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Next on That’s in the Bible.
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Chuck: Is this God the only God, or is everybody right with all of their own gods?
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Brother Bob Pellien: We believe here in the Church Of Christ, to know and understand the true God, we must turn to the pages of the Holy Scriptures.
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Idris: I don’t understand the concept of God being three. The God [the] Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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Brother Bob: This is from Melissa Hatfield in Seattle, Washington. Why is Jesus Christ important?
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Brother Bob: Hello, I’m Brother Bob Pellien, and thanks for joining us in this episode of That’s in the Bible. Let’s go directly to our first question, which comes today from Chuck Swift from San Diego, California. Let’s hear what Chuck asks:
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Chuck Swift: Is this God the only God, or is everybody right with all of their own gods?
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One God or many?
Brother Bob: Thank you for your question, Chuck. And you’re very correct in such that there’s a lot of people who are coming up with their own ideas and perceptions and understandings of God. We believe here in the Church Of Christ, to know and understand the true God, we must turn to the pages of the Holy Scriptures. So let’s do that directly. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 4. Let’s see if the Bible [mentions] many gods we can all just pick and choose whatever God we want or come up with our own understanding. How many true gods does the Bible discuss? Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verse 35, reads this way:
To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.
[Deuteronomy 4:35 English Standard Version]
Brother Bob: The Bible clearly [mentions] here that there is but one God and there is no other. There could be an innumerable number of people coming up with their own understanding of God and in fact, even preaching and teaching about different gods and perceptions of God and who God truly is. But the Bible is clear. There is one God. So dear friends, here in 1 Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 6, the Apostle Paul wrote the following which is a very important statement regarding this topic in verse 6, he said:
yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
[I Corinthians 8:6 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: Here was the Apostle Paul addressing the first century Church, telling them for us. Who [is] “us”? The Church, the true servants of the Almighty God, that for us, there is only one God and then He told us who that one God is, and that is the Father. Chuck, in your question you clearly [mentioned] that there are so many others who have other perceptions of God and other gods. You know the concept of “many,” is that it “doesn’t really matter as long as you believe in the existence of God.” It matters. Why? The Holy Scriptures teaches us the following this time in the letter of Apostle Paul, to the Ephesians. Wherein he wrote the following in chapter 4, verse 6:
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
[Ephesians 4:6 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: Because God is only one, and because God is the Father, and because the one God the one Father is one God and Father of all. It’s not for anyone to just pick and choose and say, “No, excuse me, I’ve got another God.” There is only one, there’s no other options, there’s no other other choices. But a lot of people have come up with other perceptions of who that one true God is, which leads us into our next question from Idris Bashil, from London, England. He sent us this question:
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Idris: I don’t understand the concept of God being three. The God [the] Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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How is God 3 in 1?
Brother Bob: Thank you. That, too, is a wonderful question because it is not the only you that I have difficulty understanding what oftentimes mainstream Christianity terms as the Trinity that being: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the three of them together, compose one God. A triune entity. There was a Catholic priest to try to explain this. And let’s just take a moment to cite his explanation for a moment. It’s recorded in a book entitled Father Smith Instructs Jackson, written by the priest of the Catholic Church named John Francis Noll. He writes on page 29 the following:
[On-screen graphic – Father Smith Instructs Jackson, pg. 29 Most Rev. John Francis Noll , D.D. LL.D.]
It means that in the One God there are three Divine Persons, called respectively God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Brother Bob: Well, that’s mainstream Christianity, the Catholic Church being from which we have quoted there, but so many of the Protestant organizations, independent Christian organizations as well, teach and believe the same that God is composed of three entities: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Here inside the Church Of Christ, we believe in the one true God, the Father. From what origin do we receive that important understanding that the Father is the one true God? It comes from Jesus Himself, the Son of God. What did Jesus say? Let’s read His words. It’s recorded in John, chapter 17, where in Jesus pronounced very categorically the following:
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
[John 17:1,3 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: What’s the important pronouncement here of Jesus? He made a pronouncement concerning two things that had direct relevance to the attainment of eternal life. He said, “Father that they may know You the only true God and Jesus whom You have sent.” They’ll have eternal life if they know that the Father is the only true God and that they know that Jesus is the one who has been sent by the Father.
If, then, one comes up with another perception of God and teaches that and says “No, no, no, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit together, the three of them make up the one God.” That’s a different god. And the gentleman who posed the question to our program for today, seemed very confused about when he views the religions in this world who are teaching these other perceptions of God. And it’s not surprising that you’re a bit confused, because when they teach a Trinitarian god, they’re teaching something that is very categorically different than what Jesus just taught, as we all read there together.
Who is Jesus to God?
Brother Bob: Who does the Bible teach Jesus to be? In fact, the it was, again, the Apostle Paul, we turned to this time, when he stated the following in 1 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 5:
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
[2:5 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: It clearly taught who Jesus is a man Who’s mediating between God and mankind. He is the Mediator. And how about the Holy Spirit? It was also our Lord Jesus Christ who described and tells us about the Holy Spirit. And He does so in these terms recorded in John, chapter 14, He was quoted here in verse 26:
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
[John 14:26 King James Version]
Brother Bob: Here Jesus taught to us the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, whom the Father will send to comfort to give strength to all who may be weary and tired and need the inner strength of the Spirit of the Lord, the Lord the Father above will send that Spirit to comfort and to strengthen and to help us.
The true God is the Father, Jesus is the one mediating us unto the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the one sent by the Father to comfort and strengthen us: these are the biblical truths we embrace inside the Church.
What is the importance of Jesus Christ?
Brother Bob: Let’s hear our last question for today. This is from Melissa Hatfield in Seattle, Washington. She submitted to us this written question, she wrote: “Why is Jesus Christ important?”
And it’s a very important question that Melissa writes, because when we teach that Jesus is different than God, there are those who sometimes conclude that, “I guess that means the Church Of Christ is just belittling Jesus and throwing Him away as if He’s of no value anymore,” when in fact, nothing could be farther from the truth for what does the Bible teach to us about the value and importance of Jesus, the Son of God? Let’s begin in the Book of Acts, chapter 5, verse 31, tells us this important quality about Christ:
Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
[Acts 5:31 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: He was given to be Savior for mankind. And as I’ve read a moment ago, nevertheless, I’ll spend the moment to read it again. He’s not just an ordinary person like us, we’re not taking Him down, throwing Him into the mud, so to say, no. 1 Timothy, 2, 5, also attributes this quality to Jesus:
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
[1 Timothy 2:5 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: He’s our Mediator and the only Mediator between God and mankind. So He’s our Savior, He’s our Mediator. In fact, what else? Does the Bible attribute to this our Savior Jesus Christ in the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 36:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
[Acts 2:36 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: He was also made Lord. Jesus is so very important, Melissa. He’s our Lord. He’s our Savior. He’s our Mediator, Son of God, and in fact when it comes to His relationship to the church, does He have any importance? Colossians, chapter 1, verse 18. The first part of that verse reads this way:
And He is the head of the body, the church,…
[Colossians 1:18 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: When it comes to His relationship then with the Church does He also have some significance, relevance, importance? Absolutely. The Bible [mentions] that He is in fact, the head of the Church. And the Church is in fact, the very body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So when we teach that Jesus is different than God, we’re not taking Him from some high position and throwing Him away, rejecting Christ. No, we embrace Him in all such ways that the Scriptures attribute to Him and the Bible attributes to Him, as being the Savior, as being our Mediator, as being our Lord, being the head of the Church and so much more. He has great relevance, Melissa, and He is of deep importance to all of us here inside the Church Of Christ. But He’s different from God, and not part of a triune God, but rather the Son of God.
Well, dear friends, that’s all we have time for today. But if you, too, will have questions that you’d like us to answer here on the program, email your questions to us. And we’ll always use the guidance of the Holy Scriptures to help you find your answer, the truth, That’s in the Bible. Well, thanks for watching. I’m Brother Bob Pellien and we’ll see you again next time.
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