Rule 1: No Other Gods
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Most Christians violate the first of the Ten Commandments by believing in a humanistic God they adopted from philosophy. They define a triune God using biblical terms such Father or Spirit, but they explain Him in an entirely unbiblical manner.
Theologians describe the God of popular Christian faith as a being made of three persons who share power and purpose but can discuss and unite as one. They say this God who subdivides into Father, Son, and Spirit as always existed this way yet relates to humanity as one divine person. They say the second person in this triune Godhead, the Son, manifested himself in the man Jesus Christ. They claim that all three divine persons are revealed in the man Jesus.
Ultimately, when pressed for a thorough explanation, Trinitarian theologians say it is a mystery beyond our understanding. Perhaps the mystery we need to explore is how this view of God got tacked onto the Christian faith. God revealed Himself to Isaiah as the Holy One, not the Holy Three. Any Jew’s faith begins with “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). To change “The Lord is One” into “The Lord is Three” violates the first of the Ten Commandments for it explicitly says to not set any other gods before Him. While Christians are not obligated to keep the Law of Moses, Jesus capitalized on this thought when He said the greatest commandment is that we love the One True God (Mark 12:29-31).
Our God is One
Moses asked God’s name, and the Lord told him His name was “I am.” After that, people called God “He is” or Yahweh in the Hebrew language (also transliterated as “Jehovah”).
He is. God predated time. He exists independent of any energy source.
He is knowledge. God does not need education for He knows everything.
He is love. God does not need our attention; we need His. All true love comes from Him.
He is the source of all good things. God did not create evil. Darkness exists where light is absent.
He is power. Nothing can stop God. He sees nothing as impossible.
He is invisible. No one could enter the presence of the Spirit of Yahweh and live. No one can see Him.
Who is Jesus if God is not a Trinity?
God showed Himself to humanity in visible flames of fire, as an audible voice, or as a presence they could feel. When the time was right, God came to earth not just as a Spirit presence, but in a human. He limited Himself to our mortal existence when He miraculously conceived a child in the womb of the virgin Mary. God found His fulfillment and self-expression in His Son.
This child was called Emmanuel which means ‘God with us.’ Instead of being distant and invisible Yahweh, God became Man and took the name Yahweh-Shuah or Yeshua, meaning “He is the Savior.” Yeshua, or Jesus, grew up like any other boy. He had to learn the scriptures by memorization. He had to obey his parents and learn social graces.
Jesus was not a God pretending to be a man. He was the Man who put all of God’s nature into human experience: love, truth, joy, mercy, and much more. While we struggle to imagine the details of what it took for God to become part of humanity, how much more amazing to think that humanity is now forever a part of God’s divine nature. He will never just be invisible.
Without leaving behind anything of what He was, God now has a face. When the Lord takes us home, we will see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 4:6).
Why did God come in a Man?
God joined us on this dirty planet to bring us to a better place. God took on a human identity and the name Jesus so He could bring the world back to Himself (II Corinthians 5:18-21). He took on flesh and bone so He could redeem us from our slavery to the enemy through fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Now, God is not only our heavenly Father, He is also our heavenly Brother (Hebrews 2:11-17). When we pray to Him, He understands our temptations for He has encountered them all and overcome them without sinning (Hebrews 2:18; 4:14-16). The almighty God of the universe took a demotion by becoming one of us in order to give us a promotion so we could join Him where He is, High above every force, fear, or problem.
We should not let the Middle-Platonic philosophy of body-soul-spirit control our understanding of God. While theologians may have meant well by trying to simplify our understanding of God in Christ by using this model, God does not need help. When we come to Him in faith, we can see one, all-powerful God who is an invisible Spirit that came in His Son Jesus Christ to bring a fallen world back to Himself. Jesus is not the second person in God, but He takes on all the power and authority of God (Matthew 28:18; Colossians 2:8-10; Revelation 1:8).
Study more on this vital topic about the nature of Jesus Christ and what He means for you.
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