Oneness God

Paul Wong

Chapter Three

GOD WAS MANIFESTED IN THE FLESH

            The Holy Spirit has inspired the apostle John to write:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God (John 1:1).

            "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father" (John 1:14).

The "Word" is 'Logos', the way, the First Principle.  In the beginning God conceived the redemptive plan that the divine power and grace would come to the world when 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the physical embodiment of God.  Jesus Christ's entire life is the greatest mystery of all time.

            "Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory" (I Timothy 3:16).

Here again the apostle Paul concurred with the apostle John that Jesus is God who "was manifested in the flesh." The test of the true Spirit is the acceptance that "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh"(Jn 4:2-3).  The apostles had warned the Christians in their day about those who preached I another Jesus, whom we have not preached" (2 Cor. 11:4).  One thing we need to remember is that the apostles knew the Lord Jesus more intimately than anyone else in another century (I Jn. 1: 1 2).  They were eye-witnesses to all the works of the Lord Jesus who not only claimed to be God but was prepared to make a stand for His claims (Jn. 5:17-29; 10:33).  After His resurrection the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples (Jn. 20:19 20).  The apostle Thomas was not present at the first appearance, so he had doubts about the risen Christ.  When the Lord Jesus appeared to them again, He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing".  Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe' (Jn. 20:24-29).  If the apostles who had seen the risen Christ could accept Him as their one and only Lord and God, then we can receive much blessing when we also accept Him as our Lord and God.

A. The Eternal Existence of Christ

Christians who accept Jesus Christ as God are also bound to accept His miraculous birth, atoning death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.  All these events are supernatural, and they have to be accepted by faith.

One of the contentions which the Lord Jesus had with His contemporaries was His claim to pre-existence.  He told them: 'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto Him, You are not yet fifty years old and have You seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM'. (Jn. 8:56-58).  We recall how God revealed Himself to His people during the Old Testament times:

            "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM And He said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'"(Ex. 3:14-15).

The Name "I AM WHO I AM" is "JEHOVAH' in Hebrew (Ex. 6:3).  It means that God exists all the time.  This is exactly what Jesus claims.  This is also one of the conditions of the Messiah as prophesied:

            "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." (Mic.5:2).

Many have found the virgin birth of Christ a total mystery, so to accept Christ's eternal existence is extremely difficult.  Some have argued that since the Lord Jesus actually grew up in the normal process, how could one explain His pre-existence? (Lk 2:52).

The Holy Bible explains clearly about the virgin birth and its connection with Christ's eternal existence.

            ‘Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.  When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with a child of the Holy Spirit’ (Mt1:18).

            "But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit". (Mt 1:20).

            "And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I have no husband?' And the angel said to her, -The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." (Lk 1:34-35).

In the above three passages it is clearly stated that Jesus who was being conceived "is of the Holy Spirit.' We know that there is only one Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:4), and that is God (Jn. 4:24).  The bible also tells us explicitly that the Holy Spirit is:

The Spirit of Christ and Spirit of God (Rom 8:9).

Spirit of His Son (Gal 4:6).

Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:19).

Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2).

Since the Holy Spirit is also called the "Spirit of the Lord," “the Lord is that Spirit” (2 Cor 3:17).  The Holy Spirit is called "the eternal Spirit' (Heb 9:14) because God is eternal, So now we can fully understand how the Lord Jesus has an eternal existence.

B. The Dual Nature of Christ

After our first ancestors Adam and Eve had committed sin, God told the serpent: 'And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed- it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel' (Gen. 3:15).  This is the first prophecy in the Holy Bible concerning the coming of the Savior in the flesh who will vanquish the devil, but He Himself will be bruised.  There are several prophecies in the Old Testament which speak of the suffering Messiah.  The prophet Isaiah wrote:

'But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are h6aled" (Isa 53:5).

And again, God spoke through His prophet:

'Yet is pleased the Lord (Jehovah) to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief. . ." (Isa 53:10).

God further revealed in the last verse of Isaiah 53:12 .  'He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The ministry of the Messiah requires His being bruised and wounded.  He had to shed His blood for our transgressions.  It also requires His death for the redemption of mankind.  Could any man die for the sins for the world?  No, only a Person who is completely without sin, a perfect man, can assume this role.  The only way for mankind to be saved from sin is for God to be manifested in the flesh, since God, as the Eternal Spirit cannot shed blood nor die.  The Messiah has to be God as well as man.  This Person is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible reveals God's purpose for coming into the world in the form of man.  Philippians 2:6-8 sums it up that Jesus

'Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.'

The Lord Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man.  "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9).  God revealed the dual nature of the Messiah through the prophet Isaiah who wrote:

"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”(Isa 9:6).

The Messiah was to be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14), a human being; but at the same time He also had divine nature.  He is called-The mighty God and "The everlasting Father.”  There are many aspects of Christ which are difficult to understand, but as soon as one accepts the truth of His dual nature then the theological problems will be solved.  When the Lord Jesus was making a statement we have to recognize whether He was speaking as God or as a man.  Similarly, we also have to understand His actions by applying the knowledge of His dual nature.  He could act as God as well as a man.

Scriptural Testimonies To The Divinity of Jesus Christ

He was called God by the apostles (Jn 20:28; Rom 9:5; Tit 2:13)

He claimed to be the same divine Being as the Father (Jn 10:30; 14:9-11).

He was "conceived of the Holy Spirit' (Mt. 1:20; Luk. 1:35), had no human parents (Heb 7:3) and would exist eternally (Mic 5:2; Col 1:17; Rev 22:13).

He is called the creator (Jn 1:3; Eph 3:9; Col 1:16).

He knew everything (Jn 2:24; 16:30; 21:17; Acts 1:24).

He existed before the time of Abraham (Jn 8:56, 58).

He performed miracles and fed the multitudes (Matt 14:17-21).

All power is given to Him in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18; Col 1:16).

He answers prayer (Jn 14:13).

He could be in many places at the same time (Matt. 18:20). 

He could be on earth and in heaven at the same time (Jn. 3:13).

He had the power to forgive sins (Mark. 2:5-7).

Jesus Christ and the Father are One (Jn 10:30; 14:7-11). 

The blood that He shed is called God's "own blood' (Ac. 20:28).

As the -King of kings, and Lord of lords" He is immortal (1 Tim 6:16).

Scriptural Testimonies to the Humanity of Jesus Christ

The apostles proclaimed Him to be a man (Acts 2:22; 1 Tim 2:5).  The Lord Jesus Christ declared that He was a Man (Jn 8:40).  He was made a little lower than the angels (Heb 2:9).

He was "made of a woman" (Gal. 4:4), was born (Isa 9:6-1 Lk 2:11), and 'begotten' (Jn 1:14; 3:16).  He is referred to as "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom 8:29).

He is called "the firstborn of every creature' (Col 1:15).

He increased in wisdom and stature (Lk 2:52), and had limited knowledge (Mk 13:32).

He appeared fifty years old (Jn 8:57), when he was about thirty years old (Lk 3:23).

He was hungry, thirsty and tired (Mt 4:2; Jn. 4:6-7).  He slept (Mt 8:24).

He was poor and did not own any real estate (Mt 8:20).

His need of prayer (Mk 1:35; Lk 6:12).  In agony He prayed more earnestly (Lk 22:44; Heb 5:7).

He could not be at two different places at the same time (Jn 11:5-7, 20-21). 

His earthly parents missed Him on their return from Jerusalem (Lk 2:41-46).

He bore the sins of humanity (Heb. 2:9; 9:28; 1 Pet 2:24).

At the Cross He called out: -My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?' (Mt 27:46).

He died on the cross and gave up His Spirit who left His body and returned to the Father. (Jn 19:30; Lk 23:46).

The Three Manifestations of The One True God

There is only One True God (Deut 6:4; Isa 43:10; Mk 12:29; Eph 4:6); and only One Divine Being in the Godhead (Job 13:8; Heb 1:3).  God is essentially a Spirit (Jn 4:24): and there is only One Spirit in the Godhead (Eph 4:4).  Jehovah God is the only Savior of mankind (Isa 43:11).  His plan of salvation required His coming as a suffering Messiah to die and shed blood for the redemption of man (Isa 53:1-12).  For this reason our One and Only True God was manifested in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16).  The Lord Jesus Christ is called the "Son of God' according to the flesh (Lk 1:35; Rom 1:3-4; Gal 4:4), and the very God Himself according to the Spirit (Matt. 1:23; Jn 1:1-2, 14; Isa 9:6).  Jesus Christ and the Father are one and the same Divine Being (Jn 10:38; 14: 10-11).  He is in the Father and the Father in Him (Jn 10:38; 14:10-11).  Since God is holy therefore His Spirit is called the "Holy Spirit' (Ps 99:5; Eph 4:30; 1 Thess 4:8).  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three Persons but One and the Same Divine Person.  He is the ONE TRUE GOD (1 Jn 5:20).