Nature of God and Christ, Part 1

Of course, one of the great issues in the whole world of Christendom has to do with the nature of God and Christ. We're going to talk about the nature of God and Christ, mainly focusing on Christ today. It will take more than one sermon, more than one session, obviously, to cover this. Hundreds of books have been written on this through the ages. Along with the assault on the law of God came the assault on the nature of God and Christ. Do God and Christ and the Holy Spirit exist as a trinity, or are they separate entities? Or are there two beings, three beings, one being in the Godhead?

Trinitarianism is claimed to be, said to be, the hallmark of orthodoxy. The word orthodoxy has to do with same opinion. So orthodoxy is an opinion, but the prevailing opinion in orthodoxy is that God, in His essential being, is a trinity. Probably the best way that I know of to illustrate what classical Trinitarianism teaches is through three concentric circles. We draw, and you could do this with your notes, you draw one circle in the middle of the page, and you write God in the middle of that, and that is God the Father.

Then another circle around that, and that circle would be the Son, and then another circle around that, and that circle would be the Holy Spirit. According to classical Trinitarianism, this is the way that God exists in His essential being. It's important to understand the term essential being. In other words, they're saying that in order for God to exist, this is the way that He must exist. And here's how this supposedly works. According to classical Trinitarianism, the Father is constantly generating the Son. And in the Western Church, the Father and the Son are constantly generating the Holy Spirit. As I mentioned in a previous sermon, the Greek Orthodox Church split from the Western Church over this issue of the progression of the Holy Spirit.

The Greek Orthodox Church teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. The process for this is called passive spiration, that the Father passively, without thinking, that He generates the Son, and together they generate the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, in classical Trinitarianism, they teach that all three of these participate in any given act. There is mutual participation and interpenetration of these three. And if one acts, all three of these act together. Now, we can immediately see some of the difficulties of this. For example, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, if that is the case, that they all participate together on the incarnation when Christ was made flesh and dwelt among us, then if that were the case, all would have to have been made flesh.

But what they do is they say, well, this model continues to exist in the heavens, while this one continues in the flesh on the earth or has come to the earth. incarnate. And if this model is insisted upon, this introduces a fourth being here in the flesh. So we have immediately a contradiction there. Another contradiction resides in the fact that after Jesus Christ gave his life, that he was crucified, he rose from the dead, he is now a spirit being, and he sits at the right hand of the Father.

Is the Father continually generating the Son at the present time? If you go to John 5 and verse 26, let's notice that. John 5 and verse 26. See, in resurrection, Jesus Christ has life within himself. John 5 verse 26, I'm reading verse 25. Barely I say unto you, the hours coming now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.

This Scripture itself, within itself, tells you that the Father is not eternally generating the Son, that God has life within himself, the Son has life within himself, and in resurrection we will have life within ourselves. Today we have the earnest of the Spirit, the down payment on eternal life. So this Trinitarian model tries to get around these issues in various ways. And one of the main ways with regard to the resurrected Christ is to say that the resurrection that is spoken of in the Bible, for example in 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15, is a bodily resurrection.

Of course, they're saying that the Spirit has already ascended the soul and this duality concept that there is a soul, a good pure soul within the human beings, and this soul, the spiritual part, has departed, but this body is left behind. So at the resurrection, the Spirit and the body are reunited. Well, we know that that is not the case because in the grave, the dead know not anything.

There's no consciousness in the grave. And at the resurrection, we are changed into immortal spirit beings. Now, spirit beings can appear in the flesh. For example, as we know, Jesus Christ appeared in the flesh several times after his resurrection.

In a few places in the New Testament, it also talks about Jesus Christ now sitting at the right hand of the Father. Now, in talking about the nature of God and Christ, when theologians talk about the nature of God and Christ, they don't approach the nature of God and Christ in the same way that you would. For example, you would talk about the nature of God or Christ and you would probably say, well, God is love, God is faithful, God is righteousness, God is all kinds of different things that the Bible brings out about who he is and what he is. Perhaps chiefly, God is love. But when theologians talk about the nature of God and Christ, they are principally talking about origins and relationships within the Godhead.

As we have seen here in classical Trinitarianism, they say that all three of these participate jointly together. Each one has a role to play, but when one plays a role, they all participate in it. Now, immediately you have difficulty there with regard to the death of Jesus Christ, the crucifixion, that if they all participated in every act when Jesus was crucified, so the Father and the Holy Spirit would also be crucified. So you've heard of the passion of the Christ, the suffering of Christ, and if the Father were to have died at that time, that's called patra from pater for Father, patra-passionism. But we know that the Father did not die just before Jesus Christ gave up the Spirit. He said, into your hand, Father, commend I you, my Spirit.

And the Father was the one who resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead. So the Father, of course, did not die. But if you logically, you see what I'm talking about, if you logically carry through with what they're saying, then the Father would have died. One of the difficulties that church members had in the 90s in trying to combat this notion of Trinitarianism, they didn't really understand what the model was in the first place of what Trinitarianism is really all about.

We know that God the Father is a being, and Jesus Christ is a being, an entity to Himself. And that the essence of the two of them is Spirit. Now we're going to look at the Father and the Word in eternity, and we'll just use circles to represent the Father. We'll say that it doesn't matter, but we'll say the Father is here. We'll say the Son is here, but before He was the Son, He was the Word. Now we're talking about before the creation of the universe, before quote, time began, before recreation, before the creation of man. We're talking about eternity.

Eternity is, I guess you would say, like infinity. It has no beginning and it has no end.

So, in eternity, neither one of these was created. So, we can say that the Father and the Son are uncreated. They are not created. If you would turn to Hebrews, chapter 7, and specifically talking here about using Melchizedek as an example of Jesus Christ in Hebrews, chapter 7.

Hebrews 7, 1, the Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.

Now scholars have debated whether or not Melchizedek, the one who appeared to Abraham, was the one who became Christ. They tried to say that Melchizedek wasn't. But according to this, Melchizedek was the one, one of the offices, because Jesus Christ is a king and a priest.

To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first by interpretation, king of righteousness.

So no earthly person would be king of righteousness.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that also, king of Salem, which is king of peace, and no human being is king of peace. Even that within itself identifies him 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.

God the Father and the Word uncreated. They have no mother, no father.

So in this state, before what we call the creation, they were on an equal footing here. They were both uncreated and they are both co-eternal, meaning they have existed in eternity. They're co-eternal and they are co-essential. If you would now turn to John, chapter 4, and we'll begin in a guess at about 24. So they are uncreated, their co-eternal have always existed. They are co-essential. What do we mean by co-essential? By co-essential, we mean that they are of the same essence. Now, the word I like to avoid using the word substance because substance generally refers to a physical thing that can be physically palpitated. So in John 4 and verse 24, God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

God is spirit. Is the word also spirit?

Is there a different spirit for the Father and a different spirit for the Son?

Now we go to 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 12 to answer that question in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 12, whereas the body is one and have many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body, 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, have been all made to drink into one spirit. Then in Ephesians chapter 4, we see seven unities here listed in verse 1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherein you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, one spirit, even as you are called in the hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. So we see here in both of these places, 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and Ephesians chapter 4, that there is one spirit.

Now let's go one more to Romans 8 and verse 11. In Romans 8 and verse 11, we'll see that by the same spirit that God raised Jesus from the dead, He will also raise our bodies. He will quicken us, make us alive, and give us a spiritual body. In Romans 8 verse 11, but if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also make alive your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you. So the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, the same Spirit He raises us from the dead, and we are of the same essence. We're all joined together, as Paul talked about in Romans 12, into one body. So here we see uncreated, co-eternal, co-essential, the same essence. Now we go to how did the Word here existing in eternity become flesh? The Word and the Father. Let's go to John chapter 1 and verse 1 now. John chapter 1 and verse 1.

John 1, 1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. We have the Hebrew, the Greek word was, e-e-n. This word means to be, it means to exist.

And in the beginning was the Word, existed the Word, to be meaning to exist.

So we can deduce three things from this verse here with regard to the Word. In the beginning was the Word, so we can deduce existence.

The Word was with God, so we see relationship. They were together.

And then it says, and the Word was God. And so we see here identity.

That the Word existed in eternity.

That the Word had a relationship with God, and the Word was God.

So those three things. Now you might say, well, how does that fit in with the Incarnation, and how did the Word come to be flesh? Well, in John 1.14, let's read that.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word became flesh. Now, if you would go to your handout, and at this handout we want to go to the one that talks about the only begotten. The only begotten Son of God. That's where we want to be now with that handout that has that title at the top. We want to go to Luke 1.30. In Luke 1.30, The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth the Son, and shall call his name Jesus.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the highest shall overshadow you. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. Now you'll see here in your handout where he talks about this word overshadowing. This word overshadowing is symbolic of the presence of God coming upon and over one. You'll notice here what it says, the proclamation that which is conceived in Mary was of the Holy Spirit.

In this transitional state from being in the form of God to being in the form of man, God the Father directed the Holy Spirit in the impregnation of Mary.

This overshadowing, also you'll see in your handout, she was overshadowed by the power of the highest, God the Father. The word overshadow in Greek means episkiazo, episkiazo. It's a special revealing. It is used of the Holy Spirit exerting creative energy upon the womb of the virgin Mary and impregnating her. So one of the what we have, we'd have the word existing in eternity, uncreated, co-eternal, co-essential with the Father. Now he is willing to give up his glory and become the word in the flesh, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.

So if we represent Mary as a stick woman here, then what happens is this essence that was here comes here. Now this is void here now.

The word is no longer in heaven. The word is now. Otherwise, some want to say, well, Jesus Christ came into existence when Mary was begotten by the Holy Spirit.

That would deny the pre-existence of Jesus Christ in many, many scriptures. For example, in the special music today where it talked about the I AM. Several times in the New Testament, Jesus Christ said, I AM, the ever living, the ever existent One. Now in the course of time, of course, Jesus Christ then was born. Now we look at this term only begotten.

Because Jesus is the only being who is uniquely begotten in this manner, He is called the only begotten. The Greek word for only begotten is monogenesis.

Mon, no, genesis.

Now some exegetes, some people who try to explain this, they want to insist that monogenesis always used and always has to do with procreation. That is bringing a new being into existence.

But we see clearly from John 1.14 that Jesus Christ had existed and the Word was made flesh and wealth among you. And from John 1.1, the Word was with God, the Word was with God, and the Word was God, existing in eternity. So monogenesis translated only begotten in the New Testament has to do with one who is begotten uniquely in that way. In Hebrews 11, Isaac is called the only begotten son of Abraham, though Abraham had another son, Ishmael.

But Isaac was the only one begotten in that particular way, and that is that the Spirit of God made it possible for Sarah, who was passed away of women, to be able to conceive and for Abraham to impregnate her. So you'll notice in your hand out right at the bottom, some exegetes, which I've already said, contend that monogenesis always involves procreation.

This position is taken in an attempt to show that Jesus came into existence when the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, but in classical and koinine Greek.

The dominant meaning of monogenesis is only or unique. Bauer, Art, Gingrich, and their lexicon states that monogenesis means only of children and of an only son, also unique in kind of something that is the only example of the category. In the Johannine literature, monogenesis is used only of Jesus as the only begotten. The meanings only unique may be quite adequate for all occurrences here. So only begotten means he was the only one begotten in that particular manner. Now, existing as the only begotten son in the flesh on the earth, we want to go now to Philippians chapter 2, and that is the other handout. The son gives up his glory, empties himself of glory.

Taking on the form of man, the word empties himself of glory. You cannot say that Jesus Christ ceased to be divine, because if he ceased to be divine, it was only a human being who died for the sins of the world. And just a human being would not suffice to die for the sins of the world.

And if it was just a human being, why talk about God the Father overshadowing Mary, as it says in Luke.

And also in Matthew 1 verses 20 through 23, Joseph is told, go ahead and marry Mary, even though she's pregnant, because that which is in her is of the Holy Spirit.

So, Mary's impregnation was supernatural. We don't know for sure exactly how it took place, but we do know that if we're going to have the word being made flesh, that this position of the word with the Father in eternity, that that is no longer there, and it's now incarnate in Jesus Christ on the earth. He is still divine, but he has emptied himself of glory. That is the radiance of brilliance that one might see in a spirit being. And Paul brings this out very clearly in Philippians. So we want to turn to Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians chapter 2, and we'll probably should have turned somewhere else, but we'll do this. If you want to hold your place, we'll probably go somewhere else before we read this.

Let's have a few comments to make here.

Summarizing some things and bringing things together.

The Father in the Logos evidently had a long-standing agreement that the word would give up his glory so he could reconcile sinful humanity to God the Father and to begin a new order of beings. Now this order of beings had never existed before. That's a very important point to consider.

The angels were created beings. If you turn to Hebrews chapter 1, angels were created beings. They did not go through a begettle and a birth process. Angels did not go through a begettle and birth process.

Therefore, Paul writes in Hebrews chapter 1.

Let's go there. We'll come back to Philippians 2 in just a moment. In Hebrews chapter 1, speaking of Christ in verse 4, being made so much better than the angels as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they for unto which of the angels said he at any time you are my son this day have I begotten you and again I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son.

And again, when he brings in the first begotten in the world, he says, and let all the angels worship him. Then we'll note in the last two verses of this chapter, the purpose of angels and to which of the angels said he at any time sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. He never did.

They did not go through a birth process, a beguetal in birth process. They were created to whatever state they were. Some remained faithful, but a third of them followed Lucifer.

They are still the spirit beings perverted in their being and nature and apparently not capable of repenting. Though some like to think they are, I don't think that they are capable of repenting.

And so the character of the angels were fixed at a certain point.

But with us, we do go through. Human beings were created in the image of God but not of the same essence as angels or not of the same essence as God. But they can share in the divine nature by going through the beguetal in birth process.

Jesus Christ is a forerunner, the captain of our salvation. He paved the way. He gave up His glory, was made flesh, and lived among us. He died for our sins, resurrected as a glorious radiant spirit being who sits at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for us. We too are going through this process of beguetal and eventually birth at the resurrection into the kingdom of God. But angels were never promised that because they didn't go through a beguetal and birth process.

So the father and son had a long-standing plan with regard to how they were going to bring sons and daughters to glory in their family. Let's go to 2 Timothy 1 and verse 9. We'll see how old this plan is. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9.

Now this before the world began, in this case, the world is chronos having to do with before time began. Before there was the physical kind of creation to mark time. God the Father and Jesus Christ had this plan. In Revelation 13, let's go there, in Revelation 13.

In verse 8, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, that is, this beast power spoken of in the first seven verses, all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life, and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So God the Father and Jesus Christ had this plan of how human beings, how they could initiate this birth process. And in the process of doing this, it introduced a new order of beings.

There were no other beings in the universe like this who had gone through a beguetal birth process from God the Father. God the Father, He is the one who initiates the process. No man can come to Christ except the Father, draw Him, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. What verse tells us that? Who can tell me? The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. We covered that the other day. You are going to memorize it for me. Okay, let's turn to John 15.26.

John 15 and verse 26. Well, when the Comforter is come, and John 14.26 identifies the Comforter as the Holy Spirit, when the Comforter of the Holy Spirit is come, whom I will send into you. So, Jesus Christ plays a role in it. Whom I will send into you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of me. And somehow the Holy Spirit is shed on us through Christ. As it says in Titus 3 verses 5 and 6.

So, although the Father and Son, that relationship is mentioned in the Old Testament, there is no, once again, we go back to this uncreated, co-eternal, co-essential. If the Word and God the Father see existed in eternity, neither one is responsible for the existence of the other. So, without Father, without Mother, without descent, without beginning or end of days, abides a priest continually forever. So, in order for a family relationship to begin, you have to be able to have this process begin where it is a birth kind of thing, where it comes from the very essence of God. So, the Word was made flesh showing that Spirit could be joined to flesh, and then upon living the faithful life that He did without sin, He paid the price for us so that we could receive that very divine essence ourselves.

Now, continuing, and we want to look at our handout as time is fleeting, we go back now to Philippians 2.

Just a human being could not pay for the sins of all of humanity. Philippians 2, I have to get back there.

In verse 5, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. So, Paul is going to describe this mind.

This mind is one of absolute humility to the will of the Father, and it shows the subjection that the Word was willing to go through in order for Him to come to the earth and pay for our sins. Who being in the form of God. You'll notice on your handout, and I'm not going to read the handout, I will talk about it. You'll have it for your own use and study. This word, form, He was in the form of God, Greek, Morphe, M-O-R-P-H-E. He was in the form of God, then He had to exist. So, He was in the form of God.

He thought, I've got to lost my place, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery. Now, the word robbery here is harpagmo, meaning of things seized or to be seized.

It's not a thing to be seized. He thought it not a thing to be seized to be equal with God, because existing in eternity, they were on this same plane, co-eternal, co-essential, and uncreated. But this one is willing to humble himself and be made flesh. Isis, there's a lot of discussion about this word in the Greek, it's isos, meaning equal, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Well, he was on that plane, and Isis can refer to quality and quantity. So, he was in the form of God, and he was in the form of God, and he was on that plane. And Isis can refer to quality and quantity. In quality, he was on the same plane. They were the same essence. But in humbling himself, the quantity, I suppose you can say, were given up to some degree, so that now he is in subjection totally to God the Father.

Now continuing, verse 7, but made himself of no reputation. The Greek word for reputation is kino, K-E-N-O-O, it means to make empty or void. So, he emptied himself of his glory, and took upon him the form, the morphe, of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

So, being in the form of God, existing in the form of God, now he is existing in the form of a man.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the stake. Wherefore, God has also highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. And when you read that verse and you realize that he went from this exalted position, on the same plane as God the Father, giving up his glory, and coming to this earth to humble himself and die the ignominious death that he did on the stake. So now, God has highly exalted him, and he sits on the right hand of the Father, making intercessions for us.

So, we now see that he gave up his glory, and we go to John 17. And in John 17, it's one of the great unity chapters in the whole Bible, and this will require a session within itself, the oneness of God. How is God one? Well, in a short summary statement, God is one through the fact that they share the same essence. And we're all joined together, sharing that essence of divine nature with God and Christ. And in John 17, first of all, Christ prays that he will, that the Father will restore unto him the glory he had with the Father before the world began, before this creation. So once again, showing the pre-existence of Christ, showing his divinity, and how that he did empty himself of glory, but he was still, the Logos was still existing. And now it's the Logos is called Jesus Christ, the Word of God.

These words spoke Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven, saying, Father, the hours come, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you. And you have given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I've glorified you on the earth. I've finished the work which you gave me to do. And now, O Father, glorify you me with your own self, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. And he goes on praying in this particular section of Scripture, and we drop down now to verse 22.

And the glory which you gave me I have given them. The very presence of God can be within us, that they may be one even as we are one. They're one because they share that same essence.

I in them, you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, and you have loved me. Father, I will that you also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before, before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I've known you, and you have known that you have sent me, and they have known that you have sent me. And I've declared unto them your name, and I will declare it, that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

And so now, God the Father and Jesus Christ, turn to John 14, 23. God the Father and Jesus Christ make their abode in us. It is proper to say the Spirit of God is in us. It is proper to say that Jesus Christ is in us. We know from John 15, 26 that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Jesus Christ sends it. It is shed on us through Christ. In John 14, 23, Jesus answered and said unto them, If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. So, brethren, we now have the very essence, the very being of God the Father and Jesus Christ abiding in each one of us. And we're all joined together by that Spirit, the very essence of God. And upon resurrection, turn to Revelation 1, and upon resurrection, we will be born into that very family. Here is one of the verses in the Bible that equates resurrection with birth. Sometimes this might just escape us. In Revelation chapter 1 and verse 5. And from Jesus, who is a faithful witness and the pro-Totikos, is the Greek word, and it should be translated, and I think it is, in the New King James. The Old King James says, first begotten. But the New King James says, the first born of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, washed us from our sins, in his own blood, and have made us kings and priests, and unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.