Is it possible to understand the Godhead Part? 03

[jame...@btinternet.com]

Is it possible to understand the Godhead?
PART THREE
The Lord of Glory.
He was far more than just a boy of twelve. Paul describes the
crucifixion of the Lord Jesus in I Corinthians 2:8: "Which none of the
princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory." Paul even tells us if they had known His
identity, they would not have killed him. Paul says He is "The Lord of
glory."
This title contrasts with that of Pontius Pilate who said in John
I9:5: "Behold the man." Pilate was only committing a man to be
crucified. A good man and the best man he had ever met, but still a
man. So there can be no doubt about the humanity of the One delivered
into the hands of Pilate to die.
Yet Paul still maintained that this man was the Lord of glory. The Lord
of glory became a man to die for our sins. This sign was foretold in
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel." It was confirmed by Matthew in Matthew 1:23 "Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
David tells us about this "Lord of Glory" in Psalm 24:8 "Who [is] this
King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle."
It is surely marvellous that the man who was put to death in weakness
was Jehovah, or Yahweh, Who was strong and mighty in battle. This is
the mystery of godliness. That man dying on a central cross, was the
Lord of glory and the Lord of life? This is a great mystery,
misunderstood by the world but understood by those who know God was
manifested in the flesh!
John the Baptist describes what he saw when he baptised his cousin
Jesus in the river Jordan, John 1:32 "And John bare record, saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
him."
When asked who he was John referred to Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him
that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God." It was wonderful that
John knew that Isaiah was talking about him centuries ago. He was
preaching in the wilderness in preparation for the ministry of Jesus
Who is the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 40:9 states "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up
into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift
up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say unto the
cities of Judah, Behold your God!"
If we try to step into John’s shoes we like him would not be able to
explain it. John knew he was related and that Jesus was his cousin, but
John also knew Jesus was Yahweh or Jehovah, his God and the Holy One of
Israel. John could never have explained this mystery. Neither can our
great Theologians. When I was a Bible College the Dean told us that he
believed we would all have different ideas concerning our understanding
of the Godhead. I believe He was right, and I am quite sure many will
disagree with what I have written. Theologians have shown by their
contradictions that they have failed miserably to even understand what
they call the Trinity.
We are given all the details of John’s experience in John 1:15-
28, "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I
spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was
before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for
grace. For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]. And this
is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from
Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not;
but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art
thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give
an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I
[am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way
of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were
of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest
thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth
one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is
preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was
baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is
he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me:
for he was before me."
It has been argued that the use of the Septuagint by John and the
Hellenistic names given to these prophets are Pagan Names. Personally I
do not think it would be difficult to connect every Bible Character to
a Pagan deity. We know there was a Pagan Jesus, a Pagan Christ, a Pagan
Esaias, a Pagan Elias as well as a Pagan Peter in contrast to the Real
Peter who could be called a Protestant Peter.
This Pagan Peter was called "Interpreter of the Gods" or Peta-Roma. He
is decked with the famous keys of Peter-Roma who alone can explain the
secret mysteries, from the pagan "Book of Stone." The real Peter
exposed Simon Magus not only in Samaria but also in Rome.
John Foxe describes how Peter came to Rome to withstand Simon Magus,
who there kept the priestly chair of Nero. Simon Magus, being then a
great man with Nero, and his president and keeper of his life, was
required upon a time to be present at the raising up of a certain noble
young man in Rome, of Nero’s kindred, lately departed. Peter, also, was
desired to come to the reviving of the said personage. But Magus, in
the presence of Peter, could not do it. Peter, calling upon the name of
the Lord Jesus, did raise him up, and restored him to his mother. The
estimation of Simon Magus began greatly to decay and to be detested in
Rome.
The Emperor Gratian became a Christian when his friend Ambrose
witnessed to him. He immediately rejected the Pagan Title of his
predecessors. Pope Damasus immediately accepted this Pagan title
of "Pontifex Maximus." The Dynasty of Popes who followed him came into
even more intimate connection with the Pagan Priesthood in which Simon
Magus had been involved. This is the work of Satan, and Paul writes in
2 Corinthians 11:13-15, "For such [are] false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed
as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to
their works."
Here we have the Perfect Man, just thirty three years old, concerning
whom John says He is not only preferred before him, but was before him.
In other words He existed eternally before John was born. He existed as
the invisible God whose image we have shown He was now manifesting,
Colossians 1:15 "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature." Adam Clarke suggests that John may not have known
Jesus personally until his revelation on the banks of the Jordan.
This is confirmed in John 1:31-36, "And I knew him not: but that he
should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with
water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he
that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is
he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that
this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of
his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold
the Lamb of God!"
This man, the Lord Jesus Christ, was the eternal God and the Holy One
of Israel. In fact we will shows that Paul described Him as God over
all. The only way we can understand Him is by also knowing He was first
Yahweh or Jehovah, "The Self Existant One," and then Jesus the Man.
This explains the Jesus of the Bible fully and comprehensively. Gordon
Magee writes: "All we have to do when we read our Bibles is to keep in
mind this simple thought: Is Jesus acting as a man now or is He acting
as God? Is Jesus speaking as a man here or is He speaking as God? Keep
in mind that He was both God and man. In Him deity and humanity were
fused but never confused. He could speak from two separate standpoints.
He could talk as Almighty God. He could also talk as a human. He could
act as Almighty God and He could act as a human. For instance, when He
walked on the sea He was acting as God. When He walked beside the sea
He was acting as man. When He sat down on the wall and was weary in
every limb, He was weary as to His humanity, but Isaiah 40:28
states, "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the
everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his
understanding." Jesus was not weary as to His deity; He was weary
merely as to His humanity.
"To understand what a scriptural passage says about Jesus, then, we
must always ask the question, Is He now taking the part and place of
God or is He taking the part and place of man? There we have a
wonderful key, an unfolding key to the Jesus of the four Gospels."
God Over All
Paul sums up the truth in Romans 9:5 "Whose [are] the fathers, and of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ [came], who is over all, God
blessed for ever. Amen." This verse tells us that Jesus was flesh and
that at the same time He was God over all, blessed for ever. This
should settle the controversy over Christ’s deity permanently. Jesus
Was Both God and Man, but He was the Eternal God before He became man
as the Son of God.
Paul as we have shown describes Christ’s birth as the mystery of
godliness. He also describes what took place at the Incarnation in
Philippians 2:6-7, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of
men."
In other words, before Jesus was born with His human nature He was the
invisible God. He was in the form of God, but Paul tells us He "took
upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men."
At His incarnation God took upon Himself the likeness of men. He
assumed human nature at His incarnation, but did not cease to be God.
Now, in addition to what He always was as Lord God, i.e. Yahweh-God or
Jehovah-God, He was now in possession of an assumed human nature. He
did not have this human nature before He was born, and is therefore not
the eternal Son of God in His Perfect Manhood. The fact that He is the
eternal God but not the eternal Son only indicates to us how wonderful
this mystery of God manifest in flesh is. END OF PART THREE

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