The Nature of God and Christ

So, good evening again. It's a pleasure to be with you to discuss this vitally important topic, the nature of God in Christ. Understanding the nature of God in Christ is one of the most vital of all understandings. So, as we go through this this evening, it'll go rather quickly in some ways. If you will take notes, a lot of people just write down the scripture, but it's more important to write down the comment. A lot of the comments in between scriptures are really where the focus is, because you have the Bible yourself, and one of the things we're trying to do is to expound the scriptures. I've studied this subject in depth and been teaching it since the early 80s in a class we call Fundamentals of Theology at the college, an ambassador, and then through the years since this. Of course, I still have much to learn and understand with regard to this topic. It's inexhaustible. When the Worldwide Church of God released the paper titled, The Trinitarian Problem, not so long after reading it and studying it, I wrote a memo to the pastor general and his assistant and asking them to withdraw the paper. I've never shared this publicly before. I don't think I've ever even read this to my wife. I'm just going to read a few paragraphs here. Take me three or four minutes, probably, to get an idea from this. I believe the greatest oversight of this paper is the fact that it attempts to make the Holy Spirit and hypostasis of God. Thus, the Holy Spirit is presented as one of the ways of being. God is spirit, and the Spirit is holy. Just as humans are flesh, God is spirit. The scriptures say that Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit. But, of course, the Father was the one who was directing that Holy Spirit, as we'll see here. Is God the Father of Jesus Christ, or is the Holy Spirit? Can God be separated from His Spirit? Well, of course, God cannot be separated from His Spirit because God is spirit. That's what He is. You cannot be separated from your flesh because that's what you are. You are flesh.

Does the Holy Spirit possess individual consciousness apart from God? Of course not. A male person can say, My wife is with child by the flesh. But it would be foolish to say that the flesh acted independently of the male person. To argue that God is one in three permanent modes of being or hypostasis is to argue a form of modelism. Now, modelism was a doctrine that was developed in the first, second century that said that whenever God needed to be the Son, He was the Son. When He never needed to be the Father, He was the Father. When He needed to be the Holy Spirit, He was the Holy Spirit. So you had three different models. That's what modelism is. Even if modelism is denied, God is made into a three-headed being, liken it to a turtle. If you're seeing a turtle, it'll stick out one head. Well, according to this, you would have a three-headed turtle that'd stick out his head at the appropriate time to be the Father, to be the Son, or to be Holy Spirit. Yet the paper argues that this one substance of God prohibits any separation into individual entities. If the hypostasis of God cannot ever be separated into individual entities, did a part of God die on the stake, or did an individual entity die on the stake? I believe that the Word of God was made flesh as an individual entity, and that individual entity died on the stake. I believe He was not a way of being. The questions that would arise from the assertions alone, from these assertions alone, that Jesus as a way of being, not a being, would drive people to drink.

Paul states in Romans 8-11, But if the Spirit of him that is God, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in you, he God who raised Jesus from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, through the Spirit that dwells in you. This means that God is Spirit, and life is in the Spirit since it is the very essence of God. Jesus was in the grave, not God.

God raised Jesus from the dead through the Holy Spirit. Time after time, the Scriptures reveal that God is Spirit and that God, Christ, and born-again believers, and born-again can be equated with resurrection, believers all have the same life in them. Thus, the life cannot be less than God's life. That life, the eternal Spirit, in Hebrews 9-14, it says, the eternal Spirit. The eternal Spirit is the same life we will have in us at resurrection. We cannot be less than God beings with that new life at the resurrection. We'll have more about that in the study. All of these arguments aside, I personally believe that time would be more profitably spent discussing other issues. The rumor mongers are already saying that the Church is going to adopt a Trinitarian stance. And, of course, it came to pass with them. The questions and their intensity have increased 100-fold in recent weeks here at the College. So far, we've been able to keep the ship relatively steady, but we surely don't need more fuel for the fire. I believe that there are far more questions in the local churches than at the College. Students usually preface their questions with some reference to their parents or local church. We need stability in the face of the present crisis. In view of all of the above—and I'm just reading you three or four paragraphs at three pages—I urgently recommend the shelving of this paper. What purpose can it serve? Will it help people more effectively reflect Christ in them? Will it help them to more perfectly reflect the will of God in their lives? Will it help their faith to be perfected? I don't think the answer to any of the above is yes. So why enter into something that will be a trial for many? I offer this out of concern. Please accept it in that spirit. So that's what I wrote them. Of course, the die was already cast, but that gives you a bit of a flavor of some of the argumentation that was present. So I stood face to face and toe to toe in words and also in writing during that period of time. I wrote a rebuttal to the whole paper, and the rebuttal exposed logical contradictions and violations of Scripture, some of which we'll cover here this evening. We can summarize to a large degree the plan and purpose of God by answers to what I call the great questions of life. In other words, this Trinitarian paradigm model strikes at the very heart of the purpose and plan of God with regard to the plan of salvation. Now here are these seven greatest questions, I believe, of all time. And we will briefly give a Scripture or two for each one to show the answer. The first one is, does God exist? Does God exist? The first article of faith is to believe that God exists. In the Scripture is Hebrews 11 and verse 6, those who would come to God must first of all believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So if you don't believe that God exists, then you're going nowhere spiritually. And then Scripture from Psalms, in Psalm 14 verse 1, it says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. If I only had one proof with regard to the existence of God, it would be simply nothing else makes sense. It takes far more faith to believe in non-existence of God than it does in the existence of God. So the first article of faith is to believe that God exists. He who would come to God must first of all believe that He is. Then the next question is, what is God? What is God? God is Spirit. That's John 4.24. All through the Bible, God is Spirit. That is His essence. That's what He is. Now through God's Spirit, He does works of power.

A lot of times you say, well, the Holy Spirit is the power of God. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. Well, the Holy Spirit is the essence of God. And through that Spirit, as we'll see more later, through that Spirit, He does works of power. So God is Spirit.

The next question, who is God? Well, God is our Father, and He is our Creator. Let me give you two or three scriptures there. First of all, Isaiah 63 verse 16. Isaiah 63 verse 16. I'll turn back there and read Isaiah 63 and verse 16.

In Isaiah 63 verse 16, Doubtless you art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not, you, O eternal, art our Father, our Redeemer. Your name is from everlasting. And then in the very next chapter, Isaiah 64.8, says, But now, O eternal, you art our Father, we are the clay, and you art our potter, and we are all the works of your hand.

The next question after who is God is, what is God's purpose? God's purpose is to bring sons and daughters to glory in His family.

God created us because He is love, and He wanted to share who He is with us in a family relationship. So, He ordained this great plan of salvation. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 6, and we'll start in verse 17. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 17.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be you separate, says the eternal, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Now, in addition to that, and we'll have more on this as well later on, in Hebrews 2 and verse 10, we shall see in Hebrews 2 and verse 10 that we are all of one.

In Hebrews 2 and verse 10 and 11, we'll see that we are all of one, and we are all of that one eternal spirit. In Hebrews 2 10, for it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifies, and they who are sanctified, are all of one. For which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren. And this is scripture that we get oftentimes people say our elder brother. Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. So what is God? God is spirit. Who is God? He is our Father. He is our Creator. What is his purpose? Bring sons and daughters to glory. Then the next three questions are reciprocals of those three, and it has to do with man. Who is man? Who is man? Genesis 1 26 and 27. Man was made in the image of God. He was made in the image of God with faculties of mind akin to God. That is, he can think, he can reason, he can think in the abstract, he even has ideas about life after death.

So he was made in the image of God. That's who man is with this great potential to be on the God plane through spiritual begat and birth in the kingdom of God.

Then what is man? So the Genesis 2 7. So we'll turn back there and read Genesis 2 7.

Genesis 1 26 27. You know that God made us in his image. In Genesis 2 in verse 7, and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground. So man, what is man? Man is made of the dust of the ground, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Soul is what you are. It's not something that you possess. And when all is said and done, listen to this, when all is said and done, soul is really can be equated with life potential. See, only God can ultimately take away your life potential. And you think of Matthew 10 in verse 28, where it says, fear not him who is able to destroy the body, but fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul life potential in YHWH. And of course, when you are placing YHWH, as it says in the last couple of verses, Revelation 20, this is the second death. And of course, there's no resurrection from the second death. So soul is what you are. You are a living soul with life potential. And that potential, of course, is to eventually be a child of God, which leads to the next great question, what is man's purpose? The overriding purpose of man is to be a son, a daughter of God in the kingdom of God. And those two scriptures that we read about God's purpose is parallel with man's purpose, the 2 Corinthians 6, 18, of bringing sons and daughters to glory. And the Hebrews 2, verses 10 and 11, that we are all of one. He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one. If you really look at those seven great questions and enlarge your study on those, you have in a very compact outline the very core with regard to what life is all about. Who and what God is and what is His purpose and who and what man is and what is His purpose? It's all contained right there. And you have the immediate answers to that. The doctrine of the immortal soul is one of the most damnable, abominable doctrines of all time. It is inextricably linked to virtually every false religion, both that of Eastern mysticism and Christianity. Here's something I've been writing a little bit. My eventual goal is to write a book with regard to this question of, does man have an immortal soul? And I've thought about different titles. I don't know if I'll ever write the book, but anyhow, I've started. Is God so cruel? What do I mean by that? Okay, let's consider this. Here is God, who is always all-knowing, loving, merciful, gracious, and you could continue to describe the various qualities and characteristics of God. Would God create human beings who are subject to sin and death and then turn around and place an immortal soul in that person and then challenge that person to save his soul? Is that cruel? If you're the great creator, would you do that?

How illogical is that? And then on top of that, in order to redeem this person who has sinned, you would send your son into the earth to die for the sins of the world, to die for the sins of that person. So that is so illogical. It blows your mind. Why would God create a human being that's subject to sin and death and then turn around and say, well, I'll place an immortal soul in you, and then your challenge will be to save your soul? That doesn't make sense. Now I want us, before we go into a more exhaustive study of what the Bible explains regarding the nature of God in Christ, I want us to briefly look at the core fallacies of classical Trinitarianism.

One of the reasons why the brethren were so ill-prepared for what came upon them in the early 90s was that they really didn't understand a lot of the language and some of the logical fallacies that exist with regard to soul, with regard to what the Trinitarian doctrine really says. So we're going to briefly look at that. Aaron, would you put the first slide up?

I have these here on papers, so I...

The nature of...

Can we put the first slide up? It almost looked gray-headed.

The other day I told my wife, I said, well, so-and-so is as gray-headed as I am. Or more gray-headed. She said, I don't see anybody being more gray-headed than you are. Okay, the nature of God and Christ. And this is something to understand about this. When you hear this term, nature of God and Christ, narrowly defined the theologians portend to study or theology portends to study the origin and essential being of God. In other words, where did God come from? Where did Christ come from? What is His origin? What is His essential being? What is necessary for His existence? That is, what are the essential characteristics of His being and what is relationship of the Son to the Eternal Father? Now, the common view that we think of when somebody says, well, what's the nature of God? You probably say, well, God is loved. God is merciful. He's long-suffering. And you can list, probably right immediately, five to ten qualities and characteristics of God. But when theologians speak about the nature of God, they're not addressing these characteristics. They're seeking to explain His essential being, which they call nature, His essential nature, His essential being, as distinct from the characteristics and qualities that define God's revelation of Himself. The revelation of God of Himself, He says that He's the Eternal. He says He is loved, merciful, long-suffering, and all those qualities that we read about and that we cherish. That's not what they're talking about. Okay, the next one, the classical Trinitarian view of the Godhead.

Next slide.

In the classical Trinitarian view of the Godhead, there are three eternal and essential distinctions, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet no separation. Now, we're going to show this more clearly in a little diagram in just a moment. In other words, they say that there are three distinctions, but there's no separation. That means it's triune and that when one acts, they all act together.

Let me say that again. When one acts, they all act together. In the classical formula, there are three persons, that is in the Catholic Church, in the Western Church, in the Eastern Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church. They say three hypostases in one being. And of course, the person who wrote the paper for worldwide in the early 90s, he was of Greek descent, and he used the work of the Cappadocian Fathers, the Greeks, to expound his paradigm, his model.

So the formula asserts that the essential being of God consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that is, three persons or hypostases. They are essential to God's nature. Okay, next slide.

Trinitarian's view of God had continued. The Trinity doctrine allows for no separation, once again, triune, all to react together. So they calls for mutual interpenetration, that they are mutually interpenetrated together, and no separation. And each participates fully in the being of the others. That within itself should give you a clue as to one of the great phalluses. Let me say that again. Each participates fully in the being of the others. The Godhead is thus proclaimed to be one and indivisible. So this system is a closed system and would obviously eliminate anyone else being on that plane or on that level. Next slide. Even though the person's so-called these three interpenetrate one another, each has a distinct role to play. They say, well, the Father does this, Jesus Christ does this, and the Holy Spirit does this. These distinctions of roles are most dramatically emphasized in the postulation of the origin of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Okay, now we get down to the origin. Next slide. Trinitarian view of an origin of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There's no argument with regard to the existence of God. God is said to be uncreated, which is true, and indenerate. In other words, He is not generated. He is always there. But then comes the next in which they say that the Father eternally generates the Son and that the Father and the Son eternally generates the Holy Spirit. That's what the Catholic Church or the Western Church says, and it's basically the view of Protestantism, that the Father and the Son generate the Holy Spirit. Now in the circle of 1000 AD, there was a great split between the Western Church, headquartered at Rome, and the Eastern Church, headquartered at Constantinople, in that the Eastern Fathers insisted that the Holy Spirit only proceeds from the Father, whereas the Western Church insisted that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. They called it the Latin term, I believe, is filioque. And the Son also. And so that split remains till this day. And the current Pope has, and Popes before that, have made over to us trying to unite once again the Eastern Church and also to bring the Russian Orthodox. Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox are basically the same. The Father's eternal generation of the Son is understood to be necessary, and not a willed or voluntary act of God. It's just He is. And as a result of God existing, He's generating the Son. But, sorry.

So that means that, according to them, the act of generation is inherent in the nature and essential being of God. In other words, God's essential being, His existence, is dependent upon this whole paradigm of Him generating the Son and the Father and the Son generating the Holy Spirit. Now here, the next slide, if you would draw this on your paper, three concentric circles. And in the middle of that circle, you put God. In the second circle, you put Son or Word or Jesus Christ. And in that third circle, you put Holy Spirit. So, and then you draw arrows up from God. What they're saying is that God generates the Son, and that God and the Son generates the Holy Spirit. And this model is necessary to the essential being of God. And that's what they call the nature of God. Now, obviously, there are contradictions in this, and the first being is the Incarnation.

Next slide, please. In the Incarnation, let's go to the next slide because it essentially says the same. In the Incarnation, a fourth person is introduced because that model is always there. So I asked the Greek scholar, I say, well, how is the Son on the earth and He's still being generated in heaven? Oh, well, His essential being was not totally exhausted. So it's like you can have part of Him in the heavens being internally generated and part of Him on earth in the flesh. And then it's really thrown into a contradiction when the Son is resurrected. Another thing about this is that if they all act in unison as triune, that they are without separation, interpenetration, then what does that mean with regard to crucifixion? It means that the Father suffered also. It's what's called patra-passionism. You've heard of the movie, The Passion of the Christ. The Christ suffered. Well, if strict Trinitarianism is what they say it is, then the Father suffered also. And there was, where was this model in heaven when that was going on? So those are two main contradictions that they cannot overcome. So now we go to the next slide.

God and the Word exist in eternity. God and the Word exist in eternity. You don't go through eternity. There is no beginning to eternity. There's no end to eternity. It blows my mind.

It's always there. We're going to live in eternity. We don't live throughout eternity. We live in eternity. God and the Word exist in eternity. They are co-eternal, and thus they are uncreated. Look at Hebrews 7 and verse 1. Now, the foundational basis for Hebrews 7 goes back to Genesis 14, where Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God. Now, some scholars, and we have had people back in the time in which this was really a hot topic in the church in the 90s that would argue that Melchizedek was an earthly person, an earthly priest. But according to Hebrews 7, he's not. Look at Hebrews 7 verse 1. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, preached to the Most High God, who met Abraham, returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to whom Abraham also gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation king of righteousness. What earthly person would say, I am the king of righteousness?

And after that, also the king of Salem, which is king of peace. Well, as we've heard in sermons here at the Fies, really the earth is almost never known peace, even though they talk about the Pax Romana.

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abides a priest continually. Both father and son are uncreated and they are eternal. So they are co-eternal and they are co-uncreated.

In addition to that, they are co-essential. Some people use co-substantial or of the same substance. Substance generally is something that you can touch and measure and all of that, but God's spirit so most people, what we're talking about in the academic world, scholars would use the term essence, that they are co-essential, meaning they are of the same essence. Now we go to how Jesus Christ was made flesh and dwelt among us in the womb. I don't know if we have a slide of that. I think that might be the last slide. Yeah, that one is there. That'll be the last slide. So let's go to Matthew chapter 1 and verse 19.

Joseph was betrothed to Mary and here's Mary. It becomes pregnant and he's thinking about putting her away privately, trying not to embarrass her or to denigrate her any further. And in verse 20, an angel appears to Joseph and tells him to go ahead and to take Mary as his wife. That last sentence in verse 20, for that which is conceived, and that word conceived, is ganao.

Now this is one place and there has been discussion with regard to ganao. Can it mean the whole birth process? Mr. Armstrong always taught. It's what I believe with regard to this that involves the whole process of conception, of being begotten, and then eventually born into the kingdom of God. And if we have time, we'll show that as well more clearly. That which is ganao in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all of this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, as a quote from Isaiah, shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. And so Joseph arose from his sleep in the dream, and he went ahead and took Mary as his wife. Now go to Luke 1 in verse 35. This great mystery of how Jesus Christ gave up his glory, and this subordination took place way back in history, even before the creation of the angelic realm and before the creation of the material realm. The angelic realm, or the spiritual realm, was created first, and then the material realm, the angelic realm, was created in Luke chapter 1 in verse 35. The angel appears to Mary, and she is astonished. We'll read 34. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing that I know not a man? She's never had any kind of intimate relations. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the highest shall overtake you. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born in you shall be called the Son of God. Now one of the most important things about understanding this is that how this exactly took place, that the Son humbles himself, and we'll go into a lot more about his subordination and humbling himself, how that spirit essence is called the word the lagos, subordinates himself, submits himself to the Father, and the Father then impregnates Mary, and she is with child. Now one of the things that we must clearly understand here is that this did not bring a new being into existence. This did not bring a new being into existence. I wrote a rebuttal to a paper back in about 2000 in which we had a church member who wrote a paper saying, well, the Son didn't really exist until he was in use of term in flesh in flesh in the womb of Mary.

And so that would then negate the pre-existence unless you would argue, well, it was eternal spirit and somehow argue around it that way. But that's not what the Bible says, as we shall see. So remember this must be clearly understood at this point that the Father's impregnation of Mary did not create a new being. The lagos is now tabernacling with man. So we'll go to John 1 and verse 1. The Gospel of John has more about the nature of God than any other book of the Bible, I guess you would say. In John 1 and verse 1. In John 1 and verse 1, see, here is the origin of the Son in the begotten form. Say that again. Here is the origin of the Son in the begotten form. It also deals with pre-existence as well. In the beginning was the Word. Now there are three main things that are in this verse. In the beginning was, this word translated was in the Greek is tantamount to to be or being or existence. In the beginning, the word existed. That's what it's literally saying. In the beginning, the word existed. In the beginning was the Word. So that shows identity. It shows identity. The beginning was the Word. And it shows existence. In the beginning, the Word existed. And the Word was with God. That shows relationship. The Word was with God. They had this such close relationship, and somehow they worked out this agreement that one would subordinate himself and be made flesh. So the Word was with God. And then it says, and the Word was God. And that shows identity. That he was on the God plane. So those three things, existence, relationship, and identity. And then verse 2, the same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Jesus Christ is the agent of creation. God the Father is the great Creator. And through Jesus Christ, it says in Colossians chapter 1, beginning in verse 14, 15, 16, 17, that all things were made by him, both visible and invisible. Whether there be thrones, dominions, principalities, that the Son was the agent of creation. In verse 12, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become, to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. So there is a birth, there's a begat and then a birth from God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glorious of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So once again, it was not a new being that came into existence. It was the Word humbling himself. And now we want to talk about that humbling of the logos, some say logos, emptying himself of glory. According to the Apostle Paul, so we can go to, first of all, we want to go to 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9. In 2 Timothy 1 and verse 9, you will see here how ancient this plan of salvation is. It was before the spiritual creation. It was before the material creation that this subordination took place. And this verse here shows that in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 9, who has saved us and called us within holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the Chronos began.

There are three Greek words that are translated world. One of them, here, the Greek word is chronos, from which we get chronology, which means time, before time began. I read in the sermon on 1 Holy Day, Revelation 13.8, that slain from the foundation of the world that this great plan of salvation was worked out. See, before the creation, because in in Job 38, if you remember Job 38, where God speaks to Job and says, where were you, Job, when I hung the earth out there in space, when the morning stars sang for joy. So it shows that the spiritual creation was already there when the material creation was created. So the plan of salvation goes way back. Now we go to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians is an epistle about humility.

The Logos and the father had a long-standing agreement that he would give up his glory so he could reconcile sinful humanity to God the Father and began a new order of beings.

I would rise that down to begin a new order of beings. See, and we'll see this, that in the first slide I put up there where the Father and Son are in eternity, uncreated, co-eternal, co-essential, there was not a Father-Son relationship. Remember I read Hebrews 7 verse 3 says, without father, without mother, without descent, without beginning or end of days. So we'll see this here.

In Philippians chapter 2 verse 5, let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. Now this describes this mind.

Can you imagine being on that plane, on the God plane, and giving up that glory, not your divinity? Still God, because its name was to be Emmanuel, meaning God with us, who being in the form of God. Now this word being is a very important word. The Greek word is hyparcho. H-U-P-A-R-C-H-O. It means to come forth, to be ready, to be at hand, to exist, who being, existing in the form of God, existing in the form of God, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery. In this word here, unfortunate translation in the King James, the Greek word is harpagnos, H-A-R-P, like harp. Harpagnos, H-A-R-P-A-G-M-O-S. It means a thing to be seized. Thought it not robbery. A thing to be seized to be equal with God. The word equal is ISIS.

Now ISIS or equality can be in quantity or quality. In quality, even in his subordinate state, he's still on a God plane. In quantity, Jesus Christ himself says, the Father is greater than I, who being in the form morphe of God, thought it not robbery. A thing to be seized to be equal on the same plane of existence with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him by morphe the form of a servant, a form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient, even the death of the stake. So you look at that verse 6 again, who being in the form of God, and then you look in verse 7, he took on him the form of a servant, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He's still divine. He is God, but he gave up his glory.

The Son is not equal now to the Father in authority. Time after time in the Gospels, I came to do the will of the Father. He humbled himself and took on the form of a man, a human being. He died on the stake, and thus he performed the greatest act of servant leadership the world has ever known or ever will know, to go from that state of existence to take on the form of man. His willingness to give up his glory, he shared with God the Father, is one of the principal reasons why the Father has so exalted him and placed him over all things, as we continue to read here. Verse 8, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the death of the stake. Wherefore, God has also highly exalted him, given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. No greater act of humility has ever been than that act. Now, let's focus a lot now on the Holy Spirit and its interaction from the Father and with Jesus Christ and with us. The Holy Spirit, once again, is the life essence of God. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. That's John 4, 24, and 23. Now, the Spirit of God and the Word of God are equated. This is so important. I know that Mr. Martin has mentioned this a couple of times already. Almost every Sabbath, I weave this some way. Not every Sabbath, but I weave this some way into the sermon. If you would, I want you to turn there. Probably, you know it's John 6, 63. Then John 6, 63. Just let this sink in. It is the Spirit that quickens. It makes a life. It is the essence of God. The Holy Spirit is the only thing that can bridge that gulf that exists between our physio-chemical existence and eternity, eternal life. It is the Spirit that quickens. It makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. Now, listen to this. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit. The words I speak unto you, they are spirit. Now, people talk about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is far more than just attributing the works of God to the devil. You know, there is that verse back in the Gospels that says, if you attribute the works of God to the devil, then you're blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But see, the words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. That if you refuse to obey God, then you are blaspheming Him. Paul talks about this when he takes the Jews to task in Romans chapter 2, that the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles, among the nations. The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life.

There is one Holy Spirit, and God the Father is the source of the Holy Spirit. Now, we want to go to John 15.26. We're going to really get down to some brass tacks here in the last 32 minutes, according to this clock here on the wall. But I could go all night on this, but you wouldn't want to. You would do like this one guy who always took books up to the podium, and he would read and never look up.

As people began to crawl out behind the seats, it finally was reduced down to two or three people sitting on the front row.

In John 15, verse 26, remember we talked about the split in the Eastern and Western Church that the Eastern Father said the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only. The Western Church said from the Father and the Son. This verse clearly states what it is. John 15, verse 26. But when the comforter is come, now the comforter is identified in John 14.26 as the Holy Spirit. We'll read it in just a moment. But when the comforter, the paraglitos, or the Holy Spirit is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father. So where does the Holy Spirit proceed from?

From the Father. Now, the same Spirit that is in God is in Christ is in each one of us. And if you try to use the best physical analogy I come up with is like a great power station. And this power station has lines going out from it. And those lines, like you see these lights, it's hard to look to the left or the right because it blinds me because these lights are in my eyes.

And each one of us is tuned in, and we have a lifeline to God through the Holy Spirit. We have a lifeline to Jesus Christ and to God through the Holy Spirit. And we can live in the Holy of Holies and come boldly before the throne of God at any time. Whereas, of course, under the Old Covenant, you can only even if it was just one person, a high priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year.

Now we can live in the Holy of Holies with constant, instant access to the Father through Christ. So we see clearly here that it proceeds from the Father. It shall testify of me. He is the correct... Greek follows the rules of grammar. Comforter is masculine, so therefore the referent pronouns are he, but we know it doesn't make it a person. Now go back to John 14. John 14 verse 23.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come. Father and Son, we will come unto him and make our abode. We will live within him. We will make our abode with him. He that loves me not keeps not my sayings, and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These sayings have I spoken in you, being yet present with you, but the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, as though the Holy Spirit can be personified in the name of Jesus Christ.

We can say, God in you and be accurate. We can say, the Son in you and be accurate, because we both will make our abode in him. That's verse 23. He shall teach you all things. See, the Holy Spirit, the essence of God. And I hearken back to the sermon that was given here.

Mr. Zimmerman, I have a wonderful sermon, because if the Holy Spirit is going to teach you the words I speak, their spirit and their life, you have to get put your nose in the Bible, and you read the Bible, which is spirit and which is life. And it gives the Holy Spirit, it gives God's essence, an opportunity to lead you, guide you. We pray that before each service, that God's Spirit will lead us, that will guide us.

If you're not involved in what is spirit and what is life, there's a little chance of being led by the Holy Spirit. Of course, we pray that God will give us more of his Spirit. It talks about that in Luke 10, to ask, how much more shall your Father give you the Holy Spirit? You ask. We'll read that again.

It shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I've said unto you. And so, a lot of people say, well, I don't have a good memory.

Well, you can increase your memory, but you can't increase your memory of Scripture and have the Holy Spirit to really work with you and teach you if you don't really get in the Bible and dig for it like you heard in his sermon. So, there is one Spirit. Let's pursue that in Ephesians chapter 4. In Ephesians chapter 4, you know, the Bible is written in such a way it is not written in a linear way. It's here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. And so, what I try to do is put this together as in a as much of a linear fashion as we can. So, God is the source. God the Father is the source of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that's in God is in Christ as in each one of us. In Ephesians 4, verse 3, Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, there is one body and one Spirit. One body, one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. There is one baptism into the body of Christ. Now, the body, the Bible speaks of baptism by fire, which you don't want. And there is a baptism by water. Now, the baptism by water, man, is the one that performs the act of baptism by water. God is the one who can baptize you by fire, which you don't want, or baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So, then we look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and we see once again this part about one Spirit, one body. In 1 Corinthians, Paul uses the analogy of the human body with its various parts to show the unity of the body. The great rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians is what? 1 Corinthians 1.13, is Christ divided? And Paul shows from your calling to the resurrection, Christ is not divided. In 1 Corinthians 12, and I would say 1 Corinthians 12 is the greatest unity chapter in the whole Bible. We speak about unity. In 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 12, For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. We talk about the Church being a spiritual organism that those who have the Spirit of God are of and in the body of Christ. For by one Spirit, or by one Spirit, we all baptize into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. So there is that one Spirit. Thus, the same Spirit that is in God, is in Christ, is in each one of us, who has begotten the Father, who has begotten us by His Spirit. It is the Father who begets us with His Spirit, this James 1.18, of His own will He begets us with the word of truth. The Father calls us, He begets us, He brings us to birth. We are members of one of another through the Holy Spirit. Look at Romans 12.

How is the body unified? It is through that one Spirit. Now, when I'm teaching class where I have a blackboard or whiteboard, I draw interlocking circles, going back in as many people that have God's Spirit, and then back to Christ and to God. And we have this verse here. Look at this verse in Romans 12. Look at verse 4. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

See, if your little finger hurts you, I mean it affects the whole body. It affects your mind, pain, sensation. And so Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 talks about having the same love, care, and concern, one for another. So when we set out to injure one member of the body, we are, in essence, injuring ourselves because we're also members of that body. I mean, if the members, I guess, the members of the Church of God, the spiritual organism could understand that one concept, what a difference that would make. Now look back there at Romans 8, 11. I have referred to this a few times. I said Romans 11. I want Romans 8. Some people read Romans 8, 9, and 10 and get confused about the Spirit of God. Like God has a Spirit and Christ has a Spirit. Well, they are both Spirit beings, but it is of the same essence. We are all members of the human family, and we are all of, it says in Acts, that He has made the human family all of one blood. And in that sense, we're all of one flesh. In Romans chapter 8 and verse 9, but you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. So there you see the term Spirit of God. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his. So the Holy Spirit can be personified in the name of Christ. It can also be personified in the name of God. You know, we read John 14, 26, which says that he would send it in his name, that is in Christ's name.

So the Holy Spirit can be personalized in the name of Christ or in the name of God.

The Father is the one who resurrects us from the dead. Now look at that next verse. This is a very important verse. Back when I was standing toe to toe and all of that face to face, I very often went to this verse. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead, who raised Christ from the dead time after time in the Scripture, it says, the Father, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken, make alive your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. So the Father is the one that resurrects us from the dead. Now we are begotten by the very essence of God. Since we are begotten by the very essence of God, we and people have said, well, what do you mean by that? We use the term like we say about he comes out of the loins of his father and his mother. We come out of the very being of God. We want to go now to verse 14 of Romans. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear that you have, but you have received the Spirit of, and that Greek word, this is an unfortunate translation, that Greek word is oeo-thasia, huio-thesia, huio-thesia, it is literal means sonship. The Spirit of sonship. We are literally sons and daughters of God because how could we be anything else? Because the very essence that is in God and Christ is in us.

So therefore we are sons and daughters, if you want to use it in the literal sense. Now in adopted children, they have the legal rights and privileges of one who is of natural birth, but they did not come out of the loins of their parents. Whereas with us, we have a very essence of God dwelling within us. We are sons and daughters of God. And you go back to that Romans 8, 11 again, but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, the very essence of God, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. Now continuing here in verse 15, we have received the Spirit of sonship whereby we cry, Abba, Father. He is our Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God in the very literal sense, in the spiritual literal sense. And if children then, notice this, heirs of God. We are heirs of God, so we inherit something that he is. In resurrection, we will be on the God plane. And joint heirs, notice that joint heirs with Christ. He is the firstborn among many brethren. If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Now look at Hebrews 2 again, 10 and 12. And if you have some of this is soaking in, this should mean a lot more to you. In Hebrews 2, 10 and 11, we are all of one. Hebrews 2, 10, For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons into glory, to make the captain of our salvation, is Jesus Christ. That's Hebrews 12. To make the captain of our salvation perfect through sufferings, and that's Christ, for both he that sanctifies, and they who are sanctified, are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. So we are in a family relationship with that same essence within each one of us. Now let's explore some of the works of the Holy Spirit and a little more about the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is active. It is the active presence of God, his essence, but it's not a person. The Holy Spirit is of God. Consider this, this may sound like a play on words, but the Holy Spirit is of God. And to say the Holy Spirit of God is not the same as is God.

In Matthew 3 and verse 16, and there are quite a few scriptures along this line that will say the Holy Spirit of Matthew 3.16. I'm not going to turn to, I've got several written down here, but Matthew 3.16, and the Jews, when he was baptized, went up straight way out of the water, and lo, the heavens opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God. It is from God. It is of God. The key is of God, of Christ, and essence cannot be of and yet be separate and distinct. One cannot say that Jesus Christ, or God of the Holy Spirit, but you can say that the Holy Spirit is of God. You cannot say that God is of the Holy Spirit. If that were true, the Holy Spirit would be greater than God. The Holy Spirit is the essence of God and under his direction. It is the Holy Spirit of God. Once again, let me say that again. The Holy Spirit is under the direction of God. Let's look at a couple of scriptures that verify that. Genesis 1-2.

The Holy Spirit is not out freelancing kind of thing. It's under the direction of God. In Genesis 1-2, the earth was without form and void. Darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters of the face of the waters. The Spirit of God moved, and God saw the light that is good, and God divided the light from the day. See, God sends forth his Spirit. Notice this further in Psalm 104, verse 30. Psalm 104, verse 30, which ties into the fact that Genesis 1 especially is dealing with recreation of the earth that had become Tohu and Bohu after the rebellion of Satan the devil. Psalm 104, verse 30. Psalm 104, verse 30. Psalm 104, verse 30. You send forth your Spirit. They are created, and you renewest the face of the earth. So the Holy Spirit is under the direction of God.

We have had sort of a robotic utterance concerning what the Holy Spirit is through the years by saying the Holy Spirit is the power of God. Now you look at Zechariah 4, verse 6. Zechariah 4, verse 6. The Holy Spirit is the essence of God, and through his Spirit he does works of power. I can't say that too many times. The Holy Spirit is the essence of God, and through his Spirit he does works of power. This verse will show it to you very clearly. Zechariah 4, verse 6. Zechariah 4, verse 6.

Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the eternal unto his ruble-bell, saying, Not by might, nor by power, not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the eternal of host. If you're going to do a work, you do it with your flesh. You do whatever work of power you can do, depending on how powerful you are with your flesh. God does his works of power through what he is. He is Spirit. God is Spirit. As we've already mentioned, the Holy Spirit can be personified in the name of Jesus Christ. Look at Colossians 1. Here we have about eight minutes left, and we're going to go through some things that I think are very crucial here with regard to understanding. One of the things that we need to be is we need to be precise in what we say, and we need to be clear thinkers, not muddled, and not just have some sort of muddled kind of understanding, but to really know and know that we know. In Colossians 1, verse 27, we see that this scripture, "...to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." So here the Holy Spirit is personified in the name of Christ. In 1 John 5, verses 10, 11, 12, it says that, "...he who hath the Son has life, he who hath not the Son hath not life." But at the same time, it doesn't mean that God the Father is not in us because we've read John 14.23, we will both make our abode in Him. Now some people go around quoting Galatians 2.20 in a way that sort of makes me uncomfortable. Let's turn back there to Galatians 2.20. I think we know what they're saying, but let's be precise. Galatians 2.20, "...I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, in the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Now some people say, well, Jesus Christ is living His life all over again in me. No, He's not. He is in you, and He can direct you, He can guide you, the words I speak, their spirit, and their life. But as we heard in the sermon today, you have to choose. And you're quoting Deuteronomy 30. The Holy Spirit is an enabler. It's a guide. It convicts. It leads. It tugs. The substance, the mind of the Holy Spirit is conveyed to us in the mind of God. The words I speak, their spirit and their life. And so, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. Christ lives in us through His Spirit. God lives in us through His Spirit. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. But see, Christ does not axiomatically, by nature of His being in you, make the decision for you. You've still got to make that decision and to obey. You can quench the Spirit. You can quench Christ in you. And Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5, I think it's 19 or 20, it says, quench not the Spirit. And you can quench the Spirit.

There's so much more, but we are down to the last five minutes.

The last five minutes, I want to review basically what we've said. God is Spirit. John 4, 24. Spirit is the essence of God. God is uncreated and eternal. According to John 1, 1 both God and the Word are uncreated and co-eternal. They are of the same spiritual essence. There is one Spirit. We spend a good bit of time on that. The same Spirit that is in Christ or in the Father is in Christ as in us. For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we're all baptized into one body. Whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, we've been all made to drink into one Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be personalized in the name of God and Christ.

And we talked about Romans 8 and 9 says the Spirit of God. Romans 8 and 10 says the Spirit of Christ. But John 14, 23 says we will both make our abode in Him. So there is this common Spirit essence. We're all joined together. We are members one of another. So that's why Paul could say, so we being many are one body and every member members one of another. Thus the Holy Spirit is not a person in the sense of being a separate and distinct entity that acts apart from God and Christ. The Holy Spirit is under the direction of God. He sends forth His Spirit and renews the face of the earth.

The Holy Spirit is the life, essence, and power of God and Christ. It imparts life and spiritual understanding and power to the believer. The inward man has to be renewed daily. 2 Corinthians 4, 16. And if you don't renew that inward man daily, slowly that spiritual strength wanes. That was contained in Mr. Zimmerman's sermon as well.

The Apostle Paul beautifully summarizes this spiritual unity. And I'm quoting again Hebrews 2.11, For both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one.

For which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren. In this verse, a familial relationship is established between God, Christ, and believers. If we are all of one and if we are brothers of Christ, then we can only conclude as the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8, 17, We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. 18 Being an heir of God brings us to the very heart and core of God's purpose for humanity. That is to bring sons and daughters to glory in the family of God. When Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, then he became the firstborn among many brethren. Let's turn to Romans 1 and verse 3.

We talked about the origin of the son when he was begotten in the womb of Mary.

The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Now notice this. This family relationship became a reality concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. This is Romans 1.3. Concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, declared to be the Son of God with power according the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. And one final scripture along this line, Revelation 1.5. Revelation 1.5. We could also, as we're turning there to Revelation 1.5, we can mention Romans 8.29, our 1 Corinthians 15, how that he is the first of the first fruits, the first born among many brethren. But here in Revelation 1 verse 5, you see clearly that resurrection is equated with birth. The Father is the one who begets us. He's the one that brings us to birth. We read it from Romans 8 and 11. By the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, he will also make alive our mortal bodies. And we shall put on immortality, as it said in 1 Corinthians 15.50 and 52. This is Revelation 1.5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Well, I wish I had another couple of hours, but I don't.

So I enjoyed very much being with you, and we'll see you, I guess, at 150 tomorrow. We were supposed to be seated 150 for the satellite transmission. Good night.