The Grand Canyon is Just a Big Hole

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 14

[I believe that knowing God is the One who came and died for us is significant for several reasons, one of which is that it shows us the extent of His love – that HE was willing to keep both ends of the covenant for us since we couldn’t keep our end. In the Old Covenant it was always, “if you” “if you” “if you”, but in the New Covenant it is “I will” “I will” “I will”. On several occasions in the OT, we see God saying that He looked, but no one could be found to accomplish His purposes, so He declares that He would do it Himself.]
An anonymous friend

I understand why some feel this way. The major difference between my view and this is that the new covenant did not completely hinge on God it hinged on Jesus and his obedience. God now has a covenant with Jesus if we want to get in on this covenant we have to be inside of Jesus. In a sense this gets back to my point of Jesus being tempted. I believe Jesus could have failed just like Adam did. That fact that he could have failed makes his accomplishment more significant. My understanding of Jesus glorifies him more, technically.

This is the same reason I prefer the city to nature. Carla and I have discussions about this all the time. She goes to the Grand Canyon and is amazed and in awe of God and what he made. However, when I see it, though it is magnificent, it is not really that impressive. It is not as if God really had to struggle to make it. He just had to speak and it was. (and technically erosion made it, so...) If a being has no limitations then how is it impressive for them to “accomplish” something? That is like me writing my name on a piece of paper and expecting you to be impressed. My actions would only be impressive if I do something beyond my perceived capability.

If Jesus is God doing what God does and effortlessly redeeming us with his perfect God nature what is the accomplishment? Even if I’m dead wrong I am still extremely grateful for what the Trinitarian Godhead did for us. However, believing that Jesus had to live in a fallen world as a man and not sin is amazing. He cleaved to the Father for every step and word and proved that with the right nature it can be done. What an amazing accomplishment. He is worthy, worthy, worthy because he overcame. God deserves praise by default, because of who He is. Jesus deserves it because of what he did. He endured and earned it; that is far more impressive than just being.

PART 15

The Word Became Flesh

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 13

I am still working out the revelation of the origin of Jesus. I do believe that he existed prior to his birth on earth. He is mentioned in the book of Enoch as the “Son of Man” or “Elect One” who sits on a throne with the Father. This man will bring righteousness to the elect. He will cause the gentiles to repent and judge the living and the dead. Sections of this book were written possibly up to 3,100 years prior to Jesus birth.

The Book of Enoch is quoted in the book of Jude.
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 1:14-15

“And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 1Enoch 1:9

Whatever Jesus was prior to the incarnation I believe his incarnation in human form was done through word. (John 1) That is, the word of God that was revealed in pieces to men over the first 6,000+ years of humanity, and spoken by men into the physical world. Without that process Jesus could not have accessed our planet. God had to speak him into physical existence through men because we had dominion over the physical world. In essence God had to get men to say, "Let there be Jesus!" and there was Jesus. (see Dominion 1 & 2) It just took 6,000+ years for men to cooperate with God on this one. Would you have been the one to say, "a virgin shall conceive"?

I don’t believe he was the abstract or impersonal Logos of the Father. I believe he was the son of God and a being of some kind in the Elohim yet was someone other than and inferior in rank to the Father. At his human incarnation he became something that did not previously exist and remains that way in a glorified state. In essence he changed in substance and rank, the Father does not.

Origen Adamantius (184/185–253/254) has some interesting ideas on this topic. I can’t say that I agree with him regarding the pre-existence of souls but I find his version of the pre-existent Jesus very interesting to say the least.

That's all I have to say about that.

PART 14

Every Knee Shall Bow

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 12

The reason men should not bow to angels is not because of some understanding that bowing is only reserved for God it is because they don’t have authority over us. Even Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they refused to bow, it was because they were asked to bow to an idol not the king. The Jews were allowed to bow to men in authority because that authority is legitimate. They are not allowed to bow to idols and false gods because their authority is false.

In reference to the demons that worship him in the Bible, again these verses were all about authority. It wasn’t as if the demons fell in loving adoration or reverence. They fell in fear before a man that had authority to cast them into the Abyss and torture them. Jesus had to grant them permission to even leave his presence. They had to beg him not to punish them because he had authority as the last Adam to do what he wanted with the world and these demonic invaders. The same is true for the second coming. Everyone on that day will bow before Jesus. They won’t all do this out of love many will do it out of fear and awe knowing that he has the power to torture and end them.

Regarding worship, I believe it is a physical sign of submission to an authority not strictly God. If anyone or anything rightfully has authority over you, you should bow. I haven’t decided if it is “wrong” to bow to a man that has legitimate carnal authority over a person, such as a king, in our new covenant. However, in our current American self-Government of elected citizens it has no place.

Jesus Received Worship

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 11

Luke 4:7, 8
“If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

This verse is apparently based on one or a harmonized version of both:

Deuteronomy 6:13
"Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.”

Deuteronomy 10:20
“Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.”

With possibly:
1 Samuel 7:3
“And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, [then] put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

In the Greek the word worship is proskyneō - to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence. It means to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence. It is used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank. In the Hebrew the word for worship - shachah is not found in Jesus’ source scripture however the meaning is the same, to bow down, prostrate oneself. Biblically, worship is a sign of reverence and recognition of someone else’s authority over the one bowing.

So, a common Trinitarian argument is as follows:
a. Jesus said men should only worship God.
b. Jesus received worship, therefore
a=b Jesus is the Trinitarian God.

Jesus did not say in this NT reference to “only worship God.” He said “worship the Lord” and “him only shall you serve.” Serve – latreuō: to serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen. Bowing – shachah- to people in authority other than God is a practice throughout the entire bible. Gen 18:2, 19:1, 23:7,12, 37:7-10, 42:6, Ex 18:7, Joshua 5:13-15, Ruth 2:10, 13 times in 1 and 2 Samuel, as well as Kings, Chronicles, and throughout the Prophets.

People bowed down before Kings of Israel, men in authority, Joseph’s brothers in his visions and in Egypt. Even in one of Jesus’ parables:

Mathew 18:26
“The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.”

Recognizing whom bows to who in the Bible shows the authoritative chain of command, not specifically divinity. Everyone will bow to Jesus because he was born Lord of the earth and at his resurrection and ascension was made Lord over everything. Everyone bows to him that is except for the Father to whom Jesus is under and not equal to in rank. (1Corinthians 15:24-28)

PART 12

God Cannot Be Tempted

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 10

The argument, that there is a difference between temptation and temptation, doesn’t really work. True temptation cannot be unless the desire is there to act on it. I am not tempted to burn myself because I have no internal desire to feel the pain in my body. (some people do) In order for Jesus to be tempted he had to have some form an internal desire or else temptation has not taken place. If temptation did not take place based on desire, then he didn’t “overcome” anything. It’s not sin for Jesus to desire an alternative to God’s plan. The point is that he overcame the desire with the words of God, Adam did not. The fundamental difference between willful submission and simply “God in flesh” is the existence of more than one internal desire. Without that conflict there can be no submission. Yet how does an internal distinctly non-God desire exist inside the Trinitarian Jesus?

Even when I held a Trinitarian view people would quote Hebrews 4:15 that he “was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin.” I couldn’t help but say in my heart, “Yeah...Right! How could he possibly understand my temptation unless he had the desire to sin?” That is, to deviate from any step of God’s plan. If we view him as the last Adam, a man that had to hear and obey God by keeping his heart engaged with his spirit and not his flesh, then Heb 4:15 makes more sense and the definition of temptation in James is in harmony with Jesus.

James 1:14-15
“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

It is not having the desire or lust that is sin. If Jesus did not counter his lust with the desire of God, it could and would have conceived and brought forth sin and then death. This is the biblical definition of temptation and it requires two things; the first is internal desire and the second is enticement. In order for Jesus to be tempted he needed both according to his half brother James. God, however, cannot be tempted because he has no internal desire toward flesh or against himself in anyway. Nor can he be enticed away from himself, “for God cannot be tempted by evil,” James 1:13. Yet, Jesus can be!?

Jesus then was the vehicle for the Father’s earthly ministry of reconciliation, and God was with us inside of him. He was the express image of the Father in every way yet distinctly other than Him. Therefore, his temptation and obedience is legitimate. He had personal human desires. Desires other than that of the Father’s at times, yet he submitted and did the Father’s will. He had much knowledge of the mind of the Father but he does not know everything that the Father knows.

PART 11

The "Temptation" of Christ (wink, wink)

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 9

I believe my doctrine shows the love and struggle of Jesus more clearly. When he is speaking with the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane the “express image” shows the depth of their conversation. Jesus understood what the Father was telling him to do and he asks in desperation and full of emotion if there was any other way. As he realized there was not, he submitted to the will of the Father. In harmonious Trinity this conversation becomes…awkward. How could Jesus have any desire other than that of the Father? I would imagine a Trinitarian has an answer for this, theorizing about Jesus’ flesh and humanity, but I believe the logical and more natural answer fits better; a non-Trinitarian Jesus.

The actions of the Trinitarian Jesus in his ministry at times seem like a formality. For example in his temptation Satan offers him things and “tempts” him to submit. Have you honestly not read that and found it odd? How is there truly a legitimate temptation within the Trinity?
It would seem that this is just a façade; that Jesus goes through the motions of being “tempted,” (wink, wink) then speaks the word, and all is well. After all, how can God be tempted to act or be non-God? In Jesus’ case it would require great incentive or great ignorance of the negative consequences.

How is God enticed with incentive against his nature or ignorant of the consequences, to even momentarily consider anything other than His own plan? There are only two Trinitarian explanations I know of. First, perhaps Jesus though fully God was somehow mysteriously not completely privy to or understood the entire mind of the Father. This would seem to be in conflict with his being fully God while fully man. He would have to be something other than God in order to lack any God qualities or at least not fully God. Or else he would have to be hindered by his flesh from fully understanding his own true divine will. If his divine knowledge is hindered by his flesh, then we have another problem. How is he able to perfectly “submit” to his divinity if he does not fully and clearly perceive it?

A second possibility is that the temptation was only Satan’s work of proving Jesus. That is to say, Jesus at no time considered any action contrary to his own God nature but only expressed his internal divine desire and was therefore proven or exposed by Satan as God. Some argue this basic position trying to show a difference between external temptation (the natural desire of the flesh) and an internal temptation from your own “evil” desires. That one can, being God, have only godly internal desires yet the flesh (somehow unrelated to the internal desire) can still desire something other than God. Really?

PART 10

Box o' Nails

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 8

One way that I have thought of the “express image” is to compare it with a pinpoint impression toy. Also, called a Box O’ Nails it is according to urbandictionary.com a, “grid or pan of needles (ranging from silver, to neon). When a hand or face or some other convex object is placed underneath, the needles rise to form an impression of said object.”

Symbolically I believe this is what Jesus was doing. This is how he was a precise reproduction in every respect. The Father showed himself to humanity through the body of Jesus; fully expressing Himself emotionally and logically in word and action.

Instead of seeing the distinction of the Father and the vehicle, Trinity blends the two. And by doing so it creates a paradox and confusion with many other verses. This teaching on the express image combined with the Elohim understanding clarifies and harmonizes most verses on both sides of the debate.

This is my third reason for rejecting the Trinity. I believe it convolutes the distinction between Jesus and the Father diminishing Jesus’ submission. Jesus’ ministry was not just God acting in flesh on his own and our behalf. His ministry was one of willful submission to the Father against his own natural desires. It was a passionate and glorious struggle. Jesus earned the name above all names. Through the law, he earned carnal right standing as the perfect Adam when we couldn’t. He is the firstborn of us, the brethren. Worthy is the Lamb!

PART 9

The Express Image

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 7

Hebrews 1:3

“Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image (charaktēr- χαρακτήρ - engraving or carving, precise reproduction in every respect) of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

John 5:18-19
“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”

John 14:8-10
“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father? 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.”

2 Corinthians 5:19
“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

I believe that Jesus was the vessel or vehicle for the Father. Jesus willed himself to the Father as an earthsuit so the Father could access to our planet. (see THIS and THAT) The Father was literally inside of Jesus using his physical body to reconcile Himself (the Father) to the world. Jesus willfully submitted himself to this ministry of reconciliation even to death. He did not act or speak unless the Father told him to. He literally spoke on behalf of the Father and at times his mouth was speaking as the Father in first person. This is why people are confused about the words Jesus speaks. Not only in the sense of his dispensation of ministry but speaking as the Father. There were two distinct beings willing themselves into complete harmony. The Father was fully expressing himself physically and vocally through His son.

I've never raised or spent much time with horses but my wife has. She has grown up loving them, riding them, and winning competitions with them. When she talks about horses it is like a relationship that I don't quite understand. She would control this massive animal and make it do things that it would not naturally do. The horse had a desire of its own but it trusted and submitted to Carla (my wife) and because of that Carla was able to do things through the horse she could not have done on her own. In a very crude way this is how I view the co-ministry of the Father and Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

I have heard this as a Trinitarian proof but you can’t take “The mighty God” without taking “The everlasting Father.” Is he the Trinitarian Son or the Father? Not only does this verse fail to harmonize with Trinity it in fact strengthens my point. The reason Jesus was called the everlasting Father and Immanuel – God with us, is not because he himself was the Father, but rather he was the vehicle for the Father. The Father was on earth inside Jesus, therefore God was truly with us. He was with us in Christ.

Those who saw Jesus saw the Father. Not because he is the Father but because he submitted himself to be the express image (charaktēr) of Him who was moving and speaking through our Lord. And the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in his body. (Colossians 1:19) That is to say God fully dwelled in something other than himself. They were in symbiosis.

PART 8

"the Father is greater than I" - Jesus

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 6

Mark 13:32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father."

John 5:19 "Jesus gave them this answer: I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."

John 14:28 "You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

John 17:20-23 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

John 20:17 "Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Acts 7:55-56 "But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

Colossians 1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

1Corinthians 15:24-28 "Then the end will come, when he (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all."

John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

1Corinthians 8:5-6 "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

1Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"

Mark 12:29 “And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.”

James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

Mathew 4:1 “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”

Hebrews 2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

There are verses that really sound like Jesus is God and there are verses that really sound like he is not. I understand most Trinitarians would complete mental gymnastics around some of these verses in order to make them fit. My primary reason for rejecting Trinity is its’ conflict with the gospel. My second is that I don’t believe scripture requires the Trinity.

The Trinity doctrine is one that tries to marry a human/divine Jesus by creating an illogical conundrum. Jesus is both completely God and completely man at the same time. If the doctrine is challenged as nonsensical it’s then explained as a mystery of God only discernable by the spirit. I understand that until we leave these bodies we will never fully grasp God. But I believe there is a harmonious alternative to the Trinity.

PART 7

Trinity VS. the Gospel

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 5

In Psalms 8:5 if you notice the difference among translations, the KJV says:
"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (Elohim), and hast crowned him with glory and honour."

If you don’t like the KJV the verse is also mentioned in the Book of Hebrews in Greek as angels,
Hebrews 2:7
“Thou madest him a little lower than the angels (aggelos); thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands”

So, allowing scripture to interpret scripture the New Testament translates the Old and claims that Elohim means the Father, men (Ps. 82:6) and now we see angels (Ps.8:5, Heb 2:7). These texts in my opinion are speaking of God family as opposed to an exclusive Trinity. I also find more harmony in God family with oneness, Spirit, Soul, and Body, as well as general natural reading of the text.

We can see that the creative Elohim of Genesis 1:26 clearly can include more meaning than the traditional view of a triune God. It includes men and angels, implying a heavenly host of God family. Also, the Hebrews had no intention of a plural form of Elohim to be seen as a three part deity. Now, understandably they could have been ignorant of this truth which God was revealing through them. Yet, to use the grammatical nature of a Hebrew word, in an attempt to negate the core Hebrew doctrine of Monotheism, seems a bit of a stretch.

The Bible does not claim that the creative Genesis 1 “us” is implying Trinity. I believe the Father was telling the heavenly hosts (Elohim) what he was going to do, and that they too have His image. I’m not implying that the hosts have creative power (I don’t know if they do or don’t) I’m saying they participated and gloried in the Father’s work. Just because man is made in the image of Elohim does not by default mean angels are not. As we saw previously angels are Elohim just as are we. We both share the image of Elohim with the Father.

I am not simply expanding the Trinity to include angels, heavenly beings, and men. I believe the core problem with the Trinity doctrine is that it doesn’t make proper distinction between Jesus, the Father, and us.

Is Jesus God? Yes, in Elohim nature, but not in the Trinitarian form. If we believe that one being is expressed in three persons then when Jesus does something it is also the Father and the Holy Spirit doing it by means of perfect agreement. Jesus’ actions are simply the current expression of that Triune being. If the Trinitarian Jesus rebukes you and is angry with you then the Father is rebuking and angry too.

Jesus says to the church, in Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Yet in Isaiah 54:9 the Father is stating about our covenant to the church, “so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.”
How can this be? For those who understand the true gospel, how can “God” be completely reconciled, at peace, pleased, and not imputing sin; while at the same time irreconciled, angry, against men with a sword, and imputing sin? I don’t believe the Trinity doctrine is compatible with Paul’s gospel; this is my primary reason for rejecting it.

more gospel: HERE


PART 6

You and the Father are One

Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 4

It would seem from Psalm 82:6 that we are considered Elohim (god plural) and sons of the Most High. I don’t believe we are the Father but we are of Him. We were created with and from His nature and therefore part of the Elohim. I am just as much Elohim as Jesus or Yahweh, but I am not the person Yahweh. Now, born again, I am His son; just like Adam and Jesus. I am human flesh reborn with the nature of Elohim in my spirit. I am part of the Elohim heavenly family. However, my person is different from you, an angel, Jesus, and Yahweh.

So the first question that we should consider is what is a proper understanding of the word God?

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (speaking of one’s born again spirit)
“Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things [are] of God..”

1 Corinthians 6:17
“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”

Romans 8:9
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,”

Romans 8:29
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

1 John 3:2
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

If we believe that our spirit is one spirit with Christ and it is literally the spirit of Christ in us, that we are being transformed into that image, and will be like him when we see him and receive a glorified and perfect body, then where do we draw the lines? At some point we have to make distinction within the Trinitarian view.

If Jesus is identical in God-likeness to the Father [therefore God], and my spirit is identical with Jesus [therefore God], when my new body perfectly sees and exudes Jesus how will I not be identical to him and the Father? How will I be different? Trinity has distinguished three personalities as co-equal while the rest of us are not. However, the Bible disagrees with this. Regarding oneness we are all one, not just Jesus and the Father. So what does this unity look like?

John 17:22-23
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;”

I am one with Jesus in Elohim nature just as he is one with the Father. Joined unto him in one spirit. All those who are born again are one with the Father because we are now all children in the family of God.

Jesus himself distinguishes, in John 10:29-30, that the Father is greater than all, so how can he then say that he and the Father are one? Some say because they are one in Trinity, but that is basically my point. If God is our Father and we are one with him how are we also then not a member of the Triune Godhead as “God(s) in the flesh?” If one naturally reads these verses the God family makes more sense. The Father is above Jesus in rank, Jesus is above us and yet we are all one in Elohim nature.

PART 5