ALL ABOUT JESUS #2

 All About Jesus #2

His Divinity and Humanity

        by

        Finis Dake

If the body of Jesus was the Son of Jesus, and the inner man of

Jesus was the Father of Jesus, then how could the Father say to

the body, "I am the Son [body] of God?" If the Father inside was

talking to the Son outside, then the body could not be the Son.

How could the Son (body) be called "Jesus," as in Matt.1:21;

8:29; Mark 1:1; Acts 8:37; 1 Cor.1:9; 1 John 1:3,7; 3:23; 5:20;

2 John 3, and "Christ," as in Matt.16:16; 22:42; 26:63; Luke

4:4; John 20:31, if these two names have been the names of the

Father from all eternity, as some argue. The Son (body) had a

beginning in Mary 1900 years ago. These names were not the names

of God from all eternity, for they were names given to the Son

when He was born about 1900 years ago. Not one time are these

names used of either person of the Godhead until Jesus was born

and anointed by God the Father.

The word "Jesus" was the human name given to the Son of Mary

eight days after He was born (Matt.1:16,21; Luke 1:31-35;

2:21). It was and is still a common name like John, James, and

other names. Josephus mentions thirteen men who are called Jesus.

Several are mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 7:45; 13:6; Col.

4:11; Heb.4:8; Matt.1:21). Several in the Old Testament are

called "Joshua" and "Joshua" and hundreds of people throughout

history have been called Jesus and Joshua. If the New Testament

had been written in Hebrew instead of Greek Jesus would have been

called Joshua. The word "Jesus" is not an heavenly or divine

name. It is an earthly human name given to the second person of

the Godhead when he became a man. Therefore, it is His name as a

man and not His name as God.

The word "Christ" literally means "anointed" and is a name

applied to Jesus when He became the anointed of God. It is like

the word "Jesus," a name of his humanity, and of His anointing as

a man and not His name as God. It is the same as the Hebrew word

translated "Messiah" (Dan.9:24-27; John 1:41; 4:25). Jesus

became the anointed of God or Christ thirty years after He was

called Jesus. It was predicted in prophecy that God would make

Him the "Anointed" (Ps.2:1-12; 143 11-18; Isa.11:1-2; 42:1-5;

61:1-2). History records that the time He became the "Anointed"

of God was at His baptism (Matt.3:16-17; 12:15-20; Luke 3:21-22;

Acts 10:38). Jesus confirmed the time He became God's "Anointed"

(Luke 4:16:21). Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and not

with oil. He was anointed because He was the Son of the Father

and it proves two persons - the one who anointed Him and the one

who was anointed. Passages such as Luke 2:26; Gal.3:17; 1 Pet.

1:11 should be understood in the same sense as we would say that

President George Washington was a surveyor. He was not this when

he was president, but since he became president we could speak of

any event of his life before he became president as what

President Washington did. So it is with Christ. Since He became

God's Christ we can now speak of Christ doing certain things even

before He was anointed.

28. The Bible never speaks of the Father dying, but it does say

that the Son died (Rom.5:10; Heb.6:6; John 3:16-18). The Son

died in the same sense that other men die ... This proves that

the Father and Son were two separate persons.

29. Jesus was "the only begotten of the Father" and "his only

begotten Son," and He had to be a separate person from the Father

in order to be begotten by the Father, and the Father had to be a

separate person from Jesus in order to beget Him (John 1:14, 18;

3:16-18; 31-36; 1 John 5:1). No person can beget himself, or be

begotten by himself, and no person can be his own father or son.

Neither can any person beget part of himself, or be begotten by

part of himself.

30. Many statements in the gospel of John prove that Jesus did

not claim to be the Father, but He did say that God was His

Father and His God (John 5:8-45; 10:18-36; 14:28; 20:17; Rev.

3:12); that God worked only through Him, and that He COULD DO

NOTHING OF HIMSELF (John 5:19,30); that He not only COULD NOT,

but that He DID NOT DO ANYTHING OF HIMSELF (John 5:30; 6:38;

8:28; 12:49-50); that He did only the Father's will and lived BY

THE FATHER, as men are to do His will and live BY HIM (John

6:57); and that the work of God was to believe on the one whom

the Father had sent (John 6:29; 3:2; 5:18; 8:54; 14:1).

He said that His doctrine was not His, but it was the Father's

(John 7:16-17; 8:26,38; 10:18; 12:49-50; 14:10-11; 17:8,14) and

that if anyone would do the will of God he should know that He

did not come and SPEAK OF HIMSELF, but that He spoke of the

Father who had sent Him (John 7:16-18).

He claimed that His message was true because He did not SPEAK OF

HIMSELF, but that He spoke of the Father (John 7:18; 5:30-38;

14:10-11), that He spoke only what He had HEARD FROM THE FATHER

(John 8:26-28,38-40), that He taught BY THE FATHER and that His

teaching was not of Himself (John 8:28), that He did not PLEASE

HIMSELF, but He lived to please the Father (John 8:29), that He

was the "Son" of the house and not the "Father" of it (John

8:35-36; Heb.3:6), and that He had THE SAME RELATION TO THE

FATHER that the Jews had to their father the devil (John 8:16, 3

5-44; 9:4).

He taught that He, Himself, honored the Father as all men should

(John 8:49); that He did not seek HIS OWN GLORY, but that there

was "one" (not Himself, but ANOTHER, the Father) that honored Him

and sought His glory (John 8:50,54; 12:26-28; 14:12-15; 17:1-5,

10); that He and the Father knew each other, but they were not

each other (John 8:55; 10:15); that the Father loved Him for His

unselfishness (it takes two people to love and be loved, John

10:17-18); that He had received commandments from the Father,

and they were not His own (John 10:18; 12:49-50; 15:10); and

that the Father gave Him His disciples (John 10:29; 17:1-25). He

further claimed that he was equal to the Father as to deity and

some things, but not equal in other things (Mark 13:32; John

5:17-39; 8:13-19,29-42; 19:18,24-29; Acts 1:7; 1 Cor.11:3;

Rev.1:1); that He was not a "Spirit" being like His Father

(Luke 24:39); John 4:24; Phil. 3:21); that He and the Father

were in each other (united as one) in the same sense He and the

believers were one (John 10:38; 14:10-11,23; 17:11,21-23; 2

Cor.5:17); and that He was the only way to the Father (John

14:6). Such simple language as that in all the above listed

passages cannot be understood except in connection with two

separate persons.

31. Jesus said that if He bore witness "of Himself" and if He was

the only one that did bare witness, His testimony would not be

true and He would not expect men to believe it any more than

civil courts would accept only one witness (John 5:21-23,36;

6:38; 7:16-17,28; 8:13-19,37,42,54; 12:44,49-50; 14:10-11;

17:1-25). God repeatedly said in both Testaments that "in the

mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established"

(Num.35:30; Deut.17:6-7; 19:15; Matt.18:16; Luke 24:48; Acts

1:8,22; 2:32; 5:32; 7:58; 10:31; 1 Thess.5:19; Heb.10:28-29;

12:1; Rev.11:5). Would God make a fixed law to establish truth

by two or three separate witnesses and then break His own law and

expect men to have confidence in Him? He would have no grounds to

punish man for rejection of God's witness if God were only one

person.....

Jesus continued by saying that He had greater proof or witness

than John the Baptist who had two witnesses, the Father and the

Holy Ghost (John 1:31-34; 5:36). John did not have the miracles

to confirm his word as did Jesus, who had the same two witnesses

that John had plus the miracles (John 2:11,23; 3:2; 4:54; 5:20,

36; 7:2,26; 7:31; 9:16; 10:25-37,41; 11:42-47; 14:10-12; 15:24).

When Jesus said, "I am not alone, but I [one person] and

the Father [another person] that sent me" and is with me also

bear witness, He simply stated that there were more persons in

the Godhead than He, thus fulfilling the Word of God concerning

more than one witness to establish a fact. He plainly said that

the two witnesses in this testimony were the Father and Himself.

"I am one that bears witness of myself, and the Father that sent

me [another person] beareth witness of me" (John 8:13-18,29;

16:32). Again, in John 8:29 He said, "The Father bath not left me

alone" and in John 16:32, "every man to his own and leave me

alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me."

What could be more clear in proving two distinct persons, called

"the Father" and "the Son," both of them equally God? On the

other hand, what foolish statements these are if Jesus is the

only person in the Godhead.

32. In the following eighty separate statements of Scripture by

Jesus Christ, He constantly affirmed that He was not the Father

and not the only person in the Godhead. The grammar of these

passages will not permit us to believe in only one person as

being referred to. Jesus is the speaker, but He is not the one

spoken of, as is made clear by reading these statements

concerning Him and His Father.

If we are not going to believe what God says in His revelation

concerning Himself, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, then He is

under no further obligation to give another revelation in order

to make the subject of God clear to men. If we will not believe

one revelation, we would not believe another. If we will believe

at all, then let us believe these scriptural facts of human

language concerning more than one person in the Godhead. Then we

will not have to teach that God is a mystery ... cannot be

understood, and the other foolish doctrines as expressed by men

who refuse to take the plain language used by God in the Bible

revealing the ... separate persons in the Godhead, as seen in

Matt.7:21; 10:32-33; 11:27; 15:13; 16:17; 18:10,19,35; 19:17;

20:23; 24:36; 25:34; 26:29,39,42,53; Luke 2:49; John 5:17,43;

6:32,65; 8:19,28,38,49,54; 10:17-18,25,29,30,32,37; 12:26-28;

14:7,12,20,21,28; 15:1,8,10,4,23; 16:23-26; 18:11; 20:17,21; Rev.

1:1; 2:27; 3:5,12; 5:1-7,13; 7:9,15-16; 10:6; 11:15; 12:10;

21:22-23; 22:1-5.

33. Jesus said that His Father was "greater than all" and

"greater than I" (John 10:29; 14:28). He then could not be the

Father. Paul also stated that the Father was the "head of Christ"

(1 Cor.3:23; 11:3).

34. God the Father said of Jesus, "my beloved Son" (Matt.

3:16-17; 17:5; Ps.2:7). Jesus said of Himself, "I am the Son of

God" (John 10:38). An angel declared Him to be "the Son of the

Highest" and "the Son of God" (Luke 1:32-35 ). Demons said He

was "the Son of God" (Mark 3:11) and "Son of the Most High God"

(Mark 5:7). Apostles stated repeatedly that Jesus was only "the

Son of God" (Matt.14:33; 16:16-17; Mark 1:1; John 11:27; 20:31;

Acts 9:20), "the only begotten OF THE FATHER" (John 1:14,18;

3:16-18), "his own Son" (Rom.8:32), "the Son of the Father" (2

John 3), and "his dear Son" by whom God the Father created all

things (Col.1:13-18). John said, "the Father sent the Son to be

the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14); so there must be two

separate persons referred to. John the Baptist also bare record

"that this was the Son of God" (John 1:31-34). Others confessed

that Jesus was "the Son of God" (Mark 15:39; 1 John 1:49; Acts

9:37), but not once did God, angels, demons, or men say that He

was the Father.

35. Both the Father and the Son talked to each other in audible

voices at the same time and place, and both voices were heard by

a number of witnesses; so there had to be two persons who had

their own separate bodies, voices, minds, etc., to be able to

speak to each other in the same sense other persons do.

(Matt.3:16-17; 17:5; John 12:27-30; 2 Pet.1:17).

36. Jesus taught that when men receive Him they also receive the

Father, as when men receive Christ's disciples they also receive

Christ (Matt.10:39-41). This does not mean that the Father and

the Son were the same person any more than it proves that Christ

and the disciples become one person when men receive Christ

through them. Separate persons are involved in both statements,

as is clear.

37. God the Father is called "he" (John 14:16); God the Son is

called "he" (John 8:23-25) ... so if personal pronouns are used

of each person in making a distinction between them as is done

with other persons, there must be ... separate persons.

38. Christ is symbolized by "the vine," and the Father is spoken

of as "the husbandman" in John 15:1-16. It is just as intelligent

to call any vine its own keeper and both of them one person as to

do so here. This figure clearly proves two persons.

39. Jesus taught that He and the Father had the same relationship

to each other as did He and His disciples (John 15:10). Such

relationship proves more than one person. One person could not

have such relationship by Himself as is required of separate

persons in this passage.

40. The word "both" means "two" and is used of the Father and the

Son, thus proving two persons (John 15:24; 2 John 9).

41. The word "also" is used of the Father and Son, thus proving

two separate persons (John 5:19, 27; 8:19; 13:32; 14:1).

42. Jesus again speaks of Himself and the Father as "two"

persons: "They have not known the Father [one person] nor me"

(another person). Again, "I go my way to him that sent me (John

16:3,5). Then He speaks of Himself and the Spirit ... Jesus did

not say that He would come back as the Holy Ghost, but that He

would stay in Heaven and "send him unto you," as fulfilled in

Acts 2:33-36.

If those who believe in only one person in the Godhead are not

capable of understanding the most simple human language, then

their case is hopeless.

43. Jesus used personal pronouns in referring to Himself and the

Father (John 14:23; 17:1-25; etc.) He used the first, second, and

third personal pronouns of Himself, the Father, and the Holy

Spirit; and not once do we find Him misusing them (John 14:12-17,

23-26; 15:1-26; 16:7-15; 17:1-25). If they were used rightly,

then there must be separate persons in the Godhead. John 17 alone

has 162 personal pronouns used by Jesus to and of Himself, of the

Father, and of His disciples. He repeatedly calls the true God

"Father" and calls Himself "thy Son." He prayed for the disciples

to be "one" as He and the Father were "one," and this could not

refer to "one person" but "one" in unity. Jesus used "I" and

"me," first personal pronouns, in referring to Himself, and

"thou," "thee," and ,thine," second personal pronouns, in

referring to the Father, whom He was addressing. He used "they"

and "them" in referring to the disciples for whom He was praying

and "we" and "us" when referring to Himself and His Father,

proving that He and His Father were more than one person as much

as the disciples were.

44. Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in Heaven and in

Earth" (Matt.28:18). Somebody had to give Him this power, and He

had to be greater than Jesus, or He would not have it to give.

The only one Jesus said was "greater than I" is the Father (John

14:28). The apostles later confirmed this fact of the Father

being greater than Jesus, for they said that the Father was "the

head of Christ" (1 Cor.11:3), that Jesus had been exalted by the

Father above everyone else (1 Cor.14:24-28; Eph.1:20-23; Phil.

2:8-11; Heb.1:1-3; 12:2; 1 Pet.3:22), and that the Father had

made Jesus both "Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:33-36), the heir of all

things (Heb.1:2; Rom.8:17), the medium of approach to God (Heb.

1:4; John 3:16-18; Acts 4:12; 1 John 3:23; 5:13), and the source

of redemption to men (1 Cor.1:30). These facts prove the Father

to be a separate person from the Son.

45. Jesus said that He was the same that He claimed to be "from

the beginning" (John 8:25). Because He always claimed to be only

the Son and not the Father, we can rely upon the fact that He

could not be the Father. The statement "He that hath seen me hath

seen the Father" (John 14:9), does not say that He was the

Father. The Greek word for seen is 'horao,' to discern, to

experience, perceive, comprehend. Like the English word seen, it

means here to truly comprehend and not only to see with the eyes,

as it is used in John 1:18; 6:46; 8:38; 1 John 3:6; 2 John 11.

No statement in John 14 says that Jesus was the Father in person,

but six times this chapter makes it clear that He was not the

Father:

(1)  "Ye believe in God [one person], believe ALSO in me" (John

14:1-2).

(2)  "In my Father's house [not my house] are many mansions"

(John 14:1-2). 

(3)  "No man cometh UNTO THE FATHER, but BY ME"

(John 14:6). 

(4)  "If ye had known ME [Jesus], ye should have

known MY FATHER [another person] ALSO" (John 14:7).

(5)  "He that hath seen [comprehended, experienced] ME [one

person] hath seen [comprehended, experienced] THE FATHER (another

person, John 14:9). In John 1:18 it is stated that no man had

"seen" (fully comprehended) the Father save Christ, who came to

reveal and declare God to men. If Christ came truly to

demonstrate God, then John 14:9 proves He had succeeded in

bringing God to men in actual demonstration of Him by His own

life.

(6)  "I [one person] am in the Father [another person] and the

Father in me. . . . I speak NOT OF MYSELF; but the Father that

dwelleth in me, HE DOETH THE WORKS. I [Jesus] go to the Father,"

so He could not be the Father (John 14:10-15). "He that hath

seen me hath seen the Father" is a statement of true

representation of another person (1 John 2:6; 3:3,7; 4:17; 1

Cor.11:1; Phil.4:9; 2 Cor.3:1-3,18; Rom.8:29). One who is

truly like Christ as He was like the Father can say, "He that

hath seen me hath seen Jesus Christ."

VI. THE THEORY OF ETERNAL SONSHIP DISCUSSED

                              ..............

TO BE CONTINUED

It is only in the last 10 years or so that I have heard about the

teaching that "God" or the "Godhead" is just ONE person - One

person who can be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, at

any time, or can be all three at any given time, but still remain

as ONE person. Now, you go figure that one out.

Then it is also within about the last 10 years that I have heard

the teaching that God is NO PERSON at all, that God or the

Godhead, is simply too much to be confined to a literal "personal

being" and so God must not be thought of as any kind of a literal

being. So I guess to those people who hold such an idea of God,

then God is just a MIGHTY NOTHINGNESS. I have answered this

"nothingness God" teaching in another study on this Website.

As Finis Dake has shown so far, the Scriptures on this subject of

God the Father and Jesus Christ, being TWO SEPARATE PERSONAL

BEING is as clear and as plain as the sun shining in a cloudless

sky. The truth of the matter is taught to us OVER AND OVER again

in the pages of the Bible, especially the New Testament.

Keith Hunt.