God's Nature Reveals His Plan of Salvation

There are basically three critical questions for life. I know some people put it as seven. I'll just summarize it very simply to three. The reason I say three is because three is a number we can remember. If I say three things, I can remember three things. If you tell me seven, I can't remember them all. But they are. Who is God? What is His nature? And what is His purpose for mankind? Who is God? What is His nature?

And what is His purpose for mankind? Basically, you could summarize it in a slightly different way. What are the basic characteristics of God and the relationship with His Son? And how does it apply to us? And so today I want to go through a few fundamental truths about the nature of God, because these truths reveal the wonderful plan of God for you and I.

In other words, the nature of God is directly related with God's purpose for you and I. That's why the three questions are in that sequence. Who is God? What is His nature? And what is the purpose for mankind? And the Church does have a doctrinal study paper that has been around for quite a while since 2005, which covers a lot of detail of some of the things that I will be discussing today. So you're always welcome to, if you want to study further, to go and search there.

The world believes that God is eternity. And basically, what it means is that in that teaching is that the three are connected and if something really happens to one, it's going to happen to the others. Basically, it means that they are one and invisible. And so, for instance, if one of them was to die, the whole three would die because they're together, right?

If one is dying, all three would die. And therefore, that teaching has a considerably logical error there because when they say, well, Christ died and under that doctrinal belief, of course, we believe Christ died. But when they put the point Christ died, they can't logically state that Christ really died because if he really died, then the other two would have died too, as well. And so, according to that doctrine, it opens up the door of separating Jesus from Christ.

It basically says it's two different people, Jesus and Christ, because Jesus died. So there is definitely right there in that logic something very, very wrong. We know in Luke 23 46, Christ said, Father, in your hands I give you my spirit, which clearly shows that Christ died. And it also clearly shows that the Father resurrected him because when you read in Romans 8 verse 11, it says that the Spirit of the Father that resurrected the Spirit of Father lives in us and that the Spirit which is God, he resurrected Christ from the dead using that spirit, so he would use the same spirit to resurrect us.

So it basically says that the Father and the Son are two different people because one died and was really dead and the other one remained alive, which basically destroys the whole idea of the Trinity. You see, the idea of the Trinity negates Christ, that he was divine. That's basically it, because their concept is that Christ entered into the man Jesus at baptism, Matthew 3.16, and then it left the man Jesus just before he died, based of an incorrect application of Matthew 27.46.

And so if that was the case, if Christ left that man and that man Jesus did resurrect and is at the right hand of the Father, so do we have a fourth one? A fourth being? You see, obviously that is so wrong. And this is basically what John was referring in 1 John 2, 1 John 2, verse 22. 1 John 2, verse 22. And that is what is referred as the Antichrist. 1 John 2, verse 22, he says, Who is a liar?

But he would deny that Jesus is the Christ. Can you see the connection? Because their concept was there were two different beings, two different people. And that Jesus died. Christ was in Jesus temporarily, but just before he died, it left. And so that's what they say, he was a liar, but he would deny that Jesus is the Christ.

The word Christ died. And then the same concept is brought also in 1 John 4, verse 3, just maybe in the same page of your Bible, but just a little bit further down. He says, And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God. You see, because they say, well, Jesus Christ was not born in the flesh, did not come in the flesh, he just entered into this man Jesus and then left. And that's what the soul concept of the spirit of antichrist.

And basically, brethren, what it says is, the doctrine of Trinity is antichrist. That is quite a powerful statement.

Now, the New Testament makes it very clear that Christ was both the Son of God as well as God in the flesh. And that is very important for us to understand. And not understanding that clearly prevents us from fully understanding the plan of salvation for you and I.

Here's a scripture that you probably read many times, but you didn't connect it in this way, which is in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4. And yeah, it's talking about what Satan is doing. And it says that the minds, the God of this world, as blinded. Satan as blinded people's minds, how? By his deceptions, by his lies. It's like today, you don't know what's truth and people are blinded about what is really true because of deception. You see, so the mind, the God of this world, as blind, who do not believe, lest, lest what? Lest the light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ.

So what is the gospel? The gospel is that you and I will be in the kingdom of God, as sons of gods, resurrected, glorified with the same glory, the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on us. Basically what it means is, the doctrine of the Trinity, the lies that are put out by false religion, is hiding from us the true plan of God that you and I are going to be children of God. In other words, the understanding of the nature of God and who God is reveals God's plan of salvation. In the same book, 2 Corinthians, in chapter 3, verse 18, we read, but we all with unveiled face, beholding as a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image. We are being transformed into the same glory, into the same nature, into the divine nature, into the nature of God, which is basically what is the plan of God that you and I are going to be children of God in the kingdom of God. And so the question now is, who is Christ? What is his origin?

The false teaching of the Trinity has various ways of explaining it. One of them is that the Son is being eternally generated by the Father. Another one, which is called today Arianism, says that one that became flesh was a special creation from God.

And then there's another form that says, well, the one that became flesh was the Archangel Michael. And so these are all variations of this concept, false concept, this heresy of the Trinity. The question is, what does the Bible say? What does the Bible say about who is Christ? Well, let's look at Christ's own words. Christ's own words are quite pointing in John chapter 8, because in John chapter 8, he says that he was pre-existing before Abraham. Before Abraham. Let's just look at John chapter 8, and we're going to start first in verse 19. John 8 verse 19. This is Christ speaking to the Pharisees, and in verse 19, he says, he said, then they said to him, where's your father? And then Jesus answered, you know neither me, nor my father. If you had known me, you would have known my father also.

So they say, where's your father? Well, you don't know me. And just before that, he said, let's just read in verse 16 and 17, he says, and yet if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I'm not alone. I am not alone, but I am with the father who sent me. So that clearly identifies us two different beings, two different people. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. And so he's clearly saying, him and the father are two different people, because the testimony of two is true. So now we can see very clearly that Christ is stating that he is God, but he is a different being than the father. And then he ties it to the purpose of man. He is building up this connection to the purpose of man by first introducing the concept or the idea of eternal life. Look at verse 51 in John 8 verse 51. He says, most surely I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death. Oh, that, they got really upset with that. They never see death. Look at verse 53. Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do you make yourself to be? Who do you think you are? That's what they were saying. Who do you think Christ you are? That, as he said, yeah, if you keep my word, you'll never see death. Because, you know, Abraham died, and all the other prophets died. Who do you think you are? And then you see Jesus answering verses 54 and 55. If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father who honors me, of whom you say that he's your God. Yet, you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, then I'm going to be a liar. I shall be a liar. But I do know him and keep his word. And then in verse, he continues with revealing something really pertinent in verse 56 and 57. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and he was glad.

Well, the Jews were furious with that. They were furious. And then continue in verse 57. Then the Jews said to him, you're not yet 50 years old, and you've seen Abraham? A gang! Who do you think you are? And then verse 58, he says, most assuredly, and it was truly, truly as maybe some versions put it, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

Well, this was explosive, because I am, it says, Christ called himself to Moses in Exodus 3, 13, through 15. That says, I am who I am, which basically is another way of saying, another way of saying, why HWH? Or the eternal, I am eternal.

And therefore, the Jews knew very well what Christ was saying.

What Christ was saying was to them, and he understood it very clear, that Christ was eternal, and that he is the Son of God. And for them, this was blasphemy. And therefore, for them, they started to pick up stones to kill him.

Because Christ was saying there were two different beings in the Godhead.

That's what he was saying. You read that in verse 59. They took up stones to throw it in, but Jesus hid himself, hid himself, and went out of the temple. You see, so the question is, what about this section of the Autonomy 6 verse 4? And let's turn to it very briefly. The Autonomy 6 verse 4.

The Autonomy 6 verse 4. So, called Shema, which says, here, O Israel, the Lord, our Lord, the Lord is one.

The word for one in Hebrew in this section is the word, echad, which allows more than one person.

As in the case of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2.24, they became one flesh, the same word, echad. We also see in Ezra 2 verse 24, when it talks about this whole congregation together, this whole group of people together, which was 42,360. They were one, echad. We also see in Ezekiel 37.17, and talking about those two twigs that become one, Israel and Judah, they become one nation, Ezekiel 37.17, and it says, and take one, echad, and to the next one, and make the two united, one, echad, so that they will become one, echad, in the same, in your hand.

You see, so basically there, we see the word echad three times, and also we saw in Ezra, and we also see in Adam and Eve, that one, this word one, echad, can mean more than one person.

There is another Hebrew word for one, which is only one in quantity, which is yachid, and that is the word that my own money, the scholar, ran about the year 1000, when he created what they called 13 Articles of Faith, he changed the word echad for yachid. But the point is, that then became a concept amongst the Jewish community. It was already before, but even more ingrained then, that the Godhead is only one person. But there is diversity in the Godhead, as we can see. Deuteronomy 6 verse 4 is basically saying that Elohim, God, there is only one God, not the pagan gods. It's not trying to explain the nature of God, but it's saying that God, the God Kingdom, is only one to be adored and worshipped.

We can see through Genesis, all the way to Revelation, that God appears with human characteristics. When YHWH, Yahweh, the tetragrammaton, when he appeared to Abraham, he was in the human form, Genesis 18.1. We see in many visions of the prophets that he appeared as in a human form, at Daniel 7, 9, and 10. When Moses wanted to see God in his glorified form, it was not permitted for him to see but his back when he was looking behind a rock in Exodus 33.22. There are many other scriptures in the Old Testament that reveal that there are two people or two beings as God. In fact, for instance, in Isaiah 9 verse 6, let's go to Isaiah 9 verse 6, this is, let's call it, a messianic prophecy. In Isaiah 9 verse 6, this messianic prophecy says, for Antoine's a child is born, Antoine's a son is given, and the government will be upon his holy, clearly referring to Jesus Christ. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. As some translations put it, Mighty God, which means Mighty El, which is referring to Christ, so he's Mighty El, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father, which some translations put as the Father of Eternity, which might be a more correct translation. But yeah, we have a description, a description, which is a messianic prophecy and is referring in this prophecy to Christ as Mighty God. Also, just looking at one other simple scripture for us to look at is Zechariah chapter 14. In Zechariah chapter 14, we can see that it's talking clearly about Christ, Zechariah chapter 14, and starting in verse 2, Zechariah 14 verse 2, it says, then the Lord, you can see it's capitalized, which is Y-H-W-H, and then the Lord, that's in verse 3, will go forth and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of the battle. And you can see in verse 2 that he will gather all the nations, etc. So, and then in verse 4, he says, in that day his feet, that's Christ's feet, will stand on a Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and a Mount of Olives will be split into two from east to west. And so, yeah, we can see he's actually talking about what the Lord will go forth, which is Y-H-W-H, or Yawah, or Jehovah, or however it is stated, but it's referring to Christ. Also, a little bit further, in verse 5, at the end of verse 5, and says, thus the Lord also capitalized, which is mean Y-H-W-H, or as some of us call it eternal, because the word means the eternal, ever living. He says, then the Lord, my God, will come. That's Christ will come, and all the saints with you. So, yeah, we can see that it's clearly talking about Christ, because the New Testament reveals that Christ will come to earth to reign on earth for a thousand years, and the saints will be with him when he returns. And so Zechariah 14 is clearly talking about Christ, about his second coming, and we can see Yawah, that he is referred to as Y-H-W-H, Lord, or Eternal. And so the word Y-H-W-H can be used to refer to the Father, and can be used to refer to Christ, or the Word. In other words, Balfour Eternal, because that word basically means eternal, ever living. So it can be referring to one or to the other. And you've got to read the context to determine which one is referring to.

So the Scriptures clearly reveal that Christ pre-existed before him being born as a human being. And indeed, there are references, various references in the Old Testament, and also in the New, about two beings in the Godhead, God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

Now, here's an important point that we've got to be careful. We've got to be careful not to conclude that there are two gods, and it may sound a little bit difficult to understand, because there is only one God, although there are two beings in the Godhead.

And this is a difficulty where many people have encountered, and indeed, that led to what they called the Imendations. In the runabout time period of Malachi, runabout the fourth century before Christ, about 400 BC, the Sulfurim, which are also called the Scribes, they took the responsibility to alter some of the original texts to eliminate those duplications, let's call it that, in which it was talking to God, and in other words, eternal and eternal, and two eternals, two beings. And so they made a change, which is called the Imendations, where they made 134 changes, basically changing the word Yahweh or Y-H-W-H to Adonai. You can find those 134 changes in the companion Bible, Appendix 32, in the C.D. Ginsburg introduction to the Masoretic Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible, 1897, section titled Substitution of Adonai for Jehovah. You can find it in the Biblica Ebraica Setupa Gurdensia, BHS, in the footnotes about critical apparatus. You can find it in the Biblia Ebraica Kinta, BHQ, updated version, with the full critical notes, and you can find it in the Jewish Encyclopedia Edition 1901-1906, in the article Adonai and Yahweh. Now these were not errors of translation, these were deliberate changes made to the text. And so when they made these amendations or these alterations to the text, they obscured the fundamental truth that they are in the Godhead more than one being. And Christ knew that they had made that change. This is the important point. Christ knew that they had made that change. And one of the particularly pertinent scriptures where that change exists is in Psalm 110. So let's look at Psalm 110.

Psalm 110. In Psalm 110, we see verse 5 was altered by changing YHWH to Adonai. And so let's look at verse 1. And in verse 1, it says, And the Lord, that's YHWH, said to my Lord, said at my right hand, look at the focus, Yah, about my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. And then look in verse 5. In verse 5, it says, The Lord, that was changed from YHWH or Yahweh to Adonai. So if we are reading it with the original text, then it would be capitalized is at your right hand. So in verse 1 says, the YHWH says, said at my right hand. And in verse 5 says, the YHWH is at your right hand. So you can see it's clearly referring to two beings called YHWH, one on the left and the other one on the right. And so that became quite an issue when the Sadducees and the Pharisees were talking to Christ. Look at Matthew 22. Matthew 22 verse 41. In Matthew 22 verse 41, it says, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What do you think about the Christ whose son is he? And they said, the son of David.

And then he said to them, How then does David, that's in Psalm 110, in the Spirit, calling Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. I'll make your enemies your footstool.

And if David then calls him Lord, how is his son?

Now, this really brought the issue to a head. And they did not know how to answer it. And this point actually caused was the trigger of Christ's death. This very scripture was the trigger for Christ's death. Two days later, Jesus Christ placed the same question to the Sanhedrin when he was being judged in the night that he was betrayed and looked at the reaction of the high priest in Matthew 26 verse 63. And then Jesus said to him, verse 63, sorry, but Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are Christ, the Son of God. And Christ said, verse 64, It is as you said, nevertheless I say to you, year after, you will see the Son of Man, referring to him, sitting at the right hand of the power and coming in the clouds of heaven. And so he's saying, I'm going to be at the right hand, referring to Psalm 110. Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, he has spoken, blasphemy. Why? Because he knew very well that he was putting himself as a being next to the Father, another being of equal quality. So the high priest said, what further need do we have to of witnesses? Look, now you have heard he's blasphemy. And verse 66, 66, What do you think? The answer then said, he is deserving of death. So this very scripture became, let's call it the trigger of them justifying Christ to be killed. Now understand, this is not a theological concept of being more than one being in the Godhead. But it was, yes, that there was more than one God being in the Godhead. But it was that he was, Christ was, that other God being.

And that caused them to be killed. That's how, under that justification, they brought him to death.

It's also true that Stephen, you know, Stephen in Acts chapter 7, he was made reference to that when he was just about to die. Acts chapter 7 verse 55. Stephen made reference to the same Psalm 110 and verse 55 of Acts 7. But he, that Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, look, I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, making exact reference to Psalm 110. And then they crowd with a loud voice, stopped the ears, ran out a team with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. That very same scripture led Stephen to his death.

And it is a point that Paul in the Hebrew, in the book of Hebrews, and I believe Paul was the one that wrote Hebrews, but anyway, I know some people don't agree with that, but anyway, for instance, right at the beginning of Hebrews, in chapter 1, Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3, yeah, we see reference again to the same scripture of Psalm 110. And let's read Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3, and being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And so Paul mentions Psalm 110 some other five times in this book of Hebrews alone. And so, brethren, why so much repetition? And why so much violence amongst them? It's because this represents exactly what Christ is, who is, and the very nature that says that you and I are going to be part of that family. We're going to be part of that God kingdom. In other words, God can be defined as a family, the family of God, which currently consists of two beings. And that is the nature of God, which basically is opening up our understanding to the plan of salvation that you and I are going to be part of that family. Christ, on his lost prayer in John 17 verse 5, mentions this point time and time again. Let's just start with looking at two sections, John 17 verse 5. And it says, Now, Father, glorify me together with yourself. You see, so you ask Christ with the Father, the two with one with the other, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. Before the world was. So, yeah, Christ is clearly saying, the two beings, they ever living before even the world was made. And then in verse 17, I'll be part of chapter 17 verse 11, says, Now, I'm no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. So, he's saying, okay, I'm now going to die, and then I'll come to you, Holy Father. Keep through your name, those you have given me, that they may be one as we are one. That you and I, all of us, may be one as Christ and the Father are one. So, when this unity of the Godhead of being one, it's not one person, but it's one family, one kingdom, a royal kingdom of a family, which are a family of children of God. Look at verse 20 through 23. And I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may be one.

As you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And the glory which you gave me I've given to them, that they may be one, just as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one. I think it's very clear that the family of God, the kingdom of God, which is a royal family, is one. And the whole family is named after God, as we read in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 14 and 15. And as we read in Romans, that we that are guided by God's only Spirit, God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of sonship or of adoption to be children. And then also in Romans, Isaiah says, and we are going to be heirs of God. In other words, we're going to inherit being part of that God-family, one. And as we read, for instance, in John 1-1, and it says, in the beginning was God.

All right, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and I beg a pardon, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So basically says, in the beginning, the Word existed.

The Word was with God. They had a relationship to, and the Word was God. In other words, it identified who Christ was. And then a little later, in verse 2, it basically repeats in John 1, verse 2. John 1, verse 2 says, and he was in the beginning with God. Why is it repeated?

Because it's to emphasize that Christ existed right from the beginning. He was already existing. He was eternal. And then in verse 14 says, and the Word became flesh. And dwelt amongst us. And that means he was pre-existent, and then he became flesh. Otherwise, he would have said, well, and then he was created. No, but he became flesh. And so it's very clear from the New Testament as well that Christ existed eternally with the Father.

And so at the conception of Mary, the Father did not create a new being. At the conception of Mary was when, through the power of God's Holy Spirit, that pre-existing being became flesh. And so God backs it up throughout the New Testament. We see time and time again very scriptures that says that, like for instance, in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 2, that says that everything was made through Christ. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 13 through 17, it says that Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn, and everything was created by him. Now, God in a Bible could have very easily said, well, I created Jesus. No. But he says, no, everything was created by Jesus Christ. And so basically what we have is Christ was the agent of creation. The way I usually put it in a very simple way is the Father is the owner. Christ is under the Father, receiving the instructions, the commands, the plans from the Father. And Christ then executed, fulfilled, did what the Father told him to do. In other words, he is the agent. And he simply executed the creation of the world, the creation of man, and he came down to give his life to open up the way so that we, you and I, could be in that same family. And that's what we read, for instance. First thing, the first point is that this plan existed eternally. We can read that in 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. But secondly, in Philippians 2, 6 through 8, it says that, well, let's just read it carefully so that I don't misquote it. Let's go back to Philippians 2 verse 6 through 8.

2 verse 6 through 8 says that Christ was in the form of God. He was in the form of God. In other words, you already existed. You already existed. And it says, and did not consider it robbery, but in the margin, you can read there in says, or something to be held onto to be equal. In other words, he did not just hold on to that form of being equal to God in kind, but he opened his hand and became a human being. He released from being in the form of God. He said, it was to be equal with God, but made himself, he let go of being of the God kind, of being one of the two beings in the God kingdom. And he became a human being. And you see that he humbled himself and he became obedient to the point, even to the death in the cross. And so this equality, it's important to understand this point about being equal with God. He was equal with God in quality, in the kind of being, in the form that he was, in the essence.

But he was not equal to God in authority. He submitted to the Father, and that's an act of humility. It's the greatest act of humility that mankind has ever seen.

And so he was willing to give up that glory that he had with the Father to become a human being, to die for you and I. And that's one of the reasons why the Father would exalt him, as we read in verse 9 and 10 of Philippians chapter 2. And that brings us to the very kernel, the very point, the very purpose for mankind. Because you and I now will be able to be resurrected, and you and I will be of the same kind, of the same essence, of the same spirit, God's spirit. And therefore, that nature of God, that is a family, reveals God's plan of salvation for us, for you and I. We will be of the same nature. And in fact, that's what you and I are growing to be today. We are growing to be of divine nature. We are growing in that, as we read in 2 Peter chapter 1. And so the Godhead is not a closed Trinity, but it's a family unit which allows or permits more children in that God family, in that kingdom, that royal kingdom, the kingdom of God. That's why, as we live through this age, we've got to put on the divine nature, as we read in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 4.

God is a family of divine beings. And the oneness of God is so that you and I can be one, as we clearly read in John 17 verse 20 through 23, Christ's Prayer, that is said, I pray for them that they may be one like we are one, and they may be perfect in unity. And so back to those first three original critical questions that are asked at the beginning. Who is God? We believe God the Father and the Son of God are both co-eternal. The Father is supreme, the one that commands and directs, and the Son is the one that does what the Father says.

He creates and He does as per a great plan. He is the creating agent. He is the one that executes as per the Father's commands.

What is God? God is a divine kingdom, a family kingdom. There is only one God, and their nature, their essence, is God's own spirit of love.

Therefore, it is a united family. They are one, currently composed of two beings.

But when you and I resurrected, composed of many more beings in that God family.

What is God's purpose? The great purpose of God is to expand that family, that family kingdom, the kingdom of God, to have many sons and daughters, that they will be one as the Father and the Son are one.

The Father delegated all authority to the Son to execute this plan.

The Son honors the Father by, at the end of this, handing the whole family kingdom to the Father. Therefore, God's nature reveals his plan of salvation.