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THE BIBLE
by Derrick Gillespie
Many people wonder how can God the Father be said to be present
Himself, do something Himself, and be something Himself, and
yet represents Himself by another, or operates through another.
That's the paradox of the God that we serve (a "paradox" only
seems to contradict itself, but is logical in the end), since God
presents Himself and is seen and approached through
relationships, the very essence of love. The Bible declares "God is
love", and this statement is at the heart of God's own self revelation
more than many will ever know.
1. Our Creator?
5. Our Comforter?
7. Our God?
1. Despite the Bible's Old Testament portion hinted at more than one
personal being existing in the Godhead from before the foundation
of the world (Gen. 1:26,27 with Gen. 3:22-24, Gen. 11:5-7 and Is.
6:8), yet never did visions of the heavenly throne room ever depict
separate beings in the Old Testament. NEVER!! Daniel 7:13,14
showing God as Judge ("the Ancient of Days"), and he depicted
separately from Christ as the “Son of man” was a
futuristic/prophetic reference, and not a literalistic reference about
Jesus before Jesus became a man. Remember too that Jesus will be
that final Judge depicted in symbol as the “Ancient of days” (John
5:22), so this symbolic scene must be considered carefully; and
not be pressed too literally. Also, never did we see a repeated pre-
incarnation emphasis on God communicating to man and depicting
it as coming from more than one person, except from God the
Father Himself (despite Is. 6:8 speaking of "us").
Consider this finally. The Bible shows that a unity akin to that of
the Godhead usually has ONLY the "head" of the unity in focus,
but the others in the group are never denied or forgotten. Classic
examples include Gen. 3:22-24 having both in the unit represented
by the pronouns "him" and "he", and yet the passage meant both
male and female.
In Psalm 8 the same term "man", and "him" is used inclusive of
both sexes and all of humanity in fact, but the male, the "head" is
used as the focus of the group.
In the Church Jesus is the "head", and all that applies to him as our
Elder Brother applies to us members of his body--ON THE
HUMAN SIDE OF COURSE; not on is divine side!!
The same is true of the Godhead, where the Father is given the
divine focus, but never at the exclusion of Son, and Spirit in terms
of what they are united in, and in terms of the honor they deserve.
For example, the Bible says God "by himself" created, but the
Bible plainly shows he did it in unity with his divine Son and Spirit
(just as men/males "begot" the generations in the Bible, and
families are traced through males, but it could never be a reality at
the exclusion of the female in the process).
The Bible says only the Father is to be worshiped, but never at the
exclusion of equal honor given to His Son (with the Father
PERSONALLY commanding worship for his Son in Heb. 1:6),
and obviously you cannot worship God as a spirit and not worship
Him as the Holy Spirit (the invisible and omni-present being he
uses to represent Himself as being everywhere).
The first commandment enjoins the obligation to NEVER have any
other God before Jehovah, and yet Jesus accepted Thomas calling
him "my Lord and My God", and the Father Himself called Jesus
"God" and commanded that all should worship him(see John
20:28,29 and Heb. 1:6, 8,10).
The Bible says only God the Father is good, wise, or the only
potentate or supreme ruler or King of kings,etc, and yet Jesus is
equally all these things as well by his unity with His Father, the
"head". And both Father and Son is represented invisibly
everywhere by means of the Holy Spirit who shares the same
"name" and authority they bear.
Conclusion? A spiritually united specie being represented by
the head of that group never excludes the others of the same
class. See that principle perfectly illustrated in 1 Cor. 12:4-6,
11-12.