-31 27 他立高天，我在那里；他在渊面的周围划出圆圈，28 上使穹苍坚硬，下使渊源稳固，29 为沧海定出界限，使水不越过他的命令，立定大地的根基。30 那时，我在他那里为工师，日日为他所喜爱，常常在他面前踊跃，31 踊跃在他为人预备可住之地，也喜悦住在世人之间。 耶稣有一位父亲。耶和华是祂的上帝和祂的父亲。祂们在本质上是同等的。他们有共同的目标。惟独父是比儿子大的。 约翰福音 5:18所以犹太人越发想要杀他，因他不但犯了安息日，并且称上帝为他的父，将自己和上帝当作平等。 让我的子民思考 （第三部分） 约翰福音 10:30我与父原为一。 约翰福音 14:28你们听见我对你们说了，我去还要到你们这里来。你们若爱我，因我到父那里去，就必喜乐，因为父是比我大的。 约翰福音 20:17耶稣说：“不要摸我，因为我还没有升上去见我的父。你往我弟兄那里去，告诉他们说：我要升上去见我的父，也是你们的父；见我的上帝，也是你们的上帝。” 哥林多前书15:24，27-28 24 再后，末期到了，那时基督既将一切执政的、掌权的、有能的都毁灭了，就把国交与父 神。27 因为经上说：“上帝叫万物都服在他的脚下。”既说万物都服了他，明显那叫万物服他的，不在其内了。28 万物既服了他，那时，子也要自己服那叫万物服他的，叫上帝在万物之上，为万物之主。 哥林多前书 8:4，6 4 论到吃祭偶像之物，我们知道偶像在世上算不得什么；也知道上帝只有一位，再没有别的上帝。6 然而我们只有一位上帝，就是父，万物都本于他，我们也归于他；并有一位主，就是耶稣基督，万物都是藉着他有的，我们也是藉着他有的。 以弗所书 4:4-6 4 身体只有一个，圣灵只有一个，正如你们蒙召，同有一个指望；5 一主，一信，一洗，6 一上帝，就是众人的父，超乎众人之上，贯乎众人之中，也住在众人之内。 哥林多前书 1:9上帝是信实的，你们原是被他所召，好与他儿子我们的主耶稣基督一同得份。 约翰一书 1:3我们将所看见、所听见的传给你们，使你们与我们相交。我们乃是与父并他儿子耶稣基督相交的。 约翰一书 3:23上帝的命令就是叫我们信他儿子耶稣基督的名，且照他所赐给我们的命令彼此相爱。 约翰一书 4:8-10 8没有爱心的，就不认识上帝，因为上帝就是爱。9 上帝差他独生子到世间来，使我们藉着他得生，上帝爱我们的心在此就显明了。10 不是我们爱上帝，乃是上帝爱我们，差他的儿子，为我们的罪作了挽回祭，这就是爱了。 约翰一书 4:14父差子作世人的救主，这是我们所看见且作见证的。 约翰一书 4:15凡认耶稣为上帝儿子的， 上帝就住在他里面， 约翰一书 5:5胜过世界的是谁呢？不是那信耶稣是上帝儿子的吗？ 约翰一书 5:13我将这些话写给你们信奉上帝儿子之名的人，要叫你们知道自己有永生。 约翰一书 2:21-23 我写信给你们，不是因你们不知道真理，正是因你们知道，并且知道没有虚谎是从真理出来的。22 谁是说谎话的呢？不是那不认耶稣为基督的吗？不认父与子的，这就是敌基督的。23 凡不认子的，就没有父；认子的，连父也有了。 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂