 |
Info |
What are the six things that we learned in our last lesson about the only true God? (See previous lesson) Now we want to continue finding out all that the Bible says about the subject of God.
1. What phrase using the word "God" is used to describe the Baby who was to come and grow up and rule the earth?
Isaiah 9:6
Answer: "....___________ God...." Isaiah 9:6
This Baby was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In passing, who is identified as Mighty God in Isaiah 10:21?
Isaiah 10:21 identifies Mighty God with Jehovah , in the context of chapter 10.
2. Who does the Bible say created all things?
John 1:3.
Answer: "_________ things came into existence through ________, and apart _________ ____________ not even one thing came into existence." John 1:3
See also Colossians 1:16, 17. Check with the Kingdom Interlinear Translation (K.I.T.) and you will note that the word "other" has been added and is not in the original Greek.
3. Who does the Bible say is our Saviour?
2 Timothy 1:10
Answer: "....through the manifestation of ______ ______________, _____________ _______________."
2 Timothy 1:10
There are many texts identifying Jesus as the Saviour.
4. Who does the Bible say shared the Father's glory?
John 17:5
Answer: "So now you, Father, _________ ______ alongside yourself with _________ ____________ that ____ had alongside you before the world was." John 17:5
Jesus did share His Father's glory before He came to this world.
5. Who identifies Himself as the First and the Last in the Bible?
Revelation 1:17, 18 and 22:13.
Answer: "____ _______ the First and the Last, and the living one; and ____ ______________ dead...." Revelation 1:17, 18
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, ______ _________ _______ _______ _________, the beginning and the end." Revelation 22:13.
Jesus Christ is the one who is speaking for He died for our sins, and rose again from the dead. Also note that in Revelation 1:8, that the Alpha and the Omega [the First and the Last] is the One who "is coming." That would be Jesus who is described as coming in Revelation 1:7.
6. Who does the Bible say is the Rock?
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 and Matthew 16:15-18.
Answer: "Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our forefathers....all got baptized into Moses....the spiritual ________-mass that followed them, and that __________-mass meant the _____________." 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. Kindly read this in RSV, to get a simpler statement "the Rock was Christ." Matthew 16:15-18.
The congregation is built on the Rock who is Christ and not Peter.
*****************************
So by now there are questions and problems. Let's look them squarely in the face, and find Bible answers that will solve the problems.
7. The first problem is, is there One God or Two Gods? Are there two, an Almighty God , and a Mighty God; Jehovah the Father and Jesus Christ the Son? But this now gives us two Gods; the Bible is emphatic there is only one true God ! that there is no God beside Him, and no other God created before or after Him, Isaiah 43:10, 11. Therefore, we need to ask, Does the Bible teach that Christ was God ?
Matthew 1:23 and John 20:28.
Answer: "....will give birth to a Son, and they will call his name Immanuel, which means, when translated
"_________ ________ _______ ___________." Matthew 1:23
"In answer Thomas said to Him: 'My ______________ and my _____________!'" John 20:28.
Yes, the Bible teaches that Christ is God. But, the question remains, Is there one God or two? Puzzled?
8. One Creator or two? We just discovered again in Isaiah 43:10, 11, that Jehovah is the only Creator and there is no one else. Now in the New Testament we are told very clearly that everything was created by Jesus Christ. How do we reconcile these Bible facts? Has any doctrine of the Watchtower Society got the answer? To say that Jehovah God the Father was the only Creator, and used Jesus Christ, creates problems with the Bible statements that Jehovah said He created by Myself and there was no one else . So we return to the problem, One Creator or two?
9. One Saviour or two? Once again we have the Bible stating that Jehovah is the only Saviour and there was none beside Him. Yet in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the Saviour.
10. Did Jehovah share His glory? From the statements in Isaiah, Jehovah states that He gives His glory to no one else . However, when Jesus prayed to His Father, in John 17:5, He states that He had shared that glory, before the world was! How is this problem reconciled?
11. Can two be the First and the Last? Jesus claimed in Revelation 1:17-18, and 22:13, to be the First and the Last . In Isaiah 44:6, Jehovah claims to be The First and the Last ! As one examines this last text are there two Jehovahs, Jehovah the King of Israel and his redeemer Jehovah of Hosts? Are these two Jehovahs presented as One God or two?
12. Is there One Rock or two? In Isaiah God says there is no Rock besides Him. But the apostle Paul says that the Rock who went with Israel was Christ . In Matthew 16, Jesus claimed that He was the Rock on which the congregation would be built. Is the Bible outlining one Rock or two ? If Christ was the Rock who went with Israel, was He then Jehovah? If so are there two Jehovahs? That will be our next question.
13. Are there two Jehovahs in the Bible?
Genesis 19:24 and Zechariah 2:9-10
Answer: "Then ______________ made it rain sulphur and fire ___________ _________________, from the heavens, upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah." Genesis 19:24
The first Jehovah had been on the earth talking with Abraham, and it is He who rains down the destruction from the second Jehovah in the heavens.
Answer: "And you people will certainly know that ________________ _____ ______________ Himself has sent _______. "Cry out loudly and rejoice O daughter of Zion; for here ____ _________ ___________, and I will reside in the midst of you,' is the utterance of ________________." Zechariah 2:9-10.
The first Jehovah is Jehovah of Armies and He is sending "me", who in the next verse identifies Himself as "I am coming" and is the second Jehovah .
14. Did Jesus appear as Jehovah? Before examining the appearances of Jehovah to man in the Bible, we first need to understand this fact: God the Father has never been seen by human beings .
Read John 6:46, and 5:37.
Answer: "Not that _______ _________ has seen the Father, except he who is from God; this one has seen the Father." John 6:46. "....the Father....you have ____________heard his voice at any time nor _________ his figure." John 5:37
From the above texts we know that if there were any appearances of a person called Jehovah , we know that this person was NOT that of the Father ! Now let us look at this appearance of Jehovah to Abraham:
Genesis 18:1, 3, 4, 13-14, 22, 32, 33.
Because there were not ten righteous found in Sodom, this Jehovah went ahead and destroyed it, by calling fire and destruction down from the Jehovah in the Heavens. Genesis 19:24. Was this Jehovah who was with Abraham, Jesus ? Yes, there is more evidence!
15. When Jesus was on earth, did He claim to be the One who had appeared to Abraham and caused him to rejoice?
John 8:56-58.
Answer: "Abraham your father rejoiced greatly in the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced." Therefore the Jews said to him; 'You are not yet fifty years old, and still _______ ________ _________ _________________?' Jesus said to them: 'Most truly I say to YOU, before Abraham came into existence, ____ _________ ___________.'" John 8:56-58.
Please note that "I have been" is translated I Am in the K.I.T. In the above passage Jesus was not only claiming to be the One who appeared to Abraham, but He was also claiming to be the "I Am," the name God gave to Moses, when Moses asked God His name, Exodus 3:13-14. Please check other translations, as it is obscured in the NWT and the K.I.T. The Jews had no question as to what Jesus was claiming: To claim to be God was blasphemy, and its penalty was stoning, so the next verse says: John 8:59 "Therefore they picked up stones to hurl [them] at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple." (See also John 10:31-33). So Jesus nearly was stoned for having claimed to be the "I Am," which the Jews knew was a claim to be God and the One who appeared to Abraham and Moses as Jehovah.
16. Does it matter if we do not recognize Jesus as God or the "I Am?" What does the Bible say?
John 8:24
Answer: "Therefore I said to you, you will die in your sins. For if you do ______ _________________ that ______ _________ he, you will die in your sins." John 8:24.
If you will look this text up in the K.I.T., you will find that "he" is a supplied word not in the original. Jesus warned the Jews that if they did not believe that He was the I AM, they would die in their sins. That is serious! In the next verse He was asked "Who are you?" In verse 53 Jesus was again asked "Who do you claim to be?" When He clearly showed them He was the One who spoke to Abraham and made him rejoice, and that He was the "I Am," they became angry and tried to stone Him. These Jewish people were very sincere and loyal to their organization and beliefs. To them Jehovah had said, "You are my witnesses " Isaiah 43:10. Could it be that today those who claim to be Jehovah's modern witnesses are making the same tragic mistake? If they refuse to believe that He is the "I Am" like the Jews of old who rejected His Deity, they will perish in their sins!
17. What further proofs are there of the Deity of Jesus?
18. Compare the following texts:
In our next study we will continue to explore the question, Is God more than one Person? It is important that we use the NWT and other references to answer this question.
|