SPELLING EDITED

W-8. Is JESUS A SEPARATE PERSON FROM THE FATHER?

There is a controversy among Christians where one group of Christians teach that Jesus is a SEPARATE person from the Father while another group of Christians teaches that Jesus is one and the self-same being as Almighty God the Father.

So the question is, “Which group of Christians teach what the Bible ITSELF teaches?” Is Jesus a separate distinctly DIFFERENT person from the Father? Or is Jesus ONE and the self-same being as the Father?

To answer these questions let us first read what Jesus himself says in Mark 12:28-37 where Jesus is asked which is the greatest COMMANDMENT. Please understand that the Ten Commandments are not merely suggestions. And this passage of Scripture is about the GREATEST or the FIRST commandment.

Please read Mark 12:28-37.

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29.  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord OUR God is ONE Lord: 

30.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment.

31.  And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is NONE other commandments GREATER than these. 

32.  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, you have said the TRUTH: for there is one God; and there is NONE OTHER BUT HE:

33.  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 

34.  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. (Jesus agreed that the God of the Jews is ONE Lord but Jesus ALSO knew that Almighty God chose to save mankind by raising his Messiah up from among the Jewish people who would be born in the lineage of King David. So Jesus is saying that you are not far from the kingdom of God but there is MORE than you need to believe. You need to believe in the Messiah that God raised up from among the people) And no man after that durst ask him any question. 

35.  And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? 

36.  For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said TO my Lord, Sit YOU on MY right hand, till I make YOUR enemies YOUR footstool. 

37.  David, therefore, himself calls him Lord; and whence is he then his son? (Or how then is the Christ the son of King David?) And the common people heard him gladly.”

One of the first things that I want you to see is that it is the COMMON people who hear the words of Jesus gladly and it is the RELIGIOUS people who have the most trouble understanding the words of Jesus. We must humble ourselves to hear God’s word as little children.

Please read Matthew 18:3-6.

“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall NOT enter into the kingdom of heaven.  (We cannot seek the truth by being filled with pride that we already know the truth. I never even heard of Oneness believers when I was first saved. But when I did hear of them I LISTENED to what they had to say. And some of the things that Oneness Christians believe makes more BIBLICAL sense than what Trinitarian Christians teach. But on the other hand, there are some things that Trinitarians teach that are more BIBLICAL than what the Oneness Christians teach. And by closely listening to BOTH sides, The Holy Spirit eventually led me to the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. And the truth is down the MIDDLE BETWEEN what the Oneness and Trinitarians teach. In other words, there is SOME truth in BOTH THEORIES but NEITHER doctrine is SOUND Biblical teaching. So I implore you to take heed to the words of Jesus in verse 3 and HUMBLE yourself as a little child. You may learn something that you never heard before.)

4.  Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

5.  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives me. 

6.  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck, and that he was drowned in the depth of the sea.” 

So let us stop calling Christians who believe differently from us heretics as if they are not truly saved. The Father has chosen to reveal who Jesus is to BABES or to those who HUMBLE themselves as little children desiring only to know the TRUTH.

Please read Luke10:21-23.

“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in your sight. 

22.  All things are delivered TO me of my Father: and no man knows who the Son is, but the Father; and (No man knows) who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. 

23.  And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which SEE the things that you SEE:”

The LITERAL reading of Luke 10:22 reads, NO the Father and NO the Son, as opposed to saying, no man knows the Son BUT the Father. In other words, since the disciples of Jesus KNEW that Jesus is the Christ, the Son OF the living God, and the subject is about REVEALING WHO the Father is AND WHO the Son is, then verse 22 should read as follows.

“All things are delivered TO me of my Father: and no man knows who the Son is, UNTIL the Son is REVEALED BY the Father; and (No man knows) who the Father is, UNTIL the Father is REVEALED BY the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

In other words, Almighty God, the Father, REVEALED WHO Jesus IS in Matthew 18:13-20. So then, seeing that it is Almighty God the Father HIMSELF who REVEALED WHO Jesus IS then I myself believe we should believe Almighty God OVER the THEORIES of men as to WHO Jesus is.

Please read Matthew 18:13-20.

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? (Notice that even back then, MEN had all sorts of THEORIES and OPINIONS of who Jesus is. They were wise in their own conceits)

14.  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 

15.  He said unto them, But whom say YOU that I am? 

16.  And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

17.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, (Or MEN have NOT revealed this TRUTH to you Peter)  but my Father which is in heaven. (He has REVEALED this TRUTH to you, Peter. Almighty God the Father HIMSELF has REVEALED to us WHO his Son IS. So since the Father says that his Son is the Christ, the SON OF the living God and Jesus himself CONFIRMS that Peter's revelation of this TRUTH is indeed FROM Almighty God the Father, then I myself am going to believe what Almighty God the Father AND his Son Jesus say WHO Jesus IS. I personally believe that Jesus IS the Christ, the SON OF the living God who ALONE is the FATHER. In other words, Jesus himself is the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus himself is the SON OF the living God. And the living God is Almighty God the Father ALONE. Meaning that Jesus is NOT the Ftaher and Jesus is NOT Almighty God. I choose NOT to add or to take away from what God’s word SPECIFICALLY STATES as a fact with NO INTERPRETATION needed when it comes to a doctrine that MUST be believed in order to be saved)

18.  And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

19.  And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

20.  Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.”

So then, from this passage of Scripture was can clearly see that Jesus is the Christ, the SON OF the living God. And from the first verse that we read at the beginning of this study in God’s word we can see that Almighty God the Father is the God OF Jesus because Jesus said OUR God and not YOUR God. Let us read verse 29 of Mark chapter 12 again.

Mark 12:29

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord OUR God is ONE Lord:”

Please notice that Jesus used the pronoun OUR God instead of the pronoun YOUR God. This tells me, that Jesus INCLUDED HIMSELF as having the same God of the Jews as being HIS God as well. And this interpretation AGREES with the clear, plain, and simple words of Jesus in no less than three passages of Scripture that do not need any INTERPRETATION that Jesus has Almighty God the Father as HIS God over him. Please read Matthew 27:46; John 20:17; and Revelation 3:12 where Jesus calls Almighty God the Father his God four times in a single verse of Scripture by using the pronoun MY God four times. And I also strongly suggest that you read the study “VERSES THAT PROVE JESUS IS NOT THE FATHER!”

But for now, I want to focus on OUR God as being ONE Lord. What did Jesus mean by the word ONE? Did Jesus mean ONE God is ONE SINGLE person in one being? Or can the word ONE also mean one in UNITY? And if the word ONE can mean one in UNITY, then does that PROVE that God is a Trinity God?

Now, I used to be a Trinitarian before I TRULY LISTENED to WHY Oneness believers hang on to the doctrine of Oneness when the Bible ITSELF could not make it any clearer that Jesus is NOT the Father. I kept wondering WHY the Oneness believer insisted that God is ONE SINGLE being in ONE person. So I asked God to help me understand what the Bible means when Almighty God says that there is NO OTHER God BESIDE him in Isaiah 44:6 and several other verses.

Please read Isaiah 44:6.

“Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God.”

Now, I cover all the verses and the technical scholarly Greek and Hebrew in the two studies called “OUR GOD IS ONE!” and “THERE IS BUT ONE GOD!” so I will not go into great detail in this study with the meanings of the Hebrew words. But I will say that the Hebrew meaning of the word “BESIDE” means WITHOUT. Here is what the concordance says.

בַּלְעֲדֵי    בִּלְעֲדֵ

bil‛ădêy    bal‛ădêy

bil-ad-ay', bal-ad-ay'

Constructive plural from H1077 and H5703; not till, that is, (as preposition or adverb) except, without, besides: - beside, not (in), save, without.

So then, Isaiah 44:6 should read as follows.

“Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and WITHOUT me there is no God.”

And we know this is a true and valid translation because there are many verses that clearly teach us that the ONE TRUE God is THE GOD OF Gods. Before you get all bent out of shape and upset at me, please understand that word “God” in English comes from the Hebrew word ELOHIM. And we know that the angels are called the Elohim. In other words, God can mean the ONE TRUE God, a God who the one true God SET UP or appointed to be a God under him, a FALSE god, and even a goddess. So in TRUTH, there is just one God who ALONE is the ALMIGHTY God or the MOST-HIGH God who is THE God OF or over all other Gods, and gods.

Please read the following five verses.

Deuteronomy 10:17. 

“For the LORD your God is God OF gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regards not persons, nor taketh reward:”

Joshua 22:22.  

“The LORD God OF gods, the LORD God OF gods, he knows, and Israel he shall know; if it is in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)”

Psalm 136:2.  

“O give thanks unto theGod OF gods: for his mercy endures forever.”

Daniel 2:47.  

“The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth, it is that your God is a God OF gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.”

Daniel 11:36.  

“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God OF gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.”

Now, since the Bible itself clearly teaches us with no interpretation needed that Almighty God is the God OF Jesus then that means that Jesus is NOT one and the self-same being as Almighty God who ALONE is the FATHER. Here are two reasons why I say that the Father ALONE is the ONE TRUE and ONLY Almighty God. One reason is that the very word “ALMIGHTY” means that the ONE who is the Almighty God cannot have ANY other Gods OVER him. And since Jesus has THE Father OVER him then that means that Jesus cannot BE the ALMIGHTY God. The other reason is that the Bible itself clearly and plainly teaches us that the Father is the God OF Jesus.

For ALL the verses that state as a FACT with no interpretation needed that Almighty God the Father is the God OF Jesus please read the study “THERE IS BUT ONE GOD!” But for now, here are a few verses.

Romans 15:6.

“That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, EVEN the FATHER OF our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 1:3.

“Blessed be God, EVEN the Father OF our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;”

2 Corinthians 11:3.

“The God and Father OF our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knows that I lie not.”

Ephesians 1:3.

“Blessed be the God AND Father OF our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN Christ:”

So then, since Jesus cannot possibly BE Almighty God himself and Jesus is called God BY HIS God and Father, then that means that Jesus is a God who is UNDER his God and Father. And that means that Jesus is NOT the one and the self-same BEING as the Father.

So then, being ONE with the Father means that Jesus is one in AGREEMENT with the Father. For you see, if so be that Jesus intended his words in John 10:30 where he said “I and my Father are ONE” to mean that he is ONE and the self-same being as Almighty God the Father then that means that ALL faithful Christians will become ONE and the self-same being as the Father.

Please read John 17:20-22.

“Neither do I pray for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 

21  That they all may be ONE; as you, Father, art in me, and I in you, that they ALSO may be ONE in US: that the world may believe that you have sent me. 

22.  And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be ONE, EVEN AS WE are ONE:”

The PLURAL pronouns “US” and “WE” clearly teach us that the Father is NOT the Son and the Son is NOT the Father. The Bible itself clearly teaches us in SIMPLICITY that Almighty God the Father is a separate distinctly different being or person FROM his Son, Jesus.

The Father has his OWN WILL.

The Son, Jesus, has his OWN WILL.

Please read Luke 22:42.

“Saying, Father, if YOU be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but YOUR(Will), be done”

The Father has his OWN SOUL. (Psalm 11:5)

The Son, Jesus has his OWN SOUL.

Please read Psalm 11:5

“The LORD (Or Yahweh) tries the righteous: but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hated.”

Please read Acts 2:27.

“Because you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.”

Almighty God is a Spirit.

Jesus himself said that he is NOT a Spirit.

Please read John 4:24 where Jesus is talking about the FATHER being a Spirit.

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Please read Luke 24:39, which is AFTER Jesus is glorified to become a God under the Father.

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit has NOT flesh and bones, as you see ME have.”

God is invisible and cannot be seen.

Jesus has been seen by many people.

1 Timothy 6:13-16.

“I give you charge in the sight of God, who quickens all things, AND before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; 

14.  That you keep this commandment (Or I give you charge before God AND before his Son, Jesus, that you KEEP this instruction or teaching) without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

15.  Which in his times (Speaking of both the first and second comings of Jesus) he shall show, who is the blessed and ONLY Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 

16.  Who only had immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.”

Jesus is the IMAGE OF the INVISIBLE God. Jesus is a CREATED being. Jesus came INTO existence. But the INVISIBLE ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God has always existed without ever having a beginning.

Jesus is NOT one and the self-same being as Almighty God. Jesus was begotten OF the Father to be the Savior of the world so whosoever believes that Jesus is the SON OF God might have everlasting life in the world to come.

The Bible itself teaches that we MUST believe in BOTH the Father AND his Son, Jesus in order to have ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come.

Please read John 17:1-3.

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify YOUR Son, that YOUR Son ALSO may glorify YOU: 

2.  As YOU have given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as YOU have given him. 

3.  And THIS is life eternal, that they might know YOU the only true God, AND Jesus Christ, whom YOU have sent.”

And this brings us right back to the very first verse we read at the beginning of this study in God’s word. Let us read that passage of Scripture again and notice that Jesus says to the Jewish scribe that he is not FAR from the kingdom of God. That means he is CLOSE but being close is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Close in believing that God is ONE Lord, but that is NOT Good enough. Jesus is saying that we must ALSO believe in the SON OF God as being the Christ.

Please read Mark 12:28-37.

“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 

29.  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord OUR God is ONE Lord: 

30.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. 

31.  And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is NONE other commandment GREATER than these. 

32.  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, you have said the TRUTH: for there is one God; and there is NONE OTHER BUT HE: 

33.  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 

34.  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. (Jesus agreed that the God of the Jews is ONE Lord but Jesus ALSO knew that Almighty God chose to save mankind by raising his Messiah up from among the Jewish people who would be born in the lineage of King David. So Jesus is saying that you are not far from the kingdom of God but there is MORE than you need to believe. You need to believe in the Messiah that God raised up from among the people) And no man after that durst ask him any question. 

35.  And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? 

36.  For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said TO my Lord, Sit YOU on MY right hand, till I make YOUR enemies YOUR footstool. 

37.  David, therefore, himself calls him Lord; and whence is he then his son? (Or how then is the Christ the son of King David?) And the common people heard him gladly.”

Jesus said that he came OUT FROM God in John 16:27. And John 1:14 says that the word was MADE flesh.

Yahweh PROPHESIED in Isaiah 55:11 that his word, which is his word that came OUT of his MOUTH, will prosper in the thing where IT was sent. And then we read in Luke 1:26-45 that God SENT his word down from heaven which was SPOKEN by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, and when Mary BELIEVED and said be it done according to your WORD, then the SPOKEN word of God which came OUT FROM God then BECAME FLESH. So then, it was the WORD spoken that came out from God that BECAME FLESH. And then the Son of MAN was highly EXALTED to become a God who will rule FOR Yahweh during the seventh 1000 year-long Day of the Lord while Yahweh the Father RESTS. Then in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, we learn that at the end of the 1000 year reign of Jesus, the SON OF God will turn back the ruling of the kingdom back into HIS God and Father's hands so that God can be all in all once again.

Jesus is NOT the Father, Jesus is NOT Almighty God himself. Jesus is the IMAGE OF the invisible God, the firstborn of every CREATURE. Jesus is a CREATED being, the firstborn among many BRETHREN, Jesus is our BROTHER. Jesus is our fellow servant. Jesus is the first human being to ever be GIVEN IMMORTALITY.

Please read all the studies under the headings >>> IS ONENESS BIBLICAL?<<< and >>>A LIST OF STUDIES ON THE TRINITY<<< to learn that BOTH the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Oneness are NOT SOUND Biblical teachings. Again, there is a little truth in both the doctrine of the Trinity AND the doctrine of Oneness but the WHOLE sound Biblical truth is somewhere in the middle between the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Oneness. I personally believe that Biblical Unitarian Christians are closer to the truth of the WHOLE word of God than any other group of Christians that I have been made aware of. I do not call myself a Biblical Unitarian but I do believe most of what they teach concerning WHO Jesus is in comparison to who Almighty God the Father is.

Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Below is a list of the studies related to the subject of HOW did Jesus PREEXIST. We all agree that Jesus preexisted in some form. 

The Oneness Christians believe that Jesus pre-existed as Almighty God the Father himself and then the Father manifested himself as the Son. 

The Trinitarian Christians believe that Jesus pre-existed as God the Son, the second person of a Trinity Godhead, and then God the Son incarnated himself in the flesh. 

And the Biblical Unitarian Christians believe that Jesus pre-existed as the spoken word of God or as the prophesied plan of God and then the spoken word of Almighty God the Father became flesh. 

So the question is not IF Jesus preexisted, but rather in what form as to HOW Jesus preexisted in eternity past?

Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Brother Mark.

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