Who is the only God introduced by CHRIST? The Savior Himself stated:

[jersen05]

Who is the only God introduced by CHRIST? The Savior Himself stated:

"Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You… And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’.” (Jn. 17:1, 3 NKJV)

Christ introduced the Father in heaven as the only true God. On the other hand, He (Christ) introduced Himself as sent by God–not a co-person of God. By calling the Father as the ONLY true God, Christ Himself prove that He is not God.

Even the APOSTLES recognized only one God, the Father, and never made mention of one God consisting of three persons:

"For there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” (I Cor. :5-6, NKJV)

The only true God taught by Christ and the apostles is the Father in heaven. They did not include the Son and the Holy Spirit. But, it is not surprising that there are those who teach other gods besides the Father.

(God’s Message Magazine, April 2000, p. 12)

 

[NHInsider]

Jersen-
are you posting this article for discussion, or are you posting it in support of this heretical assertion because you think it is true?

Yes, it is possible to argue many variations of Christology (and by extension, the truth or falsehood of the Trinity) via various interpretations of Scripture. That’s why it took several centuries and multiple Councils to get to the definition now held by almost all Christians (I should say “by all Christians” since to deny Jesus’ divinity is to deny the essence of Christianity, but for the sake of this discussion I’ll say “almost all.”)

 

[jersen05]

Im posting this article so that members can give their opinions about it.
i am very curious about that topic because when they explain it to me, it sounds like it is the truth. so im hoping to clear it out here. any opinion is welcome.

 

[fermat]

I would start here:
catholic.com/library/god_christ.asp

After you read these, post back with your questions. You are being led down a dangerous path by people who only look at the parts of the bible that suit them.

It is very easy to read a few lines a say, ‘See, that’s why Catholics are wrong!’. Don’t buy it. You will need to educate yourself if you are going to defend your soul.

 

[grace_singh]

Im posting this article so that members can give their opinions about it.
i am very curious about that topic because when they explain it to me, it sounds like it is the truth. so im hoping to clear it out here. any opinion is welcome.

what is true is that God the Son is not God the Father, and the the Son is under and from the Father, yet also One with and the same as God Almighty in being and power.

the article is correct on some points, yet fails to cite those scripture passages where Christ equates Himself with the Father (like John 14:6-9) and where He tells us that we are to honor Him even as we honor the Father (John 5:23).

my understanding from Scripture is that our Lord Jesus Christ is not God the Father, and is distinct from and under the Father. yet that He is also God, Lord, and Saviour, the same as God while distinct from the Father.

He is the very image and likeness of God the Father, fully divine and yet fully Man, who was incarante through the Virgin Mary, and then took on flesh so that through and by Him, we might be saved and reconciled to God. only God can reconcile us personally to Himself, and save us from sin, and so it goes to reason the the Lord Jesus is also God. not God the Father, but God the Son.

 

[NHInsider]

what is true is that God the Son is not God the Father, and the the Son is under and from the Father, yet also One with and the same as God Almighty in being and power.

my understanding from Scripture is that our Lord Jesus Christ is not God the Father, and is distinct from and under the Father. yet that He is also God, Lord, and Saviour, the same as God while distinct from the Father.

You do not claim to be a Catholic. Catholics do not have to figure out the meaning of Scripture in isolation or on their own, as we rely upon Jesus’ promise to guide the Church into teaching all truth.

Numerous Councils, especially Nicea, addressed the question of the relationship between Jesus and His Father, struggling with dozens of variant interpretations of the same verses of the New Testament. The insistence that God the Son must be subordinate to God the Father was the underlying error of one of the most ancient and pernicious heresies, Arianism.

God the Son is indeed distinct in person from God the Father and God the Spirit, but there is only one Divine Essence.

 

[JRKH]

Who is the only God introduced by CHRIST? The Savior Himself stated:

"Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You… And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’.” (Jn. 17:1, 3 NKJV)

Christ introduced the Father in heaven as the only true God. On the other hand, He (Christ) introduced Himself as sent by God–not a co-person of God. By calling the Father as the ONLY true God, Christ Himself prove that He is not God.

Even the APOSTLES recognized only one God, the Father, and never made mention of one God consisting of three persons:

"For there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” (I Cor. :5-6, NKJV)

The only true God taught by Christ and the apostles is the Father in heaven. They did not include the Son and the Holy Spirit. But, it is not surprising that there are those who teach other gods besides the Father.

(God’s Message Magazine, April 2000, p. 12)

Verses left out of your article

John 14:9
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 17: 21
that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

John 1:1 and 1:14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Thus one can see that there exists in Scripture something of a dicotomy of expression on the divinity of Jesus.
As others have said, the Church, after many decades/centuries of discussion, and looking at all of the available scriptural evidence, and after praying constantly for guidance fromthe Holy Spirit, determined the doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine, inessence says that there is no way we can a) seperate Son from the Father, or b) fully understand how this unity exists.

Peace
James

 

[grace_singh]

You do not claim to be a Catholic. Catholics do not have to figure out the meaning of Scripture in isolation or on their own, as we rely upon Jesus’ promise to guide the Church into teaching all truth.

Numerous Councils, especially Nicea, addressed the question of the relationship between Jesus and His Father, struggling with dozens of variant interpretations of the same verses of the New Testament. The insistence that God the Son must be subordinate to God the Father was the underlying error of one of the most ancient and pernicious heresies, Arianism.

God the Son is indeed distinct in person from God the Father and God the Spirit, but there is only one Divine Essence.

the good thing about the Bible, NH, is that we now have the freedom and privilege to read it for ourselves, in our own languages, to see what Christ has said about Himself, and to see what He asks us to do.

Christ is clear in Scripture that He is from and under the Father. and that even with that distinction He and the Father are One, and One and the same. distinct in Person yet One in nature and being. Scripture is also clear that Father, Son, and Spirit were all there in the beginning, that all three are One, and that all three are God.

the claim that God the Son is subordinate to the Father is indicated frequently and clearly, and this belief was fairly common prior to the Nicean Counsel. The Nicean Creed, NH, does not even refute this understanding. “God of God, light of light, very God of very God”. the Creed also opens with the belief in “One God, the Father Almighty” and speaks then of “One Lord, Jesus Christ” who is shown to be the same as God, Himself God, and of God.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subordinationism#Pre-Nicean

that Jesus Christ is Lord and God is understood. what is also clear is that the Lord Jesus Christ came from and is under the Father, that the Father is greater than the Son, and that the Son is also equal with the Father in nature and being.

 

[FCEGM]

jersen, you would do yourself a great service if you would focus on learning your Catholic faith before trying to answer the claims of non-Catholics or non-Christians. And instead of learning your Catholic faith piecemeal on CAF, you should have your own copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church along with some good Catholic books dealing with the basics of Catholicism, such as Theology for Beginners or Theology and Sanity, both by Frank Sheed. Until you have a solid background in your faith, you will be operating in ignorance and thus will continue to find yourself being persuaded by arguments against the Faith.

 

[NHInsider]

the good thing about the Bible, NH, is that we now have the freedom and privilege to read it for ourselves, in our own languages, to see what Christ has said about Himself, and to see what He asks us to do.

Does it follow from this observation that for the first 1450 years of Christianity, and even today in the many places where people are not able to read the Bible for themselves, people were/are not able to learn/obey the will of God? Of course not. The ability to read and study Scripture is indeed a great privilege - but it cannot be essential to the Christian life.

And the point is not whether or not we should read Scripture individually (we should, if we can) but whether or not we must discern its meaning in isolation (we need not, and indeed should not).

what is also clear is that the Lord Jesus Christ came from and is under the Father, that the Father is greater than the Son, and that the Son is also equal with the Father in nature and being.

I’m sorry, perhaps I’m just slow, but that seems irreconcilably contradictory. How can the Father be greater than the Son while the Son is equal with the Father?

 

[grace_singh]

I’m sorry, perhaps I’m just slow, but that seems irreconcilably contradictory. How can the Father be greater than the Son while the Son is equal with the Father?

because the Son is the same as the Father. Jesus is equal to God, being God, as per John 1:1.

yet Jesus is also under the Father, as He states that the Father is greater than He (John 14:28), and that the Father sent Him (John 12:49).

so Scripturally, there is a hierarchy, yet that in no way detracts from Christ’s divinity, Godliness, holiness, or equality with God, the Father.

i would argue that we ought read the Word of God, if indeed we have that great privilege, for what is says, and what it reveals to us. about how we ought to live as Christians, and what is doctrinally true. the Scriptures were written for Christians, and for each Christian to learn from and hear. we should not be isolationist in our faith, but ought to strengthen one another with what we learn from the Bible, and correct and encourage our brethren, too. not with the philosophies or standards of men, but with the precepts and standards of God, as found in His Word.