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  • EGW Quotes on Holy Spirit

    All trinity studies Previous Download Next EGW Quotes on Holy Spirit Who or What is the Holy Spirit? “The HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT of CHRIST, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency,” — (E.G. White, 14MR 84.3) “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) There is no mistaking that Ellen White says the HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT OF CHRIST. What many fail to understand is that the “Spirit of Christ” can function like a person separate to Himself so it is like it is “another” person, though not a literal person of course. So we do have a heavenly Trio, but NOT a heavenly Trinity! That is twice we have just proven that Ellen White said the SPIRIT OF CHRIST is the third in the Heavenly Trio with unmistakable confirmation. But let's prove it three more times, not that it should be necessary. Ellen White also wrote in the quote, “The COMFORTER that CHRIST PROMISED TO SEND after He ascended to heaven.” The COMFORTER of course is the HOLY SPIRIT which is third in the Heavenly Trio. So whose Spirit does Ellen White say Christ sent? “We cannot be with CHRIST in person, as were His first disciples, but HE HAS SENT HIS HOLY SPIRIT to guide us into all truth, [John 16:13 quoted]” — (E.G. White, Ms30, June 18, 1900) One more time: “CHRIST came to our world, but the world could not endure His purity. He has gone to His Father, but HE HAS SENT HIS HOLY SPIRIT to REPRESENT HIM in the world till He shall come again.” — (E.G. White, Ms1, Jan 11, 1897) Thus Christ sent HIS SPIRIT. It was not Christ physically but HIS Spirit which can function like a person though is not a literal person of course. So His Spirit is like “ANOTHER” person and why she wrote Heavenly Trio! Therefore, it should also require no explanation that the Comforter is not Christ physically but His Spirit. “This refers to the omnipresence of the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, called the COMFORTER.” — (E.G. White, 14MR 179.2) So the Spirit that was sent to be our Comforter and is the third in Heavenly Trio is the SPIRIT OF CHRIST. Why would we expect anything else since she wrote: “We want the HOLY SPIRIT, which is JESUS CHRIST.” — (E.G. White, Lt66, April 10, 1894) And last, Ellen white wrote “THREE GREAT POWERS—the FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.” We know the Father and Son are great powers, and since Ellen White wrote the HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, who do you think the third great power is? There is only one possible answer. “CHRIST has given HIS SPIRIT as a divine POWER.” — (E.G. White, RH, Nov 19, 1908) Trinitarians conclude that the third power is another being. But there is NO other POWER in you apart from CHRIST ABIDING IN YOUR HEART by His Holy Spirit in you! “There is NO POWER in you APART from CHRIST, but it is your privilege to have CHRIST ABIDING IN YOUR HEART by faith, and He can overcome sin in you,” — (E.G. White, OHC, 76.5) How easily we can be deceived if we do not let SOP explain SOP and just assume with a Trinitarian mindset as so many do. So she was not saying that there is a third god as per the satanic doctrine of the Trinity at all. 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

  • 联络我们 Contact US | 独一真神中文事工 (One True God Chinese Ministry)

    联络我们 Contact Us 欢迎给予我们您宝贵的意见或建议,让我们能做得更好并走得更远。您也可以写下任何的疑问和代祷事项,我们很乐意随时帮助。 电邮 Email onetruegodchineseministry@gmail.com 社交媒体 Social Media 留言 Leave a message 名字 Name 国籍 Nationality 电邮 Email 讯息 Message 发送 Send 感谢您的留言 Thanks for submitting!

  • 耶稣是保惠师(启示录3章20节 -在门外叩门)

    返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 下一篇 耶稣是保惠师(启示录3章20节 -在门外叩门) 耶稣是保惠师(启示录3章20节 -在门外叩门) 启示录3:20 看哪,我站在门外叩门,若有听见我声音就开门的,我要进到他那里去,我与他,他与我,一同坐席。 要常常喜乐。不可忘记你有一位保惠师,就是基督所差来的圣灵。你永不会孤单。你若听受那现在向你说话的声音,你若毫不迟疑地应答那敲你心门的声音,说:“主耶稣啊,请进来,让我与祢祢与我一同坐席。”那位自天而来的贵宾就必进来。当这全能神圣的质素与你同在时,就有平安与安息。复临信徒家庭 350.3 "众教会为何如此软弱多病甚至濒临崩溃的原因,在于仇敌带进了令人沮丧的影响,加在颤抖的生灵身上。他(撒但)企图掩盖真理,不让他们看见耶稣就是保惠师,是那责备人,警戒人,和劝勉人说"这是正路,要行在其间"的一位。" (评论与通讯,1890年8月26日,第10段) "你们要时时儆醒,常常祈求,使你们能逃避這一切要来的事,得以站立在人子面前。"(路21:36)各人都需要渴慕生命之粮和生命之水。这个时候,是我们该在上帝面前谦卑心灵,并恳切寻求祂的时候。许多人正期待基督实现成为他们个人救主的愿望。基督正在叩门,在他们的心门外叩门。他们是否愿意让祂进来作尊贵的嘉宾,还是要被日常琐碎事务所缠累,而让神所赋予他们的思维变得肤浅和狭隘呢?他们是否会让自己因过度饮食,醉酒,和今生的思虑而被压倒,变得精疲力尽呢?"--(怀爱伦著,圣经回响,1896年5月4日) 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

  • 三位一体论的真相 [trinitytruth.org] 27-42 (共42部份)

    返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 Read in English 下一篇 三位一体论的真相 [ trinitytruth.org ] 27-42 (共42部份) (27)父是否比耶稣大? 鉴于保罗曾说耶稣与上帝同等,那么当耶稣说“父是比我大的”,祂的意思又是什么呢?《圣经》始终是没有矛盾的,那么我们应当如何核对以下这几节经文呢? “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【我】父是比我大的。” (约14:28) “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。” (林前11:3) “他本有上帝的形像,不以自己与上帝同等为强夺的” (腓2:6) 歌罗西书2:9中所用的希腊词theotes是指神性或神的本性。因此神本性一切的丰盛都住在祂儿子耶稣基督里面。而腓立比书2:6中的“形象”一词是指“形状或本性”,所以保罗的意思是说,基督与祂父亲同等的方式是在于祂的“本性”,这是祂作为上帝的儿子所承受的。 约翰福音14:28 “父是比我大的”其中的“大”字是指地位更高,就好比人类父子以及夫妻之间的关系一样。哥林多前书11:3说明女人的头是男人。但这是否意味着男人比女人在品质上更优秀呢?答案显然是否定的。女人和男人一样都是属于人类,因此男女在本性上是相等的。男人比女人大,只是在地位上而已。这种意义也应用在父子身上。 父亲比儿子大,是因为先有父后有子,同样的道理也应用于我们的天父和祂儿子身上。父神在地位上比较大,因为祂是首先有的,但在本性上或腓立比书2:6所指的形象上,父就不比儿子大了。 供復临信徒参考: “父是比儿子大的,因为父是首先的。” (怀雅各著,《评论与通讯》1881年1月4日)“父子虽然有相同的本性,但父在时间上是首先有的。祂也是比较大的,因为祂没有开始,而基督的位格是有开始的。” (瓦格纳著,《时兆报刊》,1889年4月8日) 上面我们也观察到在本性上相等的相同概念,但基督甘心顺服祂父亲,因为父比祂大,毕竟先有祂父亲然后才有祂。我们在这些经文中发现上帝所设立的领头与顺服的原则,展现于神圣父子之间,也同样展现于婚姻制度之中。这些原则也启示上帝与基督是实际的父与子。如復临先锋瓦格纳、怀雅各、以及《圣经》所启示的,基督作为儿子是在父之后才有的。 然而,我们也发现,父“赐给”祂儿子所有的权柄能力,并将万物交在祂手里。这样,基督受赐予“一个崇高的地位”,并在权柄能力上获得祂父亲册封为同等的。不过虽然说父已册封祂儿子为同等的,但是祂父亲仍然是比祂大的,而祂依然顺服祂父亲。 “天上地下所有的权柄,都赐给我了。”(马太福音28:18)约翰又写道:“父爱子,已将万有交在他手里。”(约翰3:35) 给复临信徒参考: “上帝是基督的父亲;基督是上帝的儿子。基督已受赐予一个崇高的地位。祂已被册封为与父同等的。”——怀爱伦著,《教会证言卷八》原文第268页,第3段 三位一体论声称父子圣灵是三位同等并同永恒的神。但是怀爱论说,基督是被祂父册封为与祂父同等的,正如《圣经》也是这么启示的,这再次证明这理论是从撒但来的谎言。 亚当和夏娃(男人和女人)其实是圣父和圣子的一个微型例子。想想哥林多前书11:3(“男人是女人的头,上帝是基督的头”)和以下关于领头的经文:“你们作妻子的,当顺服自己的丈夫,如同顺服主。因为丈夫是妻子的头,如同基督是教会的头,他又是教会全体的救主。教会怎样顺服基督,妻子也要怎样凡事顺服丈夫。”(以弗所书5:22-24) 圣经式的领头人 父亲 —— 儿子 丈夫 —— 妻子 基督 —— 教会 牧者(男人)—— 教会 圣父和圣子所定义的圣经式领头人之神圣楷模启示了重要的原则。比如说,上帝怎样是基督的头,丈夫怎样是他妻子的头,照样,基督也是教会的头。亚当是用地上的尘土造的,而夏娃则是从亚当的一根肋骨出来的。上帝这么做,只有一个逻辑的理由,就是要示范给我们看,一个生物是可以从另一个生物出来的,而仍然有着同样的本性。故此,这个例子已赐下给我们,显示基督是如何从父出来的,并且有着祂父一样的神性。 这也启示了为什么按立女牧者是不合宜的。举个例子,三位一体论声称有三位同等的生物,而三位的任何一位都有可能扮演儿子的角色并为我们而死。那么三位一体论容许互相转换角色,而按照这个原则,任何一位都可以改换角色。因此,男人和女人在领导教会上互换角色的错误,就好比基督顺服教会或丈夫顺服妻子,甚至或上帝的儿子作祂父的头一样的荒谬。这所有的例子都违背了上帝所立下的神圣楷模。上述任何角色的颠倒能改变上帝在父子的例子中所设立的次序。这么说,三位一体论不按照那神圣的楷模和属天的例子,并存在着诸多弊病。比如说,如果圣灵是第三位生物的话,那么他又如何融入上帝的神圣楷模呢?二不等于三,三也不等于一。 圣子从父出来(约8:42;箴8:22-30)<——>女人从男人出来(创2:21-23) 父是基督的头(林前11:3)<——>男人是女人的头(林前11:3) 圣子跟圣父的名<——>夏娃由亚当命名 圣子从父出来,所以借着遗传有着父相同的性质(神性)<——>夏娃从亚当出来,所以借着遗传有着亚当一样的性质(人性) 圣子借着遗传被称为神。基督被称为神但不是祂出自的那位神<——>夏娃借着遗传被称为人。夏娃是人但不是她出自的那个人。 父子因关系而平等(一个灵)<——>亚当夏娃因关系而平等(一个肉体) 万物都是借着基督而被造的(弗3:9)<——>全人类都是借着夏娃而来的(创3:20) 圣父是天上家庭的头<——>亚当是地上家庭的头 (28)耶稣在世时是否全知全能? 在约翰福音21:17中,彼得对基督说:“主啊,你是无所不知的。” 那么我们又该如何理解耶稣这句话:“但那日子,那时辰,没有人知道,连天上的使者也不知道,子也不知道,惟有父知道。” (马可福音13:32)这里似乎有个矛盾,因为耶稣承认自己不知道一件事。《圣经》也说:“耶稣的智慧和身量(或作:年纪),并神和人喜爱他的心,都一齐增长。” (路加福音2:52)如果你已知道一切事,你又如何增长智慧呢?又说:“他虽然为儿子,还是因所受的苦难学了顺从。“ (希伯来书5:8)耶稣是否因那所为祂预备的身体而受到限制呢?祂是否像我们一样不得不学习各样事情呢?那彼得的话是什么意思呢?他说得对吗?因为耶稣并没有驳斥他。或许耶稣有一定的方法能有效的知道任何祂所需要知道的事? 我们在许多《圣经》章节中找到了答案,例如约翰福音14:26,说:“...父因我的名所要差来的圣灵,他要将一切的事,指教你们,” 这句话是否意味着我们可以真的知道一切的事?人类的脑袋是否真的可以装得下上帝一切无限的智慧呢?这里所要申明的重点是,没有任何事是上帝的灵所无法向我们或向祂儿子指教或启示的。父知道一切的事,那么基督也可以透过圣灵的能力来知道祂所需要知道的任何事,不论是别人的想法,或者是按上帝的旨意所需的任何知识都好。 这不止涉及上帝圣灵的全知,也包含了祂的全能在内。在马太福音12:22-32中,耶稣赶走了魔鬼。法利赛人就告祂借着魔鬼的力量赶鬼。但耶稣由于是个百分百的人,就告诉他们说,祂是靠着上帝的灵赶鬼的。然后祂又告诉他们说,他们可以说话干犯人子而获得赦免,但亵渎圣灵总不得赦免。为什么呢?因为第28节说祂是靠着上帝的灵赶鬼的。别忘记,耶稣道成肉身,是百分百的人类。法利赛人所亵渎的不是人子,而是上帝的灵,因为那鬼是靠着上帝之灵的能力被赶走的。他们把圣灵的工作归因于撒但,因而亵渎了圣灵。无论如何,耶稣若不是暂时放下了祂的全能,就不会靠着圣灵的能力赶鬼了。耶稣说:“我凭着自己不能作什么。” (约翰福音5:30) 注意,马太福音12:22-32透露,那不得赦免的罪和亵渎圣灵,就是把圣灵的工作归因于撒但。有些三位一体论信徒不明白这一点,便结论说亵渎圣灵就是分享反三位一体论的课题。这是明显不对的。那主张三位一体论又如何呢?他们是否有可能实际上犯了亵渎圣灵的罪呢?如果“上帝的灵”是真的“上帝的灵”,就如《圣经》所说,而不是《圣经》从来没有用过的什么“圣灵上帝”呢?如果三位一体论是错的话,那么他们口中的圣灵就确实是撒但的创作,而不是父和子的灵。如果这是撒但的杰作,那么信三位一体论的人便是将圣灵的工作归因于谁呢?他们将无意间把上帝之灵的工作归因于撒但,这才是不得赦免的罪!你千万不能弄错这一点。 给复临信徒参考: “是什么构成干犯圣灵的罪?是将圣灵的工作刻意归因于撒但。” (怀爱伦著,《教会证言卷五》第634页,第1段,1889年) “干犯圣灵最常见的方式是执着不断的轻视上天请人悔改的邀请。拒绝基督的每一步骤,就是朝向拒绝救恩和干犯圣灵的一个步骤。” (怀爱伦著,《历代愿望》第324页,第2段)“犹太民族因拒绝基督而犯下了那不得赦免的罪。我们也可能因拒绝接受救恩的邀请而犯同样的错误。” (《历代愿望》第324页,第3段) 据《圣经》若干次披露,基督在世所行的神迹都是祂在天上的父行的。约翰福音11:40-41显示,拉撒路的复活是借着祂父亲所行的。耶稣所行过的每一件大神迹也都是由祂的门徒或旧约的众先知以类似的方式施行的,包括在水面上行走和叫死人复活。(太14:29 ;约14:12;徒20:9-10;王上17:22)这并非说明他们是万能的,而是说明上帝与他们同在,正如祂与祂儿子同在一样。耶稣医好了那瘫子后,“众人看见都惊奇,就归荣耀与神,因为他将这样的权柄赐给人。” (马太福音9:8)彼得解释说:“上帝怎样以圣灵和能力,膏拿撒勒人耶稣,这都是你们知道的,他周流四方行善事,医好凡被魔鬼压制的人,因为神与他同在。” (使徒行传10:38)耶稣也解释说:“...住在我里面的父作他自己的事。” (约翰福音14:10) 给复临信徒参考: “基督为有病和痛苦的人所行的所有神迹都是本着上帝的能力,因着众天使的服侍而行的。” (怀爱伦著,《评论与通讯》1873年1月21日) 据《圣经》透露,基督所知道的事,就只有祂成为人之后所学习的事,还有祂父亲借着祂的灵向祂启示的事。既然我们在天上的父知道万事,那么基督也可以有效的知道万事,“如果”上帝的灵向祂启示。这样说来,如果耶稣不知道祂复临的日子时辰,那只能是因为祂父亲没有向祂启示这一点,而我们没有被告知其背后的理由。《圣经》显示耶稣知道别人心里所想的,但为了使这事与其他经文保持一致起见,耶稣这种洞察人心的能力必然是透过圣灵而得的。彼得、以利沙和但以理也都是借着上帝的启示而能知道别人心里所想的。(徒5:1-4;王下5:25-27;但2:28-30) 有些人会回应说,耶稣的人性不知道,但祂的神性知道,这是因为三位一体论教导说,耶稣一个人但祂以两种性质存活。耶稣不可能有两个心,一个知道,另一个不知道。当然,除非你要说身体与心灵是没有联系的荒唐论调。 为什么有些人难以接受和明白门徒还有其他先知都是本着圣灵的能力去行耶稣所行的所有相同神迹呢(罗15:9)?所以当耶稣成为人来到世间时,祂也以同样的方式行神迹。这也不明白吗?很多人似乎拒绝接受他们的主和救主成为人的时候放弃了许多事。他们似乎不能相信耶稣暂时放下了祂的全在、全知和全能。虽然很多人能接受耶稣放下了祂的全在功能,但那是因为他们没有办法避免这个事实。 然而,有多少人停下来想想他们救主那难以置信的爱,因祂暂时放下这些事而得以作出了远远更大的牺牲,还要冒着巨大失败的可能。耶稣甚至放下自己的尊严而经历了婴儿尿床的时期。只要我们接受《圣经》所记载的史实,就不需要到处去寻找策略来解释其他指出错误的经文。我们需要能够让所有经文和谐一致,并意识到当我们开始尝试把四方形的钉子或橛子硬塞进一个圆形的洞子里,那我们就会一事无成。 保罗在腓立比书2:5-9谈到基督的牺牲与谦卑时说,祂来世上时舍去了许多事,以至于死,而我们应当有祂这种心志和态度。希腊原文说祂本有上帝的形象或性情,但祂反倒虚己,意味着祂放下了那些使祂不能像我们一样活着和死亡的神性特性。如果祂保留着与上帝同样的形象和性情,那祂就不可能会感到困倦或遭受痛楚和人类所经历的各样事。耶稣本有一切包括不死的身体,但是祂却乐意为我们放弃一切,牺牲所有。可是到最后祂还做了一个更大的牺牲,祂放弃了不死的特性,以人类的身份而死,而且还死得异常痛苦且漫长。有些人不愿意承认基督所放弃的一切,那么他们也是不承认祂为了我们所付出的牺牲的程度与深度,及其如何彰显祂与祂父亲对我们那不可估量的爱。 那当耶稣回到天上祂父亲的身边时,祂得回了什么?事实上我们没有被告知具体的情况。但是我们知道祂得回了祂的全在特性,就是透过作我们的保惠师圣灵。比如耶稣说过:“我就常与你们同在,直到世界的末了。” (马太福音28:20)我们也知道,耶稣保留着祂手脚和肋旁上的伤痕(约20:25-27)。我们设想祂得回了一切,但我们还必须等到我们见到祂的时候才能知道祂与祂父亲为了我们究竟付出了多大的牺牲。 还有一个例子可供我们参考的,这也是很多人略过不看的地方。启示录1:1 说:“耶稣基督的启示,就是神赐给他,叫他将必要快成的事指示他的众仆人,他就差遣使者,晓谕他的仆人约翰。” 这启示是上帝赐给耶稣基督的。如果耶稣知道所有事的话,那祂怎么还需要祂父亲给祂启示这些事呢? 这也说明耶稣不可能是那独一真神父上帝,或与父平行同等同永恒,如三位一体论所声称的那样。 (29)耶稣是否从古直到永远都不能死? 三位一体论教导说,耶稣基督与父上帝全方位同等。所以他们声称既然父不能死,那么子也不能死。但是《圣经》说,只有一位不能死的,祂就是父上帝。《圣经》说,当耶稣显现时,祂就必将“那可称颂独有权能的,万王之王,万主之主,就是那独一不死,住在人不能靠近的光里,是人未曾看见,也是不能看见的,... 显明出来。但愿尊贵和永远的权能,都归给他。” (提摩太前书6:15-16)这只可能是我们的天父,因祂是那“从来没有人看见”(约翰1:18)的一位。父是“那独一不死”的。但我们知道有朝一日,我们也将“要变成不死的。” (哥林多前书15:53) 那么当《圣经》说父是“那独一不死”的,它的意思想必是在一种绝对与没有局限之意义上的不死。《圣经》透露说,父是唯一在任何情况下都不能死的一位。耶稣备受死亡的影响,并且“为我们的罪死了。” (哥林多前书15:3)人类是能死的,“惟有犯罪的,他必死亡。” (以西结书18:20)天使也是能死的,因有“永火”是“为魔鬼和他的使者所预备的。”(马太福音25:41)上帝对撒但说:“我使火从你中间发出,烧灭你,使你在所有观看的人眼前,变为地上的炉灰。... 你令人惊恐,不再存留于世,直到永远。”(以西结书28:18, 19)所以确实唯有父上帝在任何情况下都不能死,这就排除了祂儿子,因耶稣“为人人尝了死味。” (希伯来书2:9)所以说,耶稣在世时不是不能死的,而祂成为人的最主要原因就是让祂能够为我们的罪而死。上帝的儿子为我们的罪经历了真实的死亡。(以赛亚书53:6;约翰一书2:2) 另有一些人声称,基督从天上下来,住在人体中,而只有这个人体死亡,而那从天而来的神性生物则依然活着。如果是这样的话,那我们便必须结论说,那为我们的救赎所作出的牺牲,只是一个人类的牺牲罢了。然而,若说一个人类的牺牲就足以救赎人类,或说基督只死了一半的话,那是不符合《圣经》的。如果基督只不过装死的话,那祂就不必成为人了,因为不成为人也能装死。希伯来书的作者说, 耶稣“成为比天使小一点... ;为[了]受死的苦... ” (希伯来书2:9)基督亲自向约翰明白地说祂曾死过。 “又是那存活的;我曾死过,现在又活了,直活到永永远远;并且拿着死亡和阴间的钥匙。” (启示录1:18) “基督[真的]照圣经所说:为我们的罪死了。” (哥林多前书:15:3) 给复临信徒参考: “祂[基督]谦卑自己,并取了能死的本性。作为人类家庭的一份子,祂是能死的。” (怀爱伦著,《评论与通讯》1900年9月4日) (30)谁能为罪人而死? 父不能死的原因: 1)父是一切生命的本源(林前8:6 “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”)。祂死了,全宇宙众生都会死。所以祂是独一不死的(提前6:16)。 2)父上帝是赐律法者。律法代表上帝的品格。有上帝就有律法,没有上帝就没有律法。没有律法就没有罪,没有罪也就没有死亡的必要。 3)父上帝与律法是相等的,所以祂不受自己律法的约束。祂是至高无上的,不敬拜也不服从任何生物。律法要求罪人的死,但祂不可能成全自己律法的要求。 上帝不能死,律法也不能废。律法要罪人的命,罪人必须死,除非有配得上律法的人来代替罪人而死。 上帝的儿子配得上为罪人而死,原因是: (1)在神性、品格、价值上,基督与上帝同等,因为祂是上帝所生的儿子,是上帝本体与品德的真像(来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”)。上帝一切的丰盛都住在基督里面(西2:9 “因为上帝本性一切的丰盛,都有形有体的居住在基督里面”)。儿子自然继承父的一切。由于祂是独生子,所以全宇宙也只有祂一位是与上帝同等的。因为律法与上帝同样神圣,所以只有与上帝同样神圣或同等的生物才能满足律法的要求,配得上为罪人而死。天使也不配为人类而死,因为只有那创造人类的主才能救赎人类,而人类就是借着基督而受造的。 基督作为上帝的亲生儿子,祂的生命比人类的生命更高贵,甚至比未堕落前的亚当还高贵。祂完美的品格和祂在天庭的权威远远超越了第一个亚当。所以祂的死就比任何人的死更有价值。就因如此,启5:9 说只有那被杀的羔羊配拿书卷,配揭开七印。(启示录:5:9 “他们唱新歌,说:你配拿书卷,配揭开七印;因为你曾被杀,用自己的血从各族、各方、各民、各国中买了人来,叫他们归于上帝”) “违犯上帝的律法原要以犯法者的生命作为抵偿。在全宇宙之中,只有一位能代替人类来满足这律法的要求。上帝的律法既与上帝自己同样神圣,所以只有那与上帝同等的一位才能为违犯律法的人类赎罪。除了基督之外,没有人能救赎堕落的人类脱离律法的咒诅,并使他们重新与上天和谐。基督愿意把犯罪的疚责和耻辱归到自己身上---这罪在圣洁的上帝看来是那么可憎,甚至圣父与圣子必须分离。基督愿意下到祸患的深渊来拯救败亡的人类。”(怀爱伦著,《奇异的神恩》,第42页) (2)上帝儿子的权威仅次于上帝的权威(林前15:28 “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”)。所以基督是受上帝律法之约束的。祂敬拜祂父为祂的神(约20:17 “耶稣说: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,见我的神,也是你们的神”)。祂父是祂独一的真神(约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”),祂没有别的神(第一条诫命:出20:3 “除了我以外,你不可有别的神”)。以祂的神性品格,祂完美地遵守了祂父的律法(约15:10 “你们若遵守我的命令,就常在我的爱里,正如我遵守了我父的命令,常在他的爱里”)。祂圣洁无罪的生活满足了律法神圣的要求(来4:15 “因我们的大祭司,并非不能体恤我们的软弱,他也曾凡事受过试探,与我们一样,只是他没有犯罪”)。只有一个无瑕疵的祭品才能代替罪人。(彼前1:18,19 “知道你们得赎,脱去你们祖宗所传流虚妄的行为,不是凭着能坏的金银等物,乃是凭着基督的宝血,如同无瑕疵、无玷污的羔羊之血。”) (3)基督与父不同,祂有能力放下祂永恒的生命(约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”)。祂的死不会影响宇宙万物的生存。还有父维持万物的生命。父是生命的本源。基督从父那里得到了永生的权能(约5:26 “因为父怎样在自己有生命,就赐给他儿子也照样在自己有生命”),作为渠道祂把父的生命赐给众生(约5:21 “父怎样叫死人起来,使他们活着,子也照样随自己的意思使人活着”)。 总结:三位一体论说圣父圣子圣灵三位全方位同等。假如耶稣与圣父全面同等的话,那祂也就不能死,也不必顺从父的旨意,不必守律法,也就不必牺牲自己作无瑕疵的祭品了。这样的话,人类就没有了救主,没有了得永生的盼望。只有基督才配得上成为人,代替罪人而死,作为一个没有瑕疵的牺牲。这就足以推翻三位一体论了。 (31)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) (32)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? (33)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jian4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jian4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) (34)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。 (35)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。 (36)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。 (37)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 “他本有神的形像,不以自己与神同等为强夺的。” 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。 (38)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。 1**使徒行传2:24 “上帝却将死的痛苦解释[解除]了,叫他复活... 。” 2**使徒行传2:32 “这耶稣,上帝已经叫他复活了... ” 3**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... ” 4**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。” 5**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。” 6**使徒行传10:40 “第三日上帝叫他复活,显现出来... ” 7**使徒行传13:30 “上帝却叫他从死里复活。” 8**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... ” 9**使徒行传13:34 “论到上帝叫他从死里复活,不再归于朽坏... ” 10**使徒行传13:37 “惟独上帝所复活的,他并未见朽坏。” 11**使徒行传17:31 “... 并且叫他从死里复活,给万人作可信的凭据。” 12**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。” 13**罗马书6:4 “... 像基督借着父的荣耀,从死里复活一样。” 14**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。” 15**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。” 16**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。” 17**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。” 18**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)” 19**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,” 20**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。” 21**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。” 22**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... 。” (39)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,我就是耶和华你的神,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。 (40)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)。” (41)阿拉法与俄梅戛,初与终 在启示录中有几个章节提到基督是阿拉法与俄梅戛。这就让许多人误以为基督就是上帝。今天我们就来集中探讨这个课题。 首先我们来看启示录提到阿拉法与俄梅戛的几个章节。 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。】 天父是昔在今在以后永在的全能者主上帝——启1:1-4,4:8,21:22 耶稣是阿拉法、俄梅嘎——启1:5,22:12-13) KJV Revelation 1 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 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。我们知道父上帝是没有开始的,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。” 谁是阿拉法与俄梅戛(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虽然谈到了世界末日,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,阿拉法和俄梅戛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马上要发生的事,就是得胜的义人将得赏赐,而恶人将被毁灭。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都提到“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,阿拉法俄梅戛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是常存的而且祂又是上帝呢?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。 根据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,祂也把世界带到它的结局。《巴恩斯圣经注释》对启示录22:13的解释也证实了圣经在这方面所启示的。 启示录所说的初与终的初字,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上帝里的奥秘,是如何安排的。” 更准确的翻译是[英皇钦定本]“并且使所有人明白那奥秘的团契是什么,这是从世界开始就隐藏在上帝里的,他借着耶稣基督创造万物。” 希伯来书1:10 又说:『主啊,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戛这两个词的意思。 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zhu4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) (42)结论 许多人感觉混淆,不知道自己所拜的是谁,或是谁住在他们里面。是一位三位一体的神吗?还是真实的父和子。圣灵究竟是圣灵上帝还是上帝的灵?圣子藉着后者而进入我们心里。耶稣说“我们所拜的,我们知道”(约4:22)这句话就包括了祂自己所拜的。接着祂还解释祂自己拜的是谁。祂说:“那真正拜父的,要用心灵和诚实拜他。” (约翰福音4:23)耶稣跟所有“真正拜父的”人一样拜祂的父。耶稣拜祂的父,因为祂的父就是祂的上帝。 耶稣在祂复活之后对马利亚说:“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。”(约翰福音20:17) 耶稣告诉祂门徒说,祂的上帝与他们的上帝是同一位上帝。祂也解释了这位上帝是谁,就是父。祂告诉门徒说,祂的父也是我们的父,祂的上帝也是我们的上帝。 许多人明显混淆了。你经常会听到这样的祷告:“父啊,我们感谢你下来为我们的罪而死。” 然后你会听到人们在结束祷告时说:“奉耶稣的名求!” 奉耶稣自己的名来向耶稣祷告合理吗?祂是我们的中保,而且祂吩咐我们奉祂的名来向天父祷告。(路11:2;约16:23;弗5:20) 你会听见人们向天父祷告,而结束时却说:“奉你的名求!” 圣经说:“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。”(提摩太前书2:5)我们当向父上帝祷告,并奉我们中保耶稣基督的名来祈求。看来那些对父和子在圣经中的分别和地位产生混淆的人不知道自己所拜的是谁。因此他们没有“用心灵和诚实拜祂。” 圣经很多次说明耶稣真的是上帝的儿子。但三位一体论却说不是的,他们只不过在表演角色。因此父子的位格已受到破损。上帝不再是一个真父亲,而基督也不再是一个真儿子。这是撒但的计划,叫基督徒不认父和子,并让他自己获得他一直以来所渴望得到的敬拜。 是基督作我们的保惠师,而祂和祂父亲俩藉着祂的圣灵住在我们里面(约翰14: 16-23) 那么三位一体论是真理还是谬论呢?按照圣经的见证,只有一位上帝,就是父,还有一位主,就是耶稣基督。而祂们的灵就是上帝的临格与大能。父子不但创造了我们,祂们也爱我们,甚至策划了一项奇妙的方案,把一个失落的世界从罪中拯救出来,好叫我们恢复在祂跟前的地位。 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

  • The God of Our Fathers

    All trinity studies Previous Download 看中文 Next The God of Our Fathers "THE GOD OF OUR FATHERS" (Acts 3:13, 5:30) This page has been created to be a quick go to page for people looking for Bible verses referring to the one true God and His Son. Bible verses are also listed showing the Holy Spirit as being the Spirit of Christ Himself, which He received from God the Father. So please make free use of this page. Share it, copy it and help to spread the truth of the one true God and His Son. God the Father is the One True God. Matthew 4:10 ...'Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' 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.' (Repeated in Luke 10:21 - Also Reference this verse with Revelation 14:7, Acts 4:24-27 and John 17:1-3) Mark 12:28-34 ...'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: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.' John 4:22-24 ...'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. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.' 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.' John 14:1-6 ...'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' John 17:1-3 ...'These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' 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.' Acts 3:13 ...'The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.' (Note: The God of the Old Testament fathers was God the Father) Acts 4:24-27 ...'And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed.' Acts 5:30 ...'The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.' 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 ...'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. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 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 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.' 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.' 2 Corinthians 11:31 ...'The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.' Romans 1:7-9 ...'To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with? my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.' Ephesians 1:2-3 ...'Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.' Ephesians 1:17 ...'That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.' 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.' (Please reference this with 1 Corinthians 8:6) Hebrews 9:24 ...'For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.' 1 Timothy 2:3-5 ...'For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' Hebrews 12:22-24 ...'But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, AND to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.' 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.' 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 ...'Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.' 2 Thessalonians 2:16 ...'Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.' Philippians 2:11 ...'And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' 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.' Jude 1:4 ...'For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus 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.' Revelation 7:10 ...'And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.' Revelation 21:22 ...'And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.' Revelation 22:1 ...'And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.' Jesus Christ is the Literal, Begotten Son of God Psalm 2:7 ...'I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.' 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.' (NOTE: 1 Corinthians 1:24 confirms that Christ is 'the wisdom 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?' 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.' John 16:27-29 ...'For the Father himself loveth you, because ye 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. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.' John 17:7-8 ...'Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.' 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.' Matthew 3:17 ...'And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Matthew 14:33 ...'Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou art the Son of God.' Matthew 16:15-17 ...'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. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.' 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.' Mark 1:1 ...'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.' Mark 3:11 ...'And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, thou art the Son of God.' John 1:14 ...'And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.' 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 3:16-18 ...'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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.' John 3:34-36 ...'For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 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 5:26 ...'For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.' John 5:43 ...'I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.' John 6:68-69 ...'Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.' 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?' John 11:4 ...'When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.' 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.' John 17:1 ...'These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.' 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.' 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.' Acts 3:13 ...'The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.' Acts 9:19-20 ...'Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.' Romans 1:9 ...'For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.' Romans 8:3 ...'For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.' 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.' Ephesians 3:14 ...'For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Galatians 2:20 ...'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' 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.' Galatians 4:6 ...'And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.' Colossians 1:13-15 ...'Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.' 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.' Hebrews 1:1-5 ...'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: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?' Hebrews 4:14 ...'Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.' Hebrews 5:5 ...'So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.' 1 Peter 1:3 ...'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.' 1 John 1:3 ...'That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.' 1 John 1:5-7 ...'This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.' 1 John 2:22-24 ...'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: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.' 1 John 3:8 ...'He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' 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.' 1 John 4:15 ...'Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.' 1 John 5:5-13 ...'Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 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. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.' (PLEASE NOTE: verse 7 is known to be an 'added' verse that is not inspired) 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.' 2 John 1:3 ...'Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.' Revelation 1:5-6 ...'And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.' Revelation 2:18 ...'And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass.' Revelation 3:21 ...'To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.' Revelation 14:1 ...'And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.' The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the Son The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God the Father, which He has given to His Son Jesus. These verses show that the Holy Spirit is not a 'third being', but rather the Spirit of Christ, which He has received from God. Job 33:4 ...'The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.' Psalm 51:10-11 ...'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.' Psalm 139:7 ...'Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?' Joel 2:28 ...'And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.' Matthew 12:15-18 ...'But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.' Matthew 18:20 ...'For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' Mark 1:8 ...'I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.' Luke 21:14-15 ...'Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.' (Reference this verse with Luke 12:12) Luke 24:49 ...'And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.' (Reference this with Acts 2:33) John 3:34-35 ...'For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.' (Reference this with Acts 2:33) John 4:10 ...'Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and He would have given thee living water.' John 7:37-39 ...'In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)' John 14:17-21 ...'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. 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. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.' John 17:22-26 ...'And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.' John 20:21-22 ...'Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' Acts 1:1-2 ...'The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that HE through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen.' Acts 2:32-33 ...'This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.' 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.' 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 ...'But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 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. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.' 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 ...'Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them: and that rock was Christ.' 2 Corinthians 3:17 ...'Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.' 2 Corinthians 13:3-5 ...'Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?' Ephesians 3:14-17 ...'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, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love ...' Ephesians 4:7-11 ...'But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that HE might fill all things.) And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.' Galatians 2:20 ...'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' Galatians 4:6 ...'And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.' Philippians 1:19 ...'For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.' 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.' Hebrews 1:8-9 ...'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. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.' Titus 3:4-6 ...'But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.' 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.' 1 John 2:27-28 ...'But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.' Revelation 1:12,13,20 - Revelation 2:1 ...'And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man ... the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.' Revelation 2:18,29 ...'And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass ... He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.' 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.' Revelation 5:6 ...'And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, HAVING seven horns and seven eyes, WHICH ARE the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.' Revelation 22:1 ...'And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.' There are only Two Beings in the Godhead When the Bible speaks of the Godhead (Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20), it is actually referring to God the Father. Paul confirmed in 1 Corinthians 11:3 that the 'HEAD of Christ IS GOD'. So God the Father is the 'God-head'. He is the 'source of all things' (1 Cor.8:6). But we include Christ in the Godhead, because Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God the Father, as shown above, which means Christ is 'OF' the Godhead. And as Colossians 2:9 confirms, all the fulness of the Godhead (God the Father) 'DWELLS IN' Jesus Christ, as Jesus confirmed Himself in John 14:10. But the main purpose of this section is to expose the false trinity doctrine which says there are '3 beings' in the Godhead.Genesis 1:26 ...'And God said, let us make man in our image.' John 1:1-3 ...'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with [THE] God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.' Ephesians 3:9 ...'And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.' Zechariah 6:13 ...'the counsel of peace shall be between them both.' 2 John 1:9 ...'He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.' Luke 10:22 ...'All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.' John 16:3 ...'And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.' 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 ...'For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 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 ...'and truly our fellowship is with the Father, AND with his Son Jesus Christ.' 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.' 1 Corinthians 1:3 ...'Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, AND from the Lord Jesus Christ.' Ephesians 1:2 ...'Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, AND from the Lord Jesus Christ.' 2 John 1:3 ...'Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, AND from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.' James 1:1 ...'James, a servant of God AND of the Lord Jesus Christ.' 2 Peter 1:2 ...'Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God AND of Jesus our Lord.' 1 John 2:22 ...'Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father AND the Son.' John 15:23 ...'He that hateth me hateth my Father also.' 1 Timothy 2:5 ...'For there is one God, AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' 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.' John 8:18 ...'I am one that bear witness of myself, AND the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.' Revelation 21:22-23 ...'And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty AND the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, AND the Lamb is the light thereof.' Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

  • What is the Origin of the Trinity Doctrine

    All trinity studies Previous Download Next What is the Origin of the Trinity Doctrine What is the Origin of the Trinity Doctrine? It was about a century after Tertullian when Arianism began causing so many disputes that Constantine convened the first ecumenical Council in Church history to settle them. Arius was an elder in the Alexandrian Church in the early fourth century that taught Christ truly is the begotten Son of God and why God is called His Father to state the obvious. A real Father and Son in other words. Opposing the teachings of Arius was Athanasius, a deacon also from Alexandria. His view was an early form of Trinitarianism where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are said to be all the same one god but distinct from each other making it impossible for them to be a real Father and Son. His view was a worsening change to what Tertullian believed with the Holy Spirit not yet claimed to be a literal being. That came later. Mainstream history says Arius taught Christ was created, but the Church burnt all copies of his book Thalia which contained what Arius believed thus hiding what he really taught. Some historians claim they then altered records and falsely rumoured that he taught Christ was created in order to discredit him. The Catholic Church is known for creating false historical records to their interpretation of events to hide the real truth. Consider the following for instance. The view of Athanasius was highly influenced by Origen who was a Greek philosopher and theologian who reinterpreted Christian doctrine through the philosophy of Neoplatonism. His work was later condemned as unorthodox. Origen taught the doctrine of Purgatory, transubstantiation, transmigration and reincarnation of the soul, the Holy Spirit was a feminine force, Jesus was only a created being, there would be no physical resurrection, the creation account in Genesis is a fictitious story and is known to have publicly castrated himself based on Matthew 19. Arius on the other hand was a pupil of Lucian of Antioch. Lucian was responsible for the work that gave us what is known as the Textus Receptus which was completed by Erasmus, and is what gave us the trusted New Testament of the KJV Bible. These and other facts reveal that Athanasius was influenced by Greek philosophy and that Arius probably taught Biblical truth despite mainstream history. Some believe Constantine was the first Christian Roman Emperor, but he was actually a sun worshiper who was baptized on his deathbed. During his reign he had his eldest son and his wife murdered. His belief at best was a blend of paganism and Christianity for political purposes, and so he neither cared nor really understood this dispute, but was just eager to bring the controversy to a close and keep unity in his empire. When the bishops gathered at Nicea on May 20, 325 AD to resolve the crisis, very few shared Athanasius's view of Christ as most held a position midway between Athanasius and Arius. The religious debates lasted two months before the Council rejected the minority view of Arius, but having no alternative, Constantine approved the view of Athanasius, which was also a minority view. And so the Church was left supporting a belief held by only a minority of those attending. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: “Constantine himself presided, actively guiding the discussions, and personally proposed ... the crucial formula expressing the relation of Christ to God in the creed issued by the council ... Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the creed, many of them much against their inclination.” — (1971 edition, Vol. 6, “Constantine,” p. 386) Horrific religious persecution followed the decision made by Constantine who was essentially a pagan Emperor who imposed an invented creed never preached by Jesus. Constantine exiled those who refused to accept the creed as well as the bishops who signed the creed but refused to join in condemnation of Arius. But several years later Constantine became lenient toward those he condemned and exiled at the council and allowed them to return. In AD 335, they brought accusations against Athanasius and so now Constantine had Athanasius banished! This was not about Biblical truth. Many of the Bishops who formulated the doctrine of the Trinity were steeped in Greek and Platonic philosophy, which influenced their religious views. In fact the language they used in defining the Trinity is taken directly from Platonic and Greek philosophy. The Platonic term trias, meaning three, was Latinized as trinitas, which gave us the English word Trinity which is neither biblical nor Christian. As Bible scholars John McClintock and James Strong (wrote the famous Strong's Concordance) explain, “Towards the end of the 1st century, and during the 2nd, many learned men came over both from Judaism and paganism to Christianity. These brought with them into the Christian schools of theology their Platonic ideas and phraseology.” — (Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, 1891, Vol. 10, “Trinity,” p. 553) So the Trinity was not derived from scripture, but was conceived in philosophy. Greek philosophers were greatly influenced by Plato (427-347 BC) who was considered the greatest of all Greek philosophers. Plato was ingrained with Trinitarian thought and knew that all the ancient religions had triad deities, and so he desired to come up with a better definition to define God above all the deities of Greek mythology. The Council of Nicea did not end the controversy and the bishops went on teaching as they had before, and the Arian crisis continued for another sixty years. Athanasius was exiled no fewer than five times and it was very difficult to make his creed stick. The ongoing disputes were violent and bloody at times as Christians slaughtered one another over their differing views of God. Noted historian Will Durant writes, “Probably more Christians were slaughtered by Christians in these two years (342-3) than by all the persecutions of Christians by pagans in the history of Rome.” — (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 4: The Age of Faith, 1950, p. 8) Disputes eventually became over the nature of the Holy Spirit. So 44 years after Constantine's death in May 381 AD, Emperor Theodosius, baptized only a year earlier, convened the Council of Constantinople to resolve them. Theodosius favoured the Nicene Creed and so after his arrival in Constantinople he expelled the bishop Demophilus, and surrendered the Churches there to Gregory of Nazianzus who was the leader of a small Nicene community there, and one of three men that became known as “the three Cappadocians.” These three men had an agenda at this council which was for the first time to push the idea of the Holy Spirit as a literal being. Gregory was recently appointed as archbishop of Constantinople, but due to illness, Nectarius, an elderly city senator had to take over the role of archbishop and presided over the council. And so Nectarius was baptized for the job and the Trinitarian view on the Holy Spirit was governed by someone with little or no knowledge of theology! What resulted became known as the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed where they now decided that the Holy Spirit was a literal being. Any who disagreed were in accordance with the edicts of the emperor and Church authorities branded heretics and dealt with accordingly. This final teaching on the nature of God is what became the Trinity as it is generally understood today. It was not decided so much from Scripture but from Greek philosophy, much bloodshed and whoever held the most power. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

  • We Need to Realise That if God is Trinity

    All trinity studies Previous Download Next We Need to Realise That if God is Trinity We need to realize that IF God is a Trinity, THEN ... 1. Jesus is not the literal son of God, the Father. 2. The Holy Spirit is not God’s (the Father’s) spirit with which He is everywhere present but a third, separate person of the Godhead. 3. Jesus should have called the Holy Spirit His Father because the Bible clearly teaches that it was the Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary. (Luke 1:35) 4. Jesus never really died because God cannot die (He is immortal—1. Tim. 6:16). a) And because of it, He has never really paid the price for us and the atonement was not complete. b) He had a part of Himself that was conscious after His death, founding the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. 5. Jesus was never tempted here on earth because the Bible says “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:13). 6. We have a Comforter (the Holy Spirit who is a separate Being, other than Christ) who was never a human being, was never tempted and tried as we are and never suffered death for us. 7. At the new birth, we will possess the Holy Spirit’s life (who was never a human Being and never conquered sin). This life is not a victorious life and there is no union of humanity and divinity in it. 8. We could never really study our Bibles without theological education because it is hard to know when God speaks in a literal and when in a metaphorical sense. (He calls Jesus His Son but in reality He is not.) 9. We have 2 Mediators and 2 Intercessors: Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 10. Jesus is removed from being our Comforter, and the 3rd Person of the Godhead takes His place thus causing us to look apart from Jesus in another direction. (Read what Ellen White said in Review and Herald, August 26,1890, par. 10) The Glorification of Christ ~ by Nader Mansour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VHmDVKquxU&t=1s Who or What is the Holy Spirit ? ~ New gods ~ by Nader Mansour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSGXRSvSKKQ Who Do You Worship ? ~ by Nader Mansour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJnDa_crKrs&t=1s ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

  • 三位一体信徒能否受上帝的印记

    返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 Read in English 下一篇 三位一体信徒能否受上帝的印记 三位一体信徒能否受上帝的印记? 敬拜三位一体神的人是否有可能受我们在启示录7章和14章中所提到上帝的印记呢? 这是一个非常重要的问题,因为在末世时只有受上帝印记的人才会得救。 “认识上帝是一切真教育真服务的根本,是抵抗世上诱惑唯一的真保障,是能使我们在品格上与上帝相象的唯一途径。 凡从事于超拔人群之工的人,非得认识上帝不可。人品格的展变,生活的纯洁,工作的效率,遵守正义的毅力,都从真正认识上帝而来的。这种认识,乃是人生今世和来世双方所不可少的准备。 “认识至圣者,便是聪明。” 箴言9:10 我们所得“一切关乎生命和虔敬的事,”(彼得后书1:3)都是从认识他而来的。 耶稣说:“认识祢独一的真神,并且认识祢所差来的耶稣基督,这就是永生。” 约翰福音17:3 (怀爱伦,服务真诠,409.1-6 页) 现在许多三位一体论者说,理解我们敬拜的上帝并不重要,并声称上帝是一个“奥秘”。这是那些敬拜三位一体的人常用的借口,因为他们无法理解他们崇拜的是什么。 但如果是这种情况,我们就无法认识我们敬拜的神,这自然就意味着敬拜罗马天主教的神或回教的神是可以接受的。 因为倘若我们仅仅认为有限的头脑无法理解我们所敬拜的上帝,并且认为知道上帝是否是独一真神还是三位一体并不重要,那么就不会拒绝任何关于“上帝”的概念,并且所有“有可能对”的道理都可以被接受。 一旦你理解了这一点,你就会开始意识到三位一体神的普世宗教合一的性质。 这就是为什么我们看到至今大多数的教会都有份参与普世教会合一运动。 他们无法分开,因为他们都对上帝的身份有一个混淆的概念。 他们不再使用上帝的话语作为神圣的启示和信仰上的至高权威。 相反的,他们被人类的想法牵引着。 但那些凭着“耶和华如此说”的人能够脱离这种普世教会合一运动,因为他们透过上帝的圣言认出了普世教会合一运动的神不是圣经里的神。 因此,那些敬拜三位一体的人能受上帝的印记吗? 让我们来看启示录第14章关于这一点。。。 启示录 7:2-3 2 我又看见另有一位天使,从日出之地上来,拿着永生上帝的印。他就向那得着权柄能伤害地和海的四位天使,大声喊着说: 3 “地与海并树木,你们不可伤害,等我们印了我们上帝众仆人的额。” 启示录 14:1 我又观看,见羔羊站在锡安山,同他又有十四万四千人,都有他的名和他父的名写在额上。 我们可以从这些经文中注意到两件明确的事情。 印记被称为“永生上帝的印”。 什么是“印记”? 印记是'羔羊和他父'的名字。 羔羊是耶稣基督,所以谁是耶稣的父? 那就是父上帝。 看看以下的经文。 马太福音 16:16 西门彼得回答说:“你是基督,是永生上帝的儿子。” 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; 2 正如你曾赐给他权柄管理凡有血气的,叫他将永生赐给你所赐给他的人。 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。 约翰二书 1:3 恩惠、怜悯、平安从父上帝和他儿子耶稣基督,在真理和爱心上必常与我们同在! 所以耶稣基督,弥赛亚,是父上帝的儿子。而启示录第14章为我们确认了上帝的印记是“耶稣的名和上帝的名”。如果我们看希腊原文的话它只是记载着“父的名字”。不是父,子,圣灵的名字,更不是父上帝,子上帝,圣灵上帝的名字。而是有“父”的名字。圣经也为我们确认了父上帝是独一的真神,如以下经文所说的,而不是众教会所敬拜的三位一体神。 约翰福音17:1-3 。。。“父啊。。。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。” 哥林多前书 8:5-6 5 虽有称为神的,或在天、或在地,就如那许多的神,许多的主。 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。 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。” 你不认为我们应该听那诚实的见证人,弥赛亚耶稣基督的见证吗?而耶稣向我们确认了祂父为那独一的真神。不但如此,耶稣还说父上帝也是祂的上帝!希伯来书1:9也同样证明这一点。 有趣的是,犹太人不曾敬拜三位一体神,而清楚知道父上帝是他们的神(约翰福音8:41)。耶稣也不曾敬拜三位一体神,或所谓的其他两位神,而是晓得祂父是独一的真神 (约翰福音17:3)。使徒们也不曾敬拜三位一体神,而是敬拜和宣告父上帝为独一的真神(哥林多前书8:6)。事实上,他们也同样高举和敬拜耶稣,为永生上帝的儿子。这也是为什么我们有上帝的名和祂儿子的名在我们额上。 这些都是不重要的!真的吗? 很多三位一体信徒都宣称这是不重要的,而且上帝是一个“奥秘”,我们不能认识我们所敬拜的神。他们否认了这神圣的启示。是上帝给予人类的启示!耶稣清楚地说明了永生是建立在对父上帝和祂自己的认识。耶稣说我们能够认识上帝,但是三位一体信徒说我们不能认识上帝。你愿意相信谁呢?那“诚实见证人”的智慧,还是人的智慧?现在我们来看看耶稣在约翰福音第4章中对井边的妇人所说的话。 约翰福音 4:21-24 21 耶稣说:“妇人,你当信我。时候将到,你们拜父也不在这山上,也不在耶路撒冷。 22 你们所拜的,你们不知道;我们所拜的,我们知道,因为救恩是从犹太人出来的。 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。” 24上帝是个灵(或无“个”字),所以拜他的,必须用心灵和诚实拜他。” “你们所拜的,你们不知道”。。。这句话在今时今日是对谁说的呢?三位一体信徒! 在整个新约圣经中,耶稣和使徒们都表明父是独一的真神,而且我们的忠诚和敬拜最终是归与祂的。耶稣确认了真正的敬拜者是敬拜父上帝为独一真神的。这意味着那些崇拜这三位一体神的人不是真正的敬拜者。如果我们不是敬拜那独一真神的话,我们有可能受那永生上帝的印记吗?不,根本不可能!仍然在天主教内的罗马天主教徒能受上帝的印记吗?不能。为什么呢?因为他们不是敬拜那独一的真神。那些敬拜三位一体的人也是如此。他们没有敬拜独一的真神,所以不能受祂的印记。注意启示录第14章怎么说到那些受上帝印记的人。 启示录 14:4 这些人未曾沾染妇女,他们原是童身。羔羊无论往哪里去,他们都跟随他。他们是从人间买来的,作初熟的果子归与上帝和羔羊。 “妇女”在圣经里意表着教会。由此,“沾染妇女”意思说沾染堕落的教会。那沾染堕落的教会又是什么意思呢?这 意思说被他们的假道理和假神的敬拜所迷惑。三位一体神论是源于巴比伦的谬论。因此,崇拜三位一体神意味着你 沾染妇女 ,并无法受父上帝的印记。 末世的善恶之争是关乎敬拜。而启示录第14章显明了我们应当敬拜的是谁。 敬拜我们创造主上帝的呼召 启示录 14:6-7 6 我又看见另有一位天使飞在空中,有永远的福音要传给住在地上的人,就是各国、各族、各方、各民。 7 他大声说:“应当敬畏上帝,将荣耀归给他,因他施行审判的时候已经到了,应当敬拜那创造天、地、海和众水泉源的。” 在创世纪第1章里,我们可以看到以下的陈述 “上帝说:“我们要照着我们的形像,按着我们的样式造人,” 那三位一体信徒相信这是 “三位一体神” 在说话。但是,如我们上述所见,圣经所显明的上帝是天父。所以谁才是在这里说话的呢?是天父上帝在说话。那上帝在对谁说话呢?歌罗西书1:16,约翰福音1:3 和哥林多前书8:6 都证实了天父上帝藉着祂的儿子耶稣基督创造了万物。所以天父上帝在对谁说话呢?祂在对祂的儿子说话。让我们看看大伟王在历代志上第29章怎么说。 历代志上29:10-11 10 所以,大卫在会众面前称颂耶和华说:“耶和华我们的父,以色列的上帝,是应当称颂,直到永永远远的。 11 耶和华啊,尊大、能力、荣耀、强胜、威严都是你的;凡天上地下的都是你的;国度也是你的;并且你为至高,为万有之首。 那万有之首是谁呢?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。” 因此那万有之首就是天父上帝。耶稣也在马太福音11:25证实了这一点, “那时,耶稣说:“父啊,天地的主,我感谢你!” 。 所以启示录第14章大声说应当敬拜的,那独一的真神,天地的主和我们的创造主是谁呢?是父上帝,那独一的真神,一切生命的本源 (歌林多前书 8:6)。上帝末世的子民将领受谁的名字和印记呢?他们受父上帝,那独一的真神,永生上帝的印记。是的,我们也应当敬拜和归荣耀给弥赛亚耶稣,因为他是独一真神的儿子,而启示录5:13也确认了我们要敬拜父上帝和羔羊(基督),直到永永远远。但是基督所得的一切荣耀是使荣耀归与父上帝。 腓立比书 2:11 “无不口称耶稣基督为主,使荣耀归与父上帝。” 由此,我们的敬拜最终去到父上帝,因祂是万有之首,万有之神,也是万有的生命之根源。但是那些敬拜巴比伦三位一体假神的人不是敬拜那圣经里独一的真神。因此,他们不可能受上帝的印记。朋友们,这是非常重要的。这是关乎我们永生的。如果你相信和敬拜三位一体神的话,我真心邀请你研究这课题并寻求真理。你是否想受上帝的印记呢?那就敬拜那独一的真神,父上帝。 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

  • The Top Fifteen Excuses Used to Avoid the Sabbath(Part 1)(1-9)

    Back to Contents Previous Download 看中文 Next The Top Fifteen Excuses Used to Avoid the Sabbath(Part 1) It is absolutely incredible how many excuses are given by Christians who claim to truly love God come up with to justify why they do not need to obey one of the Ten Commandments that defines what sin is, and is a precious SIGN and blessing from God. As stated earlier, I have been given enough excuses to write an entire book. This is extremely dangerous and the many Christians who have deliberately sought out an excuse as to why they can disobey God are in for a very rude shock. Jesus says that to even those that do miracles in His name and call Him Lord but break any of the Commandments, He will say, “depart from me I never knew you.” Can you imagine the shock of so many Christians in the end that thought they could make excuses to disobey one of God’s Commandments and get away with it? The words of Jesus on fulfilling the law are all we need to know the Sabbath truth. Jesus said that not even a letter of the Ten Commandments will pass as long as heaven and earth are still here. On the words of Jesus alone it is Ten unchanged Commandments and it is just as serious to worship idols or murder as it is to not keep the Sabbath Holy. This is far too serious an issue not to fully investigate. It is one thing to be ignorant of the truth but to not want to investigate if you are ignorantly living in sin will still condemn you. We must have a love of the truth as Jesus is truth and the Word is truth. Jesus means what He says and says what He means and we are not free to manipulate the words of any of the Ten Commandments to suit ourselves and still enter the kingdom. The Sabbath Commandment says we have six days to do our work but the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord and we are to keep the Seventh day Holy. The other six days are secular and are not Holy and the Commandment is very clear that we cannot choose our own day. See also Exodus 16. Here are fifteen responses to the most popular excuses used that all contradict the words of Jesus. Select each link to find the real truth for each excuse or misunderstanding. -Should we keep Sunday in honour of the resurrection -Has the Calendar changed the Sabbath day -How do we know which day is the Sabbath -Can we keep any day as the Sabbath -What day is the Lord's Day -Was the Sabbath only for the Jews -The Sabbath was Made for Man -Were the Ten Commandments abolished -Is Jesus our Sabbath rest -Was the Sabbath abolished -We are not under Law but under Grace -Did Jesus break the Sabbath -Is the Sabbath in the New Covenant -How could the majority wrong about the Sabbath -Was the Sabbath changed to Sunday in the Bible and Sunday Keeping in Corinth Should we keep Sunday in honour of the resurrection? Jesus did rise on the first day of the week, but nowhere is there the slightest legitimate hint in the Bible for us to keep this day holy. See also the Sabbath to Sunday change or who changed the Sabbath to Sunday for the first day of the week misunderstandings. History confirms that some Christians around 90-120 A.D. changed to Sunday to avoid the intense persecution for Judaism using the resurrection as their excuse, and there are always those who will do their own thing contrary to God’s Word, but obviously it is not man’s prerogative to change God’s law for any reason. Jesus said, “…Full well you reject the Commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.” Mark 7:9 Many honourable events occurred on certain days of the week, but we have no command to keep them Holy. Jesus died for our sins on Friday. But not one Bible text hints that we should observe this day of such great significance that is probably the most significant event recorded in all history. It marks the moment our death sentence was commuted and our salvation assured. So how do we honour the crucifixion? Do we worship on Friday to honour the crucifixion? No! As long as you break the bread and drink the cup of communion you show the Lord’s death till He comes. Communion is what commemorates the crucifixion on Friday. It was a dramatic moment when Jesus rose from the grave on that Sunday morning, but again there is no biblical evidence whatsoever that we should observe it in honour of the resurrection. Not one instance of Sunday observance has been found in the recorded Scriptures. As with communion, honouring the resurrection should be done how God instructs us, not how man decides. This of course is done through Baptism which is a memorial of the resurrection commanded in the Bible, but it is not Sunday keeping. Paul wrote in Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Communion commemorates the Friday crucifixion and Baptism commemorates Christ’s death, burial and Sunday resurrection. Those who believe that Sunday observance honours His resurrection cite the upper room meeting of the disciples on the same day He arose from the grave. To them that gathering was to celebrate His resurrection. But when we read the Bible record of the event, we discover that the circumstances were quite different. Luke tells us that, even though the disciples were confronted with the eyewitness story of Mary Magdalene, they “believed not.” Mark 16:12-14 states, “After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” Obviously, none of those disciples believed He was raised, so they could not have been joyously celebrating His resurrection. John explains their reason for being together, “…the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews…” John 20:19. See also “Sunday Keeping in Corinth” and the erroneous Wednesday crucifixion theory pushed by some. Has the Calendar changed the Sabbath day? The calendar has been changed but it was never changed so as to affect the weekly cycle of days or confuse the days of the week. We can be one hundred percent positive that our seventh day is the same day Jesus observed when He was here. Pope Gregory XIII was responsible for a calendar change in 1582, but it did not interfere with the weekly cycle. Our present Gregorian calendar was named after him when he made that small change in 1582. What did Pope Gregory XIII do to the calendar? Before 1582 the Julian calendar had been in effect instituted by Julius Caesar about 46 B.C. and named after him. But the Julian calendar had calculated the length of the year as 365 1/4 days, which was incorrect as the length of a year was actually eleven minutes less than 365 1/4 days. Those eleven minutes accumulated, and by 1582 the numbering of the calendar was ten days out of harmony with the solar system. Pope Gregory fixed the problem by simply dropping those ten days out of the numbering of the calendar. It was Thursday, October 4, 1582, and the next day, Friday, should have been October 5. But Gregory made it October 15 instead, dropping exactly ten days to bring the calendar back into harmony with the heavenly bodies. Were the days of the week confused? No. Friday still followed Thursday, and Saturday still followed Friday etc. The same seventh day remained and the weekly cycle was not disturbed in the least. When we keep the seventh day on Saturday, we observe the same day Jesus kept, and Luke 4:16 tells us Jesus did this every week. The U.S. Naval Observatory has also reported that there has never been any change in the continuity of the weekly cycle. How do we know which day is the Sabbath? This is a fallacy that has comforted many in their disobedience to the fourth Commandment. Beside the fact that God would not allow the day to be lost, here are four other proofs that identify we still have the correct Sabbath day: 1. Many people today have never given much thought to which is the seventh day of the week. I assumed for many years that Sunday was the seventh day and Monday was the first day. You can imagine my surprise when I found out this was incorrect. An easy way to confirm this is to just look up Saturday in any normal dictionary. Here are two. Saturday n. the seventh day of the week; day after Friday; day of worship among Jews and some Christians. Saturday n. the seventh and last day of the week: the Sabbath. 2. The Scriptures say Christ died on Friday and rose on Sunday, the first day of the week. Practically all churches acknowledge this fact by observing Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Here is the Bible evidence: “This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.” Luke 23:52-54. This clearly shows Jesus died the day before the Sabbath. It was called “the preparation day” because it was the time to get ready (to prepare) for the Sabbath. Verses 55 and 56 go on to say, “And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the Commandment.” Note that the women rested over the Sabbath “according to the Commandment” and that the book of Luke was written decades after the cross showing the Sabbath unquestionably remained unchanged. The Commandment says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath,” so we know they were observing Saturday. The very next verse says; “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared… And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.” Luke 24:1-2. How clearly these three consecutive days are described for us. He died Friday, the preparation day, commonly called Good Friday. He rested in the tomb on the seventh day, Sabbath, “according to the Commandment.” That was Saturday. Then on Sunday, the first day of the week, Easter Sunday to many, Jesus arose from the grave. Anyone who can locate Good Friday or Easter Sunday will have absolutely no difficulty finding the true Sabbath day. See also Wednesday crucifixion. 3. The third proof lies in the fact that in over 100 languages of the world, the seventh day Saturday is still called the Sabbath. In Italy it is called Sabbato, in Spain Sabado, in Portugal Sabbado, in Russia Subbota and Poland Sobota. All of these names mean “Sabbath” or “rest day” in their various languages. What does this prove? It proves that when those 100 languages originated at Babel in Genesis 11, Saturday was recognized as the Sabbath day and was incorporated into the very name of the day. Except for those languages that have adopted the pagan names for the days of the week, the seventh day is still called the Sabbath as the Lord named it at the time of creation. Strong’s dictionary shows the word translated “rest” in our English Bibles in Genesis 2:3, is actually “Sabbath” in the Hebrew. See who changed the Sabbath to Sunday or what day is the Sabbath for a table of languages. 4. Here is the most conclusive proof of all for the true Sabbath. The Jewish people have been observing the seventh day from the time of Abraham, and they still keep it today. Here is a whole nation, millions of individuals who have been counting off time meticulously, week after week, calendar or no calendar, for thousands of years. Could they have lost track of days? That would be impossible! The only way they could have lost a day would have been for the entire nation to have slept over an extra day and for no one ever to tell them about it afterwards. There is no scientific or astronomical reason for measuring time in cycles of seven days. The origin of the week is found in the creation story and it is an arbitrary arrangement of God and has been miraculously preserved for one reason, which is because the holy Sabbath day points to the creative power of the only true God. It is a sign of His sovereignty over the world and over human life, a sign of creation and redemption. Is this not the reason God will preserve Sabbath keeping throughout eternity? We read in Isaiah 66:22-23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” The Sabbath is so precious to God that His true Children will observe it throughout all time to see in the beautiful new heavens and the new earth. If the Sabbath is so precious to God then why isn’t it precious to us? If it was made and kept since creation and we keep it for all eternity, then why isn’t everyone keeping it now? Can we keep any day as the Sabbath? By this argument Satan prepared the world to accept a substitute in place of the Sabbath which God had specifically commanded. Upon the tables of stone God wrote the great unchanging law of the ages with His own finger. Every word was serious and meaningful. Not one line was ambiguous or mysterious. Sinners and Christians, educated and uneducated, have no problem understanding the simple, clear words of the Ten Commandments. So does God mean what he says or not? God does mean what He says and He says what He means. He said unmistakably to keep the seventh day, not any day in seven. No one has tried to void that law as too complicated to comprehend. Some say they keep the Sabbath every day of the week. Is this what God said to do? My Bible says “Six days you shall work but the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.” Can we just respond to God by saying, “You got it wrong God, the Seventh day is not your Sabbath we can just keep any or every day.” Isn’t that dangerous to mock God and His Commandment like that? God desires us to worship Him every day, doing everything at all times to His glory, however, as to a Holy day of worship, God has commanded only one and has set apart no other day. We worship God seven days a week but if we kept the Sabbath seven days a week, we would not be Holy, we would be lazy. Most of the big Ten begin with the same words: “Thou shalt not,” but right in the heart of the law we find the fourth Commandment which is introduced with the word, “Remember.” Why is this one different? Because God was commanding them to call something to memory which already existed but had been forgotten. Genesis describes the origin of the Sabbath in these words, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made...And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3. Which day did God bless and sanctify? The seventh day. How was it to be kept holy? By resting. Could any of the other six be kept holy? No. Why? Because God commanded not to rest those days but to work. In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron were supposed to bring Holy fire from the alter but instead brought, as the Bible phrases it, strange fire. Did the Holy fire and the secular fire look the same? Yes. Were they chemically the same? Yes. Was God happy with the secular fire instead of Holy fire? Leviticus 10:2 says, “And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” God was definitely not happy with their strange fire. So how does God feel when we offer Him a secular day instead of His Holy day? How does God feel when we offer a day used for sun worship (Sunday) that God detested? Does God’s blessing have any value or is it worthless? Why do parents pray for God to bless their children? The seventh day is different from the other six because it has God’s blessing and is Holy. Why did God make this day Holy? He made this day Holy because He is Holy and it is for intimate Holy time with Him. Ever heard the expression you can’t change it because it’s written in stone? It is very relevant that the Commandments were written in stone by God’s finger. When God puts it on stone like this it’s solid, it’s eternal and it’s immovable and you can’t change it. God gave many other Laws to Moses at Mt Sinai but they were not written in stone and most of those were nailed to the cross. The Ten Commandments were the only thing God wrote in stone. Why did God bless the day? Because He had created the world in six days. It was the birthday of the world, a memorial of the mighty act of creation. It is the test Commandment of our love and obedience to God while also celebrating creation and reminding us He can and will do it again. Can the Sabbath memorial be changed? Never. It points backward to an accomplished fact. July 4 is Independence Day. Can it be changed? It can’t change anymore than your birthday. It is a memorial of your birth, which happened on a set day. History would have to run through again to change your birthday, or Independence Day, or to change the Sabbath day. We can call another day Independence Day, and we can call another day the Sabbath, but that will never make it so. It is the day that it is. Did God ever give man the privilege of choosing his own day of rest? He did not. In fact, God confirmed in the Bible that the Sabbath was settled and sealed by His own divine selection and should not be tampered with. Read Exodus 16 concerning the giving of manna. For 40 years God worked three miracles every week to show Israel which day was holy. (1.) No manna fell on the seventh day. (2.) They could not keep it overnight without spoilage (3.) But when they kept it over the Sabbath, it remained sweet and fresh. But some Israelites had the same idea as many modern Christians. They felt that any day in seven would be all right to keep holy: “And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my Commandments and my laws?” Exodus 16:27-28. Sadly, these people thought another day could be kept just as well as the seventh day. Perhaps they were planning to observe the first day of the week, or some other day which was more convenient for them. This seems to be the plan for many Christians today. So how did God respond to these non-Jews? God accused them of breaking all His Commandments and laws. Would God say the same thing to those who break the Sabbath today? Of course! He is the same yesterday, today and forever, He changes not. God made it clear that, regardless of our feelings, those who work on the Sabbath are breaking His Commandments. James explains that breaking even one Commandment is sin and is to break all of them just as God demonstrated in Exodus 16: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” James 2:10-11. What day is the Lord’s Day? The Bible uses the phrase the “Lord’s day” only once in Revelation 1:10, so we know the Lord does have a special day. But there is not one single verse in the whole Bible that refers to Sunday as the “Lord’s Day.” However, the Bible does plainly identify the Sabbath as the Lord’s Day. The only day ever blessed by the Lord or claimed by Him as His holy day is the Seventh day Sabbath. Matthew 12:8 “For the son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” Jesus did not say I AM the Sabbath, or I am LORD Sabbath! Jesus said, “I am Lord OF the Sabbath!” It was Jesus who made the Sabbath at creation and is the reason for His claim to be Lord of the Sabbath day. (Mark 2:28) If Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath day, then the Sabbath is the Lord’s Day. The vision John had on “the Lord’s day” according to Revelation 1:10 had to be the Sabbath. It is the only day so designated and claimed by God in the Bible. In writing the Ten Commandments, God called it “the Sabbath of the Lord.” Lucium who was an early church historian wrote, “In the year 325, Sylvester, Bishop of Rome (AD 314-337), officially changed the title of the first day, calling it the Lord’s day.” (Lucium, Historia Ecclesiastica, p. 739) One would ask why Sylvester would make any claim about changing the title of the first day if the term “Lord’s day” was already widespread before his edict. It was in fact early in fourth century when Sunday was officially named the “Lord’s Day” which was about 200 years after some of the so called early Church fathers in Alexandria and Rome first changed to Sunday in fear of persecution and against God's will. Note carefully the following Catholic quote: “St John speaks of the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) but he does not tell us what day of the week that was, much less does he tell us what day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandments. St. Luke speaks of the disciples meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7. And St. Paul (1 Cor 16:2) orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians should lay in store what they designated to bestow in charity on the faithful in Judea: but neither the one or the other tells us that this first day of the week was to be henceforth a day of worship, and the Christian Sabbath; so that truly the best authority we have for this ancient custom is the testimony of the church. And therefore those who pretend to be such religious observers of Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act more by humor, than by religion; since Sundays and holidays all stand upon the same foundation, namely the ordinance of the (Roman Catholic) church.” — Catholic Christian Instructed, 17th edition, p. 272-273. Was the Sabbath only for the Jews? This falsehood has gained such strength that multitudes of Christians refer to it as the “Jewish Sabbath.” But nowhere do we find such an expression in the Bible. It is called “the Sabbath of the Lord,” (Exodus 20:10) but never “the Sabbath of the Jews.” Luke was a Gentile writer of the New Testament and often made reference to things which were peculiarly Jewish. He spoke of the “nation of the Jews,” “the people of the Jews,” “the land of the Jews,” and the “synagogue of the Jews.” Acts 10:22, 12:11, 10:39 and 14:1. But please take note that Luke never referred to the “Sabbath of the Jews” or the “Jewish Sabbath” and we do find that he mentioned the Sabbath repeatedly. Christ unmistakably taught that “the Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. It does not say the Sabbath was made for Jews. Some say since it was made for man we can choose not to keep it. The fact is that all the Commandments were made for man. So does this mean we can choose to ignore all of them? Of course not! Man was made on the sixth day and the only reason that we have a seventh day is because God added it for a Sabbath rest for man. It was made for man at creation so what has changed? Nothing! The Pharisees thought the Sabbath was made just for them so Jesus was correcting them and said the Sabbath was made to be a blessing for ALL man and not a day of legalistic rules that they had turned it into. Picking corn on the Sabbath for a meal was a necessity and not unlawful. The fact is that Adam was the only man in existence at the time God made the Sabbath. There were no Jews in the world for at least 2,000 years after creation. It could never have been made for them. Jesus used the term “man” in the generic sense, referring to mankind. The same word is used in connection with the institution of marriage which was also introduced at creation. Woman was made for man just as the Sabbath was made for man. Certainly no one believes that marriage was made only for the Jews. The fact is that two beautiful, original institutions were set up by God Himself before sin ever came into the world; marriage and the Sabbath. Both were made for man, both received the special blessing of the Creator and both continue to be just as holy now as when they were sanctified in the Garden of Eden. Note that the “children of Israel” God was angry with for not keeping the Sabbath in Exodus 16:25-30 were not Jews either. They were Abraham’s seed just as we are. Galatians 3:29, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” We are in fact spiritual Jews! See also Romans 2:28-29. Jesus was the One who made the Sabbath in the first week of time. There was a reason for His claim to be Lord of the Sabbath day (Mark 2:28). If He is the Lord of the Sabbath day, then the Sabbath must be the Lord’s Day. John had a vision on “the Lord’s day,” according to Revelation 1:10. That day had to be the Sabbath. It is the only day so designated and claimed by God in the Bible. In writing the Ten Commandments, God called it “the Sabbath of the Lord.” Exodus 20:10. Adam and Eve were not Jewish. “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” Genesis 2:3. Sanctified means “to be set apart for holy use.” This was pre-sin and the only ones in Eden to “Sanctify” the Sabbath were Adam and Eve. The other Nine are not “Just for the Jews.” Does idolatry, murder, stealing and adultery apply only to Jews? The Sabbath is also for the “stranger” who are Gentiles. Exodus 20:10. In “the new earth ... from one Sabbath to another, shall ALL FLESH come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 66:22-23. Grace saved Gentiles kept the Sabbath. “The Gentiles besought that these words be preached to them the next Sabbath ... Paul and Barnabas ... persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” Acts 13:42-43. Luke was a Gentile who kept the Sabbath. Luke was the only Gentile writer in the New Testament. He travelled with Paul and wrote, “On the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side.” Acts 16:13. It was the Creation Sabbath. Both Luke and Paul knew it. See also who changed the Sabbath to Sunday or is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday for further proof that it predates Judaism. This argument has also led many to believe the Sabbath existed only for a limited period of time following creation. But is this a fact? Actually, the Sabbath could never be just a type or shadow of anything, for the simple reason that it was made before sin entered the human family. Certain shadows and typical observances (ordinances) were instituted as a result of sin and pointed forward to the deliverance from sin. Such were the sacrifices employed to symbolize the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God. There would have been no animal sacrifices had there been no sin. These offerings were abolished when Christ died on the cross, because the types had met their fulfilment (Matthew 27:51). But no shadow existed before sin entered this world; therefore, the Sabbath could not be included in the ceremonial law of types and shadows. The ceremonial laws were temporary but all of God’s moral law is eternal as it mirrors His loving, unchanging Holy character. He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8. Paul referred to the temporary system of ordinances in Colossians 2:14-16 as being “against us” and “contrary to us.” He tied it to the meat offerings, drink offerings and yearly festivals of the law that were “blotted out.” It is true he referred to sabbaths also in the text, but take careful note that he called them “sabbath days (note also the original Greek here is plural) which are a shadow of things to come.” Were some sabbath days blotted out at the cross? Yes, there were at least seven yearly sabbaths which came on certain set days of the month, and they were nailed to the cross. They were shadows and required specified meat and drink offerings. All of these annual sabbaths are described in Leviticus 23:24-36, and then summarized in verses 37 and 38: “These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: beside the Sabbaths of the Lord...” The Scripture differentiates between the annual, shadowy sabbaths and the weekly “Sabbaths of the Lord.” The ceremonial sabbaths were only for the Jews and were blotted out at the cross as they had been added as a consequence of sin. But the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments was hallowed before sin and Jews and later incorporated into the moral law written by the finger of God. It was eternal in its very nature as love is everlasting. The Sabbath was made for man Christ taught that “the Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. Some seem to think that since Jesus said this that we can choose not to keep it or choose our own day. But this is just another excuse for treading the Son of God underfoot. (Hebrews 10:26-29) Note also that Jesus did not say the Sabbath was made for “Jews.” He said the Sabbath was made for “man” meaning all people! The People's New Testament (1891) by B. W. Johnson “The Sabbath was made for man. The Sabbath rest; that is, a rest of one day in seven was made for man, not for Jews only. This implies that it is to be a universal institution; that the good of man requires it, and that it is not an arbitrary enactment, but a wise and benevolent provision for the welfare of the race. Experience shows that men are happiest, most moral, most prosperous and healthiest where it is devoutly observed.” Man was made on the sixth day and the only reason we have a seventh day of the week is because God added it for a Sabbath rest for man. Hence the Sabbath was made for man at creation so what has changed? Absolutely nothing! The fact is that all the Commandments were made for man. So does this mean we can choose to ignore all of the other Commandments as well? Obviously not! So what was happening when Jesus said this? The Pharisees assumed the Sabbath was made just for them so Jesus corrected them stating that the Sabbath was made to be a blessing for ALL man and not a day of legalistic rules that they had enforced. They had accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by picking corn for sustenance and so Jesus pointed out that the Sabbath was made to be a blessing to man and not a burden. This statement of Jesus in Mark 2:27 is not some magical subclause that annuls the fourth Commandment! Picking corn on the Sabbath for nourishment was a necessity. It was not wrong for Jesus to heal the sick and to meet human needs on His Holy Day. (Matthew 12:10-12) Jesus said that not even a comma of the law is going to change (Matthew 5:17-19) and Isaiah prophesied “The LORD … will MAGNIFY the law…” (Isaiah 42:21) not make the law less strict by allowing us to pick and choose if we want to obey a Commandment or not. God Commanded, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ... the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Exodus 20:8-10. Were the Ten Commandments abolished? It grieves me to say that it is commonly taught, without any scriptural authority, that the Ten Commandments were abolished at the cross. Proponents of this belief never stop to realize that, if there is no law, there is no transgression as Paul plainly states in Romans 4:15. This would mean that no one has sinned since Christ’s death, and therefore, we would have no need for a Saviour! God’s law is a gift to mankind, yet humanity thanklessly rejects it. As good and glorious as this law is, human nature is hostile to it. (Romans 8:7) Selfishly, it wants to have everything which God’s way of life brings but it rebelliously resents travelling the road God demands one should take to obtain His blessings. Paul writes in Romans 7:12 that “…the law is holy, and the Commandment holy and just and good.” Notice how God’s moral law (The Ten Commandments) is a reflection of God’s most beautiful and Holy character. To declare that the God’s moral law is no longer relevant is an insult and attack on God, His Holy character and love. See more detailed chart on the Ten Commandments Compared to God's Character. God’s Law equals God’s Character » Romans 16:26: God is Eternal » Psalm 111:7-8: The law is Eternal » Luke 18:19: God is Good » Romans 7:12: The law is Good » John 4:24: God is Spiritual » Romans 7:14: The law is Spiritual » Deuteronomy 32:4: God is Just » Romans 7:12: The law is Just » Psalm 145:17: God is Righteous » Psalm 119:172: The law is Righteous » 1 John 3:3: God is Pure » Psalms 19:8: The law is Pure » Matthew 5:48: God is Perfect » Psalm 19:7: The law is Perfect » I John 4:8: God is Love » Romans 13:10: The law is Love » I John 1:5: God is Light » Proverbs 6:23: The law is Light » Psalms 48:1: God is Great » Hosea 8:12: The law is Great » Deuteronomy 32:4: God is Truth » Psalm 119:142: The law is Truth » Isaiah 5:16: God is Holy » Romans 7:12: The law is Holy When God led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, He delivered to them in fiery majesty the Ten Commandments. This holy law was spoken by God, written by God, recorded on tables of stone, and is of eternal duration. At the same time another law, of temporary usage, was also delivered to the children of Israel. This law dealt with the ceremonial rites of the Jewish sanctuary service, and concerned itself with a system of religion that passed away at the cross. Large sections of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy describe in detail this temporary ceremonial code. This Law can easily be identified in the Scriptures. It talks about circumcision (a religious Jewish rite), sacrifices, offerings, purifications, ceremonial holy days, and other rites associated with the Hebrew sanctuary service. Let the Bible explain itself and clarify the differences between these two laws. See a more detailed chart on the Ten Commandments and the Ceremonial Law. The Moral Law (The Ten Commandments) The Ceremonial Law (A temporary Jewish law) 1. Spoken personally by God. Exodus 20:1-22 1. Spoken by Moses. Exodus 24:3 2. Written by God's finger. Exodus 31:18 Exodus 32:16 2. Written by Moses hand. Exodus 24:4 Deuteronomy 31:9 3. Written on stones. Exodus 31:18 3. Written in a book. Exodus 24:3, 7 Deuteronomy 31:24 4. Handed by God its writer to Moses.Exodus 31:18 4. Handed by Moses its writer to Levites. Deuteronomy 31:25-26 5. Deposited by Moses "in the ark." Deuteronomy 10:5 5. Deposited by the Levites by the side of the ark. Deuteronomy 31:26 ARV 6. Deals with moral precepts. Exodus 20:3-17. 6. Deals with ceremonial ritual matters. (See Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy) 7. Reveals sin. Romans 7:7 7. Prescribes offerings for sins. (See Leviticus) 8. Breaking of the law is sin. 1 John 3:4 8. No sin in breaking, for now "abolished." Ephesians 2:15. (Where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 4:15) 9. Should "keep the whole law." James 2:10 9. Apostles gave no such commandment to "keep the law." Acts 15:24 10. Because we "shall be judged" by this law. James 2:12 10. Not to be judged by it. Colossians 2:16. See also what is the law in Galatians. 11. The Christian who keeps this law is "blessed in his deed." James 1:25 11. The Christian who keeps this law is not blessed. (See for example, Galatians 5:1-6) 12. "The perfect law of liberty." James 1:25 (Cf. James 2:12) 12. The Christian who keeps this law loses his liberty. Galatians 5:1, 3 13. Paul said, "I delight in the law of God." Romans 7:22 (Cf. verse 7) 13. Paul called this law a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1; 4:3, 9 (See Acts 15:10) 14. Established by faith in Christ. Romans 3:31 14. Abolished by Christ. Ephesians 2:15 15. Christ was to "magnify the law and make it honorable." Isaiah 42:21 15. Blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. Colossians 2:14 To the unbiased reader of God’s Word, it becomes more than clear that the Ten Commandments are binding upon all men for all time in every place, whereas no man is bound to keep the Ceremonial Law, often referred to as the ordinances that were fulfilled in Christ. The Ceremonial Law with its sacrificial system pointed the people to the coming of Christ. Every time the blood of a beast was shed in the old Jewish temple, it was a dramatic reminder to the onlooker that One would come and die for his sin. Hence, John the Baptist pointed to our Lord and declared the significant words, “Behold the Lamb of God.” When He died on Calvary’s cross the veil of the great temple curtain was torn from top to bottom, to signify that the entire ceremonial system was forever finished. Matthew 27:50-51. No longer do the priests need offer up sacrifices. The One great and perfect Sacrifice was offered that Friday afternoon, when the true Passover Lamb bowed His head and died. When He cried out, “It is finished”, the old Ceremonial Law that pointed the people to His sacrificial death was nailed to the cross. But NOT so with the Ten Commandments. There was nothing temporary about them. They are to last as long as heaven and earth. Matthew 5:17-19 This is how Matthew 5:17-19 reads, “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled. Therefore whoever shall relax one of these Commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least [by those] in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.” Jesus certainly did not have any intentions of making any change; in fact, Jesus condemned men who taught that it was acceptable to break God’s law, and commended those who taught the necessity of keeping it. This one passage alone is the absolute proof that the Sabbath was not abolished or the day changed and everything else has to be misunderstandings or intentional excuses to justify why we don’t need to obey one of God’s Commandments. Jesus said, “…Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law…” This is what The People’s New Testament (1891) by B. W. Johnson comments in regards to the meaning of a “Jot” or “Tittle.” One jot or tittle. Jot means the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, while tittle refers to a simple turn by which one letter is distinguished from another. The expression, “jot or tittle,” was proverbial for the smallest part. Some say, “To fulfil the law is to bring an end to the Ten Commandments and abolish them.” There is overwhelming evidence that proves this is absolute nonsense, such as this passage would contain more contradictions than we could count. If fulfilling the law ends the law then the law is destroyed, yet Jesus declares in Matthew 5:17 that He did not come to destroy the law. Not only did Jesus not come to destroy the law but He actually came to magnify it. We should not be strangers to this fact as we are given a Messianic prophecy that tells us that Christ would in fact do exactly this. Isaiah 42:21, “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will Magnify the law, and make it HONOURABLE.” In the remainder of Matthew chapter 5 we see how Jesus has without a doubt magnified the law. We note the following; Matthew 5:19 from not only obeying the law but teaching it also, 5:21-22 from do not kill to not being angry with your brother without cause, 5:27-28 from do not commit adultery to being guilty of adultery if you look at a woman lustfully, 5:31 from divorcing by a letter to any man who divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, causes her or anyone who marries the divorced woman to commit adultery, 5:33-37 from not breaking oaths made to the Lord to do not swear at all, either by heaven or earth or by Jerusalem. And do not swear by your head, let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No, 5:38-42 from an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth to turning the other cheek and if someone sues you for your coat, give them your cloak also, 5:43-45 from love your neighbour and hate your enemy to love your enemies and bless them that curse you and pray for those that are spiteful and use you. Does this give the impression that Jesus came to destroy the law or that fulfilling the law ends it? What truth seeker could possibly come to that conclusion after reading this passage? If this was so, then all the following things have also ended. Clearly this is NOT possible! These scriptures also use the same Greek word G4137 used in verse 17. Matthew 3:15 “…it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” John 17:13 “…that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11 “…and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.” Philippians 2:2 “Fulfil you my joy, that you be likeminded, having the same love…” John 17:12 “…that the scripture might be fulfilled.” Colossians 1:25 “…which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God.” 2 Corinthians 10:6 “…having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” Thayer definition for G4137: 1) to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full. 2) to render full, i.e. to complete. 2a) to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, fill to the brim. 2b) to consummate: a number. 2b1) to make complete in every particular, to render perfect. 2b2) to carry through to the end, to accomplish, carry out, (some undertaking). 2c) to carry into effect, bring to realisation, realise. 2c1) of matters of duty: to perform, execute. 2c2) of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, accomplish. 2c3) to fulfil, i.e. to cause God’s will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfilment. The most relevant part for the word “fulfil” in Matthew 5:17 in the Thayer dictionary is “2C3.” Jesus did not come to destroy the law; He obeyed and carried out the law to the full and magnified it! Jesus never contradicts Himself. If this word “fulfil” meant destroy, Jesus would be saying “I did not come to destroy the law I came to destroy the law!” So is the law only for the Jews? Does it apply to New Covenant Christians? Notice Acts 7:38-39 five chapters after the start of the New Testament church. This is Moses who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. Speaking to the Jews, Stephen, a converted Christian, says that God gave these “living oracles...to us,” Christian and Jew. They are still in effect today as a complete spiritual law, and we Christians and or Jews do not have the authority to choose which ones we want to obey. This event on Mount Sinai was the basis for making the Old Covenant, but what is the basis of the New Covenant? “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Hebrews 8:10 (quoting Jeremiah 31:33). From all the above proofs, two points are clear. 1. God’s Ten Commandments (not the Nine Commandments and one suggestion) is not a temporary law designed to end or become obsolete at the cross or any other time. God’s moral law can no more change than God’s character can. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8. 2. His law is not a special law for one nation only. God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Romans 1:16). Neither Gentiles nor Christians are excluded from the laws of God. (e.g., Exodus 12:38, 48-49; Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-7) Is Jesus our Sabbath rest ending the Sabbath? Jesus cannot give us physical rest. We get this rest by keeping the Sabbath as God Commanded, not how we decide is acceptable. The proponents typically use the passage below but usually stop before verse nine. If they don’t, then they certainly never give you the honest meaning, if any, of the word translated “rest” in the KJV Bible. Hebrews 4:1-5 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spoke in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.” Below is the remainder of this passage. Hebrews 4:6-9 “Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a [Sabbath] rest to the people of God.” The word “rest” in Hebrews 4:9 is the Greek word “sabbatismos.” The King James and New King James Version and a few other Bibles render the word as “rest” while the Amplified Bible the ASV, NASB, NIV, RSV and NRSV and several other translations somewhat more correctly render that word as “Sabbath rest.” A few Bibles such as the Darby translation transliterate the word as “Sabbatism.” Its literal translation however, is “Sabbath observance” and “The Scriptures” translated by The Institute for Scripture Research render it as such while the Thayer dictionary and the Bible in Basic English give the equally literal phrase “Sabbath keeping.” See also “the Sabbath from creation to eternity.” Speaking of the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. which was nearly forty years after the cross, Jesus says pray that you do not have to flee persecution on the Sabbath day. (Matthew 24:20) Why would you need to worry about physically fleeing on the Sabbath if it was just resting in Jesus? See Sabbath in the New Testament or Ten Commandments and the Sabbath in the New Testament for more. The following facts prove the Sabbath does remain a physically rest and that the excuse Jesus is our Sabbath rest is just one more fallacy from our adversary. 1. The Greek word for “rest” (sabbatismos) in Hebrews 4:9 unquestionably refers to a physical rest and a literal “Sabbath keeping” or “Sabbath observance.” 2. It was more than 30 years after the cross that Luke wrote that when the body of Christ was being prepared, “they rested the Sabbath day according to the Commandment.” (Luke 23:56) The New Covenant was sealed by the blood of Jesus on Friday night when He died on the cross, and yet Luke says they were still physically keeping the Sabbath according to the Commandment and after the New Covenant had begun. Any lawyer and the Word will tell you that it cannot be changed after the death of a testator. This one alone kills this appalling excuse! 3. Isaiah 66:22-23 says we still physically keep the Sabbath in the New Heaven and Earth. 4. Jesus words show that everyone would still be physically keeping the Sabbath at 70 A.D. (Matthew 24:20) 5. The Sabbath cannot be a spiritual rest if one had to worry about physically fleeing on this day. 6. Our Creator knew man needs a physical rest at least one day a week and Jesus as our Lord does not change that requirement. 7. God and His law changes not. Hebrews 13:8, Psalms 111:7-8, Luke 16:17. Previous Back to Contents Next Top

  • What is the difference between Godhead and Trinity

    All trinity studies Previous Download Next What is the difference between Godhead and Trinity What is the difference between Godhead and Trinity? So what does the word Godhead mean and can it be used in place of the word Trinity? The fact is there is no relationship with the Trinity and the word Godhead at all as you are about to find out. Godhead refers to God the Father. And making this issue a little more confusing, Godhead is often a word used by those with the non-Trinitarian truth for lack of a better word to use in opposition to the word Trinity. More and more Trinitarians are using the word Godhead in place of Trinity thinking that changes what it is. But calling the Trinity by another name will never change what it is. You can call a cat a dog but it will still be a cat. And you can call the Trinity the Godhead but it will still be the Trinity! The word Godhead is found in 3 verses in the King James Bible which are translated from three different Greek words that have slightly different meanings but all basically mean the same thing. In Acts 17:29 the Greek word translated Godhead is “theios” (G2304) and means to be godlike and hence divine. Acts 17:29 KJV “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.” The same Greek word is used in the verse below but has been translated to the word “divine.” 2 Peter 1:3 KJV “According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue:” In Romans 1:20 the Greek word translated Godhead is “theiotēs” (G2305) and refers to the divine nature. Romans 1:20 KJV “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:” And in Colossians 2:9 the Greek word translated Godhead is “theotēs” (G2320) and means deity as in the state of being God. Colossians 2:9 KJV “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” So the word Godhead speaks of the “Divine nature” of the Father which has been given to the Son and hence is in the Son as we find in Colossians 2:9 above. Thus Jesus being the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15), and being brought forth from the Father, He has the same “Divine nature” as His Father. Thus Paul states that the fullness of the “divine nature” of God dwells in His Son. Colossians 1:19 KJV “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;” John 5:26 also tells us that the Father gave life to His Son. “For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself.” John 5:26. If Jesus had always existed alongside the Father as the Trinity doctrine claims, then God could not have given life to His Son as He would have always had life. But Scripture reveals this is impossible. And so neither does the word Godhead explain the non-Trinitarian position in opposition to the word Trinity. It has been the only real option in lack of a better word to use for the non-Trinitarian view. The Trinity doctrine states that there are three co-equal (equal in every respect), co-eternal (the same age), omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful) gods, who are not three gods, but one god. By the words of the Athanasian Creed it is, “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three gods but one God.” In other words. 1+1+1=1 ! So a 3 in 1 and 1 in 3 god which means the Father cannot really be a Father and the Son cannot really be a Son, which denies the Father and Son which the apostle John called antichrist. And hence the Holy Spirit is supposedly a third god that makes up the one god rather than being the actual Spirit of the Father and Son just as we have a spirit. So the Divine nature of the Father referring to the ONE true God does not and cannot equal 3 gods yet alone a 3 in 1 god. Thus Godhead does NOT equal Trinity in any way whatsoever! Godhead refers to God the Father and His Divine nature which dwells in His Son because Jesus Christ is His Son. See “Does Godhead mean Trinity? - Prove All Things” below for more information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9HxDgBZl-U Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

  • 耶稣有一位上帝-耶和华,天父上帝

    返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 Read in English 下一篇 耶稣有一位上帝-耶和华,天父上帝 耶稣有一位上帝 -- 耶和华, 天父上帝 哥林多前书8章6节- 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。 启示录3章12节- 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。 哥林多前书15章28节- 万物既服了他(上帝),那时,子(耶稣)也要自己服那叫万物服他(上帝)的,叫上帝在万物之上,为万物之主。 以弗所书4章6节- 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。 约翰福音20章17节- 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章3节- 愿颂赞归与我们主耶稣基督的父上帝,他在基督里曾赐给我们天上各样属灵的福气。 哥林多后书11章31节- 那永远可称颂之主耶稣的父上帝知道我不说谎。 彼得前书1章3节- 愿颂赞归与我们主耶稣基督的父上帝,他曾照自己的大怜悯,藉耶稣基督从死里复活,重生了我们,叫我们有活泼的盼望, 约翰福音17章3节- 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。 以弗所书1章17节- 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。 哥林多前书11章3节- 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。 罗马书15章6节- 一心一口荣耀上帝、我们主耶稣基督的父。 约翰福音12章44-45节- 耶稣大声说:“信我的,不是信我,乃是信那差我来的。45 人看见我,就是看见那差我来的。” 约翰福音20章31节- 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。 约翰福音20章21-22节- 耶稣又对他们说:“愿你们平安!父怎样差遣了我,我也照样差遣你们。” 22 说了这话,就向他们吹一口气,说:“你们受圣灵。” 约翰福音14章10节- 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。 约翰福音14章24节- 不爱我的人就不遵守我的道;你们所听见的道不是我的,乃是差我来之父的道。 马太福音27章46节- 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?” 启示录3章5节- 凡得胜的,必这样穿白衣,我也必不从生命册上涂抹他的名,且要在我父面前和我父众使者面前认他的名。 “人子耶稣基督不是主神全能者,但基督和父是合而为一的。”——(怀爱伦著,《文稿140》,1903年) “祂【基督】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 “上帝为基督的父;基督乃上帝的儿子。基督已蒙赐与崇高之位。祂得以与父同等,上帝所有的旨意没有不显明给祂儿子的。”——怀爱伦著,《教会证言》卷八,原文第268页。 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

  • 圣经里的安息日是哪一天?

    返回研究目录 上一篇 下载中文 下一篇 圣经里的安息日是哪一天? 说到安息日呢,各个教派都有各自的看法,各说纷纭。许多基督教派和天主教一样,都称安息日为星期日,基督复临安息日会则说是星期六,而另一些基督徒则说安息日是任你选择的任何一日,都可以是安息日。还有一些人则宣称,我们必须遵守月相安息日。简单来说,月相安息日(Lunar Sabbath)就是每一次月朔之后的第七日就算为安息日,再过七日之后就是第二个安息日,依此类推,直到下一次的月朔,又开始新一轮的循环。 这导致每个月的安息日都会落在不同日,这个月可能落在星期四,而下个月则可能落在星期二。那么到底哪个说法才是真理呢?圣经所谓的安息日是哪一日呢?星期六还是星期日?我们可以自由选择把安息日定在哪一日吗?还是说我们必须使用阴历来得出安息日是哪一日呢? 今天我们就要来探讨这些问题以寻找真相,以确定我们应当遵守的是哪一日。今天我就给大家介绍五个证明安息日是星期六的理由。 五个证明安息日是星期六的理由: 第一,犹太人素来遵守星期六为安息日 这其实是非常重要的,因为犹太人从几千年以来都一直遵守着星期六,每周的第七日为安息日,从未改变。自从摩西上西奈山从上帝手中领受了十条诫命,而以色列民又从摩西手中领了上帝的律法之后,他们就一直遵守着第四条诫命的安息日,直到今日依然如此。 大家必须知道,安息日的时间段是从星期五的日落开始直到星期六的日落才结束的。因为根据圣经的说法,一日的开始和结束都是在日落。我们在圣经的开头,创世纪这本书中就首次看到了这个概念。上帝在创世的时候顺序以黑夜和白昼视为一天。 创世纪 1:5 上帝称光为昼,称暗为夜。有晚上,有早晨,这是头一日。 换句话说,以晚上作为开始,也就是日落标志着第一日的开始,而随后的日子也同样以日落作为开头和结束。这是上帝在最初所设立的原则。把一日的开始和结束定在午夜12点是人为的杰作,其实是罗马人设立的。 第二,耶稣在星期日复活 圣经里有关耶稣复活的记载能帮助我们辨认哪一日是安息日。 马可福音 16:9 在七日的第一日清早,耶稣复活了,就先向抹大拉的马利亚显现,耶稣从她身上曾赶出七个鬼。 众所周知,耶稣是在星期日复活的。因此,所谓的复活日就落在星期日,是为了纪念基督的牺牲与复活。因此,圣经里七日的第一日是指星期日。既然星期日是第一日,那么可想而知,第七日就必定是星期六了,因为圣经说,安息日是每周的第七日,也就是现今的星期六,而不是每周的第一日即星期日。 出埃及记 20:8-11 “当记念安息日,守为圣日。六日要劳碌作你一切的工,但第七日是向耶和华你上帝当守的安息日。这一日你和你的儿女、仆婢、牲畜,并你城里寄居的客旅,无论何工都不可作,因为六日之内,耶和华造天、地、海和其中的万物,第七日便安息,所以耶和华赐福与安息日,定为圣日。” 第三,天主教把安息日从星期六改成星期日 罗马天主教曾多次公开承认他们把圣经里第七日的安息日改成第一日的星期日。其中一个例子是在天主教教义教理详解中找到。 “问:哪一日是安息日? 答:星期六是安息日。 问:为什么要守星期日代替安息日? 答:我们守星期日代替星期六的原因是(公元 336年)天主教在老底嘉大公会议上将星期六的神圣性转移到了星期日…… 问:为什么天主教以星期日代替星期六? 答:教会以星期日代替星期六是因为基督在星期日从死里复活,圣灵是在星期日降到使徒身上。 问:教会借着什么权柄以星期日代替星期六? 答:教会以星期日代替星期六是完全借着耶稣所赐她的神圣权柄而行! (彼得•耶尔曼神父《天主教教义教理详解》第50页) 天主教宣称他们有凌驾于圣经之上的权柄,因此有权力把安息日从星期六改成星期日。但事实上没有任何人或教会有权柄改变上帝的律法,就算是天主教也没有这种权力。上帝的律法是神圣永不改变的,祂也从不曾赐给任何人权柄来改变祂的诫命。 申命记 4:2 所吩咐你们的话,你们不可加添,也不可删减,好叫你们遵守我所吩咐的,就是耶和华你们上帝的命令。 第四,星期六这一天在许多语言中被称为安息日 你知不知道星期六,在世界各地许多语言中的名称相等于安息日,词根也都源自安息日的希伯来文shabbath和希腊文Sabbaton? 比如说在西班牙语,一周的第七日,即星期六被称为sabado,英文翻译过来就是Sabbath,安息日的意思。在俄罗斯的俄语当中,第七日则被称为Subbota,词根也同样是源于希伯来文shabbat或希腊文Sabbaton,该国守安息日的人被称为Subbotic。马来语和印尼语的第七日都被称为Sabtu,这也与马来语或印尼语的Sabat相似,就是安息日或安息的意思。 这只是许许多多例子中的几个罢了。事实上,在超过100种中古代和现代的语言中,一周的第七日的命名都与Shabbat安息日极其相似。为什么呢?难道这纯粹是巧合吗?肯定不是的! 其中的原因很简单,由于挪亚的后裔分散在全地上,遍布各个大大小小的国度,虽然他们的语言被混乱了,以至都说不同的语言,但是他们都保存着安息日的知识,并且知道上帝的安息日是在第七日,也就是今天的星期六,因此,他们都以安息日来给第七日命名。我觉得这实在是太奇妙了! 第五,根据现代权威词典,星期六一律被视为第七日,也是安息日 你要是到在线英文词典dictionary.com搜寻Saturday的话,这里就说,星期六,一周的第七日。同样的,你搜寻Sunday的话呢,它就会告诉你,星期日是一周的第一日。那么你要是到任何汉语词典的软件或网站去搜寻安息日,那里就会说: “《圣经》记载,上帝在六日内创造天地万物,第七日完工休息。犹太教尊这天为圣日,名叫安息日(即星期五日落到星期六日落的一昼夜时间)。这一天礼拜上帝,不做工作。基督教以星期日为安息日,又称主日。” 英文词典也一样,它说:“每周的第七日,星期六,是犹太人和一些基督徒休息和进行宗教活动的日子。这里他还引用了出埃及记20:8-11,即第四条诫命。” 但是第二个安息日的定义是“每周的第一日,星期日,大多数基督徒守这一日,以纪念基督的复活。” 这根本不是圣经的教导,而是跟从罗马天主教的传统。因为我们之前也谈过,天主教滥用自己的权柄,更改了或尝试去更改上帝的安息日,从第七日转变为第一日。 绝大多数的基督教派都说他们遵守第一日,即星期日为安息日,作为纪念基督复活的日子。但是圣经从未教导我们这样做!况且,圣经也不曾说过,第一日已经成了新的安息日,因为耶稣在那一日复活。这个论点是完完全全压根没有任何圣经根据的。 此外,安息日是不能也不可能转变为另一日的。其中一个最明显的原因是因为安息日是给我们纪念上帝的创造大工的,大家可以参考出埃及记 20:8-11。 简单来说,上帝用了六日的时间来创造天地万物和人类的始祖,因此在第七日便安息,祂就赐福予这一日,把它定为圣日,以作为人类纪念上帝伟大的创造大工的日子。倘若上帝有意要设立另一日为安息日的话,比方说星期日,那祂就必须重新创造天地万物,并在星期日安息,再把这一日定为圣日了。只要这事情一天没有发生,那么安息日依然是星期六,每周的第七日。 谈到月相安息日Lunar Sabbath呢,其中一个论点就是,既然犹太人的节期都是根据阴历的,那么安息日也必须根据阴历来设定。但是这也不是根据圣经的教导的。因为圣经里的安息日是根据七天周期的循环,而不是每个月周期的循环。 总而言之,各种证据都显示,圣经里的安息日,确实是星期六,每周的第七日。我们来简单地总结一下。根据圣经,安息日是第七日,耶稣则是在第一日复活,也就是星期日。犹太人千百年来持续遵守着安息日,而他们所遵守为安息日的日子恰恰是星期六。 星期六在许多国家的语言里都与安息日的希伯来原文Shabbat一词相同。各权威词典也告诉我们,星期六是一周的第七日。罗马天主教更承认把第七日的安息日改为第一日,这乃是一项圣经从不支持的更改行动。 说到一些人认为他们可以随意挑选任何一日作为安息日的呢,圣经说,安息日是第七日,而不是七日的任何一日。这神圣的日子是上帝所定下来的,轮不到我们自作聪明,擅自为上帝挑选日子,这样做相当于把自己当成上帝,甚至凌驾于上帝之上。 安息日这个课题其实非常的广阔高深,可以探讨的资料和经文也多不胜数。但是今天我们暂且谈到这里,我们在下一期将继续研究攸关安息日的课题,从圣经中寻找相关安息日的真理,并解开大多数基督徒对安息日所持有的迷思与误解。 愿上帝赐福每一位。 上一篇 返回研究目录 下一篇 到最頂

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