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| Volume 22 Number 10 October 2020 | Page 6 |
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| Volume 22 Number 10 October 2020 | Page 6 |
Editor's NoteHelen Mann
| Jesus Said | Peter Preached | Other New Testament Writers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hear | Matt. 7:21-27; Luke 6:46-49 |
Acts 2:14-36 | Rom. 10:8-15 |
| Believe | John 8:24; Mark 16:16 | Acts 2:37 demonstrated | Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:13-14 |
| Repent | Luke 13:3, 5 | Acts 2:38 | Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Pet. 3:9 |
| Confess | Matt. 10:32-33 | Acts 2:37 demonstrated | Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:10 |
| Baptized | John 3:5; Mark 16:16 | Acts 2:38-41 | Acts 8:35-38; 10:47-48; 16:25-34; 22:6-16; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27; Col. 2:12; 1 Pet. 3:21 |
| Result | Saved, Mark 16:16; Sins remitted, Acts 2:38 | Added to the Lord's church by Jesus Christ, Acts 2:41-47 |
Sins washed away, Acts 22:16; Rejoicing, Acts 8:39 |
When one completes the steps above, the Lord adds that person to His church (Acts 2:47). This is the church Jesus promised to build (Matthew 16:18), the one He purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28), the church that is the body of Christ and He is the Head of the church (Ephesians l:22-23; Colossians 1:24). There is one body (church), one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4). Acts 4:12 reads, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” The name referred to here is Jesus Christ of Nazareth who was crucified for our salvation, whom God raised from the dead. Ephesians 5:23 says, “Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” The church is subject to Christ (Colossians 1:24). See also Colossians 1:15-23; Christ has the preeminence (first place) in all things.
The Godhead
Jean G. Barker
Scriptures show that the Godhead consists of three separate beings. The description in John 1:1-2 of the relationship between the “Word” (which is Jesus) and God (the Father) shows that the two are separate beings. John 1:1-2 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” The word “with” indicates alongside of or in the company of. Therefore, the Word and the Father are indicated as separate beings.
A plural noun was used in the creation account, showing involvement of more than one being. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” The Hebrew name used here for God (Elohim) is a plural noun indicating that the word God represents more than one being.
The plural pronouns used in the following Scriptures show that there is more than one being in the Godhead. In Genesis 1:26, “God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” Genesis 3:22 reads, “Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold the man has become like one of Us.” In Genesis 11:7, the Lord said, “Come let Us go down.” In Isaiah 6:8, the Lord said, “…who will go for Us?”
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were manifested as being separate at Jesus’ baptism. Matthew 3:16-17 records that after being baptized, “Jesus came up immediately from the water,·and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Here we see, at one instant in time, the Godhead manifested separately by Jesus being baptized, the Holy Spirit descending as a dove and the Father speaking from Heaven.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are shown as being separate in the giving of the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19 records that Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Before each of the three in the above Scripture, the article “the” appears. The article “the” is defined as referring to “a particular person or thing.” This plainly demonstrates that the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are separate beings and not merely three manifestations of one person. Between each of the three, the conjunction “and” is also used, which indicates: along or together with as well as in addition to.
Jesus used the Law, given by Moses, to show that He had two separate witnesses (Himself and the Father) to prove that His teachings were true. In Deuteronomy 19:15, the Law of Moses stated, “One witness shall not rise against a man… by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” In John 8:17-18 Jesus said, “It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am one who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” If Jesus is the same person as the Father, then the argument that Jesus used would not have made sense.
In Jesus’ prayer for oneness of believers, His use of the words “just as” indicates that the type of relationship between Himself and the Father is not that of a one-being relationship. In John 17:20-22, Jesus prayed, “I… pray… for those who will believe in Me… that they may be one just as We are one.” We know that we are separate beings. If Jesus desired for us to be one, just as He and the Father are one, then the oneness Jesus desires for us must be in a sense that is other than a one-being relationship. Therefore, the oneness between Jesus and the Father must be in the sense of oneness in thought, purpose, aim, etc. and not a one-being relationship.
First Timothy 2:5 shows that God and Christ Jesus are separate beings. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” A mediator is one in the middle between two others (a “go-between”). God and men are separate. Therefore, Jesus must be a separate being from God, in order for Jesus be a mediator between God and men. The verse puts forward God, a Mediator (Christ Jesus) and men.
Three separate beings are indicated in Jesus’ prayer to the Father for another Helper. John 14:16-17a, Jesus speaking to the apostles said, “And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper… the Spirit of Truth.” The fact that Jesus prayed to the Father shows that Jesus and the Father are separate beings. Jesus prayed for the Father to send another Helper. The word another means “additional or different.” Therefore, another Helper would be in addition to or different from either the Father or Jesus. Hence, three separate beings appear in this prayer of Jesus. The Son praying, the Father giving another Helper and the Helper, who was to come.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Once more, the Godhead obviously is composed of three distinct persons or beings.