JESUS IS GOD

Names of 2x2s workers who teach Jesus is God listed by ex-workers and friends. Jesus is God the Son NOT God the Father. Jesus Christ the Son of God NOT God the Father:

           George Walker, Jack Carroll, Dave Christie, Tom Lyness, Tharold Sylvester, Leo Stancliff, Mable Gibson, Leslie White, Stan Chamberlain, Maurice Close, Everett Blair, Carson Cowan,

Oneness and creation        

Leo Stancliff     Dinuba sp. m.   March 3, 1997

           Some people teach that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one person. In dealing with these teachings it is important to start with the scriptures that they use. John 10:30. "I and my Father are one." John 14:6-10. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

           From these verses they take it that the Father and the Son are one person. In John 4:24 it says, "God is a spirit (nature)." 1 Cor. 2:11. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." We understand each other because we have the same spirit or the same nature. The spirit of man understands man. John 14:20. "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." "Christ in you the hope of glory." So we can say that the Father and the Son have the same nature, but are not the same person.

           Would it be possible for us to say that God is in us and we are in God? 1 John 4:15,16. "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." John 17:11. "That they may be one as we are." This is Jesus prayer that they might all have the same spirit and nature, have the same aim. John 17:20-23. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." This is a basic principle; this is speaking about a oneness because of having one spirit and one nature.  This is the oneness God wants to see in his people.

           Creation was made by God. Gen. 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." When God created man He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." There were present the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Man was made with an outward likeness to God. It is the power that God puts in His people. Eph. 3:9. "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." Christ was the creator.  John 1:1-3,14. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Col. 1:15-17. "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." John 1:18  "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." No man hath seen God. Jesus has revealed Him. John 10:30-33. "I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God."

        The Jews could not understand that Jesus could be one with the Father. They took up stones to stone Him. They thought He was blaspheming, being a man and making Himself God. Vs. 34-36,  "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" Every child of God will have the spirit and nature of God in our hearts. 

Col. 1:18. "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." Jesus was the first one to be raised from the dead.  Have we received a revelation of Him? In Matt. 16:15-17, Jesus asked His disciples, "But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." vs 20. "Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ." Jesus wanted this to be revealed unto men and women. Have we received this revelation of Him?

           It is good if we can back up what we say with both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Let's see what it says in Isaiah 43:1,14,15. "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 14  Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.  15  I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King." Jesus was the Redeemer of Israel.

           The death of Christ was retroactive. Heb. 9:15. "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." The death of Christ was for us, and also for all those who were under the first testament, which is the Old Testament. His death covers those who have lived from His crucifixion up till now, and goes back to the beginning of time. 1 Pet. 1:18-20. "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." The plan of salvation was made before the world was made.

          Some teach that when Adam and Eve sinned, that God had to make a plan of salvation for them. This is not true. God's plan of salvation was made from before the foundation of the world. God's plans will be fulfilled.  Rev. 12:7-11. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." The angels have had trouble in heaven. The dragon and his angels lost the battle. 

          There are 4 names given to the devil in these verses: the serpent, the devil, Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. vs 10. The devil is called the accuser of our brethren. He accuses them before God day and night. He is in heaven accusing the brethren. He is also among us, accusing the brethren. There are many who are talking and writing about the scandals among us. We are not perfect. We do make mistakes. But these people dwell on the scandals among us. In vs. 11 it says that "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." This is how God's people always overcome. It is by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. That is why we need to be so careful of the word of our testimony, that it is true and balanced.

           Isaiah 7:14. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." What does the name Immanuel mean? Let's see what it says in the N. T. Matt. 1:21-23. "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Is. 9:6. "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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Notice the names by which Jesus is called in this verse!

           This is backed up in the N. T. John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Ps. 45:6,7. "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." How does it say this in the N. T.? Heb. 1:8,9. "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

           When I was a very young boy we lived in a certain place, and a young girl, a teenager, was across the fence from our place and she asked me my name. I said, "Leo." "What is your other name?" "Just Leo." "What is your father's name?" "Papa." "What is his other name?" "Just Papa." "What is your mother's name?" "Mama." Your know, Father is an endearing name. When Jesus taught His disciples that prayer, He taught them to say, "Our Father." This is not a prayer to be said from memory. Only God's children can call Him "Our Father".

           Who is Jehovah? It is the nature and the power that both the Father and the Son have. The word applies either to the Father or to the Son. Ex. 6:2,3. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." Here is a good question to ask the JWs, Was Abraham saved? They would answer, Yes. But he didn't know God by the name Jehovah. The naked eye cannot see God. John 8:56-59. "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."

           In our English Bible the Hebrew word JEHOVAH is translated LORD with all capital letters, and it only appears 4 times. The word LORD appears only in the O. T. a total of about 5000 times. In the Philippine and the Spanish Bible, I understand that they always use the word JEHOVAH.  Most of the time it was translated LORD in our Bible, it was transferred as JEHOVAH four times.

           Deut. 32:3,4. "Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." He is the Rock. 1 Cor. 10:1-4. "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."

           Is. 40:3-4,10. "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 10  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." Prepare the way of the LORD (Jehovah). This is referring to Jesus. In John ch. 8 and ch. 10 the Jews wanted to stone Him because He said that He was the Son of God. They understood that He was making Himself to be God. God's people will be persecuted by the people of the world. In the N. T. you never find the word Jehovah.  We usually use the word God to refer to the Father. But the word God can refer to both the Father and the Son.  The word JEHOVAH can refer to both the father and the son.

          For forty years this subject troubled me.  I went to Steve Shorten and told him what I had been thinking. He said, That is right.  Then I went to Willie Jamieson and asked him. He said, That's right.  We need to learn more about the One we love and serve.

           God the Father sent God the Son to be a mediator. 1 Tim. 2:5. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."  A mediator is like a translator. He understands both languages. Jesus is God. Jesus made us. He understands us. He came to this earth and was made flesh so that we could understand that He understands us.

#2)  Written by John Wegter, another 2x2 worker on Jesus is God. (2005)

         

           Isaiah 9:6  "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 7:14.  "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."  (Immanuel means "God with us.")  The scriptures contain many names and titles given to the Lord Jesus, such as the ones included in these verses.  The more we understand the many aspects of His nature and the unique roles that He plays in the experience of mankind, the better we can glorify Him, as He so richly deserves.  The better we know Him, the more we love and appreciate Him for who He is in His infinite, eternal, divine nature as well as for the greatness of the work He has accomplished.

As a child growing up with constant exposure to God's word and the message of the Lord Jesus, I most often thought of Him as the Son of God, since that is a description that the scripture often uses to refer to Him.  As years passed, however, I began to see that at times the scriptures refer to Jesus simply as "God" -- as in the above verses from Isaiah -- instead of "Son of God".  This seemed a paradox, and is a point of great confusion for people who persist in thinking according to the familiar human patterns.  We find it hard to understand how someone could ever be both God and God's Son at the same time.  However, the infinity of God's nature is definitely not limited as our human mind is limited.  As we open ourselves to His guidance and teaching, His Spirit enables us to see beyond what the human spirit can perceive.

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."  (John 4:24)  It helps us to grasp more about God when we understand that "God" is not necessarily used as a proper name denoting one particular individual as we think of individuals, but is rather one particular spirit or nature.  It is for this reason that "God" can refer not only to the eternal Father, but also to His Son, our Lord Jesus.  Again, we need to lay aside human thinking patterns as we contemplate the unique nature of the Lord Jesus.  Though He was conceived miraculously in the womb of His virgin mother by the Holy Spirit, He was not half-human, half-divine, as we would normally think of human beings that possess a part of their father's nature and a part of their mother's.  Jesus was all divine, possessing all of the nature of His Father, as well as being all human, possessing all of our nature.  Several scriptures help us understand this truth:  "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."  (Colossians 2:9)  "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."  (Philippians 2:6-7)  "He had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."  (Hebrews 2:17)

Because the Lord Jesus possesses all the nature of His Father, the scriptures call Him God as well as Son of God.  Here are a few examples:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. "  (John 1:1, 14)  "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  And we are in him who is true -- even in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life."  (1 John 5:20)  "About the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever.'"  (Hebrews 1:8)

The Old Testament in the original Hebrew language frequently uses a unique, unpronounceable name of God, YHWH.  This name was considered so sacred that when the scriptures were read, the Jewish readers did not even attempt to pronounce the name, but instead substituted the word "Adonai", which means "Lord".  This practice carried over into the New Testament; the writers who cited scriptures from the Old Testament wrote "Kurios", the Greek equivalent of "Adonai" ("Lord"), instead of the unpronounceable sacred name. The translators of most English versions of the Bible have chosen to translate YHWH as "LORD", written with four capital letters to differentiate it from "lord" and "Lord", words which denote "owner" or "master" (either human or divine) instead of the unique sacred name.

        The point of all this is that a number of times where we read "LORD" in the Old Testament, it is making direct reference to Jesus instead of God the Father.  See the following examples:  "My eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."  (Isaiah 6:5)  Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. (John 12:41)  "You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations."  (Psalm 102:12)  (Hebrews 1:8,) which we have already quoted, assures us that this psalm is speaking of the Son.  "'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.  This is the name by which he will be called:  The LORD Our Righteousness.'"  (Jeremiah 23:5-6)  All of these verses and a number of others show us that our Lord Jesus is, along with His Father, the LORD of the Old Testament, the one who is proclaimed to be the only true God.  "All kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God."  (2 Kings 19:19)

When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He identified Himself in a unique way:  "I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  'I AM has sent me to you.'"  (Exodus 3:14)  The Lord Jesus used this same phrase to identify Himself to the Jews in His day:  "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!' (John 8:58)  While the English grammar may not convey the distinction as clearly as the original languages, it was very clear to the Jews that heard Him that He was identifying Himself with God, the eternal I AM, and because of this supposed blasphemy, they picked up stones to stone Him, just as they did when He proclaimed, "I and the Father are one."  (John 10:30)  True believers, however, see that, far from usurping God's name, power, and authority, Jesus, being God in very nature, deserves our honor, worship, and praise just as the Father does. "All may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him."  (John 5:23) 

It bears mentioning that when we say Jesus is God or that Father and Son are one, we are not saying that Jesus is the Father or that they are only one person.  They are one in the sense that they are perfectly united in nature, in spirit, in purpose, in love, in power, and in every other way.  The nature of their unity is made clear in Jesus' prayer to His Father before the crucifixion.  "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name -- the name you gave me -- so that they may be one as we are one...  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  I in them and you in me.  May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."  (John 17:11, 21-23)  Just as God's people can by His Spirit be perfectly united with each other while remaining distinct persons, so it is with the Son and Father:  perfectly united in nature, yet readily identifiable as two persons.

Philippians 2:5-11 gives a beautiful picture of the work Jesus accomplished while on earth, also showing a great deal of the relationship between Son and Father:  "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Every step that the Lord Jesus took to become a man, and every step He took as a man was a step of willing, humble obedience to His Father's will, since it was likewise His own will. 

        Understanding that He was "in very nature God" helps us to understand how greatly He humbled Himself to become a human being. As if it were not enough to take on human nature with its frailty, Jesus was born into a family of the poorest people; so poor they could not even offer the usual lamb for the purification offering after His birth.  After some years of exile in Egypt, he was brought up in Nazareth, a town of dubious reputation.  When He was thirty years old, He voluntarily left His home and family, such as they were, and became a homeless vagabond preacher, repeatedly suffering abuse, scorn and disbelief at the hands of those whom He had come to save.  At last, after a life of self-denial and sacrifice, he was subjected to the ignominious death of crucifixion. As we contemplate each experience in His life, let us remember, this is not just a man, this is God!  A hymn says, "Amazing love!  How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?"  Because of His will to humble Himself so completely for us, He is exalted to the highest place, forever worthy of all our praise and worship.

"Christ in you, the hope of glory."  (Colossians 1:27) It is indeed overwhelming to think that this one who is our God, having once taken upon Himself the limitations of human flesh, would choose to do so again and again as He dwells in the believers, yet that is exactly what He does!  The scripture gives many pictures of the work He will do as He walks in His people in every generation, including our own. "(God) made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus."  (Ephesians 2:5-6)  He takes us in all our deadness and gives us divine, eternal life.  He gives us access to the fellowship of heaven.  "I pray ... that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 

       That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms."  (Ephesians 1:18-20) He shares with us the same power by which death was conquered forever in the resurrection!  "We are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ."  (Romans 8:17)  He makes us joint heirs with Himself, sharing with Him in all the richness of the provision of His eternal kingdom.  "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world...  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."  (John 17:24-26) 

       He shares with us the special love between Him and His Father, making us partakers in the same intimate relationship that they have enjoyed from eternity!  No mere man, no angel could ever do for us what our Lord Jesus has done.  The more we learn of who He is and how great His power is on our behalf, the more we bow in humble adoration and marvel at what He has done and is doing for us!