1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. It has been said that the Godhead is a mystery – that it was designed by God to be a mystery. What is a “mystery?†It is not something that nobody understands. A mystery is something that some understand, and others do not. The entire ministry of Jesus Christ was designed this way. Jesus sometimes baffled His disciples by teaching in parables. They would become frustrated. One day a disciple asked Him, “Why do you always teach in these parables?†(Matthew 13:10; Mark 4:10; Luke 8:9) A parable is a story that reveals truth to one, while veiling truth from another. And so Jesus explained to them, “I teach in parables because it is given to you to understand, but to them it is not given.†(Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10) On the surface, this might not seem fair. Jesus went on to explain: “For the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them having eyes to see they see not, having ears to hear they hear not. Lest at anytime they should hear with their ears believe in their heart and should be converted and I should heal them.†Finally Jesus said, “For this people’s heart is waxed gross and their eyes they have closed.†(Matthew 13:13-15; Mark 4:11-12; Luke 8:10) What happens when truth comes to us – especially if it goes against our grain? Against our traditions? There is a tendency to close our eyes and say, “I just don’t believe that. I just don’t see it that way.†But the reason we don’t believe it or see it that way is not because it is untrue. It is because we have deliberately closed our eyes. The Choice Is Yours It is important to realize that there is one sin that is probably more deadly than any other sin. It is the sin of unbelief. Some of us may think that either you believe something or you do not. It’s like a chemical reaction. Either it happens or it doesn’t. This is untrue. Unbelief is not like this. Unbelief is a conscious and deliberate choice of will. The Bible tells us that all unbelievers will have their part in the lake of fire. When we encounter truth, our intelligent minds know how to run down the path. We think to ourselves, “If I embrace this truth, it might upset my church membership, it may upset my family, upset my friends...†Our minds continue to run down this path. We think, “This issue is going to turn my life upside down!†And this may very well be true. When Jesus Christ comes into people’s lives, He always turns them upside down, and many times it’s not comfortable. In Jesus’ day, it would cause a person to be thrown out of the synagogue. Because of this, Jesus encountered many people with their spiritual eyes closed saying, “I don’t see it. I don’t want to see it. This is called a deliberate choice of free will. This process casts a person into the role of an unbeliever, and all unbelievers shall have their place in the lake of fire. This is very basic, and it is an issue to which we can all relate. Why the Mystery? The Godhead was, in fact, enshrouded in mystery for the deepest of reasons. It was so that only those who seek shall find, and only those who knock, unto them is it open, and only those who incessantly ask...receive (Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10). If you, however, are willing to not understand, then God will provide that option. It is readily available. For God is not in the mass production business. He is in the quality control business. He’s not looking for the many. He is looking for those who will rule and reign as kings and priests with Him for 1,000 years and throughout eternity. He is looking for those who are obedient. Right now, the Kingdom of God is in formation. How we respond to truth will determine whether we will rule and reign with Christ in that coming kingdom. So, these concepts and purposes are very deep. By the way, I would like for you to notice something. Let’s look at 1 Timothy 3:16 again: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Notice... we are first told that godliness is a mystery. But now... look at the rest of the scripture. It defines the mystery for us! It’s not a mystery for those who seek! Paul writes in I Timothy 3:16, “...God was manifest in the flesh.†This is the reason why He was called Emanuel. That interpretation means, “God with us.†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. Jesus Christ was God... and He was God with us. “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.†From cradle to ascension, Jesus Christ was God . This is the central question. Unless we get this one question right, nothing else will be right. How many Gods are there? How Many Gods? One. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Before we just say this glibly, let us look at some of the teachings of the Bible concerning how many Gods there actually are. Deuteronomy 6:4, of course, is the cornerstone of all truth. But let’s go beyond it to see if the rest of the scriptures bear it out. None Else Beside Him Deuteronomy 4:35 says it this way: Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the LORD He is God; there is none else beside Him. So, not only is there just one God, there is none else beside Him. No God With Him Deuteronomy 32:39 tells us that there is no God with Him: See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no God with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. So, according to the Lord, there is no god beside Him, there is no god with Him. No God Before Him or After Him Furthermore, Isaiah 43:10 tells us that there was no God formed before Him and it tells us that there will not be any God formed after Him. Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. This is not complex. There is one God, there was none before Him, there will not be another God created after Him, there is no God beside Him, and there is none with Him. None Like Him As we have already seen, there is no God with Him, were none before Him, and will never be any after Him. Also, there is not even any God like Him, as we read in II Samuel 7:22: Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. The Scriptures go on and on with this consistent truth. Even Devils Know There Is Only One God Here now is one of the very interesting scriptures – James 2:19. It says: Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. Satan, who found his realm in heaven, knows that there is one and only one God. Additionally, I Corinthians 8:4 says: As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. From these Scriptures, and many, many others like them not mentioned here, we can reach a conclusion of truth. There is one and only one God. Is Jesus God? The next question is if there is one and only one God, does the Bible teach that Jesus is God? Isaiah 9:6, the great Messianic prophecy, tells us: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Jesus Both Son and Father? This is an interesting scripture because it says that this Messiah will be both Son and Father. He will be the Son born, but yet He will also be the everlasting Father! Matthew 1:23 teaches us: 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. Jesus is God with us. Revelation 1:8 the Lord God Almighty speaks: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. In verses 10 and 11 the Lord continues: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: The same voice is speaking to John in both verses. We know this because He said in verse 8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending†and He again repeats, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.†Verses 12 and 13 continue: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And verses 17 and 18: And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; Now we know for sure who is talking here when He says, “I am he that liveth, and was dead.†Jesus is speaking. Continuing in verse 18 we read: and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. The One who said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, the Almighty,†is the same One who said, “I am he that liveth, and was dead and, behold, I am alive for evermore.†This is Jesus Christ staking claim not only to be God but to be the Almighty God! God Is the Only Savior Isaiah 43:11 tells us that the Lord Jehovah is the only Savior: I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. God Is Jesus? In Acts 9 we witness a conversion – the revelation to Paul. The man named Saul of Tarsus, then a persecutor of the church, was on his way to persecute Christians at Damascus. He had papers that had been granted to him to fulfill this commission. However, God had a different plan for this man’s life. As he was traveling along, Acts 9:4 reads: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Saul knew this was God speaking to him. But remember, up to this point, Saul had not been thinking that he was persecuting followers of God. He thought he was persecuting followers of Jesus. But here now was God Himself asking Saul why he is persecuting “Me.†Saul obviously concluded, “I must not know who God is.†He asked God that very question... and received in response what the amazing revelation that should be apparent to us all. Acts 9:5: And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Paul said, “Who are you Lord?†And God responded, “I am Jesus.†I’ll Believe It When I See It In another story, Jesus had appeared to the ten disciples (Thomas was absent). When Thomas returned, the disciples told Thomas they had seen Jesus. Thomas replied, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.†(John 20:25) Several days later, Jesus appeared to them again, and this time Thomas was present. Jesus went straight to Thomas and said, “... behold my hands; and...my side...†(John 20:27) Thomas fell on his knees and replied, “My Lord and my God.†In that moment, Thomas realized that not only had Jesus risen from the dead, but that Jesus had been listening to his denials. At that moment, Thomas realized that this is a God who is an ever-present God, who knows my thoughts while they are yet afar off. He is Jesus. And He is God. The Only Wise God Jude 1:25 reads: To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen. If there is more than one God, the others don’t have any sense. As we just read, “... the only wise God...†Only one God possesses wisdom, glory, majesty, dominion, and power. This doesn’t leave much for any god other than the One. Jesus Is the One God What can we conclude from these scriptures? There is only one God, and Jesus is that one God. The Holy Ghost Is God Have we answered all of our questions about the Godhead? No. Let’s take look at the Holy Ghost, since the Holy Ghost is part of the Godhead. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Ghost is God. Let’s look at Luke 1:35: ...the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Since the Holy Ghost was going to overshadow Mary... and cause her to conceive... and the holy thing which would be born of her shall be called the Son of God... we can therefore see the Bible teaches us that the Holy Ghost is God. The Holy Ghost Is the Father? Our lesson will now become more confusing – or at least it may seem to be confusing if you don’t fully understand the one-God concept. Who was the Father of Jesus? The natural answer would be, “The Father.†But we are about to learn that the Holy Ghost was the father of Jesus. Here is Matthew 1:18: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. The Father Is Not the Father? Here is where some people become confused due to the concept of the Trinity. If you have a Father, a Son and a Holy Ghost... and the Holy Ghost is the father of Jesus... this is a strange situation. The Father is not the father! But that is only confusing to people who have been taught to believe that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three separate beings. If it is your belief, however, that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one and the same, then we can use these titles interchangeably without doing violence to the Bible. On the other hand, if they are not one and the same, then we would be rightfully confused. It would seem as though the wrong one fathered Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost Is Jesus? We have just learned that the Holy Ghost is the Father. And we learned earlier that according to Isaiah 9:6, the Father and the Son are the same. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. It should therefore not come as a surprise to find that the Bible teaches that Jesus is not only the Father, but He is also the Holy Ghost. Here is John 14:16-17: And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him:... The world doesn’t see Him, the world doesn’t know Him, and the world doesn’t perceive Him. Jesus continues in verse 17: ...but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. The disciples were given the revelation when Jesus said, “but ye know Him...†Ta-da! “for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.†In other words, “Look at me! here I am! Right now I am with you physically, but I have to go away so that you can know me more intimately than you can know me right now. I have to go away so I can indwell you!†Jesus continues in verse 18: I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Understanding Godhead is to Understand the Baptism We know at this point that Jesus is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and Jesus is the Holy Ghost. And this explains why, on the day of His ascension into heaven, Jesus straightly commanded His disciples to go teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19) And yet seven days later Peter stood on the day of Pentecost and commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And then every single baptism throughout the history of the New Testament church was done in the name of Jesus. All of them. Why? It’s because by then the disciples understood that Jesus was the Father, Jesus was the Son, and Jesus was the Holy Ghost! And when He told them to baptize in the name of the Father, He meant for them to use the name of Jesus; when He told them to baptize in the name of the Son, He meant for them to use the name of Jesus; and when He told them to baptize in the name of the Holy Ghost, He meant for them to use the name of Jesus. Because Colossians 2:9 says that in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Some of us may say, “How can this be?†It is really quite simple. I am a father, I am a son and I am a husband, but I am not three persons. Jesus Christ was Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but He is not three people. Recall Jesus’ words to Philip, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.†(John 14:9) The Mystery of Godliness Is Solved! Summary It has been said that God is a mystery. Paul writes this in I Timothy 3:16. He said, “Great is the mystery of godliness.†But what does “mystery†mean? We discover through scripture that it does not mean mysteries cannot be understood. And, in fact, Paul goes on in this the same verse to define the mystery for us! He tells us that the mystery of godliness is that “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.†When a person says that God is a mystery, he has not looked deeply enough. Scriptures prove out very clearly that There is one God. There is no god beside Him There is no god with Him There was no god before Him There will be no god after Him There is none like Him The devils even know there is one God Jesus is God Jesus is the Father Jesus is the Son Jesus is the Holy Ghost The Holy Ghost is God The Holy Ghost is Jesus The disciples understood that Jesus was the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. When Jesus, therefore, gave them instructions to “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,†they properly understood that Jesus was referring to Himself. And this is why seven days later on the day of Pentecost, Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And then all baptisms and throughout the history of the New Testament church were done in the name of Jesus. Proper understanding of the Godhead is reflected in baptism.
No need to copy and paste from somewhere else, share if you have felt God in your life, else it's of not much use.
More Ad hominem attacks? Hard to argue the facts, eh? Oneness. The true simplicity is overwhelming and yet the religionist of the world cannot and do not see it before their very eyes. For when the fullness of time was come, suddenly in Bethlehem of Judea Omnipotence and Deity fused itself with human frailty and Emmanuelle was born, God in the flesh, as had been foretold by the prophets of old. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem nearly 2000 years ago, a second person of the Godhead was not born, but a body was born to house a God that had always been, and always will be. Obviously we have three manifestations of God in his dealings with mankind from the beginning of time until the end. Just as man is a son, a husband, and a father in his lifetime, so the Creator has manifested himself in three different manifestations. 1 the father of creation. 2 the son of redemption 3 three generating force in the church. But when we see God at the rapture of the church, we will see Jesus Christ, the only visible manifestation of the invisible God of the Old Testament.
The Church gloriously began in 33 AD with Apostolic power of demonstration that shook the Roman Empire from center to circumference. The Apostles knew that Jesus of Nazareth was God manifest in the flesh and addressed Him as so... HOWEVER: with the death of the Apostles and conditions that prevailed at that time the TRAGEDY OF THE AGES was set in motion and continues to this present time for the so called Christian world... In the beginning there was a FAMINE FOR THE WORD OF GOD - to purchase a copy of the Scriptures was virtually impossible. They were all hand written and the New Testament was in the process of being written and canonized. So no one had access to the the written Scriptures to study and meditate upon. With the APOSTLES MARTYRED OFF,, the force of maintaining and encouraging the established churches was terribly minimized... And last, but not least - THE FLESH IS NATURALLY ANTAGONISTIC TO THE SPIRIT! The church staggered beneath such loss and tragic conditions. At first the Church was persecuted by the Temple in Jerusalem and Judaism as a whole. The real terrors began under Nero, the first Roman Emperor, when he began to persecute the Christians in about 60 AD. It continued in its severity until under Diocletian, emperor from 284 AD until 305 AD so many Christians had been murdered until the remains of their flesh was sold like hamburger in the pet shops of Rome to feed their household pets... These butcherings of the Christians took place throughout the Roman Empire in various circuses and colosseums as entertainment and sport for Roman audiences. Persecutions of this magnitude gave birth to the Catacombs of Rome; a concerted effort on the part of Christians to save their lives.
The Church began 17 years ago. 16 years ago Brett Favre threw his first pass, and caught it himself. That's how awesome he is. Favre Uber Alles!