Redemptionsong
Well-Known Member
We are told not to go “beyond what is written”.....apparently, the trinity has you going way beyond what is written IMO. Nowhere is Jesus said to be “fully human and fully God” in any scripture. This is pure unbiblical trinitarian ideas without any solid foundation.
It was God’s holy spirit that anointed Jesus for his role as “the Christ”. He was just Jesus the carpenter's son before the age of 30 when he was led to John the Baptist to begin his appointment as Messiah. Only with his baptism and anointing with holy spirit did he gain the power to perform miracles. His own siblings did not believe in him until after his death and resurrection....that is why he entrusted the care of his mother to the apostle John. As firstborn, her care was his responsibility. Her spiritual welfare was uppermost in his mind, so he did not give her care over to his (at that time) unbelieving brothers. He was not God in the flesh, he was produced by God's spirit as a mortal human.....which is the only way that he could offer his life for ours. God cannot die. And Jesus did not resurrect himself. (Acts 2:32)
The holy spirit is what empowers all of God’s servants to complete their assignments. I believe from my own studies of the scriptures, that it is not a 'person' but the administration of God’s power, sent in a measured response to what is needed to accomplish God's will or to bring comfort and aid to his worshippers....never too little, never too much. Those “filled” with holy spirit were not filled with a person but were recipients of God’s power according to their own circumstances.
As the "Logos" (God’s spokesman) the pre-human Jesus was “with” his God from the “beginning” of his existence. He spoke for God and acted in his behalf in all of Israel’s history right up to the time of his execution at their hands. After that, God’s covenant with Israel was fulfilled, and due to their continued disobedience, God abandoned them as a nation.....but not as individuals. (Matthew 23:37-39)
On the night before his death, Jesus instituted the “new covenant” with his 11 faithful apostles. He continues to guide and direct those who obey his teachings to this day. He will reject those who do not. (Matthew 7:21-23) These do not acknowledge any wrongdoing despite the fact that Jesus calls them 'lawless' ones. Because they do not love the truth, but have embraced the lies, they have no idea that they are breaking God's laws. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) Why? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. It's a special kind of "blindness". God will not correct them.
Yes, and it is important to understand who it was that these words were directed to......not all Christians will go to heaven. Only a 'chosen' (elected) few will have that privilege. They are said to be ’kings and priests’ who will rule with Christ in his kingdom for 1,000 years. (Revelation 20:6) After which time rulership returns to God, as it should have been in the beginning.
Kings need subjects and priests need sinners for whom to provide their priestly services....who are these ones? There are no sinners in heaven....and kings do not rule other kings.
There is not one thing in the Bible to even suggest that Christ was God incarnate. He did not have to be.
What was the purpose of the Temple in Jewish life? Wasn’t it the place where sacrifices were offered and where God’s worship was conducted? What better symbolism could Jesus have used to demonstrate the importance of his sacrifice and the need to return to true worship?
What was the situation of the Jews at that time?
What did Jesus say would happen to the literal temple? He said that “a stone would not be left upon a stone and not be thrown down”.....it would be completely destroyed, but the true temple, of which the earthly Temple was a “type”, would remain in heaven where the resurrected Christ presented the value of his sacrifice to his God as his appointed High Priest. Only by coming to this symbolic 'Temple' could any human gain everlasting life by offering to God what is due to him....our love, loyalty, obedience and respect.
I am sad that you cannot see how far Christendom has strayed from the original teachings of Christ and his apostles. The rot set in very early, so the foretold apostasy in Christianity is so old that most people have no idea what original Christianity even looked like. It is not hard to research....
This is what I believe the Bible teaches...
As I have said before, the beliefs that I hold regarding God as Holy Spirit are not the result of indoctrination by any trinitarian denomination. I have drawn my conclusions from the scriptures, and am happy to argue these beliefs from the scriptures alone.
It's clear that we can agree that God is ONE. One Spirit that is holy, omniscient, omnipotent and eternal. The one God also has personal qualities, because He is able to make himself known to us through His word and loving presence.
If personal qualities exist in the one God, why do you think that His Holy Spirit, with which He baptized Jesus and, later, his disciples, cannot, or does not, exhibit the same qualities? If God is one essence, then it makes absolute sense that His Holy Spirit will exhibit all the same qualities.
And how can Jesus pre-exist, if Jesus was 100% man? This means that the Jesus who was crucified was not 'the firstborn of the dead' [Colossians 1:18].
Surely, there was no baby Jesus until the birth of Mary's child at Bethlehem?
I Corinthians 10:1-5 is a reference to 'Christ' in the wilderness with Moses and the Israelites. It does not say 'Jesus'. This suggests that 'Christ' is the Spirit of God, the same Spirit that descended on Jesus at his baptism.
[There are other points that your response raises, which I will return to later.]