In this study we will seek to discover the true character and identity of God, as relayed to us by three separate groups:
The First Group: The Most High God & His Son (our Lord).
The Second Group: God’s messengers; the angels (both good and fallen angels)
The Third Group: Humans; The people who were directly taught by or inspired by the first two groups. We will only use their statements/teachings as they tried to enlighten/tutor us.
As we are about to contemplate Scripture, let us first go to our Lord in prayer…
John 14:13-14 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. Lord, help us learn more about our true Father, the Most High God, and may we also consider Jesus, and his relationship to the Father. May we seek also to learn what “they”, the Most High God and Jesus, accomplished to save their creation.
Scripture is New King James Version, unless labeled otherwise.
The First Group: The Most High God, His Son (our Lord).
The Bible gives us a description of what God is, the Bible avows God as Holy.
Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy.
Psalm 99:9
But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.
Isaiah 5:16
Jesus proclaimed God to be a Spirit.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:24
The Bible makes it perfectly clear that The Most High God is a Holy Spirit. The verse above although written by John, was a direct quote from Jesus, Himself. Jesus also maintained in Matthew 11:27,
All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
Matthew 11:27
Jesus wills to reveal His Father to all. Jesus introduces the most high God as His Father in Heaven and He goes on to say things like;
I and my Father are one. (John 10:30)
My Father is greater than I (John 14:28B)
Does this mean that the Father and Son are one being and one-half of that being is larger or greater then the other half? Or would the correct understanding be that they are one in mind/spirit and that the Father is greater than the Son? Strongs #G3173 greater, “megas” defined as; greater, older, predicated of rank, authority, or in power.
Proverbs 8:22-25 describes Jesus’ relationship with His Father God, this way.
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;…
Proverbs 8:22-25
The term “brought forth” means “to be born”, or “begotten”, as stated elsewhere in the Bible. Begotten as written in the original Greek, “monogenes”; only-born, only begotten, only-child. Strongs Concordance #G3439. Denotes as the only begotten Son of God. Jesus is the only being that has eternal life, granted to Him by the Father.
For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:26
Christ, for lack of a better terms, has the same DNA as the Father, They are both Divine. Jesus is as much God, as God the Father is God. Another way to look at it is, woman is as much a human as man is, or your children are as much human as you are. The Bible goes on to state,
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Micah 5:2
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
And the Word became 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
John 1:14
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
John 1:18
The Bible is replete with verses stating that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. The earlier verse above in Proverbs makes the claim that birth or better stated, the act of being begotten, was accomplished in eternity past, before the earth ever was. In the Book of Micah, He states “Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” ”Of old,” Hebrew word “qedeem” meaning; aforetime, ancient, from of old, earliest time. Making Jesus the literal Son of God, not a second person of a trinity.
There were two instances in the Bible where the Father thundered the truth about His Son from heaven for all to hear. They are mentioned in Matthew.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
Matthew 17:5
These two thunderous statements were too important to be left to just another prophet or an angel. The Most High took it upon Himself to declare His relationship to His Son. But would the Most High, Holy Spirit of Truth, mislead us to the truth of what some call the Godhead? Would not the Most High God have informed us of the triune relationship and clarify the truth, that Jesus was the second person of a Trinity? Were these two missed opportunities to make known the truth of a triune god? Would the Spirit of Truth purposely mislead His creation? No, the Father did not leave any room for misinterpretation. He did not proclaim that it was a second person of a trinity that He sent to save man. The Most High God announced and divulged that Jesus was His only begotten son in whom He was well pleased.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:16-18
These verses are so pregnant with truth that we will unpack it verse by verse and word by word if need be. First there are two Beings mention here; A Father God, and His only begotten Son. That means that the Most High Father had to have a Son to give/send. The Most High God did not give/send the second person of a Trinity. He gave His only, as in, “one and only son”. That verse continues with, if you believe in the Son, that He is the Son of the living God, you will not perish but have everlasting life. Another way of stating it is, if you do not believe in the Son, then you will perish, thereby, changing man’s interpretation of living forever in a tormenting Hell. (That is for another study. ‘Is Your Understanding Of Hell From a “PG” or a “DD” Point Of View?’) God did not send His one and only begotten Son to condemn the world but through knowing the Son we might be saved. John 17:3 states it this way,
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3
Notice that eternal life is knowing the Father and His Son. Two beings. Not three, not a Trinity.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them
1 John 4:9-16 NIV
That is how we become one with Christ, through their Spirit living in us.
I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
John 17:4,5,8,20-22
A question needs to be asked here. When Jesus asked the Most High Father that we all may be one, just as His father and Jesus are one, did Jesus want us all to become one in spirit/mind or an all in one god? Instead of a trinity we would all become part of a quadmillionity? (Made up word)
The Second group: God’s messengers; the angels (both good and the fallen angels)
Even the fallen angels knew that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God, as depicted in Mark 5:7,
And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
Mark 5:7
The fallen angels knew who Jesus was from their time spent in heaven.
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
James 2:19
Isaiah, through inspired writings, made known how Satan would twist God’s word and set out to deceive man’s understanding.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Isaiah 14:12-14
Through altering and distorting man’s understanding of the Bible, and incorporating a pagan belief of a trinity, using the emperor Constantine and Roman Catholic Bishops to pervert the One True God message, Satan attempted to lift himself to “godly” status. Satan a fallen angel, once known as Lucifer, son of the morning, alleged in his heart: that he would ascend into heaven, that he would exalt his throne, that he would sit on the mount of the congregation; his bottom line, that he will be like the Most High God. The Trinity grew its origins three hundred years after Christ’s death and evolved during the Nicene Creed era. The trinity was influenced by man’s misinterpretation, more directly inspired by the spirit of Satan himself. Post hoc, ergo, propter hoc, Satan accomplished his lofty goals by influencing men to interpret “the Spirit of God” as “god, the holy spirit”. Post hoc; making himself a third god and thereby achieving the worship he always desired. Propter hoc; turning the Father and Son message into a triune god enigma.
The Third group: Humans; The people who were directly taught by or inspired by the first two groups.
A good example of humans sharing the good news was documented in the Book of Matthew. Here Jesus teaches us that our thoughts can be influenced by outside spirits.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 16:13-17
It was the Spirit of the Father that revealed that truth to Simon Bar-Jonah. One could say that this is just one of many missed opportunities, throughout the Bible, where the Father and His Son could have set the record straight about the Godhead, by informing Simon and everyone in ear shot of his voice, that Jesus was the second person of a Trinity. However, we know that Father God only reveals truth through His Holy Spirit. Jesus and the Father are one, in that they have the same spirit, the Bible calls it the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Truth. Jesus in Mark 12:28-34 had another great opportunity to set the record straight about who the real God of the Bible was/is. Jesus could have tutored the scribe and the surrounding crowd about the triune god, but instead, He proclaimed and made it very clear that God is one, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4. We will pick up this story as documented by Mark.
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Mark 12:28-34
Notice when the scribe reiterated what Jesus said “for there is one God, and there is no other but He.” Trinitarians claim that the one God mentioned in this verse is a “one triune god” but they overlook, the small nuance of truth, that the scribe continues to describe “God” with a singular pronoun, “there is no other but He“. Luke an investigative reporter/doctor tells the story of Christ’s birth in the first chapter of his Book.
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:26-35
Note here, in this story, the Angel Gabriel makes it very evident that the Holy Spirit and the Power of the Most High God are one in the same. Gabriel also made clear the relationship of Jesus, through the proclamation that the Son was to be born, would be called the Son of God, and would be named Yeshua (Jesus). Isaiah a prophet in the Old Testament who informed us how Satan wanted to be like the Most High God, also told us of the coming Messiah,
For unto us a Child is born,
Isaiah 9:6
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
In the above verse Isaiah informed us that; unto us a child is to be born, a Son will be given (the literal Son of God will be given to us, not a second person of a trinity). Then Isaiah goes on to say what this Prince of Peace will be known to us as. This Prince will be known as our Mighty God but not as the Almighty God. Once saved this Prince of Peace will also be our Everlasting Father. However, there will still be the Most High God who gave to us a Son, HIS SON.
So far we seen a lot of testimony from angels, both fallen and holy, also from Isaiah, Mark, Simon, Matthew, Luke, John, James a brother to Jesus who became a believer, along with the Son of God and the Most High Father, all professing the fact that Jesus is the literal, only begotten, Son of the (ONE) Most High Father God. Of the beings mention above most spent time with the Son of God while He was here on earth or inspired by the Spirit. Luke while inspired, wrote the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts. Luke, however, was not a disciple of Christ. Luke was a doctor, set out to investigate the life of Christ retracing Christ’s life and interviewing the apostles/followers of Jesus. Many historians postulate that Luke investigated for Theophilus, who many surmise was Paul’s attorney in Rome trying to discover the truth about Pauls claims. Paul who wrote 50% of the New Testament or 20% of the whole Bible, if you just count the number of Books, laid claim to the fact that he was taught by Christ Himself, after Christ’s crucifixion. Saul/Paul originally set out to persecute the “Way”, followers of Christ. Paul originaly did not believe that Christ was the literal Son of God. Luke narrates the story of Saul/Paul in the Book of Acts.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Acts 8:3,4
Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
Acts 9:1-8
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
Acts 9:13-15
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Romans1:1-4
Paul at first a nonbeliever came to be the most prolific author of the New Testament and went on to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the true Son of God. (Acts 9:20)
For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.
2 Corinthians 11:4,5
Paul and all the fore mentioned authors and followers of Christ did not speak of a trinity. They all wrote and preached about one Most High Father God and His Son (Jesus) whom He had sent. Paul went on to say if anyone preaches another Christ, a different Son of God, for instance, a second person of a trinity, they are preaching a different Christ.
As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, (Paul speaking) nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
2 Corinthians 11:10-15 NIV
Throughout this study, we looked at verses where Jesus unveiled many truths about His Father. Interspersed throughout inspired writings, the authors of the Books of the Bible, and the disciples who followed Jesus, those who were tutored most closely by the “Light of Man”, made it evident that Jesus and His Father were trying to seek and reach us, through Christ’s life on earth. With statements like, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father”, John 14:9; we can be assured that Jesus’ mission was to make known/glorify the Father and save a dying world. That mission continues today, through the gift of Their (Father and Son) Holy Spirit.
Jesus Prays for All Believers: Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
John 17:11,18-26
A Family's Quest for Truth 