IAUA End Time Ministry
Preparing for the End of Time
The Lord is Coming! Are you ready?
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IAUA End Time Ministry |
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Preparing for the End of Time | |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in IAUA (ee-ah-oo-ah) our Father,
Greetings on this day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. I pray this newsletter finds you in good health and happy in the service of IAUA. This is the 27th day of the 12th month of the Biblical Calendar in the estimated year 6020 Anno Mundi. The Spring Sabbaths begin in 6 weeks and 4 days on the 15th day of the 1st month (Wednesday, April 12th of the 2017, Gregorian Calendar, at sunset Tuesday, April 11th). On God's Calendar the Biblical month begins on the global day after lunar conjunction. The Biblical year begins with God's New Year's Day (Passover) after the spring equinox (Spring Passover Rule). The Millerite Calendar (Spring New Moon Rule) is the same this year. The Calculated Rabbinical Calendar is a day early. A reader response to the 2017-02-10 "Trinity Discussion" newsletter focuses on the word Godhead and the difference with the Trinity doctrine. _____ Dear Frank Thank you for the discussion on the Holy Spirit. The following is something I wrote some time ago, and I am only sending you the first part of it. I have studied extensively into this subject since it tends to be an issue and we need further clarification. It seems to me that since the Holy Spirit is the presence of the Father and Son, He is represented as having the personality of the Father and Son. He is nowhere seen in the Bible as having a literal presence, and appears as a dove of purest light at the baptism of our Lord (Desire of Ages), and as many tongues of fire at the Pentecost outpouring, a similar description. What do you think of the following? What is the Godhead? Note: This is a study of what the Bible and then what the Spirit of Prophecy says about the Godhead, and the words the Bible uses regarding Godhead. In contrast, it will highlight why Bible-based believers do not believe in the pagan teaching of the trinity. There are three primary verses in the Bible which mention Godhead. They are all in the New Testament and the words are all used by the apostle Paul. They are Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, and Colossians 2:9. The word trinity is never used in the Bible. The concept of the trinity began to develop not long after the early church began, in order to explain how God could be 3 persons and yet one God, as the Son of God who came to this earth was given prominence by God’s people as God. The trinity concept has been officially adopted by the Roman church, but is not based on the Bible teaching about God or Godhead. The words translated Godhead used in these New Testament passages (Strong’s word 2304 in Acts 17:29, word 2305 in Romans 1:20, word 2320 in Colossians 2:9) all mean divine or divinity or divine nature. JH Thayer, in the New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, says regarding word 2320 that it is the state of being God. In the 3 mentions of Godhead in the Bible, they are referring to the essence of what God is and all are in passages where the associated word for God is singular, referring to one person, never three. Paul, when he was speaking in Athens, said about God, 24 “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent: 31 Because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance unto all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:24-31. The word used for God in this passage is singular and is referring to the Father. Paul refers to the essence of being God as the Godhead, and says the nature and substance of God cannot be compared to earthly material things. The Godhead is also mentioned in Romans 1:20. 16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” Romans 1;16-25. Again, Paul refers in the singular to God the Father as God, and to the essence of what God is as Godhead, which mankind should have been able to perceive reflected in nature. The third passage in which the term Godhead is used is in Colossians 2. 6 “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:6-10. In this passage Paul goes a step further, and says that in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He asserts that philosophy and deceit may claim Christ cannot be fully God, but all the fullness of divinity dwells in Him, and through Him we can be complete. So, in these three passages, the Bible is referring to either the Father God or the Son of God, and saying that His nature or essence is Godhead, which cannot be restricted to material things of this earth but can be perceived by humans through the work of His hands in the things He has created. Godhead is not used in the Bible to refer to more than one person at a time, and certainly is never used as a collective term for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are two more passages that have a bearing on our understanding the relationship between the Father, Son, and Hoy Spirit. John tells us, 6 “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” 1 John 5:6-8. This passage is similar to the command about baptism recorded in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. 18 “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” In both of these passages we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit mentioned together. And, John says they are one, even though they are three. In fact, the same words and construction are used in 1 John 5:7,8 for the oneness of Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost as for the Spirit, the water and the blood. Clearly, the Spirit, the water, and the blood are not one thing or parts of one thing, any more than the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost are parts of one God. The Spirit bears witness in the earth, like the water and the blood. All three are involved in the work of soul saving and restoration of the image of God in humans. “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). This is an interesting passage in which it is pointed out that there is a heavenly trio who all have the fullness of the Godhead, who aid committed Christians in living a new life in Christ. The Holy Spirit makes manifest the power of divine grace to those who receive Christ. All these divine beings have the fullness of the Godhead, which means that all are fully God and are not three parts making up the fullness of one God as taught by the trinity doctrine. We are given the following further clarifying counsel regarding the Godhead: “The Father cannot be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. “The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be ‘the express image of His person.’ ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Here is shown the personality of the Father. “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, p. 62, 63. (1905); Evangelism, p. 615.1. “Christ Himself is the pearl of great price. In Him is gathered all the glory of the Father, the fullness of the Godhead. He is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. The glory of the attributes of God is expressed in His character.” Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 115. Hence these quotations say that the Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested, and the Holy Spirit makes manifest the power of divine grace. The following tells us more about the Holy Spirit. “We need to realize that the Holy Spirit . . . is as much a person as God is a person. . . . “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. “The Holy Spirit is a free, working, independent agency. The God of heaven uses His Spirit as it pleases Him; and human minds, human judgment, and human methods can no more set boundaries to its working, or prescribe the channel through which it shall operate, than they can say to the wind, ‘I bid you to blow in a certain direction, and to conduct yourself in such and such a manner.’ “From the beginning God has been working by His Holy Spirit through human instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose in behalf of the fallen race. . . . The same power that sustained the patriarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God's faithful children in every succeeding age. “The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He [Jesus] could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. “The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fulness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress his own character on his church. {RH, November 19, 1908 par. 5} Of the Spirit, Jesus said, "He shall glorify me." The Saviour came to glorify the Father by the demonstration of his love; so the Spirit was to glorify Christ by revealing his grace to the world. The very image of God is to be reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of his people. {RH, November 19, 1908 par. 6}. “The Holy Spirit is an effective helper in restoring the image of God in the human soul.” The Faith I Live By, p. 52. This defines why she calls the Holy Spirit a person. We are told that the Holy Spirit has been used by the God of heaven since the beginning of sin in this world as a regenerating agent in the fullness of divine power. He gives power to resist and overcome sin and to restore the image of God in the human soul. It does a personal work in the heart of believers, that works upon our spirits and impresses upon us the divine attributes. Robin _____ I responded: Dear Robin, Fascinating presentation about the subtle difference between Godhead and Trinity. Fascinating insight that I did not quite grasp before. I hope I grasp... How does this sound as a summary? Godhead is three wholly God persons that are a united whole. Trinity is three persons that are parts of a whole. Have I understood the essence of your presentation? I will use this in a newsletter. You said one thing in your introduction that confuses me. You said "literal presence" but I think you mean "physical presence". Does that make sense? So many details... So much confusion... Trying to understand beyond the corrupting influence of evil. _____ Do you grasp the difference between Godhead and Trinity? I pray we may all continue to seek love, peace, and unity in truth preparing for the soon coming of IAUShUO (ee-ah-oo-shoo-oh) Messiah, the Son of God.
Frank T. Clark Next: 2017-03-03 Godhead Discussion 2 |
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Revised 2017-03-03 |