What the scriptures & Inspired writings have to say

The Revelation of the Godhead What the scriptures & Inspired writings have to say

Categories of the number 3 in the physical realm • 3 Primary Colors- (Red, blue, yellow - which make up all other colors) • The 3 Dimensions- (left & right, forward & backward, up & down • The 3 states of matter –solid, liquid, gas • The span of time – past, present, future • The 3 universal substances –vegetable, animal, mineral • The 3 forms of Energy – light, heat, power

NO ROOM FOR ERRONEOUS THEORIES I beseech those who are laboring for God not to accept the spurious for the genuine. Let not human reason be placed where divine, sanctifying truth should be. Christ is waiting to kindle faith and love in the hearts of His people. Let not erroneous theories receive countenance from the people who ought to be standing firm on the platform of eternal truth. God calls upon us to hold firmly to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority. {8T 298.2}

The Revelation of the Godhead • Elohim = This is one of the Old Testament words for God –being plural [“Gods”, not God]. Jewish scholars haven’t been able to explain this fact • “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:26 QUESTION: Can a created being create something out of nothing ? • “And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. “Go to, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. Genesis 11:6,7

The Revelation of the Godhead • The “angel of the LORD” is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. The word “angel” also means [messenger] and in Old Testament the Son of God was called by this term. • And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou Godseest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:1

Come ye near unto Me[probably God the Son – 1st Person], hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD[2nd Person], and His Spirit[3rd Person], hath sent Me[1st Person]. Isaiah 48:16

I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Psalm 2:7,11,12

Question To Ponder • If God were only one being and He is from all eternity and is a God of infinite love – How could He be all alone at some point from all eternity past ?

God sends His Son into the World • “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.” John 3:16 • For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. Hebrews 1:5,6

In the NT the Father & Son send the Holy Spirit • “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 14:16 • “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me:” John 15:26 • “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” John 16:7 • “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6

The Father speaks to the Son • “And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11 • “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22 • Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. John 12:28-30 {Ps 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.}

The Son communes with the Father • At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. Matthew 11:25,26 • And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matthew 26:39 • John ch. 17

The Holy Spirit makes intercession for believers • Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

The Manifestation of 3 of the Godhead • 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. Matthew 3:16,17 • Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 1 2 3 Matthew 28:19

The Revelation of the Godhead • Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 1 Peter 1:2 • The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Now Let’s Look and see what the Spirit of Prophecy has to say about this important truth

The Revelation of the Godhead • “The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin.” Counsels on Health 222 } Obviously this is talking about a time shortly before(or after) sin entered – long before the cross !! • The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three holy dignitaries of heaven, have declared that they will strengthen men to overcome the powers of darkness. All the facilities of heaven are pledged to those who by their baptismal vows have entered into a covenant with God (MS 92, 1901). {5BC 1110.8}

The Revelation of the Godhead • “The work of salvation is not a small matter, but so vast that the highest authorities are taken hold of by the expressed faith of the human agent. The eternal Godhead--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost--is involved in the action required to make assurance to the human agent,” Upward Look 148 • The eternal heavenly dignitaries--God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit--arming them [the disciples] with more than mortal energy, . . . would advance with them to the work and convince the world of sin.--Manuscript 145, 1901. {Evangelism 616.4} • NOTICE – They are eternal ! (no beginning or ending !)

Holy Spirit is Eternal • How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9:14 • For the prophecy came not in old timeby the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:21 • “Before this the Spirit had been in the world; from the very beginning of the work of redemption He had been moving upon men's hearts. But while Christ was on earth, the disciples had desired no other helper. Not until they were deprived of His presence would they feel their need of the Spirit, and then He would come.” {Desire of Ages 669.1}

Holy Spirit is a separate Person or Being • We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds.--Manuscript 66, 1899. (From a talk to the students at the Avondale School.) {Evangelism 616.5} • The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in the mind of God. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."--Manuscript 20, 1906. {Evangelism 617.1}

Holy Spirit is a separate Person or Being • The Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the Saviour. It is His office to present Christ, the purity of His righteousness, and the great salvation that we have through Him. Jesus says, "He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you." [John 16:14.] The Spirit of truth is the only effectual teacher of divine truth. How must God esteem the human race, since he gave his Son to die for them, and appoints His Spirit to be man's teacher and continual guide. {Christian Education 59.2} • QUESTION: If the Holy Spirit is merely an influence extending from Jesus, is it the nature of God’s Son to exalt and glorify Himself ? • “And I [Jesus speaking] seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.” John 8:50

Holy Spirit is a separate Person or Being • And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as [was] Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. Hebrews 5:4,5 • WHO DOES HAVE SELF-GLORY ? • How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Revelation 18:7

Holy Spirit is a separate Person or Being • He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. • All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:14,15

Some are ever seeking to be original, to bring out something new and startling, and they do not realize as they should the importance of preserving the unity of the faith in the bonds of love. We are to pray for divine enlightenment, but at the same time we should be careful how we receive everything termed new light. . . Your ideas of the two subjects you mention do not harmonize with the light which God has given me. The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery not clearly revealed, and you will never be able to explain it to others because the Lord has not revealed it to you. You may gather together scriptures and put your construction upon them, but the application is not correct. continue >

It is not essential for you to know and be able to define just what the Holy Spirit is. Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and the Comforter is the Holy Ghost, "the Spirit of truth, which the Father shall send in My name. Here is your danger, of diverting minds from the real issues for this time. And you are not the only one who seems to be moved with ambition in this direction. It would not be right or prudent to send you out as a worker to promulgate your peculiar ideas and thus cause division; we have plenty of this now. We want men of solid experience, who will anchor minds and not send them adrift without chart or compass. Now, my brother, it is truth that we want and must have, but do not introduce error as new truth. {14 Manuscript Release 177-180}

Some Fruit of this False Teaching • One couple who had accepted this false teaching were trying for years to get the leaders of this one ministry to accept it without success until they ended up leaving the SDA church and joined up with the Jehovah’s Witnesses • Two other advocates of this teaching have threatened the life of another man who would not accept their view • “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:20

There are 3 separate Beings • In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, man is laid in his watery grave, buried with Christ in baptism, and raised from the water to live the new life of loyalty to God. The three great powers in heaven are witnesses; they are invisible but present.{6BC 1074.8} Manuscript 57, 1900 • QUESTION TO PONDER: If the Holy Spirit is merely an essence or extension of the Father or the Sonor as one source says- the Divinity of Christ after His incarnation, then according to the above statement why would there be 3 powers present since we know Christ wouldn’t be present in His human nature but Divinity only ? --This would be redundant !(Because all that would be needed is the spirit of the Father & the spirit of the Son)

There are 3 separate Beings • As a Christian submits to the solemn rite of baptism, the three highest powers in the universe,--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,--place Their approval on his act, pledging Themselves to exert Their power in his behalf as he strives to honor God. 6 Manuscript Release, 26 • When you gave yourself to Christ, you made a pledge in the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--the three great personal Dignitaries of heaven. "Hold fast" to this pledge. {7BC 959.8}

There are 3 separate Persons in the Godhead • The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers --the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.-- Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, pp. 62, 63. (1905) • 1828 Noah Webster’s Dictionary - TRIO, n. A concert of three parts; three united.

The Divinity of Christ • In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 • And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 1 John 5:20 • 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 Timothy 3:16 • For in Him[Christ – see context] dwellethall the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9

The Divinity of Christ • 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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 • Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58 • I and my Father are one. John 10:30 • Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Philippians 2:6

The Divinity of Christ • Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58 • “I Ammeans an eternal presence; the PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE are alike to God. He sees the most remote events of past history, and the far distant future with as clear a vision as we do those things that are transpiring daily.” (MS 5a, 1895). {1BC 1099.5} • "Before Abraham was, I am." Christ is the PRE-EXISTENT, SELF-EXISTENT Son of God. The message He gave to Moses to give to the children of Israel was, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.“ Signs of the Times, August 29, 1900

The Divinity of Christ • Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection, and the life." In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. "He that hath the Son hath life." 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life. The Desire of Ages 530 • Original = Fountain; source; cause; that from which any thing primarily proceeds; that which gives existence or beginning. • Underived = basicly without beginning • Has to be an uncreated [Divine] being – therefore God

The Divinity of Christ • "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." It is not physical life that is here specified, but eternal life, the life which is exclusively the property of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is something which each individual received. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the Life Giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life. But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from Him. "I lay it down of myself," He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ.” {5BC 1130.3}

The Eternity of Christ • But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2 • In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:1,2 • 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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 • Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless [Greek: indissoluble] life. Hebrews 7:16

Why The Divinity of Christ Is Important For Our Salvation • KEEP IN MIND: Satan wanted to aspire to the throne of God and has been jealous of Jesus – the Son of God for millennia • He would love to put Jesus on a level with himself as a created being • Could this be why so many sects or religions believe Jesus is not fully God and is only a prophet, or a high-ranking angel or a lesser god[as Jehovah’s Witnesses teach] with some type of beginning eons ago ? • “The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life.” Desire of Ages 530

Why The Divinity of Christ Is Important For Our Salvation • THINK ABOUT IT: If a created being paid the penalty for our sin, then God did not make an infinite sacrifice for our sin • Not only that, but sin isn’t really that terrible if all that was required was a created being that could atone for the sins of billions of lost humanity • Logically - how could a created being atone for billions of other created beings ? (maybe one for one) • Salvation loses its significance & importance as well as its sensibleness with this kind of teaching

Be on Guard to that which is termed “New Light” • The “new light” will be plainly and solidly found in God’s Word • The “new light” will also be fully substantiated by S.O.P • “New light” is not necessarily novel ideas or startling new theories. It is more likely to consist in deeper understandings of prophecies, parables and deeper understanding of salvational issues like “Righteousness by Faith,” etc. NOTE: Test this = If the new light doesn’t make you a better person in daily life or better prepared for eternal life, it simply isn’t important ! • The “new light” will not contradict the Light or established Truth already given – VERY IMPORTANT!!

The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin. What line can measure the depth of this love? God would make it impossible for man to say that He could have done more. With Christ He gave all the resources of heaven, that nothing might be wanting in the plan for man's uplifting. Here is love--the contemplation of which should fill the soul with inexpressible gratitude! Oh, what love, what matchless love! The contemplation of this love will cleanse the soul from all selfishness. It will lead the disciple to deny self, take up the cross, and follow the Redeemer. {CH 222.2}

What the scriptures & Inspired writings have to say