The Ballestero Blog

Bible Study On The Godhead

by

Rev. William Richard Starr

Rev. William R. Starr became pastor of Christ Apostolic Church in Albion, Michigan in 1951. He faithfully pastored there until his death in 1987.

In 1958 Rev. Starr was elected as Superintendent of the Michigan District of the United Pentecostal Church International after having served in the capacities as Youth President and Sectional Presbyter. During his 28 years in this office he also served as Executive Presbyter for the Eastern United States of the UPCI.

He received his Master of Arts Degree from University of Michigan. He also completed all his Doctorate educational requirements, although he did not turn his thesis in to receive his degree.

This material was originally transcribed from a Bible Class he taught in the United Pentecostal Church of Grand Ledge, Michigan.

This Bible Class was later transcribed and printed in the Michigan District News. Final editing by Martyn Ballestero, 2011

 

BIBLE STUDY ON THE GODHEAD

St. John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”

When you begin to study the Godhead, it is important to start with the under- standing that God is a Spirit and they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Conception of God

Psalms 139.  Here David describes how great his God is. It is unfortunate that many people have a limited conception of God.  Really, they have a paganistic, heathen type conception of God limited to a superman concept, but notice what David said:

 Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Psalm 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

Psalm 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Psalm 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Psalm 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Now, David was speaking his conception. He said, “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” We might ask you the question, Where can you go and get away from God? Or how long does it take God to go from Grand Ledge, Michigan, to Tokyo, Japan, New York City, Berlin, Germany, or Buenos Aires, Argentina?  Of course you know He’s there already.  How long would it take God to go from here to the farthest star?

Scientists tell us that the light we see from some of the stars actually lit those stars while Jesus still walked on Earth, and that light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles per second.  That staggers my imagination.  But however far away those stars are, our God is there ,and everywhere present ,at the same time.

So he says, “Whither shall I flee from thy presence or whither shall I go from thy Spirit?” When Jesus came into the room with the disciples, the apostles, after He was crucified and rose from the dead, they were affrighted, thinking they had seen a Spirit.

Jesus said, “a Spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have.” So you see a Spirit is non-corporal. A Spirit only fills a body; a Spirit is not weighed as we would weigh a person or a substance but the Spirit of God is everywhere present at the same time.  He has all wisdom, all knowledge, all control, all power.  This is the God that we serve, and when you have a conception of God like this, there can’t be more than one like Him.

Jesus Had All Power

 Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Matthew 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:

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Notice that He has all power. If there is any other person in the Godhead, that person has to be a powerless person, because Jesus proclaimed that He had all power in heaven and in earth.

 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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.”

This is one of those verses you should commit to memory because it is so essential to the understanding of the Godhead.

 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.

Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isaiah 43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

Isaiah 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

Notice He said, “I am God and there is none else.  There was no God formed before me, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.”

Some people, have a conception of what they call, the eternal sonship. The Bible never mentions an eternal sonship; that the Son was sitting beside the Father way back there before the world was created, and before man was created. This very verse, along with many others, points out that this can’t be true.  He says, “I am God and there is none else and beside me there is no Savior.” Beside Him and in addition to Him, there is no Savior.  I would like to point out that there isn’t any sitting there either.

 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.

Isaiah 44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

God, The Father of Jesus

 Matthew 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.

Matthew 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Now I hope you all believe that God was the Father of Jesus. This verse says that she was found with child by the Holy Ghost. It says it twice.  Notice the angel spake, “for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

Now for those -unfortunate people that believe there are three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead, they say God the Father, is first; God the Son, is the second; and God the Holy Ghost, is the third.

Notice this, that the Holy Ghost is the Father of Jesus; so this would make No. 1 and No. 3, fathers of the Son. He would have two fathers instead of one. Remember that God is a Spirit and that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost so that the Holy Ghost and God have to be identical.  They are, in fact, one and the same… the Holy Ghost being just another of God’s titles.

Emmanuel, God With Us

 Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Matthew 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.

How many God’s are there? One.  Can you quote the first commandment to Israel?

 Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And He said, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, 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.” Not the second person in the Godhead, but God with us.

 John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

John 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

“He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not.”

Who created the world?  Who was this speaking of? It was God. And, of course, it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who was indeed God.

Before Abraham Was, I Am

 John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

John 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Now you have to remember what made them so sensitive.  He said before Abraham was, I am.  You recall that when Moses was in the mountain taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep, that he saw a bush burning. But, it was not consumed by fire.

He turned aside to see this sight and a voice came out of the bush and said:

 Exodus 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Moses realized that God was speaking to him. God told Moses the mission that He was calling him to perform, was to lead His people out of slavery from the land of Egypt.

So Moses then requested of God, whom should he tell the people had sent him. The voice from the burning bush said, “Tell them I am that I am.”

 Exodus 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

For Jesus said that, you Jews claim to have Abraham as your father, he rejoiced to see my day; but before Abraham was, I am.  So He was not only claiming to be older than Abraham, but taking the title of the one that spoke to Moses out of the burning bush.  The Jews became so excited that they gathered up stones to stone Him to death.

I and My Father Are One

John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

He didn’t have to make himself God, He was God.

St. 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.” While we’re in passing, let’s say something about the name.

In St. Matt. 1:21 He said, “Thou shalt call His name, Jesus.”

The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew name Jehoshuah meaning Jehovah Savior. Jehovah or Yahweh which is the more properly pronounced, according to Hebrew scholars now days. Yahweh was the special name of God. It was so sacred that the Hebrews avoided pronouncing it very often.

They did not want to proclaim that special name that meant Self-existent One. So they were very careful. But the name, Jehoshuah; now the name Joshua in the Old Testament, has that name. He has the same name Jesus had.

When you bring the Hebrew to Greek, in the Greek it is pronounced ‘Iasus.  You bring ‘Iasus from the Greek to English, we say Jesus. But Jesus, the name of Jesus, combined the ancient venerable holy name, the special name of the Lord and Savior.  He is Jehovah Savior.

Joshua brought the children of Israel across the Jordan into the promised land of Heaven. There is some symbolism if we go back to the name of the original Joshua.

As far as the Old Testament is concerned, Jesus’ name has a special meaning.  “…thou shall call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sins.” The name of Jesus contains the word Savior in it, so it has a wonderful meaning all its own.

Jesus Is the Name

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.

You say how can He be Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  We’re going to dwell on that a little later but he has His father’s name, as I of course, have my father’s last name. So He said, “I am come in my father’s name and you receive me not.  If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.” The angels announced the name of the Son in Matt. 1:21. Thou shall call His name JESUS.

 St. John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Ghost comes in Jesus’ name.  So you want the name of the Father? You know Father, is not a name.  You men that get ready to cash the check, or you wives who cash your husband’s never write father even though he is a father.  You would never write son even though he is a son.  You would never write citizen or employee or any such title. You would write his name.  Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are titles and Jesus said baptizing them in the N-A-M-E, name.

Let me warn you, that if you don’t take the Apostle’s doctrine, you can’t have Jesus at all.  He commanded them, He ordered them, to baptize in the NAME, one name.

Father is not a name, son is not a name, Holy Ghost is not a name.  Those apostles who heard that command understood what He had intended for them to do and they went out and did it and everywhere where they ever baptized, they obeyed His command.  They called the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over them in the water method.

You know there’s a difference between repeating a command and obeying it. They intended for you to obey it. These poor people who are confused, and mislead into repeating the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are not obeying the command. The only people who are really obeying the Bible command, are those calling the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost over the candidate before they baptize him, and that name is Jesus.

The Father is Jesus

John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

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 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.

Philip very humbly asked the Lord a question. He said, ” Lord, show us the Father, we will be satisfied.”

Maybe you think you’ve taught somebody something. Surely, of all the things you taught them, they would know this one thing.

Our Lord turned to Philip and said, “Philip, have I been so long time with thee 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?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” Who did we say the Father is – Spirit – I am in the Spirit and the Spirit is in me.  The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself. but the Spirit – Father – that dwelleth in me He doeth the works.

Anytime anybody tells you we deny the Father, that’s a lie from Satan.  We do not deny the Father, we identify the Father, and if you’ll let us, we’ll introduce you to Him.  His name is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And He said, “Have I been so long time with you and yet hast thou not know me, Philip?  He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father-Spirit and the Spirit-Father, is in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father. The Spirit that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works.” The word dwelleth means live.  The Spirit that lives in me, He doeth the works.  I am in the Father, meaning I am in the Spirit and the Spirit is in me.  He was in the Spirit and the Spirit was in Him.

In Him Is The Fullness of Godhead

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

We have a warning from the apostles here.  Beware, watch out!  Beware lest any man spoil you. It’s possible for you to be spoiled through philosophy. A so-called love of wisdom. A beautiful system of thinking, and vain deceit, and after the tradition of men.

You know they say that blessed Holy Trinity is the orthodox doctrine of Christianity and what a horrible thing to deny the Trinity.  It’s not horrible at all.  The word Trinity is not in the Bible.

It may be in somebody’s notes at the end or around the edges but not in the Bible itself; and the doctrine is not in the Bible.  Pentecostal, Jesus Name, New Testament, One God, Holy Ghost preachers for years have been challenging the people, offering their worldly goods, everything they have, if they can find the word Trinity in the Bible, and be safe as can be.

You can’t compare the rudiments of the world. Some. have said, “I see your father in you.” They may see some physical characteristics, but we’re two separate people We are not the same person. You can’t compare human beings to the Godhead because God is a Spirit. He said, Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit (trickery) and after the tradition of men (most of the orthodox church would have taught the Trinity). The apostles warned us against that.  “After the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” That ought to settle it.  There shouldn’t be any arguments.

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

It was God’s way of revealing himself to the world through Jesus Christ.

God Revealed Self Through Jesus

1 Tim. 3:16 “And without controversy – (controversy is an argument) great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest (the word manifest means made known.  God chose to reveal himself to the world through Jesus Christ) in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Revelation 1:5 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,

Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

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.

Note He said, “I am Alpha and Omega. Alpha is the first and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. The beginning and the ending.

He’s saying, “I am everything from A to Z. I am the Almighty.” If you don’t really know who He is, let’s read verses 17-18.

Revelation 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:

Revelation 1:18 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.

He Identifies Himself.

Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

“I Jesus.” He didn’t include anybody else and He is the all and all.  There is no other God before, neither shall there be after, there is no God beside me.  He said, “Is there any other God? I know not any.”

God is One

In Luke 2:7-11, the angels are speaking about who He is.

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

What is the first commandment again?  “Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” In Isaiah 43 He said, “I am God and there is none else beside me, there is no Savior.  There is no God formed before me, neither shall there be after me.”

Now somebody might say, and they do often ask, “Now if you believe Jesus was God, who was He praying to in the Garden of Gethsemane?” He prayed and sweat as with great drops of blood.  He said, “Father, if thou be willing, let this cup pass from me.  Nevertheless not my will but thine be done, for the Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Son of God prayed to the Spirit, to the Father, to God.  The human being, the man Christ Jesus, prayed to God.

I can remember when I was a student at the University of Michigan that I was in a course where the professor said that at the last minute Jesus realized He was wrong on the cross and He repented when He said, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” I was on my feet before I realized it and saying in a real loud voice, “That’s not true, that’s not true.”

The Spirit Of God Left The Flesh To Die On The Cross

I then pointed out that the Spirit which was God, left a man, the human being, the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, the Son of God, to die on the cross. If the Holy Spirit, the Everlasting, all wise, all powerful Spirit, who was the source of life, had stayed in that body, He would not, and could not have died.

But the Spirit, which was God, had to leave the man who was the Son of God, in order that He would die on the cross, and fulfill His mission. He said, “For this cause came I into the world.”

So when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The human being; He was complete man and He was also in the Spirit, almighty God.  He was both a complete man in His flesh, in His humanity, and He was almighty God in the Spirit.

The man cried out to the Spirit on the cross, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In the Garden of Gethsemane the man cried out to the Spirit, “Father, if thou be willing, let this cup pass from me.  Nevertheless not my will but thine be done.” Notice He said, “for the Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.” So His flesh recoiled from the torture, from the suffering.

A number of years ago, one of my closest friends who is now an attorney, asked me the question, “What was the sacrifice of Jesus? Why was it so great?  Many men have died for their families, for their country with no hope of getting up the third day.  He said you teach that Jesus knew He was going to get up the third day, so why was His sacrifice so great?

That caused me to ponder for quite a long time. Then I believe I reached the heart of it. Jesus knew from the time He was a child that He was born to die. The Bible said in the Book of Romans, when were strangers, and enemies, and aliens, and when we didn’t care, Christ died for the ungodly.  So Christ died for a world that doesn’t care.

Most of the World Doesn’t Care

Now He said, “For peradventure for a good man some would even dare die, but for when we were yet without strength Christ died for the ungodly.”

Many a young soldier, or even elderly, or mature soldiers, may be over there suffering and being wounded and even dying with the hope that he is dying for his country with the pictures of his family, he may feel like he is dying for a loving father, loving mother, brother or sister and great country to be free and so forth.  And maybe he thinks he’s dying for a loving wife and in some cases she might be running around but he doesn’t know it at that time.

But you know Christ had no illusions. The Bible said that He didn’t have to be told what was in man, He knows what is in man.  And He knows that most of the world doesn’t care.  The fact that Jesus came and suffered and died and over and over and over throughout His long life He had to undergo the mental suffering to know that He was born to die and that the world that He was dying for really didn’t care.

You stop to think about that. The worst kind of torture, is that of the mind and of the soul, and of this I received an understanding of Abraham and Isaac.  You know that, an account in the Bible reads along so nicely, that God told Abraham to take this son that was born in their old age. He was 100 and Sarah was 96 or whatever it was; the people were almost dead. It seemed impossible. The son of promise, the one that God said the whole world would be blessed through, and God, after He gave him that son, the miracle son, the son of promise, whose descendants were supposed to be as the sands of the sea and the stars of heaven for number; and then he said go offer him, go make him a sacrifice.

So Abraham started up the mountain and got to the place where he built the altar, put the wood on the altar and drew the knife back and God stopped him. The angel of the Lord stopped him and showed him a ram in the thicket.  On the way up the mountain the son of promise looked up at Abraham and said, “Father, we have the wood and all that but where is the sacrifice?” And Abraham said, “God will provide himself a sacrifice.”

That was a prophetic statement. To really understand that, you have to think of what Jesus went through when He looked at the world that didn’t care. Those unconcerned people didn’t care about Him even in His own time. He knew that down through time they didn’t care. You have to think about Abraham.  After God told him to sacrifice his son, He knew he had to do the will of God.  Over and over again in his mind, I believe that he went through the torture of plunging the knife into that boy and he went through all the mental anguish and got to the other side and said, “God can give him back to me.  If I sacrifice him to the Lord, He can raise him up and give him back to me.” He got through it and got to the other side.

Many times we go through mental anguish, but if we could just hold on until we get to the other side. And, faith believing what God can do, is what Abraham did.  Now, our Lord had to undergo a mental torture over and over again, knowing that he was born to die.  There are many references that we might give you, but I would like to deal with some special questions.

Jesus On The Right Hand Of Father

Many people are concerned about the question, “What about Jesus being on the right hand of the Father?”

St. Mark 14:62 “…the son of man sitting on the right hand of power.”

Let’s go over to Acts 7: (Many of your trinity friends are going to take you over there to see what Stephen said.) Verses 54-59.

Acts 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

Acts 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Acts 7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

Acts 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

First of all let’s take this business of the right hand.  It is pathetic that people would try to make that a spacial or physical idea.  Turn to St. Matt. 25 and read about the sheep and goats.  I am sure that most People don’t try to make the right hand a physical or spacial idea over here.  Verse 31-36.

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Matthew 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Matthew 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Matthew 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

I want to ask you the question, “Do you think that the ones on his right hand were four footed animals with wool and the ones on his left hand were four footed animals with horns and the tendency to butt and say bah?  Or do you believe those on his right hand were the saved, the honored human beings and those on his left hand were the rejected and the lawless?

Actually when it comes to God from a physical point of view, the spirit is everywhere present so he would be to your left, your right, above you, beneath you, in front of you and back of you, all around you.  You can not make a physical idea out of the right hand and left hand with reference to the Godhead.

Ecclesiastes 10:2.  A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.

Do you believe this verse refers to the blood pumper?  That a wise man’s blood pumper is at his right hand and that a fool’s blood pumper is at his left hand?  Or do you think that this refers to a man’s soul, his mind, his feeling, the sum of his attitudes and his innermost being?

I think any intelligent person would recognize that this verse is similar to the one that says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are issues of life.”

The verse when the Apostle Paul warns people that you would not sear their conscience with a hot iron; in other words a wise man is careful not to violate his conscience but a fool just goes ahead and violates his conscience, sears it, and destroys is feeling.  That’s why you can’t make a physical idea out of the right hand or left hand.

It’s a spiritual idea.  Right hand is a place of honor.  Remember in Col. 1:19, “It is pleased the Father that in him shall all the fullness dwell.”

God Revealed Self Through Jesus

All mighty God chose to channel His blessings, and the revelation of Himself, and His truth through Jesus Christ. The man Christ Jesus, was the Son of God.  He was a means for God to make Himself known to the world.  We say, God robed Himself in flesh.  He took upon Him a human body. The Spirit spoke through Jesus Christ. It caused Him to speak and heal, for He said, “Believest thou not that I am in the Spirit and the Spirit is in me – that I am in the Father and the Father in me?  The words I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father which dwelleth in me. He doeth the works.”

God chose to cause the virgin Mary to have a baby.  The great, all wise, all powerful, everlasting Spirit who has always had all power and all control, caused the virgin Mary to have a baby.  That baby was the Son of God in the Flesh. The Spirit in that baby was Almighty God, and God chose to reveal Himself to the world through that human being, named Jesus. In the Spirit, He was almighty God. That’s why, when Nicodemus came to Him, He said, “You have to be born again of the water and the Spirit” and Nicodemus said, “How can I be born again when I am old?  Can I enter a second time into my mother’s womb to be born?”

 John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

And he was looking Nicodemus straight in the eye right then.  Jesus was everywhere present and was all powerful.  He could speak as a man or He could speak as Almighty God.

Pictorial Presentation Of God In Two Offices

Some people have been troubled by Rev. 4:1.4 and they caused me to study this a few years ago. It’s along the same line.

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Revelation 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

Revelation 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Revelation 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Revelation 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

Revelation 5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

Revelation 5:3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

Revelation 5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

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 5:7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Some say, “See there you’ve got God sitting on a throne, nobody found in the earth or under the earth to open the book and then there’s a lamb standing that had been slain.”

But, let me point you back to the description of Him that sat upon the throne. The Bible said He was to look upon, like a jasper and as a sardine stone.

John the Revelator saw this of a throne; of a glowing presence and notes throughout the whole Bible when it speaks about God’s throne, it just speaks about one throne. We just read where Jesus was going to be on that throne and was going to separate the sheep from the goats.  “He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone,” and saw the glowing presence and then He had a book in his right hand, “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.”

And they said, “who is worthy and he said I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and read the book and neither to look thereon.  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals there of.  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,”

Now here, a lamb as had been slain. You certainly don’t take this and try to make it a literal animal. An animal that was killed, and still standing.  This represents the sacrifice of Christ, He was killed, and yet He lives.  A Lamb standing as it had been slain having seven horns and eyes.  You don’t make a literal animal standing there after it’s killed having seven horns an d seven eyes.  You know this represents the Lord Jesus Christ who was slain, and yet He lives; “Having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

Somebody said, “Is this two persons?” Indeed not, this is a pictorial representation of God in two different offices. You see, He is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. if that’s a mystery to you, I invite you to read the book of Hebrews – He is a high priest and the lamb that was slain.  That’s a mystery in itself.

In Israel, they slew the lamb for sins, the high priest took the blood into the holy place and brought back the announcement if God had forgiven the sins. But Jesus is both the Lamb that was slain and the high priest.

The Bible said we have a high priest that can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.  Here you have a pictorial representation of God in two offices. The one, the majestic King of Kings and Lord of lords. The eternal, all powerful king. And the other, the office of sonship, the redeemer, the sacrifice for sins. The one through whom God brought salvation. The one through whom God brought the revelation of Himself.

He is God in two different ways in Grand Ledge here, while we’re having a Bible study and in Albion can He also manifest Himself through preaching, through healing. Could somebody be filled with the Holy Ghost here at the altar and elders be praying for the sick here and God revealing Himself as a healer at the same time?

Office of Sonship Will Cease

Rev. 5 refers to God in two different offices; the office of the King of Kings, the all powerful God and the office of sonship.  This brings me to I Cor. 15: (Some people try to confuse saints with this and I think I ought to bring this in.) Verse 24-28

1 Corinthians 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

1 Corinthians 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1 Corinthians 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

1 Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, (notice the spelling of this). excepted.  People read this with the idea that there is an old man, and a bird representing Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and the young man is going to come to the Father and say ‘All right, Father, I am all done on earth and you can put everything under our feet.  All our enemies are subdued.

He says, ‘In fact, here’s the kingdom.’ That isn’t really what this is saying.  Well the Father’s going to say ‘ALL right, Son, I accept you now; you’ve done your duty.’ That isn’t the way it is. The Lord said, “My right arm brought salvation.” The Lord God is our Savior.  He is our Savior.

Notice it said, “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  For He hath put all things under His feet.  But when He saith, all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted,”

EXCEPTED.  If I go to every house EXCEPT your house, I don’t go to your house.  If you and I have hard feelings and I EXCEPT you for my friend, you cease to be my friend.  There is the office of sonship so long as there is anybody to be saved, but when all the enemies are subdued and death is abolished, there will be no longer a savior because there won’t be anything to be saved from or anyone to be saved.  His office will cease.

I will perform, I hope, my duties as a son, but if I should live so, long that my parents, who are both here, should pass from the scene, I’ll no longer have that relationship. I’ll no longer have the duties and responsibilities of a son because my reason of sonship will have passed on with death.

And when the last enemy is destroyed and death is destroyed, the office of sonship, which is the office of the redeemer, the Savior, the Lamb of God, who took out place and died in our place that we could live in His place, that will be eliminated. The Bible says God will be all in all. There will be no more distinctions – the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Then, we’ll just worship God. Now we refer to the Son of God, who is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. But in eternity, we won’t make those distinctions because God will be all in all.

Royal Plural of Majesty

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Genesis 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Genesis 11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

Genesis 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

Genesis 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Genesis 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

Genesis 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Genesis 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

Isaiah 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isaiah 6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

Isaiah 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Ezra 7:11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.

Ezra 7:13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

Ezra 7:24 Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.

I gave you those passages to tell you that these are examples of what in grammar is called, the royal plural.  The plural of majesty.  It’s a common utterance taken from a king like Artaxerxes, who speaks by himself.  He starts out, I make a decree, king of kings.  Then he switches and says WE certify you, it is certain that he’s still certifying the decree.

Now when God said let’s make man, somebody said who is He talking to? They say well, the word in Hebrew is Elohim, and it was Elohim.  They say well the Elohim ending in Hebrew is plural, while Hebrew does form plurals by “him,” but the word Elohim takes a singular verb.

Now if you’ve had any languages, such as Latin, French or Spanish, you know that the verb tells you whether the subject is singular or plural.  We have a little inflection left in English. We say: I run, you run, he runs.  You wouldn’t say they runs, you would say he runs.

So the verb Elohim throughout the first chapter of Genesis is always singular.  In the Beginning Elohim created heaven and earth – singular.  He said, singular, – in verse 26, it is singular.

Let me give you a little further illustration to make it meaningful for you.  In English we form many of our plurals by adding an ‘s’ suffix to a word; dog, singular; dogs, plural; cat, singular; cats, plural.  I remember when I was like some of these teenagers, they had a comedian from Arkansas named Bob Burns. He has an ‘s’ on the end of his name, but that didn’t make him more than one person.  When you’re referring to Elohim, the verb shows He was singular and another thing in Exodus 7:1, God told Moses I’m going to make you Elohim to Pharaoh.  I’m going to make you Elohim to Pharaoh.

Before God got through, Moses seemed like God to Pharaoh because of the power.  “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” God said, I have made thee an Elohim.  He didn’t make him three separate and distinct persons of the same substance and essence in the blessed Holy Trinity.  He said I have made thee Elohim.

They try to say that Elohim shows a plural of the trinity – it does not. I had a Hebrew professor named William Worrell at the University of Michigan when I took a course in Hebrew and he was an Episcopalian. I asked him in class one day, “Is EIohim plural in meaning? Does that refer to the trinity?” He said, “No, Sir.  I believe in the trinity because that’s the doctrine of my church, the Episcopal Church, but I would be dishonest if I tried to act like that in the first chapter of Genesis the word Elohim indicated the trinity.”

He said, “That’s singular,” and he gave me the explanation I’m giving you.  He said this is an example of the royal plural and he taught Hebrew for 40 years.  He went to Palestine and he knew Hebrew better than most of the Hebrew people do.  He said, “But I would be dishonest if I tried to say that Elohim indicated plural or the trinity – it’s not in there.”

Genesis 1:26 Not Talking to Church

Now I’ll give you a simple illustration to what He was doing. He was like a preacher who says “Now, we’ll take our text tonight, in Acts 2:38. You very well know that the preacher is the only one going to do the talking. He’s the only one taking his text.

When I was a little boy they had a real interesting teaching that when God said, “Let us make man,” He was talking to the church.

He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors, teachers for the perfecting of saints for the work of the ministry.  Till we all come to the fullness of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man. Man’s not completed because he’s not perfect yet. He’s not really acting like Christ yet, but he’s in the process of being made and he’s not done yet and when He gets done that will fulfill what was spoken in Gen. 1:26.

That’s all right if Gen. 1:26 is all you deal with, but what are you going to do with Gen. 3:22 when man has become like one of us?  What are you going to do with Gen.11: back there at the tower of Babel ? I can’t get the church back there at the tower, can you?  When He said, “Go to, let us go down,” and the Bible turns right around and says the Lord did go down and confound the language. Just like it says, God says, “Let us make man” and in the very next verse says, God made man.

I’ll tell you what it is. It’s God speaking by Himself in the presence of His angels.  Somebody said, “Who heard Him?”  He made man. The Bible wasn’t asking the angels to make man. He made man. The Bible makes it plain that God made man.

Who heard Him? The angels did. I took this home from church about 10 years ago or so and of course, some of them jumped up and said where could you prove that the angels heard Him?  I took them to the 38th chapter of Job.  Job was complaining so loud and God came to Job and said, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

When the sons of God and the morning stars sang together?”

You know, they can refer to the angels too as sons of God because they’re God’s people and the morning stars sang together even before there was an earth made. God made the angels.  Before He made man, He made the angels. So when He said, “Let us make man,” that was the almighty, all powerful, all wise, the everywhere present Spirit who has all control of the universe, speaking by Himself in the presence of His angels.

God said that man will become like one of us knowing good and evil and the Lord said, “who will go for us” and He said “go to and let us go down and there confound the language.” I believe that’s God speaking by Himself in the presence of His obedient angels and then He goes ahead and executes His own will.  The Bible says He spoke the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying, “My council shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.” Isa. 46:10.  The Bible says He swore by Himself because there was no greater.

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

The great all wise, all powerful God; who is from everlasting to everlasting, who is not limited by time or space or any other limitation that limits human beings.  This great God had a plan from the foundation of the world.

The Bible speaks of the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.  The Bible speaks of His people chosen in Him from the foundation of the world. The Bible says He knew the end from the beginning and He planned to come down and take upon Him the form of a man and to redeem mankind with His own blood.

John 3:16 says “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.”

I John 3:16 says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” The love of God how He laid down His Life for us.  So is the love of God.

You know, He owned that life of Christ’s and if you own anything you can destroy it.  Now it might be foolish but I own this suit and if I want to tear it up nobody can say anything.  He laid down His life. The life of Christ was His life. It belonged to Him, and He could do with it as He liked.

He laid down His life for us. So, the great, all wise, all powerful God caused the virgin Mary to have a baby. And that baby was a complete human being, and He was the Son of God in His flesh. But in His Spirit, He was Almighty God.  And that’s why He could speak as man or He could speak as God. He could act as a man, or He could act as God.  When it came time for Him to die, the man prayed to the Spirit.

Man Prayed to The Spirit

God was working through the Son of God. It was the Spirit of God working through the man. The man prayed to the Spirit and when He died on the cross, the Son of God, who was the Lamb of God, who was our sacrifice, who took our place and bore our evil, He that died in our place. He was the one that died.

You cannot kill a Spirit. You cannot stick a spear in a Spirit. You cannot nail a Spirit to a cross.  They nailed a man. They nailed a human being. They nailed the Son of God, but they did not kill God.

He said, He laid down His life, but the life of the Son of God belonged to Him.  Jesus said the Jews should destroy this temple, referring to His body, and in three days I’ll raise it up again because He was speaking as God. He said, “I’ll not leave you comfortless, but the comforter is the Holy Ghost which the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things. He let us know while He was with them that He would be in them. He said, “But the water, I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14.

He is the Father in creation. He is the son as a Savior and Redeemer. He is the Holy Ghost in regeneration, in coming in to live in our bodies.  He said, “Know ye not your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost?” The Bible says in Romans 8, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his.

So the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Ghost are all of the same Spirit.  He said, “Of one spirit are you all baptized into one body.” And so we refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost but in eternity it will be God all in all.  And the angels announced that they shall call his name JESUS for he shall save His people from their sins.

These Three Are One

Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled of that which the prophet had spoken. A virgin shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Immanuel which being interpreted is, God with us.  So He had to be that one, true, all powerful, all wise God, but He was robed in flesh.

He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not.  And now He comes to us in the Spirit. There are three that bear record in heaven; The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost and these three are one. (I John 5:7).  They don’t agree in one, they are one.  He is one essential, fundamental, indivisible.

Questions

Matt 28:19.  The Bible said it pleased the Father – who is a Spirit, that in Him should all the fullness dwell.  He could speak as Almighty God as well as the Son. He had all power. God chose to reveal Himself, to channel His blessings, to channel the knowledge of Himself to this world through Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hebrews 1:2 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;

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;

Was all of the Spirit contained in the body of Jesus?

How many believe that we are the sons of God? What’s the difference between you and me as the son of God, and Jesus?  Are we the sons of God that does not yet appear what we shall be when we know that He shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is?

We are identified as the sons of God.  The difference between you or me as the sons of God and Jesus?  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,” God was the Father of His flesh.  Therefore He had no sins.  The Spirit was the Father of the man.  The virgin Mary was His mother.  The holy, all wise, all powerful Spirit was His father.  He could have no sin.

Adam Doctrine False

There’s a false doctrine. People that used to preach our message, believe that he was the first man, Adam, came back to die for his own sin.  That’s a false doctrine. If he had to die for his own sin, he couldn’t have died for our sins.

They say at the River of Jordan the Spirit of God said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” that’s when he was baptized for his own sin. The spirit of God said, “This is my beloved son in whom, (he was already in him and the Greek word shows he was in him and had been in the past in a timeless way) I am well pleased.”

He was already in him.  The Bible said that “to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” The Spirit was the Father of His flesh.  We have earthly fathers to our flesh. There was not the sin of Adam transmitted to Him because the Holy God did not beget sin or transmit sin to His only begotten Son. That’s one difference.

John 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

John 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

In other words, God manifested Himself to the world in an unlimited, unrestrained manner.  Now you might say, “Well, was all of God in that body?”

Well, to me, obviously all of God was not diminished by the body of Christ.  He was still omni-present and everywhere present.  He was still all powerful; but in this world you might say He made His headquarters in the body of Jesus Christ, and manifested and revealed Himself to the world through Christ. The Spirit was given to Christ without measure but it’s limited in us.

Spirit Given To Christ Without Measure

You mean that He’s in us the same way now, as He was in Jesus then?

The Spirit is not given by measure.  I believe we all recognize that the spirit finds limitations in us; that there isn’t that complete manifestation – that all powerful manifestation through us that there was through Jesus Christ.  There’s no limit no measure, no restraint, as there is through us.

Would that be because of the sin of Adam? Because that meant death?

Of course we are redeemed through His blood, before He gives the Spirit unto us, as to remit the sin of Adam. But, we still carry our carnal body about.  We still have the battle of the flesh and the spirit.

The apostle Paul said, “The spirit wars against the flesh and the flesh wars against the Spirit and these two are contrary one to the other.”

And the other thing is that we are not the only begotten son of God. We are not in that same place.  We are the body of Christ on earth, as a group we’re the body of Christ, in total.  But individually, we could never measure up.  This is what they call the “Adam doctrine.” That says, Jesus was the glorified human being, and that we can all be as great as He was… is along the line that we can all be as great as Christ.

We can be used of Christ to the extent that we yield and obey the Spirit and Word, but none of us will ever come close to the place the only begotten son of God as the manifestation of God even in this present world.

We have a great message.  Jesus said, “Marvel not that if the world hateth you, it hated me before it ever hated you.” “Ye shall be hated of all nations for my namesake.”

The world’s embracing people who speak with tongues.  Many business and important people claim to speak in tongues but the dividing line comes with the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The name that’s above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess; Jesus is Lord to the glory of God. It’s a great revelation, it’s a marvelous revelation. It seems to be the last one some people get and when they start to backslide it’s the first one they lose.  Jesus said this was like a tree with no leaves.

I believe it’s essential for salvation to have the revelation of the Godhead. A real revelation of the Godhead… and when you feel yourself beginning to lose that revelation and get confused, you better get down and pray, talk to your pastor, get your mind straightened out.

You’ve got to start with this premise, there has never been more than one true and living God.  There’s a lot of false gods, idol gods, heathen gods who are really nothing at all. But, there’s never been more than one true, living God.  There isn’t room in the universe for more than one like Him, and that Jesus Christ was His name.

In the ancient times they wanted to know His name.  Abraham wanted to know His name; and Jacob wrestled all night and had his hip put out of place, he wanted to know His name.  All down through the ages of time they desired to know His name but God had His own good time to reveal His special name, of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named and that’s the wonderful name of Jesus.  And that’s the name of God; that’s the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The name of the only, true living God of the universe and that’s the name of His people.

When the Pastor Stephens and his wife go home tonight, chances are they’ll take the children named Stephens with them.  And when the trumpet of God and the Lord Jesus calls the church out, He’s going to call those out that are called by His name.  I don’t believe those that are not baptized in his name are going to go. He’s going to call those out that are called by His name.  My family are called by my Name.  Come on children.  Come on home.

Another thing the Bible said, “be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows that will he also reap.” This is a very simple lesson, very simple.  If you sow wheat, you don’t get watermelon; if you sow oats you don’t get tomatoes, you get just what you sow.

On the day of Pentecost the Lord sowed the church, repented and baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, filled with the Holy Ghost talking in tongues and recognized Jesus as God.  And when He comes back that’s the kind of church He’s going to reap out of the world. I want to be in that number, don’t you?