I AM GOING TO APPROACH THIS SUBJECT FROM A STANDPOINT I HAVE NEVER APPROACHED IT BEFORE. THE TITLE OF MY THOUGHT IS, THE GREAT CONTROVERSY. I HAVE CHOSEN THIS TITLE, BECAUSE I FEEL THAT WE SHOULD DEVOTE THE ENTIRE MESSAGE TO DEALING WITH THIS GREAT CONTROVERSY OVER WHETHER GOD IS ONE SPIRIT, TWO PERSONS, THREE PERSONS, OR A HALF DOZEN; AND WHETHER GOD IS A HE, OR A SHE. FORTY YEARS AGO, IF SOMEONE HAD DEMANDED THAT GOD BE REFERRED TO AS A SHE, I AM AFRAID SUCH A PERSON WOULD HAVE BEEN IN BIG TROUBLE WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE; BUT TODAY, IT SEEMS TO MAKE LITTLE DIFFERENCE TO THE WORLD POPULATION IN GENERAL, HOW GOD IS REFERRED TO, EVEN IF THEY BELIEVE THE CREATION STORY OF THE BIBLE. THEREFORE I WILL USE MANY SCRIPTURES IN THIS MESSAGE; ENDEAVORING TO FURNISH A SCRIPTURAL ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS, FOR THOSE WHO REALLY DO CARE WHETHER THEY HAVE A PROPER CONCEPT OF THE GREAT GOD OF ALL CREATION. I HAVE TWO TRACKS HERE; SHOWING THE WAY TRINITARIANS EXPLAIN THE TRINITY THEY BELIEVE TO BE A BIBLE FACT. THE FIRST TRACK DEALS WITH HOW THEY SAY THE TRINITY IS REFERRED TO, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. NATURALLY THIS MAN WHO WROTE THEM IS A DOCTOR OF DIVINITY; AND I BELIEVE HE IS A METHODIST. HE IS TRYING TO PROVE BY THE STUDY OF GREEK, THAT THERE ARE THREE PERSONS DECLARED IN THE BIBLE, TO BE IN THE GODHEAD. WE WILL JUST USE THE BIBLE THAT MOST PEOPLE MUST DEPEND UPON; AND SHOW BY IT THAT GOD IS ONE SPIRIT, AND NOT A PERSON, OR PERSONS. WE WILL ALSO SHOW HOW RIDICULOUS IT IS, FOR ANYONE TO REFER TO THIS GREAT CREATOR AS A SHE; JUST TO SATISFY SOME FEMINIST GROUP SOMEWHERE, WHEN THERE IS NO SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION FOR IT.

WHAT THE CREATOR IS

I am going to read half of this little tract I am holding; and show you how Trinitarians take the meaning of a word. In other words, they are assuming that a word, because it is spoken in the plural sense, God is speaking of a plurality of persons, rather than other things I will relate to you in my message. This man, is referring here, to a passage of scriptures in the Old Testament, (Isa. 48:16) “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am] I: and now the Lord God, and His Spirit, hath sent me.” Even in that verse, this man claims there is a plurality of persons inferred. Here, is what he says. “When we break down this verse, we find that three persons are being spoken of. The Lord God, one, His Spirit, two, and sent me (me is referring to Christ) is the third mention in that passage of scripture. Notice the very important words of that passage from the beginning. This declares eternity. Now let us go to the New Testament and see if it declares that three person are the one God. (Brothers and sisters, let me say this, The Catholic Church, and most all of Protestantism, as it exists in the world today, believe this teaching. They can say, “Yes, God is one being in the Spirit; but that one being, eternal, is manifested in three distinct persons.” Saints, I am an uneducated man, by the standards of our society; but regardless of the amount of education you may have, you still must have the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, in you, to even understand what His word is all about. These men merely try to interpret a passage of scripture by their intellect; never realizing that God, many times, in the phraseology by which He causes a man to write, conceals certain necessary things that fill in the revelation of it. Let me finish reading here; to get the rest of what he says.) Now let us go to the New Testament and see if it declares that three persons are the one God. This is known, (Notice, here, he has some kind of theological law called hermetics, that he uses.) By the principles utilized for discovering the meaning of a text. It says that we interpret the Old Testament, since the New Testament is the fulfillment. John 10:30, two are declared one, “I am [my] Father are one.” (When we read John 10:30, we know what Jesus is actually saying; but notice, as we read his tract.) John 8:18, two witnesses, “I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” John 17:11, where Jesus spake, I am the Father are one. (And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we {are}.) In 2^nd Peter 1:17, the Father is declared God. John 20:28, Jesus is declared God. Acts 5:3-4, the Holy Spirit is declared God. Hebrews 1:8-9, the Father calls the Son, God. Colossians 1:17, Jesus created everything. Revelation 1:11, Jesus is Alpha and Omega. Just from these few verses, we see that three are called God, and that Jesus is not a creation, but the Creator. When God speaks of Himself as I, me, myself, He is speaking of His being; (in other words, the Great Eternal Spirit). But that Spirit then is manifested in three distinct persons. The plural passages testify to the threefold existence within the one being.” The author’s name is on the tract; but there is no need for me to call his name; since I only used it as a beginning point for this message. Therefore I will go to 1^st Timothy 3:16, where we will begin examining the scriptures in the light they were written in. We are going into this in an altogether different way than the usual approach. I have a reason for going into this subject in this manner though; so just bear with me. I am confident, as we see the Gentile world today, in the present religious state it is in, that there will never be another generation to believe this truth, after this element of people is gone. When we see atheism, evolution, and all these anti-God theories, that are so dominating in our society today, and the upcoming element of the educated structure of the world, there is no way Christianity could survive the onslaught of attacks it will receive in the colleges, and universities of the future. I am not talking about colleges and universities, to run them down, in the basic principals they are in existence for. I have said this, If you are going to fly and airplane, then please, Go further than the 8^th grade in school. If you are going into the study of how to combine certain chemicals that can be toxic and explosive, you better have more than a 6^th or 7^th grade education. I certainly would not want to go to a doctor, that had not received an education beyond what I have. However when it comes to a personal relationship with the eternal God, your education will not merit you one thing with Him. The Bible was not written from such sources. The Bible was written as holy men of old were moved by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God. This lets me know, It is not illiterate people that God uses; but the simple people, who in a mental state, are very alert and sensitive to the fact that there is a God that exists, and that controls all things. People that know He wants to guide and direct our lives. That is the kind of mind God seeks to use. This way, you can never harness God; and put Him in an institution where you can use a monetary gimmick to approach Him. Over half of the New Testament, was written by the Holy Ghost through only one man, the apostle Paul. The Holy Ghost was the author; and Paul was the scribe; or the earthly instrument that told the scribe what to write. He addressed himself as the apostle to the Gentiles. Not necessarily because he was the first to preach to Gentiles; for we know Peter preached to those of the house of Cornelius; but because he was anointed of the Holy Ghost for that special ministry among the Gentiles. We are using 1^st Timothy 3:16, for our text scripture; but I will read verse 15, also, to get the setting right. This 16^th verse, is a verse trinity minded people do not like to deal with; and some Oneness people go too far with; but a very enlightening one, if looked at properly. Let us read. (15) “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (16) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believe on in the world, received up into glory.” This is a scripture human minds can run wild with, if they try to use only this one scripture to build their revelation of the Godhead. God did not mean for His children to take one verse of scripture; and treat all the rest as if they were not even written. In 2^nd Timothy 3:16-17, this same apostle wrote these words, “All scripture {is} given by inspiration of God, and {is} profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  Keep in mind, The man that wrote these words was not a Gentile; he was a Jew. Also, he was an educated man, and he did speak the Greek language; but a hungry soul does not have to understand Greek, in order to be fed by the Holy Ghost. Revelation does not depend as much upon a certain translation of the Bible, as it does upon the continuity of thought; as it is related to all the other references of the same subject in the Bible. Another thing you might take note of, is that none of the original Greek Epistles written by the apostles, is even in existence today. Translators are only using text from copies of the early, supposed to be early, manuscripts. We do know this, When we study the Bible, for a true revelation and understanding of God in His oneness, we are on the other side of Satan’s original all out attack against this revelation; that started even in the closing years of the first Church Age. Coming into the second age, his attack on this revelation was designed to wipe true Christianity from the face of the earth. He could not do that; of course, but he did succeed in getting the Church terribly off course. Satan could never be accused of being a dummy. He knew what he needed to do, before he could ever be successful in changing the doctrinal structure of the scriptures; and what it added up to, was to get the overall body of what was called Christians, to the point where they did not know for sure who God is, what He consists of, and how He is related to man, and man to Him. That is why he introduced the trinity concept of God. When you have people believing that the ONE GOD who created all things is manifested in three distinct persons, they do not know which one to pray to; nor how to read the scriptures, to find out which one does what. That of course, brought human reasoning into the picture; and before too long, carnal mankind had the sovereign God pulled down to their own mental level. That is why the Church went through one thousand years of almost total darkness; before the Reformation started. They had lost their way; and did not know how to look to the true guide, to help them find it again.

WHAT THE CHURCH REALLY SHOULD BE

When we look at 1^st Timothy 3:15, where the apostle Paul said, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth,” it tells us something about Christianity in that first age. In that first 100 years, the Church was looked upon, and known to be, the very embodiment of the eternal God. In other words, God, being a sovereign Spirit, was dwelling in His children, just like He dwells in His only begotten Son Jesus. He was just no manifesting the fullness of His attributes through every one of them; like He did through the Son He fully incarnated. He was in them; but not by the same measure. Nevertheless they all had that sufficient measure of His Spirit, to give them the understanding of His will and purpose for mankind on earth; and the understanding of how they as individuals, were to commune with Him on a personal basis, instead of through an earthly mediator; like it had been in times past, under the Law. In other words, Satan’s true aim was to put the Church under bondage; and set up a mediator that could drain their pocketbooks of the substance God had blessed them with, in the pretext of being their only contact with their Creator; and little by little, they fell for his scheme; as the old guards of the true faith passed on to their reward. Some may ask, Why was the Church referred to as the pillar and ground of the truth? The word pillar, points to something that holds something else up. It is a support. The Church was perceived as being the literal support, and the guardian of God’s truth. Naturally the word ground, speaks of something that is a foundation for the pillar to stand upon. In other words, That apostolic Church had a revelation of God’s word, that truly is the foundation upon which all truth rests; and we are being restored to the same revelation of the word of God they had. Therefore as the apostle Paul said, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, , received up into glory.” The word controversy, speaks of conflict, disagreement, argument, and debate; and when it comes to the question of whether God is ONE SPIRIT, or THREE PERSONS, there is just no place for CONTROVERSY. His oneness is a scriptural fact. Only an anti-Christ spirit, would say that God is three persons. I sometimes feel that these great scholars who claim to know so much, have never even read John 4:24; which says, “God {is} a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship {Him} in spirit and in truth.” That is the very words of Jesus; whom they say is the second person of this holy trinity they think they see in the Bible; so how can they read a verse like that, and still say God the Father is a person? It certainly is true, that God was manifest in flesh; but He has never dwelt in any flesh, except that of His only begotten Son Jesus. He has appeared in theophany form; (which is a visible manifestation of deity) in certain instances recorded in the Old Testament; but He has never been known to any Jew, as Jehovah dwelling in a physical body of flesh; nor did any of them ever believe Him to be a person. Keep in mind, the apostle Paul was a Jew; therefore he understood what he was saying. However, knowing that these Gentiles he was preaching to, had been converted from paganism, and knowing that pagans worship many gods, he had even more reason to be dogmatic about this godhead revelation, that there be no controversy about it in the ranks of that body of believers. When he said, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness,” it was the same as saying, There is no question about it; when it comes to the mention of God in His oneness, it will always be a great mystery to some; but I want you to get it straight. Then he said, “God was manifest in the flesh, (The flesh of His only begotten Son) justified (or authenticated) in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, (Paul certainly did his share of that) believed on in the world, (Not by the world, but by those whom He had foreknown in the world) received up into glory.” I do not hassle with people who say Jesus is God; but I always wonder if they really know, in what way He is God. Certainly there was nothing about His flesh, that we should think of as deity. Furthermore until the time when He came to John the Baptist, to be baptized, and the Spirit descended from heaven and incarnated Him, it could not even be said that He was God; for God was not in Him before then. He was a sinless human; but He was not to be looked upon as deity before that. When you go back into the ancient histories that really describe the religious nature of societies and nations of people, they had a god for everything; especially the Greeks. Therefore think of people who were being converted, and brought out of paganism, believing there is a god for health, a god for fertility, a god for this, and a god for that. Paul knew, that sooner or later, since their minds had been affected by gods in the plurality, as pagans, if there is always a controversy arising, concerning the godhead, at every mention of God in His oneness, it would greatly hinder the growth of those new Christians; so he no doubt deemed it very important, that an effort be made to settle any dispute, and to preserve the true revelation; and he instructed Timothy likewise. Yes, without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. The word mystery, describes, or speaks of something that, even though you may see it, it is still hard to explain. There are many things in the Bible; that, even though you have the revelation of them yourself, they are still hard to explain; so others can see what you see. Their very mention, will bring a cloud of mystery over the face of those hearing your words. Paul does not go into great detail explaining the godhead; in this verse, like he does in other places. Nevertheless when it comes to the godhead, there is always a mystery, and controversy. Naturally the man who wrote these various epistle is dead; and we can never ask him anything about what he taught; but if we believe his testimony, that he was the apostle to the Gentiles, a light to them, we also have confidence, that what he taught was the truth in every instance. He took this wonderful gospel message to those pagans; and presented it to them in such a way that they were able to catch the same revelation of the word of God, that those first Jewish converts had. He presented the message of grace in such simple form, showing that even Gentiles could be reconciled to God, (The Creator) through Jesus Christ, the very Son of God who gave His life as a sacrifice to God, to pay the sin debt for every individual soul that would ever believe on Him; throughout the entire grace age.

THE SON OF GOD THE IMMORTAL ONE

In order for us to take a wise, spiritual look at how the apostle Paul explained this mystery of God in His oneness, and of His plan and purpose in relationship to lost mankind, we need to look at some other scriptures. Let us go also, to chapter 6, of 1^st Timothy, verses 15 and 16. Here, is what we have to look at. If I was a Greek scholar, and I was trying to interpret the Bible by the mere meaning of Greek words, there is doubt I would take the same approach taken by the man whose tract we read a portion of, at the start of this message. However that is only an intellectual interpretation of something that requires a Holy Ghost revelation; if we are to walk with God in truth. People seem to get the idea, that I am against education; and educated people; but that is not true at all. I am only against the idea these divinity scholars have; that only the educated people of the world, are able to interpret the Bible. If they are talking about a word translation from Greek and Hebrew to something else, I will agree with them; but when it comes to having a spiritual revelation of what those translated scriptures mean, they come up short; unless they are willing to humble themselves, and receive truth from whatever source God sees fit to use. Worldly wisdom, and worldly riches, are two things God has little use for; unless He gets complete control of those who possess them, first. He will use your wisdom; and He will use your money; but He does not want either one instead of you; nor will He allow you any special consideration because you possess them. Let us look at a few scriptures dealing with riches and wisdom; and see what the bible says about them. Jesus had a lot to say about those who are rich with the things of this world. Notice, (Matthew 19:23) “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:24) “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Luke 1:53) “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away.” Notice this one. (Luke 6:24) “But woe unto you that are rich! For ye have received your consolation.” Why would Jesus say such a thing? Because He knew how those that are rich, are able to use their money to get recognition, wherever they go. No one has ever said that a rich man could not be saved. At least, I have not; but too many times, they get the idea that joining a church and paying tithes will get them into the kingdom of god; and that is pure deception. Everything that has an eternal value is free. All God wants, si you. He owns everything else already. Now let us take a look at what the Bible says about man’s wisdom; and see if God absolutely has to have it, in order to make His plan of redemption work. In 1^st Cor. 1:17, we read these words, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” (1^st Cor. 1:19-21) “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where {is} the scribe? Where {is} the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” (2^nd Cor. 2:1-2, 4) “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And my speech and my preaching {was} not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” I do not feel that I am overstepping my purpose in the plan of God; when I say, The New Testament was not written by intellectual capabilities. It was written, as the Holy Spirit inspired the writers to relate things in their own human terminology. The apostle Paul who wrote what we used for our text scripture, also wrote, in chapter 6, of 1^st Timothy, verses 15-16, concerning Jesus the Christ, the very ONE the gospel is all about; so let us read those verses at this time; and see what place this man Jesus held, in the mind and spirit of this apostle. “Which in His times He shall shew, {who is} the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; (The word Potentate, speaks of a celebrity, an important civil or social figure; royalty, a king, or such like; and we all, surely know that the King of kings and Lord of lords is Jesus the Christ; but verse 16, pinpoints that for sure) Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom {be} honor and power everlasting. Amen.” He has immortality; because He was raised from the dead by the power and Spirit of God Himself who is the Creator. The fact that He is dwelling in the light, speaks of the fact that He has been taken up; and seated on the right hand of the Father; the source of all light. Listen, saints, We need to make up our mind’s about this godhead question. Either we determine once and for all, that the Father is not a person, never was a person, and never will be a person, or we will just drift along; playing church, and never really be able to give a Bible answer to people who may look to us for the truth. I have no reason to believe there is anyone of this congregation still not sure about the oneness of God; but can you give a satisfactory answer to others, when you are questioned about what you believe? You may not refer to the Father as the first person of the trinity, like the Trinitarians do; but can you give an acceptable answer, when questioned about the Godhead? The Father, is that eternal Spirit that created this old world, as well as everything else. He, and He alone, is the omnipotent One, the omniscient One, the omnipresent One. He shares those characteristics with no one; nor with any thing. He fills the universe. Therefore He does not dwell in a form. That is why He should never be referred to as a person. A person could not possess those attributes. The very fact that He is our Creator, makes Him Father; because from Him, we have our existence; but that does not make him a person. He is also the Father of the entire animal creation too, you know. From Him, all living things have their existence; so that, without anything else, makes Him Father. Brothers and sisters, the reason I am taking this route, is so that, when we do come across phrases in the Bible, that are plural, you should already be conscious of the fact, that Jesus never referred to a plurality of persons. He definitely gives you a plurality of thought; because you see two objects of thought; but you do not have to make a person out of both of them. You just have to know what the Father is, in relationship to this plan of redemption; then you can clearly see the person through which the Father worked; and is still working, to bring this great master plan to a climax. He is gathering His creation back to Himself; back to the place Adam fell from because of his transgression. The Son, is the flesh man the invisible Father revealed himself to His creation through. When we can catch that kind of thought, we can better understand what Paul meant when he said, “Who only hath immortality.” That is referring to Jesus, dwelling in the light; because He is dwelling in the eternal Spirit. God has taken Him up, and seated Him on the right hand of authority. The Father is not a person; but He (the Father) does give Himself a position by which Jesus is recognized as being in His presence. The light, definitely speaks of how the Father manifests Himself to, and through this Son of His; in order to fulfill the beautiful picture you and I see in Revelation: chapters 4 and 5. Keep in mind, John only saw one throne set in heaven. One throne, in which Jesus the immortal Christ was positioned. Therefore, that is why this passage of scripture says, “Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see.” Why? Because that Spirit is invisible. No other man can approach unto this light; nor can any other man see with his natural eyes, this light. “Whom no man hath seen,” is past tense, “nor can see,” is present tense. Why? Because He is an invisible, eternal being. Yet this very verse of scripture points you precisely to Revelation; chapters 4 and 5. John only saw one throne. The throne he saw, was a position the Father had relegated to His Son; whereby He would take Him up; and seat Him in that position; and then He (the Father) would manifest and project authority and power to, and through Him; that He (the Son) might fulfill His high priestly work, (which is still going on) from that very position. Therefore Jesus can be recognized as our High Priest, who Paul describes in Hebrews as the One that hath gone beyond the veil; and entered into the very Holy of Holies, on our behalf. In other words, He has gone right into the very presence of God Himself. Therefore, for 2000 years, He has been making intercession for you and me; to the great eternal Spirit.

THE FATHER SOVEREIGN SPIRIT

We must still take a closer look at the scriptures; in order to be specific in casting down every thought about a first person of the godhead. I realize of course, that telling a Trinitarian there is only ONE PERSON in the godhead; is just like telling a lot of these idolaters who worship Bro. William Branham, that he was just a sinner saved by the grace and mercy of God; like all the rest of us are. The same spirit that told the Trinitarians God is manifested in three persons, told this other group, that Bro. William Branham was God manifested in flesh. What makes one group better or worse than the other, when they are all out of the scriptures, believing what they believe? I cannot in any way, see how anyone could be so blind that they would go around the world, telling people that GOD SENT A PROPHET TO THIS AGE; then turn right around and tell them to use the Spoken Word Books, above the Bible: when Bro. William Branham preached every one of his messages right out of the Bible. They have to be spiritually blind themselves; yet they are so proud that God sent them a prophet messenger, to get them out of denominations. They are in the same prison house; and too blind to see it. Nevertheless this great eternal Spirit the Trinitarians call, the first person of the holy trinity: has perfected a way of escape; for every soul that is willing to follow His road map; but that map can be read only by the One the Trinitarians call, the third person of the holy trinity; the Holy Spirit that indwells every true child of God. The very Spirit Jesus said would lead believers into all truth, is doing that very thing for the little bride Church of the living God; so it is obvious that those who still walk in spiritual ignorance, after having an opportunity to walk in the light of truth, do not have that Spirit indwelling them. By divine revelation, we know that the first person of the Trinitarian’s trinity, and the third person are both the same sovereign Spirit. It is just two different office works by the same Spirit. He was FATHER in creation; and in His SON in redemption; and He is Called, THE HOLY SPIRIT in regeneration. Any way you look at it, you still see only ONE GOD, Spirit, manifested in three offices, not three persons. He knows all things, because He is not limited to time. He always was, and always will be. He had no beginning; and He will have no ending. It is hard for a scientific mind to accept such a concept of God; but Saints: before there ever was a speck of anything else: this great Spirit filled the space where He would eventually place that which He would create. That is why Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Do not ask me to explain how that sovereign Spirit came to be what He is; since He had no beginning Himself, you cannot go back beyond Him. In other words, If we are going to believe in God at all: the only thing that makes any sense at all, is to believe in Him according to what the Bible tells us about Him. For lack of better words to declare his revelation of this sovereign CREATOR, the apostle John spoke of Him on this wise, (John 1:1) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That will take you right back to Genesis 1:1. In Genesis 1:2 we find the beginning of Moses’ record of this sovereign Spirit beginning to bring the earth out of its state of voidness; and this is commonly thought of, as the creation of this earth; but we need to realize: that the earth was without form, and void, and engrossed in total darkness; as a result of God’s judgment upon a prehistoric creation of His; which all took place between verses 1 & 2 of Genesis, chapter 1. I will not go into the necessary details of establishing this scripturally, at this time, since we already have other articles in print, dealing with that subject; which can be obtained just by asking for them. What we want to concentrate on now, is our announced subject; the great controversy over whether God is manifested in three persons, or not. I maintain that there is only ONE PERSON in the Godhead; and that the one person, was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who as a man had a beginning. The only thing about Him that did not have a beginning; was that sovereign Spirit that descended from heaven, and incarnated Him, after John the Baptist had baptized Him.

THE GOD – NO MAN HAS SEEN

Where is this God, no man has ever seen? We will go on a little further in the Gospel of John; to get the answer to that question. Our setting here, is the apostle John, who became a disciple of Jesus; after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, in the Jordan River. The apostle John picks up the writing; and describes this man Jesus; who He was, and what He was. Then he began to relate the words of John the Baptist, where he referred to this certain man he baptized. The apostle John wrote it like this, (John 1:15) “John (The Baptist) bare witness of Him, (meaning Jesus the Christ) and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spake, (meaning when the scribes and Pharisees sent certain men down to ask him who He was) He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me.” Not only do we need to catch what John declared about this man Jesus; we need to find out what he meant by what he said. After we read a few more verses here, we will go to another setting for that. Verse 16, is how John goes ahead speaking of Him. “And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (Because through Jesus, another dispensation, and another covenant was set in motion; and John the apostle is relating what John the Baptist said about this man called Jesus the Christ, whom he baptized. This next verse, is the final analysis; but when we look at Jesus, we need to let our gaze, or our understanding be centered on God the Father that indwells Him.) No man hath seen God (The Father) at any time; the only begotten Son (Jesus) which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” That is a language phrase, meaning, That Jesus was the very heart throb, or the very yearning of the Father. First of all, the word bosom, is a pictorial language. We know the word bosom, is speaking of the breast of a person; usually a woman. Nevertheless we do know this, God the Father, being not a person, was not existing in any form, therefore we can understand, that the word bosom, is in reference to His heart’s yearning; or craving. Jesus, who was begotten of Him, was the very innermost longing and yearning of the Father; for the day to come, when He (The Father) would bring forth into this world that Son; who would carry His image and likeness; and would not surrender anything up to the devil. That Son walked so obedient, and so subject to the Father’s will, John could talk like that about Him. That He was the begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, and it is He, (Jesus) that hath declared the Father, that no man hath seen. The word declared, means Jesus hath revealed the Father. Jesus hath made the Father known. Well what about all these people who claim to have seen God? If John was right, he said, No man hath seen God at any time. He is referring to the existence of that eternal Spirit; which cannot be seen with the natural eye. We can only see Him with a spiritual eye; through that which Jesus revealed about Him. He is invisible; because He does not dwell in a form. He does not need a chair to sit in; because He never gets tired. He is that Spirit that has propagated all things into existence. Now to get the rest of the picture, where John the Baptist gave testimony to those sent by the scribes and Pharisees, inquiring about his reason for baptizing, just read verses 19, thru 34, of this same chapter. When we go to other passages of scriptures written by the apostle Paul, we can better understand what the words by, or through, or in, is really speaking of. However at this point of our subject, let us go back to the Old Testament. The Trinitarians always like to use the verse of scripture in Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. They declare, that the Greek words us, and our, where God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,” proves that Jesus was there with the Father; helping Him in the creation. They say those, are plural words that definitely describe the existence of God in His triune being; or makeup. Yes, they have to say that He is one eternal Spirit, but yet that one eternal Spirit has chosen to be manifested in three distinct persons. As I said earlier in the message, I am not an educated man; but I can go back to the Old Testament, to the law God gave the children of Israel, as they were on their journey coming out of Egyptian bondage, where He gave them the design of how to build the tabernacle, and how the priests and people were to approach Him (God) in their earthly, spiritual relationship and fellowship with Him, and how He would come down and dwell in that tabernacle; and I have never found one verse of scripture in any of that, which I could even think, was pointing to a trinity. If you will study the law and the structure of the tabernacle very carefully, you will see nothing that describes, or in any way portrays a trinity. That is why the Jews will always believe in the existence of that one eternal God. They may have misgivings as to what their Messiah will be; but the main thing is, Those early Jewish Christians that had followed this man called Jesus, after they received the Holy Spirit, they knew how to relate to all of what they had previously looked forward to. They had no problem explaining the godhead; when it was necessary to do so. The key to that though, is having that indwelling Spirit within you; the Holy Ghost, which Jesus promised would lead you into all truth. (John 16:13) “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, {that} shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” You may get tired hearing me say it; but there are a lot of people in this world; trying to interpret scripture, without having the interpreter in them. Let me read you a few verses from the 14^th chapter of John, starting in verse 12. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater {works} than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (This is Jesus speaking; so notice what follows. Verse 13) And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (14) If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do {it}. (15) If ye love me, keep my commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; (17) {Even} the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, (in Jesus) and shall be in you.” Now I want to read you one more verse; to go with this; (John 14:26) “But the Comforter, {which is} the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” In case anyone did not know before, this is what Jesus told His disciples the Holy Ghost would do; once He is inside of believers; so tell me this, If these Trinitarians have this indwelling presence, why is He not teaching them all things, and guiding them into all truth? You know the answer; as well as I do. They have been psychologically converted to some manmade religion; but they have never been born again by the Spirit of God; which is not the third person of this one eternal being; He is the selfsame Spirit that the one eternal being always was. It is just a title that He gives Himself, as He relates Himself to mankind in redemption and regeneration. In other words, when you receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you do not receive the Spirit of the third person. You receive the Spirit of the first being, the Father Himself. That is why Jesus, though He spoke of Him as a Comforter, also spoke of Him as the Spirit of Truth; because that is exactly what He is. He spoke of Him as the Holy Ghost; but He also spoke of Him as the Father. This is what gets Greek language speakers all worked up into a lather. Well when you read Genesis 1:27, it should explain verse 26; without all of this controversy over whether Jesus worked with the Creator, in creation, or not. It says, “So God created man in HIS {own} image, (Not in their image) in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” I hope you can clearly see, that God created man in His (singular) own image. That one verse clearly shows that God is singular and masculine. He is not three persons; nor could He be a she; the Bible is too clear on that, for anyone to fight against it. Therefore in Genesis 1, verse 26, where all the controversy exists over the word us, it was simply a matter of the Creator speaking to His angelic helpers. Naturally I am aware, that Hebrew and Greek scholars from the trinity ranks, would challenge me on that; but that doesn’t worry me; for until they get to personally know this God they talk about, there is no way they could see the true picture concerning the godhead. God has always related Himself to mankind through the ministry of angels. Certainly the Jews knew how angels were used in the plan of God. Take for instance, the type in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle, which was just at ent in the beginning; how this box which contained the ark of the covenant, which was also referred to as the mercy seat, was placed in the Holy of Holies, with two cherubim of beaten gold guarding that Shekinah glory (Which was the presence of God, dwelling among His people. It was just a type; but it clearly shows the presence of angels, in this great plan of God for the ages. If God were a trinity, He should have been set forth as three persons in all of the types of the Old Testament; and I have never found one. Why was there no images of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, put there in that tabernacle? What actually dwelt there, was a whirling light. That box was not a place for god, as a man in a form, to come down and sit inside of. What was in the box? The law of commandments, written on stone. The box was made of wood; overlaid with gold. The box in itself portrayed a twofold type. The box of wood, spoke of the flesh of the Son of God; and the gold that was laid over the wood spoke of the deity of God invested in the flesh of Jesus the Christ, the very Son of God, who is the ark of the New Covenant. Jesus then, is not anointed of the third person of the Godhead. He is the one and only manifested person of the Godhead. Therefore, if two cherubim, which were winged creatures of gold, were positioned there, one at each end of the Ark of the Covenant, what did it represent? They were the guards. They were, the protectors of the enthronement and presence of God, set forth in that type. This lets me know why, all through time, God the eternal Being, before the New Testament dispensation started, always contacted His writing prophets in that dispensation of time, through the medium of angelic beings. Those angels would speak in the authority of the first person; as though it were God Himself; singular, speaking right to them; therefore you can find no evidence whatsoever, that there was a second or third person in the picture. It takes the devil, that perverter of God’s word, to get three persons out of some scripture in the Bible; regardless of whether the reference comes from the Old Testament, or the New Testament. Surely any revelated child of God, can reconcile any plural terminology, to the office works of the ONE true God, which is Spirit; and never has been anything else.

WHY GOD SAID – MAKE NO GRAVEN IMAGES

God called Abraham, the man who was going to beget a race of people, through whom He would entrust the revelation of His oneness; to get out of his country, and away from his kindred; and promised to make a great nation of his seed. While other races of people were going into oblivion, as far as any reality about God was concerned, and worshiping a plurality of deities, God called this man, to go out from his familiar surroundings; into a strange land that he had to wait for God to show him. (Gen. 12:1) “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (3) and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Abraham obeyed god; and from his loins came the Jewish race of people, that have carried the revelation of God’s oneness right on through time; until God beget His own Son, to take that revelation and convey it to faithful men that could be sent forth to preach it to the world. Gentiles were never in the picture, as far as worshiping God according to the ways set forth in the law given to Moses; but through His begotten Son, God opened up the way to fulfill His promise to Abraham; which was, “And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” That is why we can say we are children of Abraham. We are his faith seed. Therefore we need to remember, Abraham never did believe the God he trusted, was anything more than a sovereign Spirit. When God appeared to him in a theophany form, you will find no place in the Bible, where Abraham ever went looking for that visible form afterwards. His communion was with the invisible God that had called him to go into that promised land; which he afterward inherited. God never meant for anyone to think of HIM as anything other than SPIRIT. That is why, when He gave the children of Israel a law to govern them, the first two commandments of that law was, (Exodus 20:3-4) “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness {of any thing} that {is} in heaven above, or that {is} in the earth beneath, or that {is} in the water under the earth.” First of all, HE is the only God anyone is to worship; and secondly, since He is SPIRIT, there is nothing in this world that could picture what HE IS. Therefore HE said, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, (No statue, no picture, nor anything else) or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” There is just no way to picture god; and even if there was, He still would not want us to have the picture; for people are too subject to look to such an image, as though it holds some kind of virtue. Any way you look at it, what Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, at the well, pertains to every creature that could ever desire to worship God. (John 4:24) He said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” If you try to worship God in any way except this, you become an idolater. It is just as simple as that. God called Abraham; and ordained that from his loins, would come forth a race of people, in which this revelation of His oneness would be kept alive. When He gave them that law, when He gave them that type portrayed in the tabernacle, and His Shekinah glory, which was a manifestation of light, there was no other light in that place. There were no windows in that Holy of Holies. It was a dark place, just imagine a box, made of wood, overlaid with gold on the outside, but inside the box were two tables of stone; on which God, by His divine power, (it is referred to as the finger of God) wrote and engraved those ten commandments, and Moses brought them off the mountain; and presented them to the children of Israel. God told him how to build the tabernacle. Every detail of it was erected according to God’s specific instructions; and I assure you, there was no trinity type in it. That box prefigured Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, who would be the ark of the new covenant; both man and god in one human vessel, manifested to take away the sins of the world. Everything in that Tabernacle typed something in the plan of God; pertaining to what He would do for mankind under the New Covenant; but as for the children of Israel, to whom the Old Covenant was given, they were not to make anything with any shape; with any likeness or form to it, to use in worshiping Him; because God being a Spirit, He would have no part in anything like that. He is an eternal, invisible Spirit, which cannot be harnessed down; like man in his carnal mind, want to harness Him. Therefore we will either worship Him according to His instruction; or He will not accept our efforts in any way. That is exactly what He said to Cain, (Gen. 4:7) “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” That is where the world is today. Most of those who do acknowledge that there is a God, like Cain did, expect Him to be overjoyed, just to accept their fruit and vegetable baskets; but His word is saying the same thing to them; that He said to Cain. In other words, (Just to use my own words) If you cannot find it in your heart to approach me according to the provision, just forget it. Go your own way; and we will settle this thing at the last judgment. If your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, that means you are a child of God; and you should not rebel against His word; but if you are not of that number, here is what Revelation 20:15 says, concerning you, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” That is where it all ends. On the other hand, for the true child of God, there is no end. Hallelujah! God contacted Abraham once; through an instrument called Melchizedek; (Gen. 14:18-20). Then God spoke to Abraham at a later time, (Which we have already mentioned) when He appeared to him right before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. One of the three angels, spake with Abraham in the terminology of the Creator Himself; but you must remember, This was not a permanent form God dwelled in; it was a theophany form; which Abraham never saw again. Melchizedek, which Paul writes of in the New Testament, did not even exist as an actual person. He was a projection of God Himself; given to Abraham in a certain geographic location; and this was God’s way of prefiguring to Abraham, it is here, at this place, I will visit your generations to come. Also, just as Melchizedek gave Abraham bread and wine there that day, almost two thousand years later, Jesus who was the one Melchizedek prefigured, when He sat at the Passover supper, just a few hours before He gave Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of lost mankind, (Which was the Passover Lamb, to the children of Israel.) Took of the elements of the Passover supper, and repeated to His disciples, what Melchizedek had done with Abraham. He took of the bread, blessed it, brake it, and gave it to His disciples saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then He took of the cup and spoke of it as the blood of the new covenant. Therefore all of this adds up to the fact, that Jesus who was born of virgin birth 2000 years ago, was definitely the fulfillment of every type portrayed in the Old Testament. He was the beginning of the fulfillment and the revelation of what those types pointed to. Abraham never did see a third person. Actually, he did not see anything other than those theophanies; which were only types of that which was to come. The ONE GOD that has never been a person, manifests Himself in THREE OFFICES; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but the Son is the only p-e-r-s-o-n. I believe that should be plain enough; for people who desire to know the truth.

APOSTOLIC TERMINOLOGY

Let us go back to the book of Ephesians; for a look at terminology that causes natural minds to imagine they see more than one person in the Godhead. This letter to the Ephesians, is a very important letter, to the New Testament Church. Ephesus was an Asiatic city, and a metropolitan area, 2000 years ago; that existed in the country we call Turkey, today. It was in this city, Ephesus, that the apostle Paul, (According to the 19^th and 20^th chapters of Acts) stayed for the period of three years, preaching the revelation of Jesus Christ to Gentiles; which before, had been pagans. In that course of time, it is related in those chapters of Acts; that all Asia heard the gospel. All those other cities, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, lying somewhere in the surrounding area of Ephesus, had Churches established in them; by the people from those places, that had heard Paul preach the gospel at Ephesus. There, is where they were converted. There, is where they got the spirit, and the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul was in prison, in Rome, in the later years of his life and ministry; and it was from that prison cell, he wrote this Epistle to the Ephesians. It was a letter of commendation, exhorting and uplifting those saints, in 64 A.D.; because it was this assembly, which set the example of Christianity in that first age of Christendom. Notice how Paul approached this subject. In fact, his introduction is a beautiful picture. You will see no trinity in it. Yet some would argue that they do. We will read the first three verses; of chapter 1. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.” We are looking at two objects of thought. We are not looking at two persons. We are looking at God. Because it is God, the Eternal Spirit, that Paul addresses first. Everything was as it was; by the will of God. It was that Eternal Spirit which is God Himself, that had dealt with this man called Paul; whose real name was Saul; before it was changed to Paul. Now your question might be, Why would he say, in Christ Jesus? It is because Jesus the Christ, meaning Jesus the anointed one, is the one through whom the Father works; to bring us to this great salvation. Christ, is not the last name of Jesus. Being the Christ, means HE was the anointed One. What was He anointed of? Did the third person anoint Him? If you believe that, you are going to have some pieces left over; when you put your picture together. You believe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost were equal in authority; so how could any one of three equals, have the authority to anoint another one of the same three? We are definitely looking at two object of thought; but not two persons. If we can see the Father as the eternal Spirit: who does not dwell in a form, we can read this the way Paul understood it. Jesus had the fullness of the attributes of the Father in Him; but he did not have all of God in Him; for that sovereign Spirit is omnipresent. That simply means, that He is everywhere. What image could you make, that could picture an omnipresent Spirit? That is why the children of Israel were not to make any graven image. Anything man might do, to try to picture God, would detract from what He truly is; and He would not allow that to be done. Yet, in the Old Testament, chose certain ways to manifest Himself; to get the attention He wanted. He never repeated those manifestations because He did not chose to be permanently identified with any of those theophany forms. What He longed for, was to live in the person of His begotten Son. That is what everything else pointed to. That is why John said, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.”  Getting back to Ephesians though, Paul says, “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” We can, and we should carry two objects of thought. We can distinguish what the Father is; because He is the one doing the saving; but how is He doing it? He is doing it through the person of His Son. Why? Because the person of His Son is made up of three basic elements. First He is spirit life; that came from the Father. Then there is flesh, and then there is blood. That blood is what the spirit life is related to; that keeps the flesh active and alive. Notice again, “Blessed be the God and Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Without that anointing presence, we are just sitting inside a building talking about something; but when He said heavenly places, He could have said in spiritual positions. You are still here on this earth; but somehow or other, because God has redeemed you through the offering of the blood of His only begotten Son, we are redeemed back to Him through His Son. Therefore as Jesus is the heir of all the Father’s potentials, related to God’s redemption purpose for mankind, we then become joint heirs with Christ Jesus, of everything God has given to Him. The first thing we receive is eternal life. Therefore He has blessed us, He has positioned us, and we are sitting in heavenly places in Christ. (4) “According as He (the Father) hath chosen us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” God the Father, hath chosen us in Jesus; before the foundation of the world, (In His sovereign mind) that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. What a letter to be written to an ancient Church. You know, I have my doubts, that every one of those people had a lot of education, over 1900 years ago. Yet when Paul wrote this epistle in the Greek language, to that Asiatic body of disciples, they knew exactly what he was talking about. That is the beauty of it. It does not take an education; to know God in truth. Well, verse 5, lets us know what God’s plan was. “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” We hear denominational people today, say, Wait a minute now, that doctrine of predestination is out of the pit. I just have to say, It comes right out of the same Bible they use; they just choose to read right over it. When they say, We do not believe that; they are actually saying, We do not believe all of the Bible. The reason they look at it that way, is because they think that cancels out the scripture that says, (Rev. 22:17) “And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Predestination does not affect one word of that. It is just simply a matter of God knowing before He ever created anything, what every creature would do; and His total plan included provision for every bit of it. Furthermore I believe if they would read the verse more carefully, it would not say what they think it says. The invitation is there; just like it was to Cain; but there are two keys to consider: a-t-h-I-r-s-t, and w-h-o-s-o-e-v-e-r w-I-l-l. Only those who are athirst, will accept the invitation to come to Him in the only way it is possible for a lost soul to come to Him. That way for Gentiles, is Acts 2:38; and that is the only way. God did not design an alternate way; for those who are too proud to accept His provided way. Yes, the invitation is still open; but God knew who would humble themselves to accept the invitation; therefore it can be said, They are predestinated. All of those names were written in the book of life; before the foundation of the world; and I assure you, there are no new names being written therein. I hear people say, But the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish; but that all should be saved. Saints: Is that really what it says? I wish some of these people who are always misquoting scripture; would at least quote it correctly; even if they never know what it means. Peter is the one that used the terminology they are thinking of; but let us notice the exact wording of it. (2^nd Pet. 3:9) “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” What promise is He referring to? Well, you can go to the verse every denominational person likes to quote; and read it, but like every other promise and provision God has ever made, there are conditions preceding the receiving of it. It is John 3:16; so let us read it. “For God so loved the world, that HE gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him (Not just about Him, but in Him, that is the key) should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It is those that believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior; according to the scriptural provision, that God will never let perish. I believe that with all my heart. That IS eternal security; that a lot of those same people rebel against also; but that in no way cancels out the reality of some other verses I can think of. Like for instance, 2^nd Thessalonians 2:9-12, where the apostle Paul was dealing with the mystery of iniquity, the spirit of antichrist, and said, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Does that sound like God is not willing for any to perish; or will you agree, that He knew also, which ones would reject His provision and perish, and that it is only those who will accept His provision, that He will not let perish? Let us take a look at 2^nd Peter 2:12; if you need a little more evidence. You can read the whole chapter later; if you care to; but this one verse is sufficient for now. “But these, as natural brute beasts, (He is talking about ungodly men.) Made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil fo the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” Tell me now, that God is not willing that any should perish; but that all should come to repentance. The most you can say about it, in the light of the scriptures, si that God did not purposely design some people to burn in hell; and others to be saved. No. He created man in HIS own image; which means He created a spirit man; that had intellect, and the ability to choose whether he would obey the instructions given him by his Creator, or the voice of his wife; that had been deceived by a satanic scheme. We all know what his choice was; but some will say, If God knew this ahead of time, why did He allow it to happen? Because He did not want a bunch of robots to order around throughout eternity; when He could have a family of sons and daughters, that had been given the opportunity to reject Him; and they, by their own choice, loved Him; and chose to follow His word, instead of the word of His enemy, Satan. There has always been this great controversy over certain things in the word of God; any time religious people (not necessarily Christians) get together; but none of it will ever change God one bit. As long as Jesus is still on the mercy seat, that universal invitation, Whosoever will, let him come, will still be there; but God will not be surprised at the end; to see who accepted it, and who rejected it. You just have to accept the fact, that He designed a plan, whereby He would be worshiped by a family of sons and daughters that love Him by their own free choice; and desire to please Him in all their ways. None of them will perish. Hallelujah! We are living in an hour, when our society seems determined to give the perverts and criminals all the rights they demand; and treat the law abiding citizens like the criminals should be treated; but that is now wonder; for according to the words of Jesus, we are living close to the end. The signs are all around us. Satan’s vessels are trying their best, to totally destroy the family structure; which has been the only stabilizing source left in the human race; for quite some time now. The Bible said it would be that way though; so that in itself, shows that god knows ahead of time, what is going to happen. Well if He foreknew all of that, He also foreknew who would accept Christ; and who would reject Him. Therefore the terminology, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children,” brings a word to the forefront; that pertains to how an orphan child is taken into a family, and given full rights as an heir of the family’s earthly accumulation. When we look at it in our sinful makeup, that is exactly what we are. We are born into the world in sin. Our nature is to be contrary to God; and live just the opposite of His ways. That is why it is written; “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” (Rom. 3:10-11) People may have religious ideas; but they do not seek after God in the right way. Luke 17:26-29, says this, “And as it was in the days of Noe, (Noah) so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; (29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone fro heaven, and destroyed them all.” You might say, What is wrong with that? The fact that they left God out of the picture, and went after the lust of their flesh, is what was wrong with it; just like it is today. That is why we can say, The cup of abomination is just about full; and the judgment of God is sure. The same word of god that brought us to salvation, is what judges those that reject its invitation. That is the reason we are instructed not to judge anyone; it is God’s word that judges them. Naturally that is referring to their eternal destiny; and not their fleshly deeds. It is our responsibility; to judge by the fruit a person bears, whether we should fellowship that person, or refuse to have fellowship with them. We are admonished; to abstain from every appearance of evil; so we have to judge that; in order to keep our own fellowship with our heavenly Father as it pleases Him.

THE FATHER’S WILL

Taking into account the fact of God’s foreknowledge, He knows who His lost, potential children are; therefore it is He that seeks us; we do not seek after Him. That is why Paul wrote, “There is none that seeketh after God.” We came into our relationship with God, by the new birth; as is taught throughout the New Testament; but in this scripture we were looking at, in Ephesians, Paul is looking at it from the standpoint of our position in God’s family of redeemed children. It is not just because we get tired of sin; and decide to live for God; that we become joint heirs with Jesus Christ. It is because God’s foreknowledge let Him see us accepting His provision; therefore before the foundation of the world, God predestinated us to be adopted into full sonship by, Or through Jesus Christ; according to the good pleasure of His (The Father’s) will. Therefore when we really accept Him, it is through Jesus, the one who furnished the elements by how our redemption would be brought about. Then God adopts us into His family; by, or through Jesus Christ. That brings us back to the two objects of thought; that we mentioned earlier. We see the Father; and we see the Son; both mentioned in these scriptures; as though there could be more than one person in the Godhead; but I assure you, it is not so. It is easy to get hung up on words; when you do not have a revelation. The trinity, because they say the Son previously existed with the Father, before all time, and because of a place where it says, by His word He created the worlds and such like, they say Jesus created all things. Well if Jesus created all things, then Jesus created you and me; so then, what does the Father have to do with all of this? Is He just some person sitting back, dictating the terms and such like? No. That is not the way it is. It is God; (The sovereign Spirit) that loved us; and foreknew us; and He is the one doing the choosing; or it could not be written; that it is according to H-I-S will, H-I-S good pleasure, which H-E hath purposed in H-I-M-S-E-L-F. Where did I get such a verse, you may ask? That is what Ephesians 1:9, says. Let us read verses 9-11; so you can see the rest of this singular terminology. No. It was not a mistake. I know that; because I know Jesus the Son, had a beginning. HE could not have possibly had any part in creation; nor any of the choosing that took place before the foundation of the earth; except in the mind of the Creator Himself; that designed the whole plan, to be culminated through Him (The Son). Notice “Having made known unto us the mystery of HIS will, according to HIS good pleasure which HE hath purposed in HIMSELF: (10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of times HE might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: (11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of HIM who worketh all things after the counsel of HIS own will.” You may read a verse or two; that the way it is translated, sounds like Jesus did the creating; but when you examine the whole picture, you realize that would pervert the whole picture; from Genesis 1; through Revelation 22. Either there is ONE sovereign CREATOR, or we must disregard an awful lot of the Bible. That would not matter to a lot of people in the world today; for they have no respect for the word of God anyway; but it would sure bother me; because this same apostle also wrote 2^nd Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture {is} given by inspiration of God, and {is} profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” When you start throwing out scripture, where do you draw the line? I will throw out none of it myself. I believe it {is} all profitable; just like Paul said. Therefore when God did the choosing and creating, Jesus the Son of God had not yet come into existence; to even be thought of as an eternal being, in that respect. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of HIS OWN WILL.” Now brothers and sisters, there is no way that verse could be read like that; if there were three persons sitting up there, all equal in authority. It would have to be, according to the counsel of THEIR will. May I say this, The plan of salvation was not designed by the person of the Son of God. It was designed, fully planned, in the eons of ages back, in the sovereign mind of that One eternal being who always was; and always will be; who has no beginning, or ending of days. Who never was born, and will never die. Who never gets sick, never has a fever; never goes to a doctor; or any of that. He is unrelated to all those things. When He brought forth His only begotten, whose life was from HIM, naturally that made Him Father of Him whom He begat; therefore that Son was perfect also; just like His Father. He was sinless; but He was not God. Then later, when the Son was about thirty years of age, by His own sovereign will, He (The Father) put Himself in that perfect son; and the two spirits, (not persons) became ONE SPIRIT. That is how the Son could demonstrate, reveal, or display the Father. It was the Son, those people saw with their naked eye; but it was the Father inside the Son, that actually performed all the miracles; just like Jesus the Son was always saying. Let us go to chapter 3, now, for we need to get a couple of verses there; that seem to say something contradictory to our revelation. Verses 8-10, are the verses I want us to look at. (Eph. 3:8) “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; (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.” The apostle Paul starts off in the 8^th verse, talking about unmerited favor; because of the understanding God had given him; and the fact that He had been called to preach the gospel to Gentiles; but when the Trinitarian translators translated the 9^th verse, they added a little something that was not in the Aramaic version of the same verse. I am referring to the last part of the verse; that says, “Hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” That whole thing is built around the revelation and mystery; or the understanding of This mystery concerning how one God was revealed to lost mankind, through His only begotten Son; and certainly was never to be translated in a way that would make the Son, the Creator. In the Aramaic version, the verse ends with “God who created all things.” Let us read it from the Aramaic version, because the Aramaic version is the text that all the eastern Churches used; and that is where the first Churches were. Ephesians 3:9, in the Aramaic, says this, “And that I might enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which for ages had been hidden from the world by God, who created all things.”  The verse ends right there; and that certainly makes sense; where the other words do not. When you know beyond any shadow of doubt, that Jesus the Son of God had no part in creation, you hate to find wording like that, in the Bible; for you know it will always cause controversy between one God believers and trinity believers. Still yet, we do realize that God allowed this sort of thing; to confound the wise and prudent men of the world; who interpret the Bible without a revelation. Let me say also, that we have no intention of trying to convince them; that certain words have been inserted into the body of scriptures by Trinitarian translators; that were not actually in original texts; we are only interested in helping believers get over these rough places; where they are always being hassled. These eastern manuscripts, which were the Aramaic, were kept from the western world until recent years. That lets me know, the eastern Church knew how to perceive that epistle of Paul; because I have read this same verse, from this same epistle; and we can see what translators have done to it. That is where we are at today, saints. You cannot change these doctors of divinity; that is the way they are going to be; but the reason I am saying these things to you, is because, as we get closer and closer to the coming of Jesus, and as the pressure of this religious world gets more dominant, the day will come, when you will be looked upon as a cult; because of what you believe. Just remember though, True Christianity, two thousand years ago, was looked upon as a cult also. True Christianity never has been looked upon by the world, as God’s embodiment of truth. The world is not going to receive it.

AN UNCHANGEABLE REVELATION

We are going into Colossians; for a closer look at the apostle Paul’s terminology; for it is scriptures like this, that cause Trinitarians to feel like they have ground to stand on. However before we do go into Colossians, I want to make a statement concerning a letter I received from a brother. He was telling me of a book that was given to him recently. The man who wrote this book claims to have been a follower of Bro. William Branham’s ministry. For how long, I do not know. Whoever the man is, he has now turned completely against him; and in this book, he has spoken against Bro. William Branham; and against his teachings; and he has even gone back to preaching a trinity. There were other things related in the letter; that were in this booklet, but I just wanted to mention this one thing; because it goes along with what I want to bring out; as we look at these scriptures. I just thought to myself; Yes, there are a lot of people out here in religion; who claim to be so smart, such intelligent creatures. Yet they are usually the one’s who attack the truth of God’s word. Supposedly, their intelligence outweighs what God has revealed by His Spirit; to those who hunger for truth. Listen to me saints; We are getting close to the end; and we know what the antichrist spirit is going to cause various one’s to do as time runs out; so when the time comes, that we are demanded to line up with organized religion, or take a stand for what we believe, you can be sure of this one thing; you will be challenged for not believing in a trinity. That is why I say, If you are just sitting here, not really concerned about what is being taught, the time will come, when you will not be able to give a scriptural answer for what you believe; and you will have no one to turn to. It will not help, just to say, Bro. So and So said this and that. God will not necessarily vindicate anyone’s word except His own. The world in general, believes in a trinity; therefore you had better have a scriptural answer as to why you do not; lest you be forced to fall in line with them; in that hour. Having said that, I want us to go into the book of Colossians; where we can look at this thing concerning terminology related to the Godhead, from a little different standpoint. The epistle to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul; the same man that wrote Ephesians. I am going to read first, out of the Scofield Bible; which is the King James version. Then I want to read a verse out of the Aramaic translation; called the Peshitta, which means, from ancient eastern manuscripts. Most of these translators of our day, are using Greek translations that did not even exist in the days when the apostles wrote their epistles in Greek. Therefore the Greek translations from the second or third century, can very well be translations written by men who joined the ranks of those that were opposing the one God revelation; because this was the revelation Satan attacked first; before he ever touched anything else in the gospel. That is why we read in the Epistles of John; where John taught in 90 A.D., saying, (2^nd John 1:9) “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” The deity of Jesus Christ had no doubt been brought into question; for in 1^st John 2:22 & 23, we find John saying this, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” There had to be some reason for him to be writing like that. The Church we read of in the book of Acts, did not need to be admonished like that; in the early years of its existence. It just goes to show how quickly Satan will move in; if Christians let their guard down.

PAUL, WRITING TO COLOSSIANS

There are several verses I must read; to get to the important verses, and show you the clear thought Paul is expressing. Let us read first, from Colossians 1:1-3. There are a couple of verses we will read from Colossians 2; but we are going to take this Colossians 1; to start with. (1) “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus {our} brother, (2) To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace {be} unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (3) We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” Paul is greeting these saints at Colosse; and to me this proves, that when Paul said, “Peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” he was expressing two objects of thought; not two persons. When we know Paul’s understanding of the Godhead, we know he never referred to the Father as a person; like the Trinitarians do in their analysis of this one God they say, is manifested in three persons. It is one thing to say two objects of thought; but it is altogether something else; when you say two persons; because two objects of thought, is actually differentiating between what is the Father, and what is the Son; when you know the truth. The Son of God is the Lord Jesus Christ; and He is the means by how the Father has saved us; but that, by no stretch of the imagination, makes the Father a person. He is still the same Spirit He has always been. Just as the Father has pregenerated this planet, and brought about multitudes of people today, by that first Adam, so has He, by the second Adam (Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son) redeemed many sons and daughters back to Himself; out of the fall. If people have the right picture in their mind to start with, what Paul said in verse 3, does not even sound like more than one person. “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Just read the same verse, leaving out the word and; and then see if you do not have it as it should be. Brothers and Sisters, you need to realize, that this apostle of the true faith, Paul, cannot say one thing to one assembly of saints; and then describe God to another assembly, in a way that is completely contrary That is not the way a true God ordained, man presents the word of God. If you will diligently study all of the epistles Paul wrote, you will surely find that his revelation was consistent. He never preached to please people. He said so himself; in Galatians 1:10. “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” You can be sure of one thing, When God got through with him, there on the road to Damascus, he was a true servant of Christ for the rest of his life. When you stop to consider what Paul wrote to that Galatian Assembly, concerning their deviating from the gospel he had preached to them, you can know for sure, that his teaching was consistent. Listen to this. (Galatians 1:6-9) “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any {man} preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Does that sound like you would ever find that apostle deviating in any way, from what he preached from the very beginning of his ministry? The reason he preached it right the first time, was because he took his scrolls; and went out into the Arabian desert, and stayed three years, while the Spirit revealed the whole plan of redemption to him. On down, in verses 11 & 12, he told how he received what he preached. Let us read it. “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught {it}, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” You can read the rest of that chapter, and see what he said about going to Arabia for three years. I personally, will have no part in this thing where a man gets saved today; and next week he is already preaching. You can imagine how many times a man like that would have to change what he preaches; if he keeps walking with God, and allows the Holy Ghost to teach him. Paul was so confident that what he had taught those saints did not need to be changed in any way; he dared anyone to do so. Let us go back to Colossians; and read some more there, to continue our thought. (Col. 1:4) “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, (5) for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; (6) Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.” Paul is saying a lot of things in these verses that deal with our subject; which we titled, The Great Controversy. That great controversy is still in the world today; just like it has been, ever since the spirit of antichrist got in; in the closing years of that first age of Christendom. The devil does not like truth. He never has; and he never will like it. (7) “As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; (8) Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. (9) For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, (I want you to pay close attention to this verse. If he was telling those children of God these things back then, they are just as important for you and me today; for we are the people seeking to come back to the same understanding they had.) And to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” We are going to find out in a little bit, just what His will is; and what it is related to. (10) “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work. (This is dealing with Christian character and conduct.) And increasing in the knowledge of God. (This of that; in the knowledge of God.) We have a church world today; made up of millions of people; and most of them have a concept theoretically, of what the Bible says; but it is not according to the knowledge of God, in truth. It is a hand-me-down tradition they believe; and they do not want that mental tradition disturbed.) (11) Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness; (12) Giving thanks unto the Father, (This is a verse I am going to read from the Aramaic translation; after we finish reading it in the King James; and show you a much clearer picture of what it is actually saying.) Which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” I will just read this same verse; verse 12, in the Peshitta, the Aramaic translation; so you can notice the difference. “So you may joyfully give thanks to God the Father, who hath enlightened us and made us worthy partakers of the inheritance of the saints.” Is that not a more understandable translation of Paul’s thought? In other words, I am sure that when the translators, in the 16^th century, translated this, their wording was better for the English speaking people, at that time, to understand; than it is for us today. We just simply do not use that terminology; in our modern day language structure. When you go 400 years, in any given language, there are certain structures in it; the way you phrase certain things, you do not even use any more. I am going to read the King James again; so you can pay closer attention to the wording; and see for yourself, that it does not give you the clear thought you get form the other. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” The word meet, used here, is not even used in the average English language. At least, not in what we call, the English language. That is why when we go to the Peshitta, it gives you a more clear definition of what is meant. Verse 13, gives a breakdown of god’s plan for you and me. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” This verse puts emphasis upon God; the One who has done the work. He is the WHO; that has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear son. The same sovereign God that created things, is doing the translating. It is God; (that sovereign Spirit) who was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world. No. This was not the Son’s plan. The plan was designed; when the Son of God was no more than just a thought in HIS (the Father’s) mind. Looking at the Trinitarian’s view, they say that Jesus being the eternal Son, He was always with the Father; and that HE (the Son) was the one that created all things. If the Son was the one that created all things, then how did the Father get to be the Father? He is the Father of what? One thing I notice in the little tract I read from earlier, concerning the Godhead he said, But in all of this there is a great mystery. Yes, they leave it that way, that it is a mystery you cannot touch; because it is a mystery never intended to be understood. Yet when the apostle Paul wrote here, as we are going to see in a few minutes, his admonition to the believer is, That we might understand this great mystery of God, the Father, and Jesus the Christ. Here in verse 13 though, let us be sure we understand that it is God the great eternal Spirit; that has translated us into the kingdom of HIS dear son; after having delivered us from the powers of darkness. Being delivered from the powers of darkness, is not just a matter of being set free from the bondage of a sinful life; it also includes being delivered from the powers of spiritual darkness; that kept us so blind we could not see truth. When your mind is all locked up with religious tradition, you are under the spell of the powers of darkness; and you cannot see truth through all of that tradition. That is where Satan wants to keep every one of us. If he cannot keep you in the beer tavern, then he would like to get you into a religious mess of some brand name; where he can still confuse your mind; and made you believe that anything, and everything goes; just as long as you love Jesus. Well it does not go; in God’s plan. Jesus said, (John 14:15) “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” and His commandments are a far cry from what denominational religion is keeping today. This modern, religious world has fallen right into the devil’s plan; instead of following the truth their forefathers had burning in their hearts, when they protested that old dogma of the Catholic Church. The new age where everything goes, everything is lovey-dovey, anything is right, nothing is wrong, has produced a generation of uncontrollable maniacs with sharp shooting rifles, wanting to shoot everything, and everyone that gets in their way. If they cannot have a good time at someone else’s expense, they are ready to eliminate whatever is preventing it. Why? Because in a liberal society, anything goes. Pat the devil on his back. HE is a good fellow. In the end, we are all going to be saved. That is the theory of this modern world we live in. Nothing is wrong, everything is good. The minute you try to deal with something that is truth, that has some principles behind it, naturally they are going to look at you as some kind of cult. They do not want you to be so opposite of darkness; that your difference exposes their evil ways; and shows them up as servants of evil practices. I read an article today; that let me know, there are certain liberal politicians in this country today; that are actually saying that Christian people are the worst evil we now have to contend with. Think it over. No it is not the back slidden church goers that cause them trouble. It is the man and woman that is yearning and seeking in their heart’s to find what truth is; and where it is. The one’s that know, truth is the thing that will lead them home. Therefore God has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us; picked us up, and put us in another realm; which Paul refers to as the kingdom of HIS dear Son. (14) “In whom, (in whom, is referring to Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, (because it was the Son of God whose blood was shed) even the forgiveness of sins. (15) Who si the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature.” There is not much difference in the Aramaic translation of that particular verse; but we are going to get to a couple of verses in a minute, that really do stand out in the Aramaic version, so beautifully. This is why I feel like we can really catch the thought the apostle Paul was dealing with 1900 years ago, when he wrote the epistle in the original language structure of the Greeks, which he himself spoke, and which the Colossians also spoke; if we will just take time to make the comparison. He had to write it in a language structure they understood; or they would not have understood the exact meaning of what it was so important for them to understand. “He is the image of the invisible God, and the first born of every creature.” That is the way the 15^th verse is worded; so the difference is really just in the first word; WHO, in the King James, and HE, in the Aramaic; which are readily understood, as pointing to Jesus in either version.

WHAT AN IMAGE IS

The word image, is what stirs up the controversy; when people read Col. 1:15, because they try to apply it to a fleshly image. When we think of image, we are always looking at it as describing the features of facial appearance and such like. However when we look at it in the scriptural, spiritual meaning, then we have to understand; that the physical body of Jesus, was not the image of the invisible God. How could human flesh be the image of something that is invisible? If God is invisible, and we know He is; then the flesh is not a reflection of that at all. The image of something, speaks of the likeness; and in this sense it has got to be a likeness spirit wise; and character wise. Just plain common sense ought to tell us that much. Therefore whatever God is defined as being, in His spiritual being, we all know what the word invisible means. Something that is invisible cannot be seen. Yet within Him, (This invisible Spirit) are qualities, attributes that are basic; and that is the image Paul was speaking of; and that is what we are being reconciled back to. It is those qualities and attributes of our heavenly Father, that we come up short on. We lost our access to them by being born the way we were, with a fallen nature that only redemption can change. We are all offspring of Adam who was created in the image of God; before he was ever given a body of flesh and bones. In the beginning, he was just as sinless and innocent as Jesus was; when He (Jesus) was begotten of the Father, and came into this world the son of a virgin girl. Nevertheless because of his disobedience to God, even though God was his Father, all of Adam’s children came into this world with a nature to sin; and did not reflect that divine nature. The reflection of lost, mortal man, is much like a higher grade animal life. Just look at the world today; alienated from God, and not even thinking about God tearing their little play house down. Anyhow, the word image, in this scripture, deals with the characteristics, that are portrayed; instead of fleshly features. If in side this body of flesh we are identified in life by, there is an invisible being, then we need to understand that there are qualities, attributes and characteristics that are vital to our eternal existence, if we are ever going to have an eternal existence. Those qualities were truly exemplified, or reflected through the man called Jesus. Therefore He was the means of God being able to reflect His likeness, His attributes and qualities to mortal mankind; so that when we see in His word, what He wants His children to reflect to the world, we have something to measure ourselves by. If we just measure ourselves by other people, we could possibly look very good; and still reflect very little of the image and nature of God. Paul spoke of people who do that, in 2^nd Cor. 10:12, saying, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Why? You are using patterns that are still far beneath that One perfect pattern; God gave us to pattern our lives after. What is our goal? Paul expressed that in Ephesians 4:13, saying, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” There, is the sum of what our lives are to reflect. That is why we want to think of the deity of Christ. The deity of Christ pertains to those characteristics. While the humanity of Christ is dealing with all those human traits that are associated with a physical person that is born of woman. He can have a certain tone of voice; but that does not portray what God’s voice is like. I hope you can see what we are pointing you to. As we go into verse 16, here in Colossians 1, we find a verse that has caused much controversy among the ranks of church going people; when they only read it from the King James Bible. (Col. 1:16) “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.”  The 15^th verse just got through saying who the image is pointing to. It is pointing to Jesus. He is a reflection of an invisible something no human eye can see; yet He is the most real thing there is; for everything else came from Him. “For by Him were all things created.” That verse alone, causes the Trinitarians to say that Jesus, (Whom they take to be the word of God) was the very one that did the creating. Well let us take a look at the Peshitta. “And through Him were created all things.” The word through, describes how the mind of God designed this plan of salvation for you and me. That is why in Ephesians, chapter 1, where Paul said,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” it sounds to them like Paul is speaking of more than one person; but I assure you, he was only acknowledging both the Father and the Son; knowing full well that only the Son is a person; and that the Father is that sovereign Spirit that begat Him. It was God (the Father) the Creator, that designed this plan of salvation; but in designing it, He designed it to be consummated through His Son. It was through the Son, that we were brought into this great plan the Creator designed before the foundation of the world; and the apostle Paul knowing that, he simply acknowledged it in his writings; and the translators being Trinitarians, translated it to their own understanding; and many times it sounds like the apostle Paul was confused. However having a revelation of the Godhead, we ought not be confused by the way certain verses are worded. We can clearly see; that we were chosen in Him (Jesus Christ) before the foundation of the world; just like Ephesians 1:4, says; but it was in the sovereign mind of the Creator, that the choosing took place. That became God’s fixed thought; and He has brought it all about, in the exact way and time He predetermined to do it; just like Paul described in Ephesians 1:11, where he spoke of the Creator like this, “according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of HIS own will.” In the mind of the Creator, He (Jesus) already existed; and also all that would ever be accomplished through Him; but the physical man called Jesus the Christ, had a beginning less than two thousand years ago. That is why Paul could write, in Acts 15:18, “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” He saw everything as a finished picture; even before He ever created anything; but He has worked it all according to the counsel of His own will; without having to get permission from anyone or any thing. Therefore all things were not created by the Son; like the Trinitarians say. Nothing, absolutely nothing was ever created by the Son of God. That may sound strange to some of you; but before you can even attempt to disagree with what I just said, remember what Jesus Himself said, in John 14:10, “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.” Regardless of what you may read, just remember this, Without the Father in Him, the Son could not have worked one miracle of any kind; for all those wonderful works that were wrought through His ministry, were wrought by that sovereign Spirit that incarnated Him the day He was baptized by John the Baptist. Now that I have said all of this, in an effort to clarify it for you: let me read that 16^th verse again, from the King James of the Bible; and you examine it for yourself, taking into the account the other scriptures we have brought to your attention. “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.” If the Son did all of that, what did the Father do; and how did HE come to be called Father? It is easy to see how Trinitarians can use this verse of scripture; to clobber a oneness person; if the oneness person does not have a good picture in his, or her mind, of what they are looking at. No. It was not the Son doing the creating; it was the One in the Son, that did the creating. The same One in the Son, that did the creating, is the same One; in the Son, doing the saving. That is why Paul could say, “There is one mediator between man and God.” That is the man, Christ Jesus. Therefore Paul knew exactly what he was saying; when he said, (1^st Tim. 3:16) “And without controversy (There is just no question about it) great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested (or exhibited, or disclosed, or revealed) in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” That verse alone, does not give a clear picture of all that it encompasses; but when you take it with all of the many other scriptures that make up the total picture, it is clear as a bell; who Jesus is, what the Father is, what the Holy Ghost is, and what each office work has accomplished on behalf of lost mankind.

A LOOK AT HEADSHIP

I want to go ahead and read the next three verses now; and then we will look at another point. (Col. 1:17-19) “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. (18) And He is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all {things} He might have the preeminence. (19) For it pleased {the Father} that in Him should all fulness dwell.” Now that we have the full thought before us, I want to add a little thought here; because that describes what God has delegated Jesus to receive. The same man who wrote this, wrote 1^st Corinthians chapter 11; also. He also wrote 1^st Corinthians chapter 15; and there are two statements of this apostle Paul there; that we cannot shove aside; as we read thoughts like this. If God created all things through Him, and all things were created for Him, and by Him all things are held together, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, angelic orders, lordships, dominions, principalities, powers, and so forth, here is what we have to understand as He says heavens. In the light of 1^st Corinthians 11, where Paul is talking about headship, he clearly states that the head of Christ is God. Let us read verse 3. “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman {is} the man; and the head of Christ {is} God.” Now I ask you, What kind of headship is Paul speaking of, there in Corinthians, if right here in Colossians, he is referring to Christ as being the head of all things? Brothers and sisters, here is what we have to look at; God Himself, the Creator, the Father, is the head of all that great expansive universe; scientists are always talking about. They look through their powerful binoculars into the endless sphere of space; and all that they are able to see out there, God is the head of it. I want you to know, there is not a thing on Mars that pertains to what God is doing here on earth. First of all, the heavens that is mentioned here, we have go to understand, that it pertains to that sphere of spirit world; where God’s Spirit and angelic beings dwell. There is not a thing on Mars; that God is interested in bringing salvation and redemption to. Neither is Christ the head of that. I hope all of you understand, Christ is the head of everything pertaining to the Church; but even then we have to realize; that the Church, in the end, is the family of God’s redeemed children; that have been redeemed from the clutches of Satan, by the shed blood of His only begotten Son; and one day, when redemption is completed, Jesus is going to deliver the whole redeemed kingdom back to the Father; back to the One who truly did create all things. Jesus is the first born among many brethren; being the first of God’s children to be raised from the dead. Therefore brothers and sisters, the headship of Christ has nothing at all to do with anything outside of the Church. Mars, Jupiter, the Milky Way, and all the galaxies beyond, are under the dominion of the One that created them; and I assure you, it was not Jesus that did the creating of all of that. Therefore saints, when it says heavens, do not put the word heavens; out somewhere in the endless span of space. The word heavens is a word that describes that realm of spiritual habitation where the Spirit of God and His angelic beings dwell. Naturally the reason I am saying all of this, is because verses 16 & 17, of Colossians 1, cause some people to give Jesus headship over a lot more than He could possibly hold headship over. I will read them again; to refresh your memory on the wording. (1^st Col. 16 – 17) “For by Him (through Him, in other translations) 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; (or harmonize).” As I said earlier, When you know by revelation, that Jesus did not create anything in all of this you just have to realize that when the Creator did create them; it was with the thought that His only begotten Son, in due time, would be given dominion over everything pertaining to this great redemption plan; and therefore would be subject to Him until the whole plan is completed. However if God the Father is the head of Christ, and we know He is; then He (the Father) is the head of all of that; ultimately. I will take you to 1^st Cor. 15:27-28, so you may see how this same apostle concludes the whole thing concerning the authority Jesus has. (27) “For He (the Father) hath put all things under His(Jesus) feet. But when he saith, all things are put under {Him, it is} manifest that He is expected, which did put all things under Him. (28) And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, (Jesus) then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”  Brothers and sisters, that few words in these two verses, lets me know that Paul was not confused about any of the things he wrote about. It is just what the translators have done with Paul’s way of wording some things, that causes some people to get confused; if they do not have the picture in focus before they come across these things. There are some places in the Bible that speak of the heavens; that really do pertain to the whole firmament; but not the ones we have been discussing. Isaiah 51:13, is one place I can think of; that the terminology, the heavens, pertains to the whole firmament. It says, “And forgetest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where {is} the fury of the oppressor?” God is the head of everything; except that which He has relegated to His only begotten Son; until He accomplishes all that He was sent forth to accomplish. Then, as Paul has already stated, The Son returns all headship to the Father; that the Father may be all in all; (throughout all eternity).

GETTING A TRUE PICTURE

In verse 17, where Paul said, “He is before all things, and by Him all things consist,” just remember this, Paul is telling the believer that it is by the authority of the redemptive work of God invested in Jesus, that all things are held together. Meaning of course, all things which are related to redemption. The Church then, is something that lives and thrives; and is held together by Christ Jesus; Him being the central figure, and being the head of it. When we get a true picture of this, it is going to help you and me realize for sure; This modern, so called Gentile church world, is not the body of Christ at all. It is a reflection of Satan; rather than Jesus Christ. This mysterious way he has cloaked himself, he has been able to deceive mankind. Let us look at Satan’s religions in the world. Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, and all the other religious groups and so-called churches that have no love for the revealed truth of God’s word. The Moonies belong in that group also; along with all the deep mediators, and God only knows how many others. It all boils down to this, All of it is the spirit of Satan; projected out to mortal creatures who somehow or other, have a belief inside; that somewhere in this universe there is a God; and it is left up to us to find Him by some means or other. Well I have news for you; God will come knocking on your door, before you ever go looking for Him. Actually the thing that makes people start searching for God, is the fact that The Spirit of God has already visited them; and placed conviction in them, that causes them to realize they need Him. Naturally what I am saying applies only to the true God; the great Creator we have been talking about; because within every mortal person is the desire to worship something; and this pagan world leans toward a plurality of Gods. The Hindus, picture one being as God, but with three heads. No wonder Catholicism can preach, We believe in one eternal God, but we believe He is manifested in three persons. That all goes back to Roman paganism. Naturally when we think of Buddhism, and Shintoism, we know these are Satanic; but the truth is the world is full of widely accepted supposed-to-be Christianity that is just as far from worshiping God in truth, as these are. They have just enough Bible in them, to deceive gullible souls that feel like they should worship God; but it keeps them away from the truth. Because of that, they never really worship the true God; for as we pointed out already, Jesus revealed something to the woman at the well; in Samaria, that lets us know, God does not accept just anything people try to offer to Him. Notice, (John 4:21) “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. (22) Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. (24) God {is} a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship {Him} in spirit and in truth. (25) The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messias (The Messiah) cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things. (26) Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.”  Jesus told her, The hour now is when true worshipers shall (or must) worship the Father in spirit and in truth; and that has not changed one bit. It is still like that today. I do not know how many Hindus I saw in India; but every last one that I preached to in India, was suffering with remorse, lacking peace of mind. I will never forget the time they took us to this certain town, and up into a third story building, where a Hindu doctor introduced us to 300 Hindus; sitting there on the floor. When I was told, all of these are Hindus, I thought, For goodness sakes, what am I going to preach to these people? I had no previous knowledge that I was going to speak to Hindus; so I said, Lord, I need help! I preached to them, “Why I am a Christian.”  When I finished, that doctor said, I am sure some of you might want this man to pray for you. Every last one of them did; and I had to pray for the entire 300. Here is what just about every one of them requested. Pray that I will have peace of mind. Brothers and sisters, I am so glad Jesus said, Peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give unto you. In this world you will have tribulation. You will have trials and tests. A lot of people will never like you. They will think you are nuttier than a fruit cake; but in Him, you can have peace of mind; because truth stabilizes you; enabling you to have true fellowship with God. Let us look at the first two verses of chapter 2. To me, this is the focal point. Verse 1, sets the state for verse 2; which is what I want you to see. (Colossians 2:1-2) “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and {for} them at Laodicea, and {for} as many as have not see my face in the flesh; (Notice verse 2, now) That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and the Father, and of Christ.” In all that he had said to them, this was his desire above all else; That they might have full assurance and understanding, concerning the mystery of the Godhead. As we said before, The wording of the King James Version, makes it sound like more than one person; but remember, This was translated in the 16^th century; by Trinitarians; so you must read it with the revelation you already have, of the Godhead; and realize the importance the apostle Paul placed upon Christians being settled in this revelation.