HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE NATURE OF GOD IN THE EARLY CENTURIES OF CHRISTIANITY Part 16 THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF GOD THE CONCEPT IN BRIEF ------------------------------------------------------- The Scriptures declare that there is one God and that God is One. His Old Testament name was Yahweh, better known as Jehovah. God is an infinite, eternal Spirit who made Himself known to man in Old Testament days through prophets, angels, the tabernacle and miracles. God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, from a cloud, from the tabernacle, and from Mt. Sinai. He manifested Himself many times in angelic form; sometimes in the form of a man -- as when He appeared to Jacob. The Scriptures make it very clear that Jesus is Jehovah of the Old Testament, in flesh. The Deity in the Son of God was none other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- the eternal Creator of all things. BIBLICAL CONCEPTS WITH SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES --------------------------------------------- The Scripture declares that God is a Spirit {1}, filling heaven and earth. {2} No man has or can see God {3}, except as He wishes to reveal Himself in material forms that man's eyes can fix upon. God has manifested {4} Himself in many ways: 1) To Moses in a burning bush. {5} 2) To Moses in a cloudy pillar. {6} 3) To Moses in veiled glory on Mt. Sinai. {7} 4) To Jacob as an angel in human form. {8} 5) To Manoah as an angel. {9} 6) To Abraham in human form. {10} 7) To Nebuchadnezzar in what seemed to his heathen mind to be a son of the gods. {11} God's name was known in the pre-Christian era as Jehovah {12} (more correctly "Yahweh"). {13} The Scriptures make it very plain that Jesus, as to His Deity, was Jehovah {14} of the Old Testament. The New Testament declares that God manifested Himself in flesh and dwelt among us {15}, speaking to us in a son {16}. The child was the everlasting Father {17}, dwelling in Jesus {18}, who being the God {19} of the Old Covenant, was the Saviour of Israel {20}, although many would not accept Jesus as their Creator {21}. God emphatically declared that He was One {22}, the only Creator {23}, and Saviour {24}. Jesus was both Lord (Deity) and Christ {25} (humanity -- "the annointed One" -- not "the Annointer"). He was, as man, both "the Son of God" {26} and "the Son of Man." {27} Jesus, possessing a dual nature, spoke from two different planes of reference: sometimes as God, sometimes as man. As God, He spoke as the Father {28}; as man, He spoke as the Son {29}. As Deity, Jesus said: 1) "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." {30} 2) "I am the Alpha and Omega." {31} 3) "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." {32} 4) "Before Abraham was, I AM." {33} As a son (humanity), Jesus said: 1) "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" {34} 2) "I thirst." {35} 3) "He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy Son." {36} The same God of the Old Testament that dwelt in Christ {37}, reconciling the world unto Himself {38}, was the same God who has filled us with His Holy Spirit {39}. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is called "The Promise of the Father." {40} Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit {41} -- He promised that He would not leave His disciples Comfortless {42}, He would come unto them {43}. As man, He would pray the Father to send the Comforter {44}, the Holy Ghost {45}; whereas, as God, He, Himself, would come unto them {46}. Jesus (Jehovah the Savior) is the name of the one God of the Old and New Testaments, who manifested himself in many ways, chiefly as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God in three manifestations; NOT One God in three persons! ===================================== FOOTNOTES: 1 - John 4:24 2 - Jer 23:24 3 - John 1:18 4 - "revealed, made visible." 5 - Ex 3:4 6 - Ex 13:21,22; 33:9-11 7 - Ex 33:18-23 8 - Gen 32:24,30 with Hos 12:24 9 - Jud 13:13,22 10 - Gen 18:1-3 11 - Dan 3:25,28. The KJV has: "the Son of God" but most translators render it: "a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar knew nothing of the Son of God who was yet unborn -- neither did the Jews. The KJV translates "Elah" as "God" 78 times; as "god" 16 times. The context must decide. See Dan. 5:23 where the context demands "gods", rather than "God" for "Elah". 12 - Ex 6:3 13 - See Part 4. 14 - Compare the following Scriptures, bearing in mind that in the KJV "LORD" is the translation of "Jehovah", whereas "Lord" is the translation of the Hebrew "Adonai" (lord,master). All of the following O.T. passages have LORD (Jehovah): Isa 40:3 - - - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - - - - - - - - Mtt 3:3 Ps 24:8 - - - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Cor 2:8 Zech 12:8,10 - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - - - Jn 19:18 and 1:11 Isa 44:6 - - - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - - - - - Rev 1:8, 2:8 Isa 43:10,11 - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - Titus 1:4 (Mtt 1:21) Isa 52:6 - - - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - - Jn 17:6,11,12; 5:43 Isa 3:13,14 - - - - - - - - - with - - - - - - - - - 1 Peter 2:6-8 15 - 1 Tim 3:16 16 - Heb 1:2. The Greek has "in", not "by" as the KJV has. Some of the translations that have "in" are: Darby, Wuest, Phillips, Goodspeed, Concordant, Amplified, Youngs, ASV, ERV, Living Scriptures, Centenary, Berkeley, New English Bible, and Worrels. 17 - Isa 9:6 18 - Jn 14:9,10 19 - Mtt 1:23 20 - Isa 43:10,11; Mtt 1:21; Titus 1:4 21 - Jn 1:10,11 22 - Ja 2:19; Jn 10:30 23 - Isa 42:5; (see Jn 1:3,10,11) 24 - Isa 43:10,11 (see Titus 1:4) 25 - Acts 2:36 26 - Mark 1:1 27 - Mtt 9:6 - "Man", here, is not "aner" (male), but "anthropos" ("mankind"). A generic term for either man or woman. 28 - Deity, who begat "the man Christ -- Jesus" (1 Thes. 2:5). 29 - He who was born of a virgin (Mtt 1:22) and therefore had a beginning. Being flesh, He had both Father and mother. 30 - Mtt 18:20 31 - Rev 1:11 32 - Jn 2:19 33 - Jn 8:58 34 - Mtt 27:46 35 - Jn 19:28 36 - Jn 19:26 37 - 1 Tim 3:16 38 - 2 Cor 5:19 39 - Joel 2:28 with Acts 2:4,16,17 40 - Acts 1:4,5 41 - Mtt 1:11; Jn 16:7. This He did after He went away and was given by Him as Deity, not humanity. 42 - Greek: orphanos (orphans; fatherless) 43 - As God, the Holy Spirit; not in flesh 44 - Jn 14:16 45 - Jn 14:26 46 - Jn 14:16-18. Continue to part 17 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17 More Bible Study Lessons