Chapter 15 -
How many Gods are there?
There are many scriptures teaching that there’s only one God:
2 Sam 7:22 Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee,
neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with
our ears.
Isaiah 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have
chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me
there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the
LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deut 4:35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he
is God; there is none else beside him.
Deut 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I
kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can
deliver out of my hand.
1 Cor 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered
in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that
there is none other God but one.
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils
also believe, and tremble.
No God with Him, before Him, after Him, beside Him, like Him, no savior beside
Him. There is none but Him. Period. God is one and only one.
Who is Jesus?
1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God; … 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.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Matt 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Rev 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. … 18 I am he that
liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet
hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and
how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
A child will be born (Jesus) and he will be called “the mighty God”, “the
everlasting Father”, “God with us”. God was manifest in the flesh (Jesus).
The Word was God and became flesh (Jesus). Who lives and was dead?
Jesus. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Now there’s a
powerful statement! Jesus is God! He that has seen Jesus, has seen
the Father. Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” They are one and
the same.
There are also many places where context shows us the same thing, by referring to Jesus and God in the same context. IE:
Luke 8:39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
We’ve proven two things so far: There is only one God, and that Jesus is
God. That means that Jesus is that one God!
He is the image of the invisible God.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine unto them.
Hebrews 1:3 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:
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature:
John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
God is Jesus, and Jesus is God. The Father is the Holy Spirit which dwells within Jesus. Jesus is the human body God created for Himself!
I would like to point out a very important scripture that most people do not
understand.
In John 1:1 it says that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The word “Word” was interpreted from the original Greek word logos,
which means “Divine Expression”. While Jesus told us that God is a Spirit, we also know that the Divine Expression of God (the Word), the image of God, was something that God
had imagined (the physical form of man) and this was the image in the mind of God at the very beginning whereby all things were made (by Him and for Him).
Proverbs 7 and 8 show us that Gods Wisdom was with God in the beginning, presented as a female. This does not mean there was a "person" there with God
in the beginning, just as there was no "person" of Jesus there, it was God's wisdom, purpose and plan, His eternal purpose. Jesus was foreordained
(to know beforehand, i.e. foresee) before the foundation of the earth (1 Pet 1:20). God became Jesus. He became a man when Jesus was born of a woman.
Before the birth of
Jesus Christ, God manifested His image on the earth several times to people in an angelic form . He ate with Abraham, He wrestled with Jacob, walked with Adam and Eve, etc.
This was the Divine Expression of God before He actually became flesh. This Divine Expression was in existence before the foundation of the earth (1 Pet 1:20).
John 1:14 says that the Word, or the Divine Expression, was made flesh and dwelt among us. We know that the Divine Expression was God and was with God before the foundation
of the earth. It’s important to understand that the Divine Expression always was and always is God. It was His angelic form before He made it actual flesh with the birth of
Jesus Christ. God is amazing!
1 Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
He was foreordained: Greek NT:4267; to know beforehand, i.e. foresee: The human being Jesus did not exist before He was born of a woman into this world. He was foreseen and planned by God, and was made manifest in these last times for us as Peter said.
Just as the blood of the prophets was shed "from the foundation of the world", this is not literal. It's a metaphoric statement. It's saying it was foreordained, not
that it literally happened before creation!
Luke 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Please take a look at the following two scriptures very carefully:
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD
of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his
right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I
am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and
have the keys of hell and of death.
God is speaking in Isaiah, proclaiming that He is the first and the last,
that He is God and there is no God beside Him. In Revelation, Jesus is
speaking to John, proclaiming that He is the first and the last, that He
lives and was dead, but is alive forever. Take a minute to really digest
this truth...
Why does Jesus "pray to the Father"?
This can be very confusing if we don't understand that the flesh and blood man,
Jesus, was a human being just like you and me. He was the "seed of a
woman"; a man born of a woman just like all humans. God planted the seed
in Mary, but He grew in the womb and was born a baby and grew into a man.
It was God's way to live among us as a man to fulfill His plan of redemption and
save us by shedding His blood and dying for us. He was every bit a human
being who experienced the same things we do, like pain, hunger, etc. When
he was mocked and beaten and hung on the cross, he felt every bit of it just as
you and I would. Here's the thing; in order for God to be tempted in
all points as we are; Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”, He had to be a man in all
points as we are! Think about this for second. God can do anything
even if we can't understand how or why He did it. The Bible tells us that God
cannot be tempted, so in order to experience temptation and fulfill His plan He
had to become a man and be a man that could be tempted.
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
He was made a human being, a little lower than the angels, in order to be able to be killed so He could die for us.
Jesus was the limit of the unlimited. He was limited on this earth while He was here as a man in order to be tempted and to be able to be killed.
Now that He is raised up to heaven, He is no longer limited but is made master of everything in heaven and earth. Eph 1:21 "Far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named , not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:" He is the
physical body that God made for Himself.
Jesus did many things by example and led by example. He did things as a
man so we would know by His example what we should do. He prayed, was
baptized, fasted; but He did all these things for us, not for Himself. In
John 12, Jesus prays to God and a voice is heard from heaven. Then Jesus
tells them that it was for them, not Himself.
John 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but
for your sakes.
In order to understand, we must remember that many things were done so we could
understand in human terms. Jesus sometimes spoke and did things as God
with the authority of God and other times spoke and did things as a man to bring
things to our level of understanding and to be an example of what is pleasing to
Him. It's hard to understand, but we have to remember that we cannot
understand God and that we might get ourselves into trouble by trying to make it
fit in our minds with philosophy. The man, Jesus, was totally submitted to
the Spirit of God. He wasn’t an ordinary man as you and I are, but He was
God manifest in the flesh as it says in the bible. He was a very special
man. He wasn’t a puppet in the true sense of the word, but He was totally
submitted to God so much so that the Spirit guided everything He did and as such
He was really just speaking and acting the will of God. John 3:34 For
he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. He is the body of God, the human flesh that God
manifested Himself into.
Again, He is the image of the invisible God. Understanding this is so important!
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine unto them.
Hebrews 1:3 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:
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature:
How can we say that Jesus is a separate “person” of a trinity being while
Hebrews specifically says that Jesus is the express image of the person of God,
that He's the image of the invisible God? It definitely does not denote that
there are three distinct persons or entities that make up God. One cannot
ignore the point blank statements of God to create theological concepts that are
based on supposition because there are things we don't understand. One of the
arguments I've heard is that Jesus said that the Father knew things Jesus did
not know, but even if you believe that Jesus is a separate person of the
trinity, you do believe He is one part of the whole which is the Godhead and was
in existence before the creation of the world, right? So He is still part of the
“One” who is God and would know everything that God knows. This argument doesn't
add credibility to the concept of a separate or distinct person of the Godhead
as it doesn't change the dynamics of Gods knowledge. God simply chose to reveal
certain things to Himself in the body of Christ while he was on the earth as a
man just like He gave Himself the ability to be tempted while He was a man
living among us. It's beyond our understanding but it is truth nonetheless.
For example: Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: Does that mean that God is three beings? No, it does
not. God very specifically states that He is one and only one over and
over and over in the bible. Just because we don't understand what He said
doesn't mean we should make up something to make it fit in our minds.
Maybe it's as simple a thing as that God was including those that were with Him
(the angels) when He said it? Take a look at Genesis 18 and 19. In
18:1 we see that the Lord appeared to Abraham. In verse 2 we see that
there were 3 men who appeared to Abraham. During the passage of events we
find that one of them was the Lord (verse 18:22), and two were angels that the
Lord sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (verses 19:1 and 19:13). In verse
19:13, one of the angels says, "we will destroy this place" and then that the
Lord sent them to do it, but then the Lord Himself (verse 19:24) made the rain
fall out of heaven. God included the angels with Him during these events,
but they weren't God, and He's the one who's power did the work. In the
creation He says, "Let us make man in our image", and then God goes on to create
man in His image, not in "their images". Gen 1:27 So God created man in
his own image... Is it too much of a stretch to simply take God at His
word and understand that He is one, and that He simply includes His angels in
the things He does?
We also need to understand that things have been intentionally inserted into the
bible we read today in order to make the ideas men created seem more credible.
Here's a couple examples:
Isaiah 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the
beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last ; I am he.
The word "with" was inserted and never existed in the original text. It
should read just as it does in Isaiah 44:6 quoted above. It really says, "I
the LORD, the first, and the last; I am he." Why did they insert the
word "with"? The Hebrew words in Isaiah 41:4 are identical to the words
used in Isaiah 44:6.
Here's another one where they inserted so many words it just amazes me:
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that
bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three
agree in one.
This text sure sounds like there's three Gods, right!? But if we look at
the original Greek text (click here to see a screenshot of Strongs Greek/Hebrew dictionary),
there's an entire section that was inserted by the men
who translated it! In the original Greek it reads, "For there are three
that bear record; the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three
agree in one." All of the other words were inserted by men. Why?
Jesus sits on the right hand of God, right?
Mark 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
True, and as with anything, we have to take the whole Bible as a complete truth, so we need to expand upon that simple statement with additional scriptures.
Matt 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power , and coming in the clouds of heaven.
The "right hand" indicates the power of a man in the culture of that day.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. The statement that Jesus is on the right hand of God means that He's the power of God unto us and all things in heaven and earth. It does not mean that He's physically sitting next to God. The Spirit which is God dwells in Jesus bodily (Col 2:9).
Who is the Holy Ghost?
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Matt 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother
Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child
of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is the father of Jesus? Then who is “God the Father”?
Obviously they are one and the same.
In Acts, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost was given, Peter tells the
crowd that this was the prophesy from Joel, where God pours out His Spirit on
all flesh.
Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it
shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit
upon all flesh:
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh;
God is a Spirit. The Holy Ghost is that Spirit. It's that simple.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth.
In Genesis we also see that the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost) is the Creator,
the Father.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
I took the liberty of looking up the original Greek and Hebrew words for the
words "spirit" and "ghost", in both the Old and New Testaments, to understand it
in my own mind. I found that the exact same Greek word is used where they
have translated it into both Spirit and Ghost in the New Testament (IE: Holy
Spirit and Holy Ghost), and that the Hebrew word when used to speak of the
Spirit of God in the Old Testament, as in Gen 1:2, has the same meaning as the
Greek word used in the New Testament. This is positive proof that there is
no difference and no separation of any kind, it is just simply the Spirit of God
- that is God - in all cases.
Jesus says that He will come as the comforter; the Holy Ghost. This can
mean nothing other than that Jesus is also the Holy Ghost. Jesus is that
one God!
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 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. 18 I will not
leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
If the Spirit of God dwell in you, the Spirit of Christ is in you. The
Spirit of Christ is the Holy Ghost.
Rom 8:9 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. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but
the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. The spirit of the Son
is the same spirit as the Holy Ghost. Jesus, God, the Holy Ghost, the
Father, the Son are all one and the same.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son
into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
The prophets from the Old Testament prophesied of Christ by the Spirit of
Christ. These words are all used interchangeably. The Spirit of God,
the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ are all simply the Spirit
which is God.
1 Peter 1:10-12 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched
diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 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. 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they
did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have
preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which
things the angels desire to look into.
How can this be?
It’s very difficult for us to understand as finite beings but here’s a thought
that might help you: The body of Jesus is the limit of the unlimited, the
visible of the invisible, the finite of the infinite. We have both a
spirit and a body, but we are one person. God is a spirit (John 4:24).
Jesus is simply the body of God manifested in the flesh, so He could walk among
us as a man to fulfill His purpose (to rescue us).
Col 1:15 (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God...
What is the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are all titles, not names.
Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
More information on this subject.
See proofs of the changes to baptism by the Catholic Church
There is controversy about the original text in this passage, much like the known
inserted words in 1 John 5:7 mentioned above. The original text said, "In My name",
as proven by the article linked above. But, even if we do take it literally as written in the
Bible we have today, the rest of the bible proves that the apostles understood this
to be in His name.
Every record of baptism in the book of Acts shows that the Apostles
obeyed His command by baptizing in the name of Jesus, or in the name of the
Lord (Jesus).
Would the Apostles have disobeyed Him? God forbid!
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
There is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
If you’re still not convinced, here’s a very important question: Is Jesus
in the Godhead or is the Godhead in Jesus?
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Jesus is not just one part of the Godhead, Jesus IS the Godhead.
We have a measure of the spirit of God when the Holy Ghost lives within us; the
difference is that the entirety of God is in Jesus Christ. That's
what it means when it says ALL the fullness of the Godhead dwells within
Jesus Christ.
John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth
not the Spirit by measure unto him.
That doesn't mean that God only existed within that flesh, not at all. We
don't worship the flesh of Jesus, we worship the Spirit which is God. God
is spirit, not flesh. Jesus was the son of God, but He was the Word
manifested in the flesh "as of" the only begotten of the father (John
1:14), who is also our father. The Holy Spirit is the "father" of
the flesh of Jesus in the way we understand physical things. He
impregnated Mary to produce the flesh to fulfill His great plan. The flesh
of Jesus was the "son" of God in the way we know how to understand it.
God is one and only one. His name is Jesus.
Is there such a thing as a “trinity” or a "triune"?
There Is No Three
Many people are taught that there are three distinct beings that make up what we
know to be one and only one God. Some people that teach this doctrine will
admit that God is one and only one, but in the same sentence will say that there
are three separate and distinct entities that make up this one God. This
does not comply with scripture at all. Yes, God has several offices or
titles, and three of them are listed in the bible as the Father, the Son and the
Holy Ghost. I am a father, a son, a brother, a husband, and many other
things, but I am just one person. These offices of God; the Father, the
Son, the Holy Ghost are just titles and do not in any way make God into three
distinct beings. There is no "trinity" taught anywhere in the bible.
It’s never mentioned in the Old or New Testaments, it’s never taught by Jesus
and it’s never taught by the Apostles. It is actually a concept that was
invented back around 200 AD and indoctrinated by the Roman Catholic church when
the church was founded in approximately 325 AD. God did not teach this, so
why would we teach it? We should not.
When Constantine created the Catholic Church, he embraced the idea of a Trinity because it was so comfortable in the minds of people who already worshipped multiple gods in a henotheistic religion (where there are multiple gods but one god is supreme). See more information on the creation of the Catholic Church
We've proven with the scriptures that Jesus is the body God made for Himself
and that the Holy Spirit is simply the Spirit which is God the Father, God
the Holy Ghost, God the Creator. There is no three.
Why doesn't Satan want us to be baptized into the Name of Jesus? Why does he want us to use a trinity instead? Because:
The Name of Jesus is Everything, the Name of Jesus is the Power of God!
I believe that belief in a trinity and that Jesus is just one part of it, is
dangerous in that it allows for separating Jesus from the Godhead with the mindset
that you can still worship God without Jesus. This will be a tool of the devil
to lead those who can be fooled into believing the great lie that Islam is a religion
that worships the true God of Heaven. And, as I said above, it also stops us from having the Power
of the Name of Jesus in our life, by eliminating the taking on of His Name!
The following verses alone show us the truth.
1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father : (but)
he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
As shown in this chapter, Jesus is God Himself. Without Him, you do not
have God. Period.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
How many will stand before the Lord Jesus and try to peer around Him, looking
for the "Father"?
Do you believe in a Trinity? Will this be you?
And why do people limit God to a mere three aspects??? I mean, really! God is much more than that! The complexity of God is evident in His amazing, marvelous creation!