We are at once wrong if we take the nature of God to be the same as man. Oneness of those who have the nature called God cannot be understood from the perspective of humanity. There are many questions which could start the student of God’s Word on this subject. Which one individually of this nature raised Christ from the dead? Which saved mankind from sin? Which promised Heaven? When we speak of water are we speaking the water in a river, in a pipeline coming to our home, or the water from the faucet in the home? Are they not all three water? Are they not all three the same water? Every time this is mentioned it is called water. Is it impossible that the one is three or the three is one? Let us look at another simple illustration. Let us take the subject of Wood. When spoken of as a tree, is the tree the root, the trunk, or the branches? Are not all three wood, yet not the same function while one without the other could not be explained? Look now at man. Is man soul, spirit, and body? Does man exist on this planet without one of these? Sometimes the desire to teach overrides the understanding of the teacher!
Discussing the Oneness of Deity taxes our mind, but to study this Supreme Being as the same as an inferior being is like describing the traits of a man by the traits of mice! Man can misunderstand the association-relationship of Spirits like mice misunderstand trees!! Get Mickey Mouse to explain marriage, rat-style!! They tell us the Father is the beginner of the Beginner of all things (but not of the Father), the image of the Father, yet not the same as the Father, yet bearing His image. They are in no sense dissimilar, yet not equal. Can one be the “Son of” and not be the “same type Being” as? How can one say the Father is the Father of the Son and not say the Son made the Father a Father, yet not equal to the Father? It cannot be claimed the Father preceded the Son for the Son IS THE BEGINNING! Colossians 1:15; John 1:1-4; Hebrews 2:10. This forces them to admit there Beings who are un-created who have no beginning-They are equal!! They use verses which make it appear the Father is superior to the Son which the mice can use to make the root greater than the branch of a tree and pride themselves in their knowledge!! If Christ was NOT made-He made ALL things so when He emptied Himself, He did not empty His Deity, Wisdom, Might, and Power as God. He DID NOT CHANGE anything that made Him God, what He did was NOT to change the UNCHANGEABLE- “I change NOT.” Malachi 3:6 “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 What He did change was the role He filled in the “mystery of the Ages.” Ephesians 3:4; Romans 16:25-26; 1 Peter 1:10-12 God, the Father cannot be at the same time a peer of Christ and greater than He; for whatever One is THE OTHER MUST BE.!! There is much more to say on this subject-BUT
NOW we must begin to speak for the Holy Spirit. We cannot ignore Him or leave Him out of this discussion. Why can we not call Him Father or Son? Why was He not the “only Begotten of the Father,” why refer to Him as the “gift of God” and not understand God cannot give a gift inferior to Himself?? Is salvation inferior to God the Father or equal to His greatness?? How so the Son??
”Was the Holy Spirit begotten of the Father or was He Begotten of the Son and is the Grandson of the Father? John 1:18 To whom does the Holy Spirit owe His origin? Were there two beginnings for the Father or only One? Was the Holy Spirit ALSO, Begotten? Or WERE there two without beginning and One with a Beginning? Is the Holy Spirit God as His record declares? Acts 5:4 Is the Holy Spirit the Godhead, a word that represents the Father and the Son, together? Romans 5:5 Is He the “love of God” which brings reconciliation to God and man? Galatians 4:6; 1 John 3:1;4:18;Ephesians 3:18 Or is He subject to the Word or the Father or Word and the Father or to no one but Himself fulfilling a role in the “mystery of the Ages?” Matthew 28:18-20
Is the Holy Spirit just LOV E? John 4:24 they point out does not say “the Spirit is God,” it says “God is Spirit.” Can an emotion (which is an attribute) define a Substance/Being? Or is it out of context to quote “only the pure can see (understand, fellowship) God”?
When we begin to study the superior by the standards of the inferior we get ourselves in a world of misunderstanding and confusion. No debater can win a debate with a proposition based on false logic. When we find ourselves making disparaging remarks any qualified God, we need to be very reverent!!
