Now I will tell, or try to explain, what God is like, let us learn to imagine all the truth and greatness of our Lord.
We must understand perfectly who God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit are. Why is God "Triune"? It’s as if there are three Gods, but we understand and know that there is one God. How can one imagine such Holy harmony?
From Scripture we know that man cannot understand the whole truth of the Lord (Deut. 29:29, Deut. 32:34, Rev. 10:7). That is, the human mind cannot imagine the wisdom of the Lord, or even the Lord Himself; otherwise, our brain would explode. From the very beginning, man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), inaccessible to all the mysteries of the Lord. And God forbade man to eat the fruit that gives the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). So after the first sin, man was expelled from the Garden of Eden so that he would not become like the Lord (Gen. 3:22-24).
We see that God did not allow man to receive wisdom, power, eternity. Otherwise: although man’s eyes were opened to the understanding of good and evil (Gen. 3:5-7), in addition he received the first sin, death, he became inaccessible to God, having lost the very first harmony with God (1 Cor. 15:22, 1 Corinthians 15:45).
Therefore, a person cannot take on more than what was entrusted to him by the Lord at the very beginning. After the Fall, God gave man other instructions, since he had already changed his worldview (Gen. 3:15-19).
Even though we cannot know all the truth of the Lord (Job.36:26, Hos.14:10), and we will not be able to go deeper into All His secrets - God gave us everything so that we understand the most important, the most precious, the most necessary; and all this is stated in the Bible. After all, without understanding this, our faith is in vain. After all, we do not believe in an imaginary God, but in the living and true one (Dan. 14:25, Acts 14:15, Heb. 9:14).
Looking at the picture, we see that sin stands between God the Father and man. That is, after sin has appeared, a person cannot unite with God. From the Bible we know how God walked through the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8) and man lived in this garden. But that was before the sin. Now God the Father has become inaccessible.
God the Father is the head. After all, Jesus called Him a husbandman in His parables (John 15:1). It is God with whom we have lost contact, but He is not with us. He is the One who forgives sins (Ps. 102:3), to whom we will be accountable (Rom. 14:12, Heb. 4:13), who will judge us (Acts 17:31, Rom. 3: 6).
But how can we be justified before God if we do not have access to Him?
But now let’s return to the picture, and we see that man has a connection with God the Father, and this is God Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2, Eph. 2:17-18). The entire Gospel testifies to salvation in Jesus Christ, and the Old Testament also speaks of the coming Grace.
Man himself cannot cross the boundaries of sin (Matt. 19:26, Mark 10:27), because sin is in man himself. But Jesus was without sin and conquered sin (1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5), being the Son of Man, he became a strong bridge over which a person can cross over sin and come to God the Father without sin.
We will have a question, why Jesus Christ, being born in human flesh, did not receive an inheritance of sin, like all people? For the answer we go to Scripture:
1. Jesus Christ was before all the creatures of the Lord (Col. 1:15, John 1:1-5, John 1:14). And as we see, Jesus was not in the flesh, but in the Word, He was that Wisdom of the Lord (Prov. 8:22-31).
2. The Bible says "...Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac begat Jacob; Jacob begat Judah..." (Matt. 1:2). It is written that the male sex carries kinship. Male seeds give birth new life. And we know that the father of all people is Adam, who passed on the first sin to all sons and daughters. Reading the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:1-17), the entire genealogy up to Jesus Christ is written, but it does not indicate that Jesus was born from Joseph, but only that Joseph was with Mary. But it is written that Mary, being untouchable by a man, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18).
And therefore, Jesus Christ was not the son of man, but the Son of Man. And Adam’s sin could not affect Him, but Jesus Christ became the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45-47), in whom there is no longer sin. And we must be born again, born of Jesus Christ (John 3:3).
Before the birth of Christ there was a high priest. He performed sacrifices (Ex. 30:20), through which people received freedom from sin. People received cleansing through the shed blood of a sacrifice, and liberation from sin through the death of an animal during a sacrifice.
But this was just a prototype of the future. The Bible says that the Lord did not desire sacrifices and offerings (Ps. 39:7, Heb. 10:5-9). These sacrifices were pleasing to God, but they had to be offered repeatedly, and there were many sacrifices. People sinned constantly. Sin after sin. The sacrifices did not stop. Blood flowed like a river.
Now we know who God Jesus Christ is and why He came to earth in due time. God Jesus Christ is the key of all existence. He is the most ideal and desired sacrifice for sin. For a sin that He did not commit, but we, being under sin from birth. This Ideal Sacrifice was made once, and affects all people of all existence, both living and dead. After all, the Lord Jesus Christ testified of Himself to both the living and the dead. Only we must be worthy of the great sacrifice, worthy children of the Lord. And He is the connector between us and God the Father.
Based on the picture, God the Holy Spirit is present everywhere. It's hard to imagine. And many imagine the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove that descended on Jesus Christ (Matt. 3:16, Luke 3:22). The Holy Spirit cannot be seen or touched by man, but He can be felt (John 14:16-17).
He is like the wind, constantly moving, constantly in action; It is like air, which is present everywhere. Man cannot control the wind, so the Holy Spirit cannot be controlled. He is like the thinnest thread, able to penetrate into the depths of hearts. He feels all the joys and experiences, all the secrets of the human heart are revealed to Him (1 Cor. 2:10).
Much is written in the Bible about the human heart. And God said: tear out your hearts of stone, cruel, and I will give you hearts of flesh (Ezek.11:19, Ezek.36:26).
After all, the Holy Spirit does not dwell in all people, but in those who call Him, in whom there is a place for Him (2 Cor. 3:3, 1 John 3:24).
Jesus said that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age (Luke 12:10, Matt. 12:32), or in the future. How sensitive is our God the Holy Spirit, that the one who insulted Him with blasphemy is already condemned. It's like betrayal - it will never be forgiven. David prayed to the Lord not to take away His Holy Spirit (Ps. 50:13).
Jesus went to heaven to be with the Father (Eph. 1:20), but left us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, through whom we know the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:22, 2 Cor. 5:5, Eph. 1:13-14) , because the Holy Spirit comes from Jesus (John 15:26, John 16:13-15). He always testifies of Jesus Christ. We must pray being filled, like a jug, with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the Power by which Jesus healed people, cast out demons, and raised the dead.
The Holy Spirit is harmony between God the Father and God the Son Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is Love.
There is the Word, which is Wisdom; there is Love, and everything is with God, and everything is God.
This is why we understand the meaning of the word “Triune”.
Now we understand who God is.
God the Father, who sacrificed His God the Son so that we might receive salvation in Him. And God the Son Jesus Christ gave us God the Holy Spirit, so that through Jesus Christ, being in the Holy Spirit, we would restore the lost harmony with the Heavenly Father.
For the Lord of Israel is great, and became Lord for us in Jesus Christ, whom we received and loved, for He made a great sacrifice for us, and gave Himself for the Gentiles, in whom we also became sons and daughters of God in Jesus Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and Who gives us testimony that we are no longer children of God, and no longer pagans as before, but sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Glory to our Lord God from generation to generation, forever and ever.
Is this God or the Son of God? I challenge you to give me proof that God and His Son are one. This is something you can NEVER do. Be a man and accept my challenge. HOW CAN GOD AND THE SON BE ONE?
Is Jesus Christ God or the Son of God?
I apologize, but I felt that you just wanted to share evil words with me. From my experience, people who have done this in the past didn't really want to understand the question they were asking. Anger never helps. I hope that you understand this, and that Muslims, like Christians in this regard, have common values - patience, humility. Because it is godly.
Now let me give a short introduction to my answer. First of all, we will never be able to have a dialogue if our argument consists only of asserting that the opponent is wrong, which is what you are trying to do. This is not an argument, this is rhetoric. So let's stop trying to dialogue this way and look at what Jesus said and what evidence we have for His claims. I know that in Islam Jesus is considered a prophet and all Muslims believe in this. Therefore, whatever Jesus says must be true. Here are a few statements from Jesus (which, depending on your religion, should be true):
My Father and I are one. And again the Jews began to pick up stones to stone Him. (Gospel of John 10:30,31)
Jesus declared that He was God. We also know this because the Jews said so and picked up stones to stone Him.
Jesus answered: “Truly I say, even before Abraham was, I am the One who is!” They picked up stones to throw at Him (John 8:58)
Once again the Jews wanted to stone Him for making such statements (Exodus 3:4)
Do you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I address to you are not from Me: the Father who abides in Me does His work.(In. 14:10)
Jesus clearly stated that He is God. He declared that He was in the Father, and the Father in Him. What is the evidence for this? First of all, the fact is that Jesus was a prophet, as you yourself know. Therefore, if He says that He is God, then He is so. This is so because a prophet cannot lie. If, as you say, Jesus is a prophet, then He must be God, because... this prophet declares that He is God.
And the Koran is absolutely clear that there is only one God. Christianity simply cannot support the belief in three gods. You say that Christians believe in three Gods (in previous letters), but this is simply not true. No one believes in three gods. Therefore, if Jesus is God, then He is one with the Father.
But there is much more evidence based not only on what Jesus Christ said about Himself. When Jesus tried to prove that He was from God, He referred to the miracles that He Himself performed. Immediately after He said, “I and the Father are one,” He said:
“If I do not do what My Father does, then do not believe Me. If I do what My Father does, then even if you do not believe Me, believe My works, and then perhaps you will understand that My Father is in Me, and I in My Father” (Gospel of John 10: 37,38).
Jesus used miracles to prove that His words were truth and truth. He raised people from the dead, He healed the sick, He healed the blind and the deaf. He walked on water, turned water into wine and stopped the storm. I'm sure you know about all these miracles. The Koran also confirms that Jesus performed miracles. These miracles prove that Jesus is not just a prophet, but more than a prophet. They prove, just as Jesus said, that He is God.
The final proof that Jesus is God is the resurrection of Christ from the dead. It is known that Muhammad was a prophet. Mainly from the book he wrote. Muhammad did not perform miracles. This does not diminish Muhammad. No one needs to perform miracles to be a prophet. Abraham didn't perform miracles either, but we both know he was a prophet. However, because Jesus is God in the flesh, He came to us with miraculous evidence to support His claims. Jesus Christ said that He was the “bread of life” and He made bread out of thin air. Jesus Christ said “I am the resurrection and the life” and He raised Lazarus from the dead (Gospel of John 11). All of Jesus' claims are confirmed by miracles. There is only one way you can deny that Jesus is God, and that is to deny that He performed miracles. But we know that He performed miracles. Therefore, it is illogical to deny that He is God since He performed all these miracles.
Answered by Vasily Yunak, 06/11/2007
502. sveta azeez (sazeez@???.net) writes: “Please write the passages from scripture where it is said that Jesus is God.”
Here are some texts. I hope this is quite enough:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; the government is upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, MIGHTY GOD, ETERNAL FATHER, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6) -
This is the testimony of the Old Testament, the prophecy of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1) - The context shows that by “Word” is meant Jesus Christ.
“No one has ever seen God; the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed” () - EXISTING IN THE BOSS OF THE FATHER literally means “eternally existing within
God,” which directly speaks of Jesus Christ’s membership in the Divinity.
“Then they said to Him: Who are You? Jesus said to them: From the beginning I AM, just as I tell you.” () - Again Jesus calls Himself AM, which is literally in Hebrew
means YHWH or Jehovah.
“I and the Father are one” (); “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” () - Jesus equates Himself to the Heavenly Father.
“Know the Spirit of God (and the spirit of error) this way: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is from God; but every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is not from God, but it is the spirit of Antichrist , about whom you have heard that he will come and is now already in the world" () - Although this text does not specifically speak about the divinity of Christ, it indirectly shows that Jesus Christ, "who came in the flesh," was naturally "outside the flesh" before His coming.
“And unquestioningly is the great mystery of piety: God appeared in the flesh, justified Himself in the Spirit, showed Himself to the Angels, preached to the nations, was accepted by faith in the world, ascended in glory” () - And this text is a good commentary on the previous one.
“We also know that the Son of God has come and given us light and understanding, so that we may know the true God and may we be in His true Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” () - John unequivocally calls Jesus Christ the True God.
“theirs are the fathers, and from them is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever, amen” () - Not only the Apostle John recognizes Jesus Christ as God.
The Apostle Paul agrees with him.
“for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily” () - The whole FULLNESS of the deity was present in Christ, that is, he was fully God, although at the same time he was fully Man.
“Thomas answered Him: My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him: You believed because you saw Me; blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” () - Christ had the opportunity to correct Thomas if he had made a mistake. But Thomas expressed the same understanding as all the disciples of Christ had.
So, anyone who recognizes the truth of the Bible must also recognize the deity of Jesus Christ.
Read more on the topic “Trinity in Christianity”:
| 01 Jun |
Who God the Father is is still a topic of discussion among theologians around the world. He is considered the Creator of the world and man, the Absolute and at the same time the triune in the Holy Trinity. These dogmas, together with an understanding of the essence of the Universe, deserve more detailed attention and analysis.
God the Father - who is he?
People knew about the existence of one God the Father long before Christmas Nativity, an example of this is the Indian “Upanishads”, which were created one and a half thousand years BC. e. It says that in the beginning there was nothing but the Great Brahman. The peoples of Africa mention Olorun, who transformed the watery Chaos into heaven and earth, and on the 5th day created people. In many ancient cultures there is the image of “the highest mind - God the Father,” but in Christianity there is a main difference - God is triune. To put this concept into the minds of those who worshiped pagan deities, the trinity appeared: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
God the Father in Christianity is the first hypostasis. He is revered as the Creator of the world and man. The theologians of Greece called God the Father the basis of the integrity of the Trinity, who is known through His Son. Much later, philosophers called Him the original definition of the highest idea, God the Father Absolute - the fundamental principle of the world and the beginning of existence. Among the names of God the Father:
- Hosts - Lord of Hosts, mentioned in the Old Testament and in the psalms.
- Yahweh. Described in the story of Moses.
What does God the Father look like?
What does God, the Father of Jesus, look like? There is still no answer to this question. The Bible mentions that God spoke to people in the form of a burning bush and a pillar of fire, but no one can ever see Him with their own eyes. He sends angels in his place, because man cannot see Him and survive. Philosophers and theologians are sure: God the Father exists outside of time, therefore he cannot change.
Since God the Father never showed himself to people, the Council of the Hundred Heads in 1551 imposed a ban on His images. The only acceptable canon was the image of Andrei Rublev “Trinity”. But today there is also a “God the Father” icon, created much later, where the Lord is depicted as a gray-haired Elder. It can be seen in many churches: at the very top of the iconostasis and on the domes.
How did God the Father appear?
Another question that also has no clear answer: “Where did God the Father come from?” There was only one option: God always existed as the Creator of the Universe. Therefore, theologians and philosophers give two explanations for this position:
- God could not appear because the concept of time did not exist then. He created it, along with space.
- To understand where God came from, you need to think beyond the Universe, beyond time and space. Man is not yet capable of this.
God the Father in Orthodoxy
In the Old Testament there is no reference to God from people “Father,” and not because they have not heard about the Holy Trinity. It’s just that the situation in relation to the Lord was different; after Adam’s sin, people were expelled from paradise, and they went over to the camp of God’s enemies. God the Father in the Old Testament is described as a formidable force, punishing people for disobedience. In the New Testament, He is already the Father of all who believe in Him. The unity of the two texts is that in both, the same God speaks and acts for the salvation of humanity.
God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ
With the advent of the New Testament, God the Father in Christianity is already mentioned in reconciliation with people through His Son Jesus Christ. This Testament says that the Son of God was the forerunner of the adoption of people by the Lord. And now believers receive a blessing not from the first hypostasis of the Most Holy Trinity, but from God the Father, since Christ atoned for the sins of humanity on the cross. It is written in the sacred books that God is the Father of Jesus Christ, who, during the baptism of Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, appeared in the form and commanded people to obey His Son.
Trying to explain the essence of faith in the Holy Trinity, theologians set out the following postulates:
- All three Persons of God have the same Divine dignity, on equal terms. Since God in His being is one, then the properties of God are inherent in all three hypostases.
- The only difference is that God the Father does not come from anyone, but the Son of the Lord was born from God the Father eternally, the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father.
We may feel the rightness of our faith, but we cannot always explain or prove it to a non-believer, especially to someone who for some reason is irritated by our worldview. Reasonable questions from an atheist can baffle even the most sincerely believing Christian. Our regular author talks about how and what to respond to common arguments from atheists. in project . Watch the next live broadcast onon Tuesdays at 20.00, during which you can ask your questions.
The New Testament says many times that Jesus is a man! How can he be God?
Of course, Jesus is a man. The Church firmly confesses this and, in its time, rejected heresies that denied the fullness of the humanity of Jesus. Jesus is fully and completely human, with human body and soul, similar to us in everything, except for sin. The Church believes that our Lord Jesus Christ has two natures - He is both fully God and fully man.
As we have already said, the New Testament testifies to the Incarnation: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1-14).
The book of Hebrews also speaks of the Son of God, who is expressly called God, “And of the Son, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever” (Heb. 1:8). And about how he took on “flesh and blood,” that is, he became a man for the sake of saving people: “And just as children partake of flesh and blood, He also took on them, so that by death he might deprive him of the power of him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” ( Hebrews 2:14).
The holy Apostle Paul speaks about the same event in his Epistle to the Philippians:“He, being the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but he made himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a servant, becoming like people and in appearance he became like a man; He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:6-11).
The Son of God and God humbled Himself, becoming a man and accepting death for the sake of our salvation - this is what theologians call “kenosis,” the self-humiliation of the Son of God for the sake of our salvation.
As the Afanasyev Creed says,
"In true faith to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is alike both God and Man.
He is God, as born of the Father before the beginning of time, and Man, as born of the mother in due time.
Perfect God and perfect Man with a rational soul in a human body.
Equal to God by Divine nature and lesser than God by human nature.”
But there are many places in the Gospel where Jesus places Himself lower than the Father - for example, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28)
Indeed, there are many places in Scripture where Jesus shows Himself as a humble doer of the Father’s will, for example:
To this Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing: for whatever He does, these the Son also does (John 5:19).
God is also called the “head” of Christ:
I also want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God (1 Cor 11:3).
Does this mean that the Son is inferior in nature to the Father? No. In Scripture, humble obedience does not necessarily indicate someone with an inferior nature. In the passage already quoted from Corinthians, the husband is the head of the wife. Does this mean that the wife is inferior by nature? No, of course, she is the same person, a joint heir of the grace-filled life. Her obedience does not speak of some other, and at the same time lower, nature. It is, on the contrary, a manifestation of voluntary love and humility. The Apostle also says, addressing all Christians: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility of mind consider each other better than yourselves (Phil. 2:3).
A Christian should consider his brother greater than himself. Does he recognize himself as fundamentally, by nature, inferior? Of course not. He is called to do this out of love and humility, being an equal, putting others first, not preferring himself. So, obedience may well be an expression of love and humility on the part of an equal.
The obedience of Jesus is precisely a manifestation of love and humility, the voluntary service of one who seeks to glorify not Himself, but the Father. This is a manifestation of the moral perfection of His person, and not of his being inferior to the Father. The Son of God, equal to the Father and co-eternal with Him, voluntarily “emptied Himself”:
He, being the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross (Phil 2:7-8).
But to whom did Jesus pray, if He is God?
Jesus prayed to the Father - like a man. Let me remind you that according to Scripture, Jesus is both perfect God and perfect man. He has the properties and actions of both One and the other.
As God, He forgives sins and promises that He will return to judge all nations. As a man, He becomes tired, needs water and food, suffers, and finally accepts death.
It is very important for our salvation that Jesus is fully human, a member of the human race. This is necessary in terms of His redemptive mission. He takes our place and does for us and for our sake what we ourselves could not do - lives a completely sinless life, prays where we blaspheme, forgives where we look for opportunities to take revenge, chooses God's will where we chose ours . Finally, He dies in perfect obedience to the Father and in perfect love for people.
By his obedience he atones for Adam's rebellion (and the rebellion of us all). To redeem our race, the Savior must be in the full sense one of us, like us in everything except sin.
As our Advocate and High Priest, He is our representative before God.
He is the Mediator between God and people, that is, the One who belongs to both sides. As a man, He sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, since He has lived human life and knows all its difficulties, suffering and temptations.
Therefore, as a perfect man, Jesus prayed for all of us - and continues to do so.
