The Unity of God (03/13/2005)

We're gonna be back in John chapter 14 in just a minute so you can turn there if you like. But we're gonna introduce this message with Mark chapter 12 verse 28. I can remember a lot of different Sundays sitting over here getting ready to Bring the message and different things would inspire me.

Sometimes it would be the music. Sometimes it might be someone's prayer this morning. I think it was Sunday school. Sunday school was glorious. We were at the very throne of God in heaven today and It was amazing really and we've studied this before together.

But this morning it just seemed different and It's very fitting that we were there because that's what we've been studying in the last weeks is the nature of God the way God exists and what he has revealed to us about himself and it's it's a it's a topic that I'm sure we will be studying the rest of our lives and Gleaning more and more things about it as We live we will never fully understand it.

I'm sure even when we get to heaven, we will never fully understand God. That's impossible for us as created beings. But we will be understanding him on and on as we go not only in this life, but in life to come and A part of his name Jehovah is the self-existent one who reveals himself.

So he names himself that letting us know that he is a God who? Rejoices in revealing himself to us more and more so we might know him better as we walk with him and so we've talked about the Doctrine of the Trinity for some weeks.

This will be the last lesson on it in a while so I should hear several hallelujahs on there. Am I one of my my best? Encouragers is my mom and She was telling me sometime this week. She said your message last Sunday was just unbelievable.

She said it was incredible and She said when we're gonna get to another topic. No, she didn't really say it that way. I'm teasing my wife said it that way though and Diane so much has said it at school the other day, but now I'm good she.

But it's not a topic that that can be covered quickly because you you have so many passages scripture that deal with the father and so many that deal with the son and so many that deal with the Holy Spirit and so many that deal with the unity of God.

That it would be remiss to just trip through it lightly and I know none of you meant that and I do know that this It's about the right timing. It's God's perfect timing that this be the last message for a while I'm sure we'll come back to it because you can't fathom it and Even if we took 12 more lessons, we wouldn't fathom this but we can swim deeper and So this brings us full circle if you remember we started the lesson on The unity of God the oneness of God that he is one God.

I Really believe as I have said in an earlier Message that along these lines that if the pendulum need needs to swing at all in our day. It needs to swing back towards the unity of God. There's been too much Misunderstanding about the Father the Son the Holy Ghost as if it's almost three gods and that was never Intended by the early church fathers if you read very carefully even the passages where they write about The persons where they say the person of Jesus the person of the Father the person of the Holy Spirit.

They come back in the same paragraph and say but this is not a person like we are people. This does not mean a person that is an individual and totally different person like we are. So even when they speak of God as three persons They don't mean person like we are three different persons or several different persons in this room.

They never meant that and yet if you're not careful when you just take a cursory look at it and you hear people talk about the Father Son the Holy Spirit or Even they say God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit.

We come off with the idea that he's three and Three gods or even when we use the modern word person to say three persons. We think well, he's three people and He's not he's one. So it brings us full circle and let's look we'll see the very words of Jesus himself as he describes God in Mark Chapter 12 verse 28, let's pray and we'll begin father.

We ask you to anoint the message by your Holy Spirit today. It is truly your word and Without your presence teaching us we can gain no understanding. We will just merely be further confused because you are fathomless and yet you have revealed yourself to us in many words and by your spirit as You interpret the words to us.

So teach us this morning of all mornings and we ask it in Jesus name Amen, Mark chapter 12 verse 28 and one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together and Perceiving that he had answered them.

Well ask him which is the first commandment of all? So a scribe asked Jesus the question Which is the greatest of all the commandments and Jesus answered him? The first of all the commandments is here.

Oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord now. That's not the end of the sentence. But that is where he began and it's where all Jews begin. The Jewish mind can think of God Only in one way he is one God and there is none other and he will not share his name with another and he is the only Savior you have to study God with the Jewish mind sometimes.

I had the privilege that my mentor was a Jewish believer and I praise God for that all the time. I look at his picture every day on my study desk at home and think about brother Rocky every single day of my life.

But you have to try to think with the Jewish mind now. God is one God. Jesus has asked What's the greatest commandment of all? He begins it with this here. Oh Israel The Lord our God is one Lord and thou shalt love this one God.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul and with all thy mind with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. How can you know him if you don't. I mean, how can you love him if you don't know him?

So the more we know him the more we love him and So it behooves us to study how he exists and thou shalt then he gives the second commandment thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart and so forth and The second is like namely this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

There is none other commandment greater than these two. Now look at the answer that the young man. I don't know how young this man was but described Answers this and the scribe said unto him. Well master thou hast said the truth.

Perhaps this man was testing Jesus as so many of them were and When Jesus gave this answer this man's heart resonated with the same note. Then he knew that Jesus was speaking none other than truth and he says to him.

Well master Thou hast said the truth for there is one God and There is none other but he. Now this is coming from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ himself and this Bible student who had asked him the question Echoes what Jesus had said and says, this is the truth.

There is one God and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding. And with all the soul and with all the strength and to love his neighbor as himself is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices this Jewish scribe says.

So this man Had been able to see beyond the rituals beyond the religiosity. Beyond all the things that God had given them and was able to see God himself. This young man was able to see that the important thing was not all the surrounding things but the one who created them all and so he understood what Jesus had said agreed with it and even Spoke these words that it's even greater than all of the systems that Israel had even that God had given.

But God himself is greater. Knowing him and loving him is the most important thing. It is about relationship. Do you know that even the modern church loses this? The modern church loses the fact that it's that's even salvation itself is a relationship.

It is not a thing. It is not a ritual. It's not words you pray. It's not baptism. It is knowing God. That you may know him Jesus said is part of the purpose that he was manifest into this world with regard to man.

Verse 34 and when Jesus saw that he had answered discreetly Jesus is in agreement with this man's answer. He said unto him Thou are not far from the kingdom of God. Why was this man not far from the kingdom of God?

Because he was standing next to the king and his answer was right because he spoke of a relationship with God and No, man, after that Durst asked him any question. Nobody felt you know. Why I think my theory is because nobody thought they could answer better than this scribe had answered.

No one thought they could please the master more than this scribe had pleased him with that particular answer and Jesus answered and said while he taught the temple. Now look at this now. Now. This is interesting that this is in the same passage.

This young man had answered him and said there is one God. We worship him and none other. They're right on the tail of that Jesus asked them an interesting question. How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?

For David himself said by the Holy Ghost The Lord said to my Lord Sit down on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself called him Lord and whence is he then his son and the common people heard him gladly.

What an amazing question. How do you call him the son of David? If in fact in the Old Testament scriptures Jehovah said he is my son. So here we see Jesus referring to himself as Part of Godhead now. Let's go to John 14 where we began our study in the last two Sundays and we'll finish this passage the end of it speaks of the Holy Spirit and We have spent most of the time speaking of the Father and of the eternal Son of God.

In fact, most of the early church fathers as you know spent most of their time Proving the deity of Jesus Christ and the reason is because most of the heresies fought against that. So that's what they were answering and that's why they spent so much time on it.

But they did spend some time on the Holy Spirit. We want to make sure that we do and this passage of Scripture ends with information. So John chapter 14 beginning along about verse 16, I will pray the Father.

Jesus is speaking. He says I will ask the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever. Now we're obviously speaking about the Holy Spirit. Jesus was a comforter when he was with them in the flesh walking with them.

He comforted them. He knows that he is about to bodily ascend into heaven and not be with them bodily on the earth. So he says that another comforter like me will be sent in other words Like me in the sense that you will be comforted just as much as you were with me standing in your presence.

He says this is called the spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit is who we're speaking of whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not. Neither knoweth him. Let me ask you this did the world receive Jesus and They could see him.

But they certainly if they could not receive God manifest in the flesh before all of their senses. How can they receive God who comes before none of their senses in the form of the Holy Spirit? God the Holy Spirit Comes into the heart of the Christian of the believer and merges with his spirit and the two become one.

But the world has no such relationship. Therefore the world cannot see with any of its senses and cannot Sense the Holy Spirit at all and certainly because it cannot see him. So therefore the world cannot receive him because it seeth him not.

Neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and he shall be in you. I Will not leave you comfortless now. I want you to notice in this passage as we move from here on towards the end of it.

You're going to see Jesus Christ in two manners. You're going to see him as the Son of God and you're going to see him as the Son of Man. And then you're going to see him as the Son of God. And when I say the Son of God, I believe that refers to the Eternal Son Who existed before all things were made and who proceeded forth and came out from God?

You're gonna see him as the Son of God. But you then you'll see him again as the Son of Man and when I say the Son of Man I mean the one who was born in the manger fully man and yet fully God and you'll see him as the Son of God.

And you'll see him as the Son of Man back and forth in this passage now. See if you can see this with me. First of all, he says that He is going to send the Holy Spirit. He has been dwelling with them, but he shall be in them.

It means he's been all around them in the sense of the omnipresent Nature of God. But now he is even going to merge with their spirits. Which that is not part of the omnipresent Nature of God. God is everywhere with regard to the physical universe.

But he's not everywhere with regard to the spiritual world because he's not in Satan. You see and therefore he's not in all men. He is with all men though, but he is not in them. He is around them and among them.

But he is not in them. He is only in the heart of the believers. That's literally what it means if you want to picture what it means to be baptized into Christ. Or to be baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ the word Baptist baptized meaning immersed or Surrounded or engulfed and so you had the Holy Spirit around you and when he came to live in you now, he's everywhere.

He's both in you and without you. You're totally engulfed by him by God himself. Baptized that's what it is. Now we see that he's sending this one the comforter who will come he has been with them and he shall be in you.

Now it speaks of this one called the Holy Spirit and it says he shall be in you now the very next word Jesus says I Will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. So who is coming to them the Holy Spirit or Jesus?

You answer God is one God. You're seeing Jesus here speak as the Son of God. He is not speaking of himself as the Son of Man in this verse. Because he is picturing himself as the Son of Man having already risen and being seated in that place.

We studied in Sunday school this morning physically bodily on the throne in the third heaven. So physically bodily he is not here in you. But spiritually he is here in you by his spirit the Holy Spirit.

So is the Holy Spirit a third person in this place or is he the second person? Well, you can't tell. If you want to speak of him as a third persona you may but Jesus speaking of the same persona Says he will be with you and he says but I will be with you.

So is it the third or the second person? Why don't we just say this passage? We don't think of it as persons we think of this as the one essence of God. God is with us after all who was Jesus Emmanuel.

God with us. Where's the first person in this verse in this passage? He is here as well. You'll see that in a moment as we keep reading. I will not leave you comfortless. I Will come into you yet a little while and the world seeth me no more that's speaking as the Son of Man.

The world will can only see him if he's here as the Son of Man because the world can only see with the eye. It cannot see with the heart like the Christian can. So the world will not see him in a little while because he is bodily going to be resurrected and ascended.

And go into heaven. So yet a little while the world seeth me no more, but you will see me now. How will we see him when he's gone? He says we will. You see him by the Holy Spirit that lives in your heart.

Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more. But he see me because I live he shall live also at that day. You shall know that I am in the Father and ye and me and I in you. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them.

He it is that loveth me and He that loveth me shall be loved of. Or by my father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. Judas Said unto him this is not Judas Iscariot, but the other one Lord.

How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and not to the world? How can you do that? Because while you're standing here with me, I can see you. But so can the world standing around us on the street corner.

How are you going to manifest yourself to me and not have them see you? Jesus answered and said to him if a man loved me, he will keep my words and my father will love him. How can that be? How can a person be in this state?

How can a person even be a person that loves Jesus or loves the father? Does everyone walking around the world love God? What does the Bible say about the world? They are his what? His enemies. He there is enmity between Man and God and yet there are people who love him.

Who are they? They're the born-again ones. And Jesus answered and said to him if a man loved me He will keep my words and my father will love him and now look at this next word we Will come unto him and make our abode with him now who we talking about.

Who is the hour. Well, at least two that it's speaking of there the father and the son, but it already spoke of the Holy Spirit earlier. He's the great comforter that is coming. He is the omnipresent in this Place of time and space the omnipresence of God is is in the form of the Holy Spirit.

He is here, but as he comes in our life. Who is he? He is also all of the fullness of the Godhead, but not bodily in spiritual form. I'm not present everywhere at once form in your heart and in my heart and in all places in the created universe.

We the father the son the Holy Spirit. We will take up our abode in you. He's already said he will be in you then he says I will be in you now. He says we will be in you you figure it out. I'm just reading the scriptures.

It's it's not that we can figure it out. Totally. I don't know that there is a Physical example that perfectly describes this existence. I don't I know the fact there well I can't say I know that there's not.

I haven't found it. I know brother bill hadn't found it because we talked about it one day. We both came up with some some good Illustrations. Bill named at least a couple. But They're not perfect. They fall apart.

But we do see what the word reveals to us is that when Jesus went into heaven at that point? He sent the Comforter who was God in Spiritual form who can merge with your spirit and be invisible to the world and bring the full Godhead with him all of God.

The one true God is in you your body is now the temple of the Living God and the way that God Maneuvered that to put it in man's terms. With him not being able to be in the presence of sin is that he sent the Holy Spirit.

Which is him in space and time. It is the one true God in space and time, but not in the form of Jesus in a third form. Jesus was God in space and time in a physical body. The Holy Spirit is God in space and time in a non physical non body.

But the same God. So God has now clearly Manifest himself in three different ways as the father speaking from heaven as the son who was Baptized in the Jordan and is the Holy Spirit who lit on him as a dove.

Note that the father was not Represented as being in space and time but as speaking from what we perceive to be above a different dimension a different place but the Holy Spirit and Jesus were both in time with us and at the same time.

Now somebody tell me what verse I was at. Let's see a little further than that 20 25. Okay, it's the one where it said we will come into him 23 we will come unto him and make our abode with him. Verse 24.

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings and the word which he here is not mine. Now now he's speaking as the son of man. Remember Jesus is the God man. Jesus had his own spirit by the way All men do although that spirit comes from God and goes back to him at physical death.

But he had his spirit, but he had the fullness of the Holy Spirit without measure and the two spirits became one one spirit. Now what's interesting about this is that this the Holy Spirit and Jesus Spirit were one they were merged.

They were united. They were inseparable except for the time period on the cross when he was separated from God. That's the only exception was in spiritual death. But in this life on this earth Jesus Spirit and the Holy Spirit never acted separately.

They acted in unison as one spirit. Now that makes it difficult for us to understand although you picture the two spirits merging. Brother Bill helped me with science a little bit here when you have I Get the some of those terms mixed up in chemistry where you have a solution.

Where you put two two atoms together and They mix together. Tell me a little bit about that terminology is a solution where they merge together and become like one thing. And then when you put them together you have the solvent and the solute you put them together it creates a solution.

It becomes one new thing more or less, but it's really the two things, but it's one thing and When you look at that technically isn't it one thing at that point? Maybe we have somewhat of an illustration here.

It's interesting. All right. Do they give new names to the new thing sometimes? That's what I thought. But they may merge them together. So we have the Spirit of God in the form of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the man Jesus Christ merged and united as one thing.

Now so we see he loveth me. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings and the word which he here is not mine. But the father's which sent me you see the Son of Man speaking as a separate persona. And this is one thing that is it has to be covered in a different topic.

I'm not saying we're going to go to it next but The idea of the God man is its own topic in theology. But we see Jesus speaking he says. The word that you hear is not mine. That's the man Jesus speaking not the eternal Son of God speaking.

He's speaking as a man the Son of Man. He's saying these words are not mine, but the father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you. He's speaking as the Son of Man while he's present with them.

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 that is a key verse verse 26.

You go into Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 where it says God used to reveal himself through prophets and visions. But not in these last days now, he does it through his son. This is how he does it through his son.

He did it through the words and the works of Jesus but also through the Holy Spirit coming after Jesus had already gone into heaven and bringing back to remembrance the things they had heard Jesus say while he was with them and Teaching them perhaps even new things as he did Paul out in the wilderness.

This is where the New Testament comes from right there in verse 26. So the Holy Spirit Could be considered the author of the Bible. Peace. I leave with you my peace. I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you.

Let not your heart be troubled neither. Let it be afraid. You have heard how I said unto you I go away and come again unto you. You see he goes away as the bodily Jesus. He comes back as the spiritual form of God the Holy Spirit.

Both being all of the fullness of the Godhead both being the one true God. He comes back to them in spiritual form. If you love me You would rejoice because I said I go unto the father for my father is greater than I.

That little phrase caused a lot of trouble in the early years first four centuries the Arians Took phrases like that and began to teach that Jesus Christ the Son of God was not Co-equal with the father because he said himself the father's greater than I.

The problem is they misinterpreted that verse. Because when Jesus spoke that verse he was speaking as the Son of Man. That was his mannishness talking and as the Son of Man he was made lower than the angels.

So obviously he's made lower than the father. But the Eternal Son who came into that womb in the Virgin Mary is not Less than the father. He is the same substance as the father. He is co-equal in every way.

The church fathers did a great job of of expressing it in so many different ways. Three personas one essence one substance they would say. But you see how verse 28 could cause someone to To take that one verse and create a whole group like the Jehovah's Witnesses out of it.

Well, it says right here. Jesus is less than the father so he can't be the same. He can't be God. He must be created. Well, that's not what Jesus was saying. Jesus was speaking as a man. You have to remember when he was on this earth.

He didn't even know the day He was coming back again so in that sense he had laid aside some of his omniscience and Now I have told you before it come to pass that when it has come to pass you might believe Hereafter I will not talk much with you for the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.

But that the world may know that I love the father and as the father gave me commandment even so I do Speaking as the Son of Man so it goes back and forth. Now I don't have a watch on what time is it 5 till?

Okay. Then I'd like to use that five minutes if I could. I Want to point out something interesting to you. We haven't spoken much about the Holy Spirit some people think he is an energy force. The Aryans tend to teach that That the Holy Spirit is the is an energy force that comes from God is not God.

That is a lie. As I said, he is all the fullness of the Godhead in spiritual unseeable form. That's who the Holy Spirit is. Well, let me demonstrate that. For you we realize now. I've mentioned many times in this study that Jesus Is sometimes referred to as the Old Testament Jehovah now.

The Jews wouldn't like to hear that and a lot of Christians don't understand that we talked about a little bit in Sunday school. About that throne of God where the one as the Son of Man sitting on it.

That is Jehovah, but that's also the one we know as Jesus. Well in Zechariah 12 8 through 10 it literally speaks of Jehovah as being the one who was pierced and That those would look upon him whom they had pierced and shall mourn him as one mourneth for his only son.

Who do you think that's referring to? So that proves Jesus is Jehovah in Zechariah chapter 12 8 through 10 in Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 6 it says That in his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely because they have a Savior who would the Jewish mind think the Savior is Jehovah and This is his name.

Whereby he shall be called when he comes and saves his people and here's the name and the Bible has given this Jehovah our righteousness. Jehovah our righteousness. That's who Jesus is. Psalm chapter 68 Shows that Jehovah is the Lord Jesus.

Isaiah chapter 6 verse 5 in conjunction with John chapter 12 verse 41 proves the same thing Isaiah 41 for in conjunction with Revelation chapter 1 verse 13 through 17 in One place in Isaiah, it calls Jehovah the first and the last in Revelation.

It calls Jesus the first and the last now, I don't know if you've ever noticed this but did you know there is at least one place where it calls or Teaches that Jesus is Elohim. Now think about that Elohim is the first name of God given in the first verses of Genesis where God created everything that is.

Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 through 5 speaks of Jehovah as. Let me find this in First chapter 40 verse 3, I think I said 5 but I meant verse 3 through 5. It says the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord now that word is Jehovah.

Make straight in the desert a pathway for our God that word is Elohim. Now if you go into Luke chapter 3 verses 3 through 6, what does John the Baptist do? He prepares a way for Jesus. So in Isaiah 40 verse 3, it calls Jesus both Jehovah and Elohim now.

We know the Bible teaches Jesus made the world. As I'm still talking about Jesus. I'm supposed to be talking about the Holy Spirit, but I'm going to show you something interesting. John 1 10 says he was in the world and the world was made by him.

That's Jesus, obviously. He came into his own his own received him not. But as many as received him to them gave me the power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his Name. If you're sitting here today, and you're not born again, then listen to verse 12.

I'm going to show you what the Bible says you do on your side if you want to know that you're born again. It says but as many as received him you receive him as. Many as received him to them gave he power to begun this come the sons of God.

Even of them that believe on his name which were born of not of the blood of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God. Colossians 1 16 says all things were created by him and for him. John 1 14 says and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the father and he hath declared the father. Now we know all those things about Jesus, but did you know that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah?

Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1 and the spirit of Jehovah is upon me. Because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach the good tidings to the meek. Now this is Jesus. This is amazing verse because it is Jesus who was anointed to preach the good tidings to the poor and It says the spirit of the Lord Jehovah is Upon me.

So now the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Jehovah. We know from Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 that the Holy Spirit created everything. That is and yet the other verses we alluded to in Colossians 1 and John chapter 1 say Jesus created everything that is Genesis 1 1 in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and boy and the darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters.