Praise be to the most precious and the only exalted Name of our Father, Saviour and soon coming King of kings, Lord Jesus Christ. Unto Him that is able to keep us from falling and present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, be all the glory, majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
“Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.” – Deu 4:35
“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.” – 1 Tim 3:16
“And the angel answered and said unto her, 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.” – Luke 1:35
It is very important for believers to know the God of the holy scriptures. The Church in its history have been through it’s dark ages for almost 1200 years. And the enemy has effectively used this time to suppress and manipulate the truth. But thank the Lord for His grace to restore His Church before He returns.
Knowing God as per the scriptures is highly significant for every believer, because it is directly connected with eternal life. When Christ Jesus prayed in John 17:3 the scripture declares, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”. If we don’t know Him, how can we believe on Him? If we don’t believe Him, how can we live this life of faith which finally leads us into eternity. These are some of the very important things that we need to consider.
To know God, we need to know His Word. Because God is Word and Word is God (John 1:1). This might seem to be an unpopular doctrine especially in the times we are living in, but it is the truth of the scriptures and the truth never changes. One of the most popular phrases among us the believers is, “I believe”. But it is very pertinent to ask ourselves, what do we believe? And, how do we believe? and on whom do we believe? The Spirit of God is the one who reveals the God of the scriptures. Jesus Christ declares in John 7:38, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”. When we pay attention to the above Scripture very carefully, Christ Jesus declares that we need to believe on Him as the scripture says. It is one thing to believe on Him, but it is another thing to believe on Him as the scripture says. That is the reason when a believer truly seeks Him, the Holy Spirit reveals Him through the scriptures.
Back in the days of the Old Testament, when God spoke to His people, Deut 6:4 declares, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”. Before we move any further it is to be established that the God of the scriptures is ONE. He is not two or three or many. As in the text, Deut 4:35 further declares, “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.”. Let there be no second thoughts about it. The scriptures clearly declare that there is only one God and there is none beside Him. Also Eph 4:6 clearly declares, “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.“. This is what the Spirit of God has penned through the holy scriptures (2 Tim 3:16).
And now going to 1 Tim 3:16, the Scriptures declare, this one God was manifest in the flesh. Why He had to manifest in the flesh? It is to fulfil the plan of salvation. Salvation became essential because sin was inculcated after the creation of mankind (Gen 3). For salvation to become possible, forgiveness of sin became essential. For forgiveness of sin to become possible, shedding of blood became essential. Heb 9:22 declares, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”.
The blood that is shed must be pure, blameless and without spot. There was no one with such impeccability. Psa 53:2,3 declares, “God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”. Almost God let four thousand years go by in the old testament. And after that, He revealed His plan. That is, God Himself had to manifest in the flesh. And the scripture declares that this is a great mystery of Godliness, without any controversy. Without controversy means, it is agreeable by all without any dispute. For man to get to God, God almighty was manifest in the flesh and became man.
He manifested in flesh through the virgin birth (Matt 1:23). The scriptures very clearly declare that Mary was only espoused to her bridegroom Joseph, when the salutation came from above in Luke 1. Christ Jesus was not conceived in the womb of Mary because of the will of any man. When Mary thought how it could be possible, the angel of the Lord answered and said unto her in Luke 1:35 as, “And the angel answered and said unto her, 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.”. It was a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. This was how God was manifest in the flesh.
And now, look at the words, “…called the Son of God” in Luke 1:35. When we put everything together, we understand that there is only ONE God and when He was manifest in the flesh, He was called as the Son of God.
By this we can clearly understand, when God was manifest in the flesh, He was not a distinct person in the Godhead. When Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, he wrote in Isa 7:14 like this, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”. Immanuel means God with us.
This Immanuel, God with us is not another God, but the ONE God of the scriptures. That ONE God manifest in flesh, was called as the Son of God. The important word here is “called”. This is the one of the very first places in the scriptures where, when the angel of the Lord addressed the almighty God’s manifestation in the flesh, he used the phrase, “called the Son of God”. There is a lot of difference between saying, “is the Son of God” and saying, “shall be called the Son of God”. Yes, there are lot other places in the scriptures where Christ Jesus on this earth is addressed as the Son of God. But as per the declaration that came from heaven in Luke 1, because He was called as the Son of God, He was addressed in other places as the Son of God.
It is also very important to ask a very important question? Why was He called as the Son of God? When someone is to be “called” in a specific way, there should be a reason or some reasons behind it. We need to be aware of those reasons. The term “Son” is a relationship term. When God was manifest in the flesh, He chose for Himself to be called as the Son of God. Why so? Why not a “brother of God”, or “grand son of God” or “father of God” etc. This might seem to be a silly cognition. But the truth is, it is not a silly cognition but a revelation that the Spirit of God unveils through His Word. Of all the relationship terms there is, He chose, being called as the “Son of God”. Why so? Let’s look at two of the reasons.
The first reason is to redeem man from sin. To understand redemption, we need to understand creation. In Luke 3:38 the scripture declares, “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.”. When the writer penned down the genealogy in the reverse order, he wrote that Adam was the son of God. The first man that was created and formed was the son of God. The book of Genesis declares in Gen 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”.
When God created Adam, his God given position was that he was the son of God. It is because Adam came out of God and became a living soul (Gen 2:7). Through this one-man Adam, who was the son of God, sin and death came (Rom 5:15). It means, when Adam part took in sin, the position he had was the son of God. That’s why, he lost that position. When God manifested in the flesh, He came to redeem man from sin so that the relationship of the son is restored. Because the sinner sinned in the position of the son of God and lost that position, the redeemer also had to come in the same relationship to do the work of redemption and restore that position back.
That is the reason, Jesus Christ was called as the Son of God. Had He not chosen to call Himself in His fleshy manifestation as the Son of God, He wouldn’t qualify to do the work of redemption and restoration. We also find the scriptures call our Lord Jesus Christ to be the last Adam. 1 Cor 15:45-47 declares, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”. So first, when God was manifest in the flesh, He was called as the Son of God because He came to redeem and restore what the first Adam had lost as the son of God. Had He not done the work of redemption as the Son of God, even we cannot qualify for the position of sons and daughters of God.
Secondly, when God was manifest in the flesh, He chose to call Himself as the Son of God, because He lived His earthly life as an example to all the sons and daughters of God. What is our position with God today? Joh 1:12 declares, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”. The Scriptures clearly declare that we who have received Him are given the power to become sons and daughters of God. And there is a perfect example before us to live our lives as sons and daughters of God. He is none but our Lord Jesus Christ who lived His life on this earth as the Son of God. The Scripture clearly declares that Christ has left for us an example that we should follow His footsteps. 1 Pet 2:21 declares, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”. Had He not lived His life on this earth as the Son of God, we cannot follow Him as the example. That’s the second reason when God was manifest in the flesh, He was called to be the Son of God.
For example, though He was God manifest in the flesh, He prayed to the Father as the Son of God. Why? Because He had to live His life as an example for us, so that we as sons and daughters of God can call upon our heavenly Father. This is a very important faith and understanding, we as believers need to have.
There is an unscriptural doctrine called trinity. Such a belief never existed during the days of Jesus Christ nor was taught by the apostles of the early Church. This is a doctrine that was developed and introduced in the Church somewhere around the 3rd century. It has no divine inspiration and that is why it has no scriptural basis. From that point many started to prove this unscriptural doctrine by perverting the scriptures. Also, many unscriptural terms like God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit, trinity, first person of trinity, second person of trinity, third person of trinity, triune God, three distinct persons, etcetera, were introduced. Even many attempts were made to alter the scriptures and add to the scriptures to prove this unscriptural doctrine. The enemy tried all his best to pervert the truth of God. The history of the Church stands as a testimony to this. But as God never changes so also His Word never changes (Mal 3:6; Mark 13:31).
For example, incidents like, we find in Mat 3:16,17 are perverted and misconceived. It declares, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”. Here we read about Spirit of God descending like a dove, a voice coming from heaven, and the Son of God standing on the waters of river Jordan. Rather than taking what the scripture says as it is, many try to use this incident in these two scriptures to prove the doctrine of trinity.
That false belief says, that the voice from heaven is of a distinct person number one of trinity called : “God, the Father”, the Son standing in river Jordan is a distinct person number two of trinity called : “God, the Son” and the Spirit of God descending like a dove is the distinct person number three of trinity called : “God, the Holy Spirit”. We see here how the enemy has perverted the scriptures to prove his unscriptural fabrication.
When someone says and believes, there are three distinct persons called God, the Father, God, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit, he is directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly confessing three gods. This is blasphemous in the sight of God because the scripture clearly declares that there is only one God and beside Him there is no other (Deut 6:4; 4:35).
Yes, there’s God the Father in the scriptures (2 John 1:3). There’s no “God, the Son”, but there’s Son of God in the scriptures. Even when Isaiah prophesied about the manifestation of God in flesh, he wrote that the Son that is given, His name shall be called, the mighty God and the everlasting Father as Isa 9:6 declares, “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.”. That’s why in Joh 10:30 Christ Jesus in flesh declares, “I and my Father are one”.Also, to Philip, He said in, Joh 14:9, “… Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”. In the same way there is no term called “God, the holy spirit” but there’s “Spirit of God” in the scriptures.
So, what does Matt 3:16,17 reveal? The Son of God, who was God manifest in the flesh, was baptized in river Jordan to show us an example, because our position with God is that we are the sons and daughters of God. The voice came from above to show us an example that we are also witnessed as the beloved sons and daughters of God (Rom 8:16, Heb 11:5). The Spirit of God descended on the Son of God like a dove to show us an example that we as sons and daughters of God receive His Spirit that comes from above (Gal 4:6). Because He is our example that fore ran as the Son of God. The scripture declares He is the firstborn. Jesus Christ is described in Col 1:15 as, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”.
Because He was God manifest in the flesh, He carried two natures in Him. The God part carried the divine nature in Him. But the flesh part carried the human nature in Him. As God, He manifested Himself as John 1:1,14 declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 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.”. Also, Php 2:7 declares, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”. As Son, He in His manifestation was given or sent. That’s why scriptures like John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”. Christ Jesus also when He prayed as the Son of God, said in Joh 17:18, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”. So, when we put the above four scriptures together, we can understand that on the one hand as God, He Himself came and manifest in the flesh. On the other hand, when we talk about His manifestation in flesh as the Son of God on this earth exclusively, He was sent or given. His manifestation into this world in flesh and blood is an unspeakable gift, the scriptures declare in 2 Cor 9:15. Because through that unspeakable gift we have redemption and the hope of eternal life. This doesn’t make the ONE God two or three or more distinct persons. This is what the scriptures say and reveal of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In His divinity, He was one hundred percent God. In His humanity, He was one hundred percent man. That was the dual nature of Jesus Christ when He lived His life upon this earth in flesh and blood. In His divine nature, in Him dwelt the fulness of Godhead bodily as Col 2:9 declares, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”. In His human nature He was a man as Heb 2:14 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”. That’s why, when we look at His earthly life, He did and said many things in His divine nature and at the same time He did and said many things in His human nature. There is no reason for us to get confused between these two natures in Him.
In conclusion, the Scripture declares there’s only ONE God and beside Him there is NO other. This one God, when He manifest in the flesh, He was called as the Son of God. He was called so because of two reasons. First, to redeem what Adam had lost as the son of God. And second, to show us an example as to how we need to live our life on this earth as sons and daughters of God. This same Christ Jesus is alive and well today, with us, in us and upon us in the form of His Spirit. Holy Spirit is nothing by the Spirit of the only true God. There are no two gods or two or three distinct persons in the Godhead. In fact, there’s only ONE GOD who manifested or revealed Himself in three different ways. Number one as Father in creation (Luke 3:38), number two as Son in redemption (Luke 1:35; Matt 18:11, John 8:36), number three as Holy Spirit in regeneration (Titus 3:5). It is very important for believers to stick to what the Spirit of God has said through His Word. It is imperative that we don’t yield ourselves to any confusions and distortions of the scriptures that is taught as a proof of an unscriptural fabrication.
May we let the Spirit of the almighty God unveil the truth about Himself into our hearts with much clarity through His infallible Word.
May His grace and peace continue to abide with us in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
-Bro. Jamey F. Davis
YouTube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPkXNLKTdRvMZ8lMSff8M2Q
Contact Address :
Immanuel Prayer House,
93-A, Sadras Road,
Tirukalikundram – 603109.
TN India
E Mail : davisiph@hotmail.com
Web : www.davisiph.net
News for Believers 