Frequently Asked Questions (fundamental)
Jesus Christ is God! We can be convinced of this from the Scriptures.
Example 1 of three Verses:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Comment: This verse tells us that in the beginning there was only God and there was no one and nothing except God.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Comment: This verse tells us that God is the creator of all things.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Comment: From these three verses, it is revealed to us that God in the flesh of man came to earth and was with us (Lord Jesus Christ).
Example 2:
Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
Comment: This verse tells us many things, but literally it says that God appeared in the flesh (the Lord Jesus Christ).
Example 3:
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
Comment: From this Verse we can immediately highlight 3 aspects:
- I give them eternal life (this is within the competence of God alone! Only God can give or create life, and especially eternal life);
- No one will snatch them out of My hand (this is the competence of God alone, we are in His hands and cannot be in the hands of an Angel or a Prophet);
- I and the Father are one (this passage from the Verse should probably put an end to the question of the divinity of Jesus Christ).
There are many more places in the Bible where you can be convinced that Jesus Christ is God!
In answering this question, we would like to begin with a verse from Scripture:
I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
From the context of this Verse in Scripture, we know that Nicodemus (a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews) came to Jesus - he was very interested in the teachings of the Lord. Then Jesus explained to him how to see the Kingdom of Heaven - namely, that it is necessary to be born (reborn) anew (from above) spiritually. Nicodemus, being an experienced religious teacher, quite smart and could not immediately understand and believe from the first hand from the Lord how this is possible! Then Jesus gave the speech that is described in the Verse above.
From this verse we can conclude that even with a sharp mind and great religious experience, people cannot always understand the spiritual part of life literally with their mind and reason. And even more so, understand God himself, who gave us this mind and reason.
But God also gave us qualities such as interest/curiosity and persistence. Let's try to satisfy these qualities and learn at least a little about the personality and nature of our Creator!
Let's see what the Bible says about God:
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
From this Verse it becomes clear to us that God is a spiritual person, and from the Verse above it was clear to us that we are not always able to understand or believe in even earthly things, much less spiritual (heavenly) things.
To learn about the Creator (His essence) whom we cannot literally see or touch, we need to start from His Word (the Bible) and His creations (masters are recognized by their work). The most significant earthly creation of His that is available for study is people (man).
Let's see what the Scripture says about man:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
From these verses we understand that man is created in the image and likeness of God! But what else may interest us is how God said - Our (in the plural) in the first verse, and in the second verse He says His (in the singular).
And this is already interesting, let's look at the Scriptures to see how a person is structured:
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
And so we discovered that a person has not only a body, but a soul and a spirit, and these are not "metaphors" but real and living attributes of a person - the physical attribute is the body and is tied to the earthly, and the soul and spirit are spiritual attributes through which we have a connection with God and the spiritual world.
The second verse not only tells us that a spirit lives in man, but also makes a direct comparison to the Spirit of God, which we will talk about below.
Okay, we learned that a person has 3 attributes - body, soul and spirit. It remains to be determined - are these 3 attributes 3 different people (that is, 3 me) or is it one (single) organism (only me), but at the same time each of these attributes has its own (personal) tasks and actions?
This was a rhetorical question, to which we of course already know the answer - we are one (single) organism - man!
Now that we already have a small idea of the "human trinity", it will be easier for us to roughly understand the Holy Trinity of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
It is necessary to immediately emphasize that the Holy Trinity of God differs from the "human trinity", just as God differs from man - in all qualities (reason, strength, greatness, holiness, possibilities, etc.)
But the main difference from the "human trinity" is that if a person has 3 attributes (body, soul, spirit), then God has 3 persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are independent and powerful in themselves, but at the same time we do not forget that just as a person is one (single), and not 3 different people, so God is one (single), and NOT 3 different Gods.
Let's see what the Scripture says about this:
There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
These Verses tell us many things, but for now we will highlight that God is one and there are no other Gods! There are many places in Scripture where it is said that God is only one.
We have already learned a lot and now we can look at an example from Scripture about the Holy Trinity:
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
From this verse we can immediately highlight two points:
- Apostle Paul could have shortened and written all the instructions (grace, love, fellowship) with all of you (shortened) from God. But the Apostle intentionally reveals to us the nature of our Creator! Letting us understand that God has 3 Persons in Himself;
- The Apostle also makes us understand that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit each interact with us in their own way, but at the same time they are one (single) God!
Conclusion: God is one (single)! In His unity He has 3 persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Just as His earthly image and likeness (man) is one (single) but has 3 attributes - body, soul, spirit.
Friends, brothers and sisters! We hope that you have developed a rough understanding of the nature of our Creator and the Holy Trinity. We will learn more about Him when we finish our earthly journey!
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.