Question: 1) one true God 2) that God is triune 3) Jesus is God 4) Jesus IS the triune God! What about the holy spirit and the Father? are they God's too? Are they also triune so that there are 9 persons in your godhead?
Answer:
ONE GOD
One true God:
God is a perfectly unique being (no other like Him exists). He is infinite (always was and always will be). He is called Yahweh in the Old Testament, and who reveals Himself in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the New Testament; thus excluding polytheism (belief in many gods), tritheism (belief in three gods), and subordinationism (in which Christ is a lesser god subordinate to the Almighty).
a. Only one God:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:" (Deuteronomy 6:4)
" 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." (Isaiah 43:10)
"Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God." (Isaiah 44:6)
"Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, [there is] no God; I know not [any]." (Isaiah 44:8)
"I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things]." (Isaiah 45:5-7)
"Tell ye, and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? [who] hath told it from that time? [have] not I the LORD? and [there is] no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; [there is] none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else." (Isaiah 45:21,22)
"And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one." (Zechariah 14:9)
"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. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him." (1 Corinthians 8:5,6)
"Now a mediator is not [a mediator] of one, but God is one." (Galatians 3:20)
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:5,6)
"For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19)
b) All other "gods" are only "so-called,"
"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. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him." (1 Corinthians 8:4-6)
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
c) Moses was "as God," not God or divine
"And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God." (Exodus 4:16)
"And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." (Exodus 7:1)
d) Satan, idols, and the belly are all false gods.
"For the LORD [is] great, and greatly to be praised: he [is] to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens." (Psalms 96:4-5)
e) Wicked judges called "gods" in irony, not to discribe nature.
"A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods." (Psalms 82:1)
"I have said, Ye [are] gods; and all of you [are] children of the most High." (Psalms 82:6)
"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him,
whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 10:34-36)
f) Yahweh is Elohim.
"These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens," (Genesis 2:4)
"Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he [is] God; [there is] none else beside him." (Deuteronomy 4:35)
"Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that the LORD he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath:[there is] none else." (Deuteronomy 4:39)
"Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (Psalms 100:3)
(thus excluding the view of Mormonism that Jehovah and Elohim are distinct beings)
g) Implied by the doctrines of self-existence, transcendence, and omnipotence.
2)That God is triune
a)The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)
This verse explains that the Holy Spirit (always written with a captial "S") is not only the Spirit of God but also the Spirit of Christ and that believers are in the Spirit, because they are also the body of Christ, His Church, His bride and literally His hands, feet, mouth, and etc..
b) The Spirit of (the) living God.
"[Forasmuch as ye are] manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us (Jesus' Apostles), written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." (2 Corinthians 3:3)
c) The Spirit of our God.
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11)
d) The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit,
"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
e) The Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead (i.e., God)
"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 quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." (Romans 8:11)
f) The Spirit of your Father,
"For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." (Matthew 10:20)
g) The Spirit of His Son
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6)
h) The Spirit of Jesus Christ
"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," (Philippians 1:19)
i) In the Old Testament the Spirit of the Lord came upon prophets, outwardly (after Jesus resurrected the Holy Spirit controls believers by residing in their hearts). An example is:
"And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you." (2 Chronicles 24:20)
3) The Son
a) "The Word was God (the question that follows this one would be: "who is the Word?")
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made." (John 1:1-3)
b) The Word was made flesh
"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." (John 1:14)
c) No man has seen the Father
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]." (John 1:18)
(Note - p.1315 KJV): In the Greek NT, this verse begins with the word "God" (Theon [2316], without the definite article. It therefore refers to God in His essense as Spirit. John is declaring that no created being has ever seen God in His essence as Spirit. This first statement is to bne connected with verse one, which also speaks of Jesus Christ in His self-existence as an eternal and infinite Spirit.
Then, to show the very special relationship of the Son to the Father, He is called monogenes (3439). The word is translated "only begotten," this giving the false idea that, in His eternal state, He was generated by the Father. The second part of verse eighteen declares that this unique Son, or "unique God" (as some manuscripts have it), who has always been in the bossom of the Father, manifested the Godhead and made Him understood. This
second declaration of verse eighteen agrees with verse fourteen which speaks of the incarnation of the Lo'gos, the "Word."
d) Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence." (Colossians 1:15-18)
(Note - p.1479 KJV): In the first verse of this passage, Jesus Christ is presented as the image of God, the invisible One in John 1:18. Eikon (1504)"image," always assumes a prototype (the original form from which it is drawn), not merely a thing it resembles (e.g., the reflection of the sun in the water is an eikon). Paul was telling the Colossians here that Jesus Christ has a "prototype," God the Father who is invisible. The relationship between Christ and the Father is not coincidental)
e) Jesus thought himself to be equal with God
"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: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:6-8)
(Note - p.1474 KJV): This passage deals with the deity of Jesus Christ which was evidenced pior to His incarnation and continued through His death on the cross.
In comparing verse six of this passage with John 10:30, one can note that Christ is equal to God in addition to this fact, He proved in His incarnation and death that He was still deity. In other words becoming a human being, Christ did not become less than deity. In speaking to His disciples, Jesus said, "My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand. I and [my] Father are one." (John 10:29,30) Because Christ is equal with God, those who would seek to "snatch" His followers out of His hand would also have to remove them out of God's hand as well.
Therefore, Paul states in Philippians 2:6,7 that Christ ".. thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation.. " What is to be understood here is that He was deity. Prior to His death, He asked the Father to glorify Him in a position next to God with the glory which He had even before the world was created: "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the
world was." (John 17:5) If Christ had come to the earth with an emphasis on His equality with God and all that entailed, the world would have only wondered at Him, and not received Him as Savior. The Lord lacked recognition and glory by men while He was on earth as the Incarnate God. However, as far as God was concerned, Christ never lost His position before God.)
4) Who is the Word?
a) His name is called "The Word of God"
Speaking of the Second Coming of Christ Jesus: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. (Revelation 19:11-13)
b) The Word has to abide in you
"And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not." (John 5:38)
(Note - Without the Holy Spirit, who is also named the Spirit of truth, in our hearts we cannot receive the Word. One can deduct from this Scripture also that the Holy Spirit is the Word. There is Scripture which confirms it)
"By the word of truth (Spirit of truth), by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness (Jesus Christ is our righteousness)on the right hand and on the left," (2 Corinthians 6:7)
c) The word of the Lord endureth forever
"But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:25)
d) There are three that bear witness.. and the three are one
"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:5-12)
(Note: From the previous Scriptures you should be able to deduce that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons because they all three speak but they are ONE God which we cannot comprehend. The concept is not physical but spiritual and of the next dimension. God lives outside of this universe that we know it.
The Bible is written by applying concepts that we can interpret so that we can get some kind of understanding of what God is trying to communicate to us. We are left with just believing what He tells us because He is God and not a liar.
e) The three Gods are not each a triune God
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are ONE TRIUNE GOD: GOD THE SPIRIT, GOD THE BODY, AND GOD who is PART OF THE HEART AND MIND OF HUMAN BEINGS, THE HOLY SPIRIT. Believers are in the Holy Spirit, in Christ. Christ is in His Father, God.
4) Where does the concept of nine persons come from:
When you study symbolism, such as the pentagram, the star of David and the ninepointed star one begins to understand where the confusion comes from which comes teachers like Benny Hinn, Freemasonry, Islam, Bahai and others. I wasn't aware that the Jehovah's Witnesses use this nine pointed symbol. The founder of Jehovah's Witnesses was a Freemason which is confirmed with our newsletter showing his grave to be a pyramid with a Masonic Symbol.
The triangle in occult teachings represents a human being: body, mind and soul.
The Pentagram pointing up also represents man in five dimensions, supposedly the highest achieveable realm from a human standpoint. Taking that a step further, in Freemasonry the compass and the square (their insignia) makes into five pointed star which represents a sexual act between a man and a woman literally. Masons believe in the physical evolution by their progeny and believe that sexual energies mingled with good deeds will ultimately gain them heaven.
This same concept applies to "star of David" which has six points. In it we have two triangles of the opposite sex.
Nine is a sacred number and the number of perfection. It depicts a Mystic ladder to heaven with nine rungs.
Egyptians arranged their deities in Triads: the Father ("G" Generative Power), the Mother (Matter) and the Son (Product) and the three were underworld gods: Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Triads of the same kind are found in the Kabalah (p. 87 Morals and Dogma).
The triple triangle in Masonic writings of Albert Pike, 33 degree Mason, is peculiarly sacred, having ever been among all nations a symbol of Deity (God) (p.826 Morals and Dogma). A nine-pointed star in essence represents three separate individuals). It is not surprising that Satan wishes to keep Masons and those lost in darkness in the dark about God and who He really is.