Who Knows God?

Who knows God? and who understands the mystery of God? Scripture teaches that God has a lot to say about who will know Him and who will not. Knowing God takes divine revelation and no one understands the mystery of God without God’s help. Jesus said, “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Luke 10:22) When Jesus asked “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am?” Peter answered “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Jesus commended him and said “…flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-17). Scripture declares only the Son reveals the Father and only the Father reveals the Son.

The Eyes of Your Understanding

Preachers love to preach and writers love to write about the mystery of God and Christ but only God can give true understanding. Jesus taught, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws him…” (John 6:44) and again “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). These few verses make it clear that coming to a knowledge of God and Christ takes divine help. We publish this website in hopes that “The eyes of your understanding may be opened…” (Ephesians 1:18) but realize that no one can open your eyes but God Himself. This whole business of knowing God and Christ depends on divine intervention.

It is a Great Gift to Know God

The scales that blinded the Apostle Paul’s eyes were put in place by God and then God Himself removed those scales. This faith of ours and our ability to hear it, understand it and believe it is not of ourselves it is a gift from God. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8). It is a great gift to know the true identity of the man Christ Jesus and it is a great gift to know God. Think of it as a pearl of great price because it truly is.

Blessed Are Your Eyes

Jesus had a lot to say about people who hear but don’t hear and see but don’t see. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears for they hear” (Matthew 13:13-16). He still cries out in the marketplace today, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear”. Jesus invites us to hear Him but His words have somehow gotten lost in the speculations of our learned philosophers and theologians. Nevertheless, the message of the Father and His only begotten Son still blazes on the pages of the holy book. If you want to truly understand the mystery of God and Christ just ask. God wants you to understand. “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) We think those are some pretty wonderful promises.

What is God?

Is God One What and Three Who’s?

We ask the question “What is God?“ because trinitarian scholars like Robert Bowman and others tell us that God is “One What and three “Who’s”. To us, describing the God of Israel as “One What“ seems like a strangely and cold and impersonal way to talk about Him. Now we can’t help but wonder about the meaning of “One What“. Does this odd language reveal anything Biblical or true about God? If God is a divine “What” should we speak of divinity as “It” rather than Him? When we say “What is God“ are we asking a question or making a statement? I hope all this is clear, but if not, just watch the classic Abbott and Costello routine called “Who’s on First” and you will see that the logic of the Trinity is comedy of the highest order.

The Holy What of Israel?

Trinitarian thinking is like being in a house of mirrors at a carnival sideshow. Mirrors and words can both distort reality and make things look other than they really are. Should we dispense with the idea that God is The Holy One of Israel and say instead that God is The Holy What of Israel? If God really is a Holy What should we even use the word “what” in normal conversation anymore since it no longer means what it used to mean? Trinitarian theology can sure get confusing. Thank goodness we have theologians, scholars and comedians to help us find our way!

One What and Three Who’s Made Clear

What follows is a dialogue between a very scholarly trinitarian theologian and a new disciple of Jesus Christ. Please try to keep in mind that “What” is the essence or substance of God and the “Whos” are the three divine persons posited by trinitarian dogma. Those who espouse the trinity are very emphatic that you must believe in their theory of God if you want to be a true Christian. This is a bit surprising in light of the fact that no one (at least so far) has ever been able to explain exactly what the difference is between the one “What” and the three “Whos” that mysteriously make up one God. Let’s listen in on their conversation.

Theologian: Do you have any questions?

Disciple: Just one. Can you tell me about God?

Theologian: Of course. God is one What and three Who’s.

Disciple: One What?

Theologian: Yes! That’s right. God is one What.

Disciple: Hey! Wait a minute! What are you talking about?

Theologian: That’s right. I’m talking about God. That’s Who.

Disciple: What do you mean?

Theologian: That’s right! Now you’ve got It!

Disciple: Got What?

Theologian: Yes! You’ve got the One What that is Three Who’s.

Disciple: So if I just want to know Who God is What is the most important thing?

Theologian: I couldn’t have said it any better! It sounds to me like now you really know What’s What. Just remember God is one What and three Who’s.

Disciple: I don’t think this is helping. Nothing you’ve said sounds like anything I’ve read in the Bible!

Theologian: Yes, I know this can sound like gobbledygook but it is absolutely essential that you believe it even if you don’t understand it. I think you just have a bad attitude.

Disciple: One thing I know for sure is that Jesus sure never talked like you do! To tell you the truth I don’t think you actually understand much about God at all!

THE END

What is the Hypostatic Union?

Ask the average person on the street about the hypostatic union and you’ll be greeted with a blank stare. Is it a labor union and members pay dues? Perhaps it’s a group of specially trained workers who unionized for better pay and benefits like the AFL-CIO? Do they specialize in something to do with static electricity? Who knows? We scratch our heads and wonder. Can anyone can understand the hypostatic union? What exactly is the hypostatic union anyway?

The Mysterious Hypostatic Union

If you ask a theologian about the hypostatic union you’ll get an earful! Trinitarian scholars have conjectured that Jesus had two natures! They theorize that Jesus was God and a Man joined into one body by way of the mysterious hypostatic union. Although He had a human nature it was somehow “impersonal” so He wasn’t really a genuine human being at all even though He seemed to have been formed from a human blueprint. He was “man but not a man”. This theory claims God inhabited a vacant human body! These are novel intellectual gymnastics but scripture does not indulge in this kind of thinking. Not for one minute, not for one second, never.

Jesus Christ is One of Us

Jesus said, “I am a man who has told you the truth I heard from God but now you want to kill me. Abraham wouldn’t have done that.” (John 8:40) The Apostle Peter said Jesus was “a man attested by God to you by miracles wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst” (Acts 2:22) Moses prophecied about Jesus declaring “a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of your brethren, like unto me”. Now Moses was a great man indeed but he was still a man and Moses claimed this prophet would be like him. (Deureronomy 18:15) These are straightforward and understandable Bible verses. Do you really think we have to believe in a hypostatic union or an impersonal human nature to make sense of them? We don’t think so either.

Jesus Said “I Am a Man”

Jesus never claimed to be God Himself but He did claim to be the Christ. He told us plainly that He was a man, a human being like us. “I am a man who has told you the truth!” He was a man who came in His Father’s name, did the works His Father showed Him and spoke the words His Father put in His mouth. (John 14:24) Jesus was a perfect man and His courage, compassion and sacrifice on Calvary were all intensely personal. We declare that anti-scriptural notions like the “hypostatic union” and Jesus’ so-called “impersonal human nature” detract from the beauty and glory of His life.

PS: This is what most Christians believed in the first three centuries of the Christian faith… and what many believers are re-discovering in our times. These are wonderful and ancient beliefs and if you get the chance please share them. God Bless.

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Hee Haw Theology

Words Should Mean Something

Words should mean something… unless of course we are talking about the trinity, in which case all bets are off. Hang on tight because here we go! God is One but He is Three. God is one Essence and three Persons and this is not tritheism but is really monotheism. How easy was that? God is one and God is three and that’s all there is to it! All we have to do is agree that words don’t really mean anything. This helps us revere an idea that we can’t even begin to understand in any sensible way. We are left asking the question: Does the trinity mean anything?

Hee Haw Theology

Most of us grew up believing that one means one and three means three and that pretty much settled it. Had it not been for the work of Platonic philosophers who latched onto Christianity with a vengeance we might have continued believing this old fashioned truth in blissful ignorance. But no! When the Bible declares that God is One it doesn’t mean one at all, it means three which now equals one. To believe it all we have to do is dispense with the pesky idea that words actually mean something understandable and sensible. One trinitarian writer even suggests we dispense with grammar altogether and start speaking of God as, “He are and They is.” We could call this kind of thinking “He Are Theology” but calling it “Hee Haw Theology” is more fun.

If God is Not Someone…What is He?

Classic Trinitarian sleight of hand claims that although God is three persons He (It?) is just one God. C.S Lewis helps us make sense of all this by declaring, “We must remind ourselves that Christian theology does not believe God to be a person.” In simple terms this means that God is not a divine individual at all. He is not really someone, He is something! This lines up perfectly with the oft expressed idea that “God is one what and three who’s“. What’s so hard about that? All we have to do is change our thinking! Instead of asking “Who is God? we should be asking “What is God?”… but somehow that doesn’t seem to reflect Biblical thought at all does it?

Trinitarian Logic

Monotheism with three “persons” is a lot like monogamy with three wives. Trinitarian logic would let you claim that although you are married to three different women you have only one wife and are a firm believer in monogamy. We say polygamy is not monogamy and the trinity is not monotheism. Simply claiming you believe in monotheism doesn’t make it true. Once you gut words of their meanings you can say anything you like no matter how absurd or illogical it might be. This dear friend is what we are faced with when we consider the most hallowed of all our religious traditions, the trinity.

A More Biblical Approach

A far better and more biblical approach is to simply declare that there is just one God, One Eternal Supreme Being we call the Father. He meant what He said when He declared “I alone am God and there is no other God beside me!” He is the Father of Eternity and the Father of Spirits. He is most assuredly a personal God. Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Savior, is His only begotten Son. These are the words and teachings of scripture and they mean something understandable. Someday these words will judge our beliefs and everyone, including you, will believe they mean what they say.

PS: I would like to thank everyone who visits and takes the time to read the things we post on this website. I know it has been awhile since new posts have been published but we press on and will try to be more diligent in the future. God Bless and thanks for your patience.

Has the Church Been Led Astray?

Here’s something to think about… has the church been led astray by her leaders? Is that even possible? Could it be that the church has been lead down a path of platonic philosophy that has nothing to do with Biblical truth? Could it be that most believers are kept in line by peer pressure, herd instinct and a desire to be in the comfortable majority? We think those are good questions.

It’s pretty comfortable being in the religious majority. On the other hand, stepping out of the mainstream can be painfully uncomfortable and sometimes it’s even dangerous. No one wants to be accused of belonging to some heretical cult. We have a tendency to defer to the opinions of our leaders especially when they all agree. Of course, sometimes our leaders can be horribly wrong. Like when the chief priests wanted to kill Jesus and got everyone else to go along with the idea.

An Ancient Gospel That Pre-Dates the Trinity

We preach an ancient Gospel that pre-dates the trinity. This Gospel proclaims just one God, the Father and that Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son. YHWH is the name of the Father and Jesus of Nazareth is His Christ (Anointed One), the Son of God. The Father is self-existent and eternal while His human Son Jesus Christ was miraculously born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Jesus was crucified and then raised from the dead and now is seated at the right hand of God. This isn’t hard to understand! You can believe it without resorting to the heady intellectualism of Greek philosophy that has been fashioned into the doctrine of the trinity. All you have to resort to is scripture.

Embrace These Ancient Truths

The faith of most believers in the first three centuries of the Christian religion was this simple message of the Father and His Son. This Biblical and understandable faith eventually fell into official disfavor thanks to the efforts and councils of the philosophers and theologians we call the “church fathers”. Fortunately, a growing number of Christians in our time are beginning to ignore the so called “church fathers” and embrace these ancient truths instead! Those of us who believe this Gospel today find ourselves asking a very old question, “Who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1) We hope you’ll believe our report… and that God will reveal Himself to you in the same way. God bless.

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