Knowing God

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Church of God, In Truth</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church of God, In Truth"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> back to<B>  </B><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Edification Articles"><B>Edification Articles</B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="am_i_going_to_heaven.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Am I going to Heaven?">Am I going to Heaven?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="why_does_the_earth_have_a_mo.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why does the Earth have a Moon?">Why does the Earth have a Moon?</A></div> <div> <A 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TITLE="Righteous Judgment">Righteous Judgment</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id337.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The physical and spiritual blessings of ">The physical and spiritual blessings of submission</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God,</div> <bR> <div> and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent”     <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >(John 17:3).                     </FONT></div> <div>                                                               </div> <bR> <div>      Israelites believe in only One God. This made them different from their neighbor around them. Egyptians have  a god for almost anything around them. Israelites express this belief in one God by reciting the shema. For those who do not know what the shema is, it could be read in Deuteronomy 6:4 and in Mark 12:29. The shema introduces the two great commandments. “Hear O placecountry-regionIsrael: The Lord our God, the Lord is One!”(NKJ).  Because of this, many Jews won't accept the divinity of Jesus Christ. They have only One God. Although the Israelites are waiting for a restorer of the kingdom, they never thought that it was Jesus Christ.  They were  waiting for someone who is a warrior type, one who can lead placecountry-regionIsrael in fighting the Romans.</div> <div>      Even the disciples asked Jesus if He would at that time restore the kingdom to placecountry-regionIsrael (Acts 1:6). The Bible recorded many who were waiting for the kingdom, an example is Joseph of Arimathea in Mark 15:43.</div> <div>      placecountry-regionIsrael was waiting for a deliverer, a messiah to deliver them from their oppressor. They were waiting for one who is strong and brave, not a meek and submissive leader likeJesus Christ. When Jesus was crucified, all hope of Him as the deliverer disappeared.</div> <bR> <div> placecountry-regionIsrael did not understand. </div> <bR> <div> Until today, God had blinded them for a purpose. God is extending and expanding His plan of salvation to include the gentiles. All placecountry-regionIsrael will be saved. This is God's plan, Jesus Christ will come back after the number of the gentiles will be complete. Meanwhile, understanding God and knowing Him is necessary for those who will be saved. </div> <div>      To know God we have to go back into the very distant past when no human nor the universe existed. Two eternal Spirit Beings were actively alive, however.  Who were these two beings? One was “God, or Theos” in Greek Strong's # 2316. The other was “the Word,” or Logos in Greek Strong's # 3056. In his Gospel, John said they existed in an undefined time he called “the beginning.”  Wrote John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2).  Whoever this Word was, He was with God, </div> <div> and existed as a separate being. However, the Word was also God. </div> <div>      An extraordinary thing happened to this Word. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us....”(John 1:14). A member </div> <div> of the God family was actually transformed into human flesh.  We understand that this eternal Word became the man Jesus of Nazareth. </div> <div> On earth, Jesus  called Himself the “Son of God”  (John 10:36), as well as the Son of Man.  He had become God's Son by birth. Later He became “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18).</div> <div>      Jesus had existed throughout eternity as the ever living Word.  John said of Jesus, “....We declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1John 1:2 NKJ).  John opened this letter to the Church by referring to the “beginning,” as he had in the Gospel.  He said, Jesus was that being “which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled....” (1 John 1:1). John said he bore witness to the eternal life, the Word. That Word was Jesus Christ.</div> <div>      The member of the God family who became Jesus of Nazareth referred to Himself as “one who exists.” He told the Jews, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). In Revelation, the risen Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. . . .who is and who was and who is to come...” (Revelation 1:8). </div> <div>      Jesus clearly was God. But Jesus was also a man.  Thus, the unfathomable had happened: God was transformed into a perishable human being. Paul said of Jesus: “Being in very nature God....made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on the stake!” (Philippians 2:6-8, NIV). </div> <div>      Jesus, as we will see, lived a perfect life and paid the penalty for all human sin-past, present and future. God the Father then resurrected Jesus to the eternal life He had possessed as the Word. Shortly before His crucifixion Jesus prayed, “And now O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). And, indeed, that's exactly what happened. </div> <div>      The Word (Jesus) and God (the Father) had a very special relationship of love throughout eternity. Jesus said of God, “....You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). They were completely one in spirit. “I and My Father are one,” said Jesus (John 10:30). He obviously didn't mean they were one being. They were two separate personalities who thought as one.  The Word and God were one in cooperation, in thought, in deed, in philosophy. Though they were two distinct individuals they acted in such concert that it was proper to say they were one singularity.</div> <div>      Paul said the Word was “the express image” of' the person of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). Philip, one of Jesus' disciples, asked Him to reveal what the Father looked like. Jesus told him, “....He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, `Show us the Father'?” (John 14:9). The Word and the Father are identical in character, in composition and general appearance while being separate, thinking beings.  They have the same outlook, the same philosophy of life.</div> <div>      Jesus came to reveal the existence and character of the Father. The Father's existence was not generally known to mankind until the Word appeared in the flesh. John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).  Jesus Himself had said,   “And the Father Himself, who sent Me , has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form” (John 5:37 NKJ).</div> <div>      The Word has been and is the chief executive officer over God's plan on His earth. Let's summarize the details of his office: The God who became Jesus created all things. This God - the Word - was the God of the Old Testament. He was called YHWH  (Yahweh) in Hebrew; Lord in English. This person - the Word - became Jesus the man. He lived a sinless life and paid for humanity's sins.  The Word was then resurrected to sit at God's right hand.  He continues as the operations manager of all things that concerns the human family. The Word will also return to earth as the Messiah. He will govern the nations of the world in the future.</div> <div>      Why is this member of the God family called the Word? Because He is the one who articulates. He was the one who talked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, with Abraham and also Moses. He speaks - authorizes - and it is done. As spokesman, the Word is the one we see talking, working, acting in human history. But the Word is not the supreme authority. In rank, Christ or the Word, comes under God the Father's authority.  Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).  Earlier Jesus admitted that He was merely His Father's messenger: “For I have not spoken on My own authority but the Father who sent Me give Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49 NKJ). Thus the relationship of love between Jesus and God the Father is predicated on submission and obedience, as well as loving rule.  Christ and God cooperate in all things. There is no disagreement. They see eye to eye. Jesus (the Word) always submits in love to His Father. </div> <div>      The Father has total faith in the Son's obedience. The Word can be trusted with the  responsibility of working with the creation - which includes God's astonishing purpose for the human family.  “...All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth,” said Jesus after His resurrection (Matthew 28:18 NKJ). </div> <div>      It is the Word we always see in action. John tells us: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3).  Paul said God  “....created all things through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9).  And again, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible....All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17). </div> <div>      What awesome power has been given to the Word!  The Word created the universe.  The Word created everything that exist on earth including the human race itself. (Genesis 2:7).  The Word is the “Lord God” of the Bible.  The title “Lord God” identify which member of the God family does the actual creating. It is the Lord of the God family. YHWH (Yahweh) or the Lord in almost every case refer to the Word - the creator and later Jesus.  The term “Lord God” is used in Genesis as soon as the God family begins speaking to humans (Genesis 2:16). This specifies which member of the Godhead is doing the talking.  Once identified , the Word is simply called “Lord” (Genesis 7:1).  But the creation is not the Word's idea alone. In Genesis 1 the term “God” or “Elohim” is used.  This noun is plural in form and may have a plural or singular meaning depending on the context.  Elohim in Genesis 1, denotes more than one member involved in conversation.  “Then God [Elohim] said, `Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness....” (Genesis 1:26), emphasis added).</div> <div>      The God family - consisting of God and the Word - decided upon the master plan of creating the human family.  The Word did the actual creating, however.  Once man is on earth, it is YHWH (Yahweh) or the Word who deals with the human race.  He speaks to the world.    “The Lord said to Cain....” (Genesis 4:9), “....to Noah” (Genesis 7:1), “....to Abram” (Genesis 12:1), “to Moses” (Exodus 9:13) - and so on.</div> <div>      The Word's most critical responsibility was to be changed into the human man, Jesus. The decision to send the Word into the world as a sacrifice could not have been made lightly or without the most careful planning by the Father. The Word, as Jesus, was at great risk on this earth. Consider what might have happened had Jesus failed to live a sinless life. What would have happened to the Logos?  To the human race without a Savior? Jesus of course, succeeded.  “Be of good cheer,” He said, “I have overcome the world”  (John 16:33).       Paul tells us Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  Having accomplished this feat, the Word was entrusted with overseeing those who would become part of God's family on earth.  “He is the head of the body, the Church,” Paul wrote of the Word, the risen Jesus (Colossians 1:18).</div> <div>      Finally, the Word is to return to create a new way of life on planet earth (Isaiah 2:2-4).  The Word will continue to deal with the human race until the plan and purpose of God the Father are complete.</div> <div>      We have established that Jesus is the Word and is a member of the God family. We have seen that He had existed eternally and is working throughout human history. But we have emphasized, in a sense, “the middle of the film.” We see the Word as the creator of all things.  </div> <div> The Word created the human family.  He worked with humans. The Logos was made flesh as Jesus of Nazareth. Most placecountry-regionIsrael and the churches of the world do not understand this.  </div> <div>      While still on earth, Jesus (the Word) said, “But why do you call Me ` Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).  Christ was speaking here not just for anyone. He was addressing this to people who profess to be His followers. Even today, people call themselves “Christians” yet they don't really believe and obey Jesus Christ.  </div> <div>      This situation is not just when Jesus was already born on earth, even before in the Old Testament, the Lord God (the Word) had been admonishing the Israelites. “Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is a abomination to Me. The New Moons the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.” (Isaiah 1:13-14).</div> <div>      We see that many do not know and obey God. God is worried that man is stubborn and many may not make it.  People don't know God. Many today disregard God's instruction to Moses regarding His appointed feasts. They disregard the truth about the true calendar. They don't bother to make a correct analysis of His revelation. The true calendar was revealed to Moses as recorded in Genesis 1. There the Creator revealed that the calendar started with 3 days of a dark moon. The Creator then showed that His days begin at sunset not at midnight that people today use.  He also showed that the sun, moon and stars became visible on the fourth day. For a detailed write up of this, read the “Special Calendar” issue of this magazine, available upon request.</div> <div>      In many articles of this magazine, we have established that the true new moon is the first day of the 3 day dark phase of the moon. </div> <div> Most churches of God follow  the late appearance of the young waxing crescent moon as their new moon. People follow the tradition of men instead of God's word. Following a man could lead to spiritual disaster. A late new moon leads to a late date for God's annual Holy Days, - His appointed times.</div> <div>      Likewise there are people who keep a late weekly Sabbath. Had they not read Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's booklet, `Has Time Been Lost?'  Mr. Armstrong had cited seven irrefutable proofs that the Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is still the correct 7<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >th</FONT> day Sabbath. Since creation, this Sabbath was not lost.   Jesus Christ observed the same 7<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >th</FONT> day. Had it been wrong, we have no Savior. These people who keep the Friday sunset to Saturday sunset as their Sabbath in obedience to the command are assured of keeping the right day.</div> <div>      Looking  back to what we have learned, we have established that the Lord God (YHWH) of the Old Testament and the Word (Logos) are the same as Jesus Christ of the New Testament. They refer to the one personality in the Godhead. Therefore, Jesus Christ is our Creator. It should not be surprising that He is called the “everlasting Father” in Isaiah 9:6. </div> <div>      Knowing God is very important because it leads to eternal life as John 17:3 said. The prophet Jeremiah has this to say for the end time: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of placecountry-regionIsrael after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Sotero Sonza</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>