These Three are One

These Three are One

1John 5:7

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

               Unfortunately, this concept of the three person Godhead is a difficult one for some to grasp.    It is not a subject that can be adequately covered in a brief message like this, but let’s take a few minutes to touch on it. 

               First, from this scripture we know that the Word is Christ from what John 1 tells us:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Here it plainly states and establishes that Christ was the Word who was with God from the beginning.  Not only was He with God, but it says that the Word was God.  Why do we struggle so much with one God, three persons?  The Godhead is separate in distinction and office of administration, but always one in mind and purpose.  The Father has the preeminence of the Godhead and yet would you be a whole if you were a head that had no body?  Or would you be alive if you had no spirit or breath of life in you?  Can you take those elements out of your own body and still be complete and a whole person?  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct, yet they operate in oneness to complete the person of God. 

               Even from the beginning of the creation of man 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 1:26).”  In the very first chapter of the Bible God establishes His plurality in using “Us” and “Our”.  Indeed, He made us in His image in that we also are a tripartite person made up of body, soul and spirit.  All of which make up the whole man and none of which exist without the other in this life.  Time would fail to speak of the many epiphanies of God appearing to men which could easily be seen as Christ in the Old Testament.  When the three Hebrew children were thrown in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3, it was one Nebuchadnezzar described as “One like unto the Son of God” that appeared alongside the Hebrews who walked in the furnace without harm. 

               In the fullness of time, God came down to man as God incarnate in Jesus.  This physical man Jesus housed the Christ, the Son of God.  His Father was God and His mother was a virgin untouched by any natural man.  The offspring was Jesus Christ, God clothed in humanity.  Philippians 2:5-11 says,  “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  I like what I heard one time that made it so simple and understandable: “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became the son of man so that the sons of men might become the sons of God.”  Jesus was our prototype, our perfect example of what we are to become as the sons of God.  He showed us that in our natural man we could have communication and fellowship with the Father through our prayer life and our abiding in the Spirit of God.  He taught us by example with a selfless and sinless lifestyle wherein even though He was God, He took the form of a servant even to the death of the cross.  For us to deny the deity of Christ is for us to speak out of an antichrist spirit.  1John 4:1-3 says, ” Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 

               We have merely scratched the surface of the multitude of scriptures that establishes the deity of Jesus Christ and the truth that He is God.  God the Father makes it so clear that when you reject the Son, you reject the Father.  You cannot have one without the other.   John 5:23, ” That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” And in John 14:6 where, ” Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

               If this is an area you struggle with, tune out your mind and tune into the Spirit of God for He will bear witness to the truth.  There are teachings out there that want to rob Jesus Christ of His deity.  We must understand that no matter how good these look outwardly at their core they are antichrist in spirit.  Don’t allow any man to rob you through vain deceit from the truth that is essential to your spiritual life and salvation. “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me (John 17:21).”

Blessings,

#kent

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Do not Tempt the Lord

Do not Tempt the Lord

Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

What does it mean to tempt the Lord? In the Old Testament usage the implication is that men tempt God when they exhibit distrust in a manner as if they wanted to try whether God is not justly distrusted. Also by unrighteous or wicked conduct to test God’s justice and patience. They are in affect challenging Him to prove His perfection.
In the passage of Matthew 4:7 we see Jesus in the wilderness is being tempted of the devil. In the preceding verses, 4 and 5 we see the temptation, “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” The devil is trying to get Jesus to prove He is God’s Son by testing Him supernaturally to see if the Father will save Him. He even uses scripture to back it up.
There is a flag of caution to us as believers that we don’t find ourselves tempting God and trying to make Him prove Himself through presumptuous acts of faith. Jesus never did miracles because He was challenged to do so. Though there was not a question that the power was resident in Him, He acted and lived in complete submission to the will and mind of the Father. Because we have the promises of God’s Word and the authority of the name of Jesus, doesn’t mean we can go call fire down out of heaven or do whatever our heart fancies. We, like Jesus, must operate under the mind and will of the Spirit of God. When we are operating out of our flesh, especially concerning the things of God, are we not putting God to the test and tempting Him?
Acts 5 gives us the story of Ananias and Sapphira, early church Christians who sold there possessions for a certain price and then conspired to lie about it in order to hold back some of the possession for themselves. Now the possession was there’s to give or keep, but where they tempted God was when, instead of being forthright with what they were doing they conspired to lie to the disciples. What they failed to consider is that these disciples were the ambassadors of the Most High God, so their lie was not to men but to God. As a result we see a very stern and sobering demonstration of God’s judgement upon them, in that they both dropped dead when confronted with their sin. Peter makes the statement to Sapphira just before God’s judgement comes upon her, “Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband [are] at the door, and shall carry thee out.” Do we ever plot to do our own thing contrary or with disregard to the mind and will of God? Are we tempting God not to deal with us for disobedience?
In the Old Testament we read a number of accounts especially with the Israelites going through the wilderness with Moses where they tempted God through there discontentment, murmuring, lust and failure to trust the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 gives a very good summation of this for our exhortation, “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as [were] some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Let us guard our hearts and our walk today that we don’t find ourselves in that place of tempting God. Let us, like Christ, submit our wills, our desires, our faith and actions, to the will and direction of the Holy Spirit so that we walk in a way that is honorable, respectful, and obedient to His holiness. We desire His blessings and not His discipline, so let us soberly consider that we tempt not the Lord.

Blessings,
#kent