Blaspheming the Holy Spirit January 17, 2017
In Mark 3:29, Jesus warns against blaspheming the Holy Spirit, that this is a sin that will not be forgiven.
(I will not be addressing what is an example of blaspheming the Holy Spirit here.)
Why would Jesus imply that blaspheming the distinctive person of the Trinity would be an unforgivable offense, while blaspheming against the Father or the Son is not?
Is the denying the Holy Spirit a greater sin or the ultimate sin while denying the Father and the Son is a lower sin?
(Adding more!)
The Echoes of the One True Author of the Bible
January 13, 2017
Isaiah 48:16-17 echoes to John 15:26 to Acts 20:28.
When we look at the Bible as having one True Author through many hands, we do see the many layered threads that run throughout the 66 wonderful books.
In these 3 verses we see the prophetic verse of Isaiah being realized in John and completing its fruition in Acts. The Triune God is One but three. If these verses contain errors in their statement, then the entire Bible is suspect.
While it may be hard for many to fully realize what is said in these pages, the Holy Spirit is the teacher, 1 Corinthians 2:13-16 NKJV. The key is to not stop reading His word. God has given us enough, so that He can teach us as much as we are willing to learn.
We understand that Jesus is God because 1 Timothy 3:15-16 KJV points to the One God being manifest in the flesh, the Son.
No Other Savior
January 12, 2017
“I have been the LORD your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior.”
Hosea 13:4 NLT
This nugget popped out during my devotional reading this morning, and I wanted to take quick note of it. To me, this alludes to a Triuneness as Jesus is the ultimate Savior of mankind for eternity, and not only the historical event of being led out of Egypt as mentioned in the context of this verse.
The greater saving of separation from God was seen from the foundation of the world. In God’s timelessness, He saw that flawed humans would need a Savior willing to die for them, it was not something that a person could do on their own. (The insurmountable task is pictured in the flight through the Red Sea.) God had to be willing to die for people, Genesis 3:15.
God has shown His persistent love in His relationship with Israel and then with everyone tainted by he corruption of sin the world. His desire from the Garden was to save people from themselves. Their willingness to lean on their own limited understanding, Isaiah 55:8-9.
In His absolute statement, God says no one can save but Him. He is Immanuel, Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23. We see the unity of the person of Jesus who is God and God who is throughout both Testaments; that humans cannot save themselves, only God can, and He does it freely. For that, I am ever thankful.
Jesus, The Firstborn
January 10, 2017
I know what I think of when I think of the word firstborn–first in birth order, but is that what the Bible means?
Exodus 4:22 uses the word firstborn for Israel, but how can it mean birth order when Israel was not the first nation that was “born”? Does firstborn have a different meaning? It would appears so by this verse. If Israel refers to the man and not then nation, Israel was the second born of Abraham, his son Jacob before God changed his name, Genesis 32:22-32.
Romans 8:29 translates firstborn from prototokos (G4416) which is a compound word from /prṓtos (4413), “first, pre-eminent” and /tíktō (5088), “bring forth”. The idea of rank comes into thought, and it opens a whole area where God has persistently spoken that He weighs a person not based on what he or she is, but who he or she is, meaning the motive, the position of the heart. The unseen part of our being that speaks loudly to God.
All of these verses state the uncaused nature of God in equal weight.
The eternality of God is a key characteristic of Himself. No other being or object in the universe has it. Scripture attests to this, and it attests to this characteristic belonging to Christ and the Holy Spirit.
There are many verses that show the equality of the three, meaning that they are spoken of in conjunction with one another as three distinct personalities existing in Oneness:
2 Corinthians 13:14
Ephesians 4:4-6
1 Peter 1:2
Matthew 28:19
When God, the Father Calls Jesus God
January 6, 2017
Hebrews 1 contains and interesting verse, verse 8. But in order to appreciate it you must read it in the context of who is speaking and that is God, Hebrews 1:5.
1:8 But about the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, Your God, has placed You above Your companions
by anointing You with the oil of joy.”
Immediately, I notice that God is calling Jesus God. It is the same Greek word that is used throughout the New Testament.
In verse Hebrews 1:3, Paul use the phrase the exact representation (G5481, charaktér: an exact reproduction). This is the only time that this word is used in the New Testament. To me, it helps to signify the uniqueness of Christ as Triune. I understand that every Christian may not feel this way.
If I were to read a Scripture like this and strip out the evidence of Triuneness, then I would feel like I was reading with the intent of making Scripture match what I believed instead of the other way around.
The Mystery of John 1:1 – Part 1
January 5, 2017
I find that this verse has always been one that has been debated as pointer to the Triuneness of God.
I have even spoken with someone who believed it proved the Jesus was a “lesser god” because of the Greek usage of the word theos (G2316 God: Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with ὁ (G3588)) the supreme Divinity).
But what did this word truly mean in the Greek culture of that day?
Why would it be open to misinterpretation?
These are some of the questions that I have pondered, but I realize that God has always, if nothing else, been perfect, and He is far more than perfect!
This will be a big verse to tackle especially for the amount of information contained in it.
God calls Himself the First and the Last
January 4, 2017
In Isaiah 41:4 and 48:12, God calls Himself the First and the Last. He actually says nothing came before Me. It is clear and concise.
In Rev
elation 1:8, the Lord, God, the Father repeats.
In Revelation 1:11, the Lord, God, the Son, Jesus says this as well in some translations. In the original Greek, it is mission.
BUT, in Revelation 1:17, Jesus states that He is the First and the Last. While the Greek words are different for both 1:8 and 1:17, the idea is similar. When Jesus speaks the words in verse 17, He uses Greek words that are similar in meaning to the Hebrew words God, the Father, speaks in Isaiah 48:12.
The is Triuneness between the verses mentioned that shows either is true or one is lying, God, the Son or God, the Father. All are absolute statements.
Jesus, the Son of God! Of Who? Of God. Hmm. . . .
January 3, 2017
In the King James version of the Bible, the phrase Son of God appears 47 times (once in the book of Daniel). Never once in the New Testament is the Jesus referred to as the Son of the Holy Spirit, and yet Matthew 1:20, the Holy Spirit is clearly listed as the conceiver. It would have been just as easy for Matthew to say the LORD is the conceiver, but he did not.
He states eight times that Jesus is the Son of God, (G2316 theos), so the distinction can be
considered purposeful, John 14:26. This theos is the same that is used in Matthew 3:9.
The two statements cannot disagree, either God is the father of Jesus or He is not. Either the God is triune or He is not. If He is not, the Matthew 1:20 is misleading at best, and incorrect at worst, which scripture is not; Romans 3:4, Psalm 119:160, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, John 17:17 and 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
As a human, it is not in my ability to know the fullness of God. He will always have mystery about Him. (Job 11:7, Daniel 2:28a, Ephesians 3:4,9, Matthew 13:11, Romans 16:25, and so on.) If I live to be a thousand years, God would still be new to me. He is a good mystery.
Knowing the Trinity as God was Pivotal for Me – Part 2
January 2, 2017
This image spoke of how the Triune God was whole. Throughout Eternity Past, the Father loved the Son through the agent of the Holy Spirit, and the Son responded in like manner.
We see this pattern most closely in the bond between mother and child. When the mother showers her child with love, it is an outflow from her to her baby. And the baby responds with giggles and smiles, expressing his or joy in love back to the mother.
While it is hard for me to say what is the counterpart to the Holy Spirit other than a law of true love acting out in the human realm, I know that this foundational bond will shape our lives in a formidable way. Any negative impact of this relationship can only be counteracted by the Holy Spirit’s transformative work through our interactive reading of His Word. (This is true of all other forms of relationships, e.g., fathers, bosses, teachers, etc.)
How we understood the dance of the Trinity can greatly affect our daily lives.