Hello all!
These latest studies that Ray has done are really inspiring, and they are so deep. At times I feel it's hard to follow what Ray is saying because of the magnitude of the subject, and I need to pay close attention and read/watch a section several times to be sure that I catch it all (I'm not even sure that I caught it all...). The questions he is raising now are really big, and yet, as usual, he is able to answer them in "layman's terms". A question such as "Who is God?" is so fundamental, and we have only scratched the surface of them.
In the last months, I've been doing a little thinking and studying on my own. A couple of months ago I ended up in a futile discussion with some JW's who came to my door. Their Watchtower doctrine says that Jesus is NOT God. Also, to steer clear of any reference to Jesus as God they always insert "Jehovah" (who they say is the Father), even though the Greek says "theos" or "kyrios". This discussion made me look closer at the question: Is Jesus God?
I found a connection in Revelation and Isaiah that to me shows with certainty that the Holy Scriptures teach that Jesus is God. However this certainty raises other questions...
Here goes, of course you will correct me if this is all wrong:
We all understand that it is CHRIST JESUS who speaks to John in Revelation, so the following is spoken by Christ, and He explains about Himself:
1. And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things said the
first and the last, which was
dead, and is
alive; (Rev. 2:
Again, this is clearly Christ speaking, as the Father has never been DEAD and then ALIVE again.
2. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the
first and the last. (Rev. 22:13)
The "first and the last" is not only that, but
also "the beginning and the end", and the "Alpha and Omega". Although these are basically three ways of saying the same thing, it is important in this line of reasoning that we see the connection between these titles which are mentioned in the above verses. The one who
is the first and the last (and Alpha and Omega, and the beginning and the end)
is the same who
was dead and
is alive. This is Jesus Christ.
3. And he said to me, It is done. I am
Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and
I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Rev. 21:6-7)
The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (and the first and the last) will be God to the one who overcomes all things. If Jesus is not God, then how can He be "his God"? We notice that Jesus didn't say: My father will be his God, and he will be His son... No, Jesus is talking about Himself as God.
Here are two other scriptures from Isaiah which speak of "the first and the last":
"Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. (Isa. 48:12)
"This is what the LORD says--Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God. (Isa. 44:6)
So, if the "first and the last" in the Old Testament is the same "first and the last" as in the New Testament, then there is no God apart from Him. So is Jesus the only God? Apparently not:
But to us there is but
one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and
one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Cor. 8:6)
But are there any other indications that Jesus is God? Yes, I think so, let's see:
I am
Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the ending, said the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Rev. 1:
The "Alpha and Omega", the "beginning and the ending", is the one "which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty".
And I heard the angel of the waters say, You are righteous, O Lord,
which are, and were, and shall be (see Rev. 1:8 to see that this is Christ), because
you have judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so,
Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your
judgments. (Rev. 16:5-7)
Who is doing the judging of the world? Why, Jesus Christ: Because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness
by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31) So the Lord God Almighty is judging.
Now the question remains; There is ONE GOD, the Father, but Jesus Christ is also God (as I concluded after the reasoning above and also from everything Ray has written about this!). As Ray has said; God is the family name, and God is an expanding family. The family includes the Father and Christ, but why then did Paul write: There is ONE God, THE FATHER. Doesn't this exclude everyone else from being God? No, as Ray has said in his message from April 2nd: The
fact that Jesus and His Father are "ONE GOD," is only part of this enigma.
I wonder if the word "in" is giving us a closer indication as to what Paul meant:
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and we in him (family again); and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Cor. 8:6)
So all things are OF the ONE GOD, THE FATHER, and we are IN HIM (THE ONE GOD), and we are in Him BY Jesus Christ (who is also part of the family of God).
Does anyone else see something hidden in this verse, something which relates to the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Father, the ONE GOD?
When God wills, we will understand this more fully!
The Father is God, Jesus is God - and: Even Universal Reconciliation becomes an axiomatic certainty and not even debatable when we understand just who "the ONLY TRUE GOD" (John 17:3) really is!
God bless you all!
Eirik
Author
Topic: Are you afraid of God? / Is Jesus God? / Who is God? (Read 12469 times)