Transcription
Don't want anybody to take this out of context or anything that we believe, but it is a question that is being asked and would like a good answer. From my knowledge, and I'm sure others, is debating over a oneness point of view and a Trinitarian point of view. Just semantics if we both believe in one God? If it is just semantics, then why do we make it such a big deal?
It's not just semantics. Now, let's be clear. We believe in the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe God is our Father; He created us. We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which if you study Scripture, the term "Son of God" in its fullest sense means God is manifested in the flesh, not just he's a man, he's God manifested in the flesh. And not just a spirit only, but God in the flesh. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, this the presence and power of God. And we believe Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are three important terms that signify one God. They're not three different personalities, they're not three persons, they're not three centers of consciousness. When you go to heaven, you're not gonna see three bodies. But these are three roles for them, and they're very important. As one people, we shouldn't minimize these roles. Why? Because they're necessary for our salvation.
Let me explain. Only as a true human could die for our sins, could take our place, shed his blood. So Jesus had to be the Son of God in order to die for our sins. But in order for the Son to be born, no human could do that. God had to be the Father of that baby born in the womb of the Virgin. And then our salvation is not just because of what happened 2,000 years ago; it has to be applied to our lives today. How does that happen? God comes to us by His Spirit. So God is not eternally three persons named Father, Son, and Spirit, but God has operated in our lives as Father, Son, and Spirit for the specific purpose of redeeming us or saving us from sin.
So with that as a background, "three persons but one God" would be a distortion because it interjects this idea that in the nature of God, there is some distinction or separation or division. So I say it's more than semantics. No, I will hasten to add, there are many people who may talk in Trinitarian language but essentially have the same concept as we do. So that might be semantics in some cases. But I do think it's important for here some for practical reasons.
First of all, who are we praying to? We need to know for sure. Are we praying to one? Are we praying to three? When we get to heaven, who are we gonna see? Are we gonna see one? Are we gonna see three? That makes a difference. Who is our faith in? And the significance of the name of Jesus. We need to understand because when we pray in Jesus' name, we expect demons to be cast out, we expect people to be delivered and healed, receive the Holy Spirit. But if the emphasis is on Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then the name of Jesus is not magnified, and we don't receive from God what He wants to give us. So there are a lot of practical reasons why we need to know the answer to this question.
And I would say, you know, some people say, "Well, you're just being divisive. You're just causing confusion, contention. Why don't you just ignore this subject?" Here's what I say: If there's any message in Scripture that's emphasized, it's that God is one. That's stated hundreds of times. So if I'm gonna be a preacher and teacher of the Bible, I don't have the right to pick and choose what I want. I've got to preach and teach what the Bible says. I've got to emphasize what the Bible emphasizes. I can't ignore that. So I would say people who who are teaching a different way, they're the ones that are causing the confusion. I'm not trying to cause any contention, division, confuse, nor debate. I'm just trying to go back to the original. And if everybody would do that, then it would be just a matter of semantics; we would all believe the same thing.
But I do believe this is a key message. It's a foundational message that we cannot minimize. And I can go into that more, but you know, the classic statement of Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." And then in Mark chapter 12, a scribe came to Jesus and which is the first commandment of all. And Jesus said in Mark 12:28 through 31, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength." So if Jesus said this is the first thing you've got to get right, well, I think we've got to talk about it. We've got to teach it. We've got to preach it.
And notice, both Deuteronomy and Jesus, they connect it. You've got to believe in one God, but then you've got to love Him with all your being. So it's not just intellectual. We're not just debating intellectual, philosophical things. The purpose is: Who do we worship? Who do we love? Who do we follow? Who do we believe in? Who do we pray to? It's the most practical thing of all of knowing who your God is and knowing His name.