The Death of
God:
God was born to die. Albeit God was, is, and always will be, 353
his birth was showing himself. God could never before, after the first sin, be
seen or the observer would die. 354 Adam and Eve apparently could
see unto the heavens because of their bright nature. Sin dimmed that nature,
and blinded mankind to God. Communion with God was cut off, and only when God
appeared in other ways could mankind see Him: a cloud, a fire, a burning bush,
the angel of God, and even as a man. His
birth was the time he appeared in the flesh as both God and man; not one or the
other but both!
It is imperative for the Christian to know and understand doctrine.
Creeds are summaries of the Doctrine of Jesus and are for one reason – to clarify the meaning of Holy Scripture,
not superseding the Word but explaining it as Philip did to the eunuch. 355
Below is the most important biblical doctrine concerning Christ: 356
·
We believe in one God, the Father
Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things
visible and invisible.
·
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten
Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light,
very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the
Father;
·
by whom all things were made;
·
who for us men, and for our salvation, came down
from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and
was made man;
·
he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the
Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the
Father;
·
from thence he shall come again, with glory, to
judge the quick and the dead. ;
·
whose kingdom shall have no end.
·
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of
life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together
is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets.
·
In one holy catholic
(universal) and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the
remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of
the world to come. Amen.
God incarnate – in the flesh – therein written, was “begotten”, not created. Just as the Creator Father
thought it (Divine Mind), the Word (Son) spoke it, and the Power (Holy Spirit) begot
it; Emmanuel came into Existence by the same manner. Carnal knowledge was for
the world. God is not of this world, hence, the Word who existed in the
beginning, 357 was simply brought forth from the dust (the elements
of which Mary consisted). Jesus was not another “person”, but the only person
of the Holy Trinity. Jesus is the substance of God which His Power brought
forth. The reader must not be confused; God appeared in the flesh by Mary; thus
Jesus Is God, and since the Creator begot him, Jesus is also the Son of God.
Because Mary was the basin for God’s appearance, Jesus is also Son of Man.
People attempt to kill God by denying who He is. If one examines any of
these points, essentially God’s Existence is denied. The most obvious way is to
deny that God, indeed, is the Maker of the heaven and the earth, both the spiritual
and physical. Evolution theory is the pollution which is blasphemous because it
places the reasoning of scientists above the truths of scripture.
Another obvious point cannot be denied – there is one baptism, and that
is for the remission of sins. Heresy is making baptism – a work – a sacrament, being
effectual for salvation.
“Substance” is the English transliteration of homeostasis. God was not “substance”
until Jesus was born to be technical. God became Substance with the birth of
Jesus. Why would he want to have flesh? To feel what we feel, fear what we
fear, be tempted as we are tempted, to overcome temptation, to remain innocent,
and to die unjustly in our place. I use the second person here to be inclusive
and personal. God is a personal God who knows all his creatures do and think! 358
God is omniscient, and Jesus Is God.
The “flesh” is more than mankind’s skin. It is the flesh, bones, soul,
emotions, traits, genetics, desires, and personalities of man. Whereas mankind
is born with an empty soul, God came flesh as a living soul – one which was
born “good”. 359 Jesus explained that those who saw him as “good”
intuitively recognized him as God who, indeed, he is! (present tense is used
because God is not dead!)
God was begotten in the image of men for as was written, “in all things
it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren”. 360 Albeit, God
begot Himself like us but in the beginning mankind was created in God’s image. 361
As the Nicene Creed explains, God is one but has three images; so much
more precise than “substances” because our One God appears in three images –
the Holy Trinity.
Unlike God whose soul was good, mankind’s was empty and soon to be filled
with iniquity. 362 Then, unlike the others who were natural men,
Jesus’s soul was filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism because his was not
a baptism for the remission of sins! 363 God had a nature but was
supernatural since he was still omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, respectively.
God incarnate had Spirit but since God had yet to die, God had never been
the Holy Ghost. The difference between
Spirit and Ghost is experience. Since, God had yet to die, he was Spirit. Once
he died, his Spirit experienced death with Him on the cross, and essentially
because of that experience, became the Ghost of the Man/God Jesus! 364
Only Jesus’s beloved friend John knew him well enough to understand Jesus in
the flesh and in the Spirit. It’s imperative to understand what John knew about
his friend. God is not three persons but appears with three identities and
appears differently to suit His purposes!
To speak with Moses, he used a fire. To convince the Jews, God’s Ghost
appeared as a fire. To empathize with mankind, God used flesh. To create, God used
his Mind, Word, and Power. He thought it, He spoke it, and then made it all
happen! God manifests Himself to suit his will. That ability is God’s “nature”
but is supra-natural! He is the God evil men seek to kill.
Because God Is Who He Is, he cannot be killed. There is nor magical kryptonite
so Satan had to use other methods. God could never die forever, so Satan’s
method is that He should die to mankind. By that, it is meant, that God be
silent with mankind, and communion cut-off. That’s easily done with unpardoned
sinners because God is not with them from the start. Satan can only attempt to
kill God by destroying Christians. In order to do that, he cuts at the hedge of
safety around men’s souls until it’s clipped clear to the ground. Doubt is the
seed planted to stunt the hedge’s growth. (I apply the lessons learned from Job
as the way the safety of the new birth is maintained. He was faithful to the
end, and in the end, God saved him. Faith is by definition, not temporal, but
enduring. The born-again person must have “steadfast faith” 365 ).
God was born for the purpose of dying; not to save himself because he
cannot not die, but to save all mankind. God – called Jesus – was truly born to die. It turns out that since God cannot be killed, it is His flesh which must
be destroyed. Hence, Jesus, the Way to heaven, is constantly under attack after
his birth, during his life, and finally when he died. Satan wasn’t’ able to
kill God. God presented Himself as a sacrifice for all the sins of all men of
all ages! That is the mystery of God!
353 Holy Bible; Rev 1:8
354 ibid; Exod 33:20
355 ibid; Acts 8:31
356 Nicene Creed; 1st
Council of Constantinople; 381 AD.
357 Holy Bible; John 1:1-2
358 ibid; 1 John 3:20
359 ibid; Mat 19:17
360 ibid; Heb 2:17
361 ibid; Gen 3:26-27
362 ibid; Psalm 51:4
363 ibid; John 1:33
364 ibid; John 7:39
365 ibid; Col 2:5
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