Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "son"
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.
The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.
The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about these verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.
First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].
In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.
Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.
The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!
Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.
I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.
The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.
The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about these verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.
First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].
In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.
Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.
The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!
Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.
I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:
1. water (a liquid)
2. ice (a solid)
3. steam (a gas)
The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.
Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.
If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?
God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.
God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).
When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]
This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!
Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait for my third heaping helping. Time’s a gone again. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:
1. water (a liquid)
2. ice (a solid)
3. steam (a gas)
The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.
Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.
If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?
God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.
God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).
When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]
This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!
Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait for my third heaping helping. Time’s a gone again. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.
We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.
The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.
God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters covering the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.
Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.
The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.
If you don’t yet have enough to spend hours alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.
We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.
The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.
God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters covering the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.
Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.
The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.
If you don’t yet have enough to spend hours alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.
The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.
The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about these verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.
First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].
In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.
Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.
The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!
Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.
I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.
The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.
The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about these verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.
First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].
In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.
Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.
The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!
Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.
I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:
1. water (a liquid)
2. ice (a solid)
3. steam (a gas)
The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.
Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.
If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?
God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.
God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).
When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]
This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!
Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait for my third heaping helping. Time’s a gone again. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:
1. water (a liquid)
2. ice (a solid)
3. steam (a gas)
The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.
Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.
If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?
God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.
God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).
When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]
This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!
Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait for my third heaping helping. Time’s a gone again. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.
We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.
The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.
God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters covering the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.
Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.
The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.
If you don’t yet have enough to spend hours alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.
We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.
The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.
God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters covering the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.
Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.
The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.
If you don’t yet have enough to spend hours alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.
The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.
The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about those verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.
First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].
In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.
Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.
The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!
Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.
I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
It is eye-opening to discover in the original Greek that the writings of John are the simplest grammar in the New Testament. John’s Gospel account and his three letters to the churches wax eloquent in content. They are the most philosophical of all the four Gospel accounts, and they teach recondite concepts. In fine, they are not simple narrative.
The reason why it surprises those who learn to read the Greek New Testament is because the content soars above the heavens, while the grammar is that of a child. Only the Holy Spirit could accomplish such a feat! Anyone who is adroit enough to present such deep content has a vocabulary arsenal well beyond John’s.
The first three verses of John’s Gospel account are quoted at the start of this study. Folks, it doesn’t get more arcane than that! The Holy Spirit just last week shared an insight with me about those verses, a nuance which I trust you will enjoy.
First read the three verses of John again. We’ll pause a moment to give you time. Okay, now read this:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light [Genesis 1:1-3].
In Genesis the word “beginning” refers to the beginning of time, space, and matter. It references the beginning of creation as we know it. In John’s account the word refers to eternity. Long before the Genesis “beginning” God existed…because God always is. At the same time “the Word” always is too: He always is with God.
Both God and the Word are eternal, and that is a characteristic which only God has. Hence John tells us, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Those two clauses form a paradox, don’t you think? How can God be with God? Makes no sense to me! I mean, I can’t be with me. Duh! How can something identified as “the Word” be with God, while simultaneously being God? Go figure, why don’cha.
The only logical solution is to realize that God is a Trinity. He is three Persons in one God. O! but that makes even less sense, huh? Are you confused enough yet? Well, we’re just getting started, so get ready to implode!
Truthfully, the reason we cannot understand the Trinity is because nothing in time can be compared to this concept. If we view the Trinity as multiple personalities in one person, well, the Trinity is not one Person. The word Trinity comes from “tri” + “unity”. Tri means “three” and unity means “one”: three Persons in one God.
I do apologize, but time has escaped us. We will have to continue this study tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:
1. water (a liquid)
2. ice (a solid)
3. steam (a gas)
The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.
Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.
If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?
God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.
God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).
When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]
This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!
Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait for my third heaping helping. Time’s a-gone again. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
We concluded our last study with a look into the concept of the Trinity. We will continue with that point now. If we use the analogy of H2O, there are three forms it can take:
1. water (a liquid)
2. ice (a solid)
3. steam (a gas)
The trouble with this analogy is that H2O can only be one of those forms at a time. Because this is true in time, the Pentecostals insist it applies to God in eternity. Ergo, God is only one Person at a time, not three, not a Trinity. At one time He is the Father, at another the Son, and still another the Holy Spirit.
Instead of trying to rewrite Scripture, methinks they would be wise to agree with the Word of God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is God while simultaneously being with God. Sorry, my Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but we must stick with the Word of God. He alone knows Who He is and can explain Himself. You and I are not qualified to perform such a feat.
If I wanted a cockroach to understand who and what I am, how could I go about it, hypothetically speaking, of course? I couldn’t write the roach a letter explaining the facts concerning my existence because it can’t read! I couldn’t just sit on the park bench and talk to it. I couldn’t hang out with it in the gym and rub shoulders to get acquainted. It’s a toughie. How to explain myself to a cockroach?
God faced the same dilemma in trying to reveal Himself to man. He is not one of us. He is incalculably superior to man. He created man so He understands us, but we are not up to the task of comprehending Him. Time cannot measure eternity, nor can time define eternity. Vice versa is the reality, dear friends.
God being God, He wasn’t stumped. He knew how to explain His Person and behaviors to man. He became a man like us, so that we could experience God within the context of time, space, and matter. God really took on our true humanity, sin excepted, and became one of us (cf., John 1:14).
When we study Jesus in the New Testament, we are seeing Father God, the Person, in action.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” [John 14:9]
This is how God revealed His Person and explained His character and purposes to man. I am getting all giddy! This is exciting stuff! I can’t get enough! More! More! More!
Oh, shucks. I’ll have to wait for my third heaping helping. Time’s a-gone again. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Wow! I Can See God! – Part 3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being [John 1:1-3].
Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.
We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.
The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.
God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters that cover the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.
Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.
The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.
If you don’t yet have enough to keep you occupied for hours while alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Today we will start with Genesis 1:1-3. In the beginning God: there is the Father. And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters: there is the Holy Spirit. And God said: there is the Word, the Son of God.
We can now understand John 1:1-3 with better insight about how almighty God reveals Himself to puny man.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [John 3:16].
Note in those words that God gave His Son. This means God in this verse is God the Father, else how can He have a Son? So we have God the Father and God the Son together simultaneously.
The Father sent the Son into the world to take upon true humanity, sin excepted. He did this in order to reveal His true Person and character to man. He had to reveal Himself to man again because, back in the garden in the beginning, man sinned and marred his ability to know God. In consequence man made up his own versions of God, which we now know as idolatry and man-made religions.
God is One, not two or twenty or ten thousand. This one God gave His Son, so now we know that there are two Persons as the one God. In other Scriptures, including Genesis 1:2, God teaches us that there is also the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the creation account of Genesis God speaks. Since we cannot comprehend eternity, God uses man’s speech as an illustration of His Son, the Word. For the same reason He employs an earthly illustration to denote the Holy Spirit hovering like a helicopter over the waters that cover the earth, generating transforming energy to create the present heavens and earth.
Look at it like this. A man wants to do something, so he thinks to himself, “I’m going to do such and so, in order to accomplish this goal.” After figuring out what he wants and how he will go about accomplishing it, he then puts his shoulder to the work and gets it done.
The man represents the Father, his thoughts and words represent the Son, and his actions represent the Holy Spirit. An earthly analogy, to be sure, making it very limited and demanding that we understand it relatively. But it is how God reveals Himself to us in Genesis 1 and John 1. That is all we can comprehend, but it is not all there is to know about the Person and Ministry of God.
If you don’t yet have enough to keep you occupied for hours while alone with Jesus, then you must be God! Let’s spend some quality time with Him now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
