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185 - THE DIVINE ESSENCE
ESSENCE literally means as BEING, which referring to inner intrinsic nature, the true substance, and the invisible qualities but manifested by a person’s thoughts and actions.
ESSENCE is the basic constituent of being a thing, the intrinsic nature of something, that which underlies all outward manifestations and is both permanent and unchangeable. Essence implies being or existence [Romans 1:20 John 1:1].
GOD’S ESSENTIAL BEING can never be completely defined or grasped by human corrupt and finite humanity. Only as HE reveals Himself to us in the Bible can we, in a limited way, comprehend His Person and nature.
God in grace has revealed Himself, and what is revealed of God’s essence is reveal to be understood through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The believer is dependent upon the infallibility of the Word of God and the filling of the Holy Spirit to fully understand the invisible, immaterial, infinite, unlimited and perfect essence of God.
GOD IS SELF-REVEALED for no man can find anything about God without HIS self -revelation. Man has no capacity, ability, resources and power to understand anything about God without God providing us the ability, the capacity, the power and resources to know HIM.
We do not have the frame of reference in our humanity or even the entire human race combined that can help us understand or illustrate the perfect character of God. There is no parallel between divine essence and the so-called human essence. THE PERSONALITY OF GOD: GOD is a REAL PERSON with personal attributes and perfect personality without limitations. The personality of man is variable, undependable, and corrupted by the old sinful nature. The essence of man is not real but REEL and the attributes of man imperfect as his soul.
THE Bible uses ANTHROPOMORPHISM which ascribes to God human physical characteristics, that which HE does not possess but explain HIS essence, acts and decisions, policy and decisions in terms of human anatomy. God used the language of men in revealing Himself.
The Bible uses ANTHROPOPATHISM, which ascribes to God some human passions, emotions, characteristic and attributes, which HE does not possess but reveal and explain HIMSELF, HIS divine policy, acts and decisions for man. God alone has the perfect and infinite personality.
The infinite and perfect personality of God is the pattern HE used for creating or constructing man. God created a physical body with immaterial soul –which is the real person [Genesis 1:27]. The phrase GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS IMAGE connotes that man possesses all the attributes of personality not the attributes of deity. Man does not possess the nature or attributes of God- there are nothing good in man.
Adam was originally without the old sinful nature; he possessed soul and human spirit. When Adam fell, the image of God was marred but not destroyed. From that moment, sinful man has become totally incompatible with the integrity and incapable of having a relationship with HIM. The old sin nature is inherently hostile to the integrity of God. The old sinful nature operates in opposition and rebellion against the will and plan of God. The personality of man is in no way similar or parallel with the personality of God.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
186 - SELF-EXISTENCE
GOD exists eternally, without being sustained by Him or by any other source. God has no beginning. Yahweh means the SELF-EXISTENT ONE. God is the SOURCE of all sustaining but does not need it Himself. God exists as an infinite Person who does not need help from anyone. He is the infinite Source with infinite capacity who provides for our needs.
God’s existence is unalterable. He is the Cause of all existence outside Himself, but He has no cause for Himself. That is why we adjust to Him and He does not adjust to us. If God caused us to receive His life, He can also afford to give us some of His energy. God is infinitely capable of supplying His energy to His children.
This is an indirect, impersonal supply line available for the entire human but the only beneficiaries are the Church Age believers. The direct for the Church Age believers is called grace.
There is nothing beyond God. When we made our first adjustment to His justice by believing in Christ-we are related to the One who has no origin, the Cause but has no cause. So, then, if there is nothing beyond God our relationship with Him is the ultimate.
There are points of similarity between the essence of God and the soul of man-since the soul was patterned after the essence of God. God’s being (essence) is unseen or invisible, real with ten basic attributes (such as sovereignty, righteousness, justice, eternal life, love, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, veracity and immutability). The human soul is unseen or invisible, real and has some attributes (self-consciousness, volition, mentality, emotion and conscience). Beyond that there is no parallel between divine essence and the human soul.
God has no origin, He is the Cause but He has no cause. God is perfectly familiar with every secondary cause outside of Himself. He has every attribute necessary to make Him the perfect Judge of all human beings.
God created time but He is not in time. Time is for man not for God. God created space but God is not in space. Time is finite while God is infinite. God transcends time.
Time is a line of procedure as far man’s perspective is concerned. God always accomplishes in time what has to be done in time as part of His divine plan of grace. God is not the subject of time but He uses time for the advantage of the believers in the world [Psalm 90:2, 102:27, 1 Cor. 2:7].
God invented time for the following reasons: 1. For our orderly and systematic existence in the world. 2. For our convenience and comfortable existence. 3. For God to manifest His eternal life to us. 4. For believers to exercise their royal priesthood and royal ambassador for Christ. 5. For believers to reach spiritual maturity and therefore receive blessing in time and eternity.
God exists outside time. No one brought God to existence. There was never a time when God does not exist. We are related to the One who has no origin, and the Cause and the Source of all things.
The attributes of God are perfect and eternal. Attributes are those qualities and perfections, which belongs to God alone never applicable to any created beings.
“For since the creation of the world His INVISIBLE ATTRIBUTES, His eternal power and divine nature have been CLEARLY SEEN, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” [Romans 1:20]. The personality of God comes from the attributes of His essence.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
187 - THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES
DIVINE ATTRIBUTES or essence is the characteristics of His essential Being, which are eternally and inherently in Him. Divine attributes are HIS ESSENTIAL BEING, which are eternally and inherently in Him.
AFTER salvation we belong to God and we are designed to understand the thought and the functions of God. The difficulty of the believers in studying the divine essence is that it brings the finite mind to constant and difficult contemplation of the perfect and infinite matters unknown to us.
The grace of God and the work of God are the manifestations of His essential qualities (His attributes), it is important to know and understand WHO AND WHAT GOD IS, (that is to understand His attributes). To understand His attributes is to understand WHO AND WHAT GOD IS. To understand the manifest Person (Jesus Christ) of the Godhead is to understand His divine essence or characteristics.
God in grace has revealed Himself. And everything that are revealed are revealed to be understood with the help of the Holy Spirit. The believer can and must master the information God has provided. After salvation, the believer is designed to understand the thoughts and function of God. There is no excuse not to study the Word of God. The attributes of God are categorized into absolute and relative attributes.
Absolute Attributes are:
1. SPIRITUALITY – God is spiritual, real yet invisible. God is life and the source of all life.
2. INFINITY – God is without boundaries or limitations. He is infinitely perfect.
A. SELF-EXISTENCE – God exists eternally, without being sustained by Him or by anything else. His existence is unalterable. B. IMMUTABILITY – God is unchangeable and always at His best. He cannot be better or worse. C. UNITY – God is perfectly consistent and there is one perfect, absolute, infinite Spirit [Isaiah 44:6], which the Three Persons possesses it [John 5:44, 17:3].
3. PERFECTION – God is perfect in intellect, affection and character. A. TRUTH OR VERACITY God is true to Himself [Psalm 25:5, John 17:17]. B. LOVE-God is love. C. RIGHTEOUSNESS – God is perfectly righteous or holy in everything [Deut. 32:4].
Relative Attributes are:
1. ETERNITY – God is eternal. There was never a time when God did not exist. 2. IMMENSITY – Divine attributes related to space and to His creation: A. OMNIPRESENCE B. OMNIPOTENCE C. OMNISCIENCE
3. ATTRIBUTES related to moral beings: A. FAITHFULNESS B. VERACITY C. MERCY D. GOODNESS E. RIGHTEOUNESS F. JUSTICE
4. PERFECT AUTHORITY God renders account to no one, He consults no one. He is the final and absolute [Psalm 145:14, Matthew 20:15, 1 Timothy 6:15].
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
188 - SOVEREIGNTY
THE sovereignty of God is His eternal, infinite, unchangeable will expressed in the divine decrees in eternity past. God is the Supreme Being of the universe [Deut. 4:39], the King of heaven and earth [Psalm 47:2, 93:1-2], Who has absolute prerogative and perfect volition.
God’s sovereignty is eternal [Psalm 93:2], infinite [Psalm 8:1, Acts 5:39, Hebrews 6:13], and Self-determining [Job 9:12, Psalm 115:3, 135:6, Daniel 4:35]. By divine decree, the sovereignty of God and the free will of man co-exist in human history. Both are invisible, though we can see their results [John 7:17, Phil. 2:13, 2 Peter 3:9].
The sovereignty of God is the final cause of all things; He created and maintains the universe. God’s sovereignty always operates for His own glory. It is always totally compatible with all of His other divine attributes.
It was the sovereign will of God to reveal Himself to us through Bible doctrine, and to deal with us through a policy of grace and to give us them most fantastic and unique plan of God.
It was the sovereignty of God that sent Jesus Christ to the Cross-to provide our eternal salvation and to reveal to us the unique factors of the Church Age and made a decision to indwell us as the confidence of glory [Colossians 1:27].
God has never made a bad or wrong decision. All divine decisions are from the sovereignty of God, made from a position of eternal and perfect infinite strength –based on eternal wisdom and omniscience; therefore, it is impossible for God to make a wrong decision. God in His perfect sovereignty expresses supreme wisdom and grace in His decisions that relate to us.
God has never made a mistake or bad decision with regard to our living or with regard to the time, manner and place of our departure from this world. God has the power to execute His will under all conditions. God’s sovereign will and power are never arbitrary.
The sovereign God decreed the function of the free will of man, this is designed to resolve the angelic conflict by exhibiting to Satan and demons that God’s judgment on them in eternity past was just and fair.
It is the sovereign wills of God that all men come to a saving knowledge of the Lord [2 Peter 3:9], although the free will of many refuses God’s saving Work resulting in eternal condemnation [John 3:18, 36].
No one can exist independently of the sovereignty of God, Who imputed soul life to biological life creating human life at birth. God keeps you alive to reject or accept His will. Every attempt to live independent from God is the showroom of arrogance.
Under the sovereignty of God, the person who dies without reaching the point of accountability at the God –consciousness is automatically saved, since his free will has not yet had the opportunity to accept or reject the Work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
THE AUTHORITY OF GOD is derived from all His attributes. God has absolute authority over possible things and actual things. Over possible things: God is sovereign in that He leaves them as merely possible or destines them to become reality at a specific point in the future.
Over the actual things: God is final and the only Authority [Psalm 145:14, Mt. 20:15]. God delegates and establishes systems of authority in the human race. God renders account to no one. He acts in conformity with His own perfect character. His perfection cannot be less than perfection any decision He makes.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
189 - THE AUTHORITY OF GOD
The authority of God rests in 3 things:
GOD IS CREATOR. God gave existence to every creature and to all things. He has the right to save or judge, reward or discipline. He is compelled to discipline the carnal and backslider under the influence of evil. God is compelled to bless and reward the mature believer under the influence of Bible doctrine.
This exercise of authority is always consistent with His very own essence and plan- this is contrasted with the secondary rights which men recognize in the ownership of private property [Psalm 50:10].
GOD IS THE REDEEMER. He freed us at the Cross-, giving us the right to choose for or against His plan of salvation and Bible doctrine. For anyone to qualify, as God basically requires three qualifications: First He must be the Creator of all things and not a creature Himself. Secondly, He must be self-existence –not totally dependent on anything and eternal in nature. Thirdly, He must be the provider of Redemption or salvation. All the so-called gods in this world failed in these triple tests.
GOD PROVIDED BIBLE DOCTRINE. The authority of God is expressed in Bible doctrine and obedience to His authority. Since God is self-revealed, He disclosed everything we need to know about His plan, purpose, will and His personality in the Word of God. Our questions about God and His plan, purpose and will are all answered in the Bible. No question about God is left without an answer in the Scripture.
The purpose of the Bible doctrine is for us to know God. There is no other place in the world where we can find truth about God other than the Bible. Any information about God and His plan, purpose and will from other source are absolutely incorrect.
THE FREEDOM OF GOD: God is free to bless man only when man is adjusted to His justice. The incarnation and spiritual death of Christ was the free of God [Divine sovereignty] provision for salvation for man.
After salvation, God is free to bless man only under the state of spirituality once restored to fellowship with God through rebound. God is all the more free to bless the believer when adjusted through spiritual maturity.
The authority of God is perfect and absolute in every way. He never interferes with human volition or decision. Although God has absolute authority over mankind yet He is not a dictator.
The freedom of God is not truly an attribute; God’s sovereignty is. The freedom of God cannot contradict the righteousness and the justice of God. He must be consistent with Himself- because He cannot compromise His essence.
The Divine omniscience saw the decisions of men in the eternity past and put them in the divine decree. The sovereignty of God works only according to decisions made by human freewill. The freedom of God is based on human volition.
GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSON [Acts 10:34] refers to Divine sovereignty, which is perfect from human imperfect influence, work, intervention or petition. If man can influence God in any aspect, then, He is no longer perfect and righteous.
Divine decisions come from divine essence not from who and what man is, but from WHO AND WHAT GOD IS. God is not double minded or fickle minded depending on human suggestions. The freedom of God toward men is based on His righteousness and justice, which guarantee that all His actions and decisions are perfect.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
190 - RIGHTEOUSNESS
GOD is perfect, both in His Person and in His character –all His attributes are perfect [Deut. 32:4, Psalm 7:9, 113:3, Jeremiah 23:6, John 17:25, Romans 1:17, 10:3, 1 John 2:29].
God possesses eternal, unchangeable, absolute righteousness. Divine righteousness combined with His perfect justice is described as holiness [Exodus 15:11, 19:10-16, Isaiah 6:3].
All justice is administered from the perfect righteousness of God [Lev. 19:2, I Samuel 2:2, Psalm 22:3, 47:8, 119:9, John 17:11, Rev. 3:7].
God is absolute good. This good is of intrinsic value which is perfect righteousness that refers only to God [Psalm 25:8, 34:8, 86:5, 119:68, Luke 18:19]. God is infinitely perfect, He cannot be tempted, nor can He sin. Sin ha boundaries, measures, standards and limitation. God is beyond standards, measures, boundaries and all kinds of limitation. Therefore, God cannot sin and He cannot tempt anyone to sin, but He recognizes sin in us.
God cannot be complicated with ignorance, absurdities, temptation, or approval of sin. He cannot accept human weaknesses as logical and legitimate reason for violating the divine protocol.
Righteousness is the principle or standards of divine integrity. All that God does adheres to this measure of perfection. God’s righteousness is perfect demanding perfect justice. What the righteousness of God demands the justice of God executes.
Divine righteousness is the standard of all human righteousness. Human righteousness is relative and imperfect. Divine and human righteousness is in total disagreement and in different dimension. Righteousness is intrinsic with God being part of His essence or nature. Genuine righteousness is unknown to fallen man. At the point of salvation, God imputed His righteousness on man, making him qualified to stand before God any time with out reference to his present life. The imputed righteousness and the permanent indwelling Holy Spirit guarantee our eternal salvation.
The righteousness of God as revealed in the Scripture is not the righteousness that the world religions are talking about. The perfect righteousness of God stands on three solid realities: a. The perfection of God b. The truthfulness of God c. His perfect works
FOR ANYONE TO BE TRULY RIGHTEOUS he must possess the three solid realities in his life.
The word for righteousness in the New Testament is dikaiosune (dikaiosune) that also means “justice”. It comes from Attic Greek noun dike (dike) and Greek adjective dikaios (dikaiosThe suffix sune changed the meaning of a noun or adjective from the simple to the complex, from the concrete to the abstract.
THE DIKAIOSUNE OF GOD means one of the two things: a. His righteousness as the principle or standard of Divine integrity b. His justice as the function or action of His integrity.
The genitive case of theos (theos makes the difference between these definitions: it is both a subjective and possessive genitive. Theos in the possessive genitive indicates something that God possesses as a principle: God possesses perfect righteousness. On the other hand in the subjective genitive the noun is the subject of the action, that is, it produces the action: The function of God’s integrity always includes justice directed toward mankind.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
191 - DIKAIOSUNE
Dikaiosune is always an abstract term that connotes two parts of God’s integrity set against the background of all His attributes. Divine integrity is infinite, perfect, eternal, unchangeable and truly unfathomable apart from its revelation in Bible doctrine.
Dikaiosune as a divine policy or principle involves God alone apart from man. But as a divine action it includes man. In this sense, DIKAIOSUNE is sometimes used as synonym for human righteousness term mistranslated by English as “godliness” and becomes a technical term for spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is the believer’s maximum adjustment to the justice of God.
DIKAIOSUNE THEOU usage encompasses not just the spiritual mature but ALL believers are included in its legal sense. The term means justification: God is the expert and perfect Judge who has all the evidence and can pronounce only a fair and objective verdict.
When a person believes in Christ, God is free because of the cross to credit to that person His own righteousness the very principle of divine integrity. Immediately from the bench of the supreme court of heaven: God recognizes this new piece of evidence in the case. Because the believer now possesses God’s perfect righteousness, God pronounces him perfectly righteous.
This is the essence of salvation- the reality of our justification before God. This is the story of grace. Grace means that God does all the work and receives all the glory:
A. At salvation we are justified as possessing His righteousness B. At spiritual growth we are justified by acknowledging the effects of possessing that righteousness by rebound believing that we are completely justified. C. At spiritual maturity we are vindicated as having in our souls Bible doctrine, the thinking and verbalization of His integrity.
Now we see, our human righteousness and personal achievements (of all kinds) have nothing whatever to do with our justification before God. We are justified by His grace not by our effort or merits but by the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God can bless the spiritually dead, totally depraved citizens of the kingdom of Satan without destroying His own perfection since salvation is the 100% work of divine justice and righteousness. Man has nothing to add and there is nothing to subtract to God’s perfect work of redemption.
Salvation means that God treats us in justice. God did not lower His integrity or perfect standard of righteousness to save us. Divine perfection and holiness is intact. When God sent His Son, as a Man He did not lower His perfect standard, He was simply expressing His perfection.
The unbending strength of every facet of His absolute essence is fully behind everything He thinks or does toward us. God never makes exceptions. He does not act on emotion. He never feels sorry for the poor-lost sheep, or overcome by sentimentality. He never accomplishes or does anything on impulses. God works are never tentative or shortsighted, and His plan never needs revision or editing or correction.
DIKAIOSUNE THEOU guarantees that not even God himself can undo the things He did or change His work. There is no loophole that needs to be closed because loopholes exist. His work is complete perfect and free from any error. This is our security, our comfort, and blessing. Perfect plan and work of salvation can come only from the ONLY PERFECT GOD of the Bible. Any imperfection is denial of deity.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
192 - JUSTICE
GOD is perfectly good and just. Man is nothing but moralistic, legalistic or just some kind of distorted human good from old sinful nature by which he tries to impress God and people around him.
God is righteously perfect, demanding perfect justice. What the righteousness of God demands, the justice of God executes. JUSTICE IS THE FUNCTION OF THE INTEGRITY OF GOD.
God is fair and it is impossible for God to be unfair in the function of divine justice. Divine justice administers the system of divine laws, which is compatible with divine righteousness and sovereignty.
GOD IS THE JUDGE OF ALL MANKIND, whether man recognizes it or not. God renders daily decisions in heaven with regard to all members of the human race. He is an incorruptible and fair Judge of the all men. It is impossible for perfect God to make a bad decision as a Judge.
The justice of God administers the blessings and penalties that are demanded by His perfect righteousness [Deut. 32:4, Job 37:23, Psalms 19:9, 50:6, 58:11, 89:14, Isaiah 45:21, Jeremiah 50:7, Romans 3:26, Heb. 10:30-31, 12:23].
The divine penalties are not form of angry revenge designed to hurt but a form of correction for a good purpose. With growing and unchangeable sin and evil there is corresponding unchangeable judgment and condemnation; thus, God is proven to be consistent. Condemnation is caused by human free will volition that went against the will, plan and purpose of God.
The justice of God was displayed vividly at the cross, where Christ was judged as a Substitute for us. The Lord did not say any thing about being judged unfairly for us.
Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God was qualified to go to the cross because He remained perfect in His humanity all throughout His life on earth. He did not loss His impeccability for a single minute [John 1:29]. Because God’s perfect righteousness demands the judgment of sin, all human sins had to be judged on the cross.
The justice and righteousness of God were the points of contact with Jesus Christ in hypostatic union on the cross. His humanity had to be judged for our sins to propitiate divine righteousness [Luke 22:19].
From the moment we were born spiritually dead, the justice of God is our point of contact, and continues to be our point of contact after salvation. The righteousness of God is the principle divine integrity, while the justice of God is the function of divine integrity. What the righteousness of God demands the justice of God executes.
God evaluates all mankind from the His justice now and forever, cover all believers and unbelievers. The judgment of all sins of the unbeliever on the cross comes from the divine justice, as does the believer’s discipline. The unbeliever’s eternal agony in the Lake of Fire, and the believer’s ultimate sanctification and blessing in eternity comes from the same Source which is the justice of God.
Everything God does toward us from any of His attributes goes through His justice. Justice is the safeguard of all divine action related to mankind.
“May HE judge Thy people with righteousness, and THINE afflicted with justice – He is the Lord: His judgment s are in all the earth” [Psalms 72:2, 105:7 and 1 Chronicles 1:14].
Man has immeasurable opportunity for compromise violating God’s character at almost at every turn. That’s why God must guard His first and foremost by making His justice our point of contact.
GOD never has the slightest trouble keeping His attributes uncompromising one never compromises another. God never at any point compromises when He deals with fallen, sinful, and imperfect man. Whenever God blesses man –He is not lowering His perfect standards. He cannot lower Himself to our imperfect level without destroying His perfection.
THE JUSTICE OF GOD GUARDS THE DIVINE ESSENCE:
The reason God can bless us is that His justice stands guards over all the rest of His attributes. The justice of God, the function of His integrity, is the guardian of God’s essence in all that He does toward imperfect creatures.
Within the Members of the Godhead, there is no need for a guardian since there is no possibility of compromise. All the three Members of the Trinity are perfect, coeternal and co-infinite all Three possess the same integrity. Thus, in Himself, God is free to regard His personality. The fact that God is a perfect Person there is nothing to worry about compromise of His character.
Everything God does toward us from any of His attributes goes through His justice. Divine justice is the ultimate safeguard of all divine action related to mankind.
If God’s point of contact with us were His sovereignty, then man will have no free will volition God would program us to move mechanically. God would choose who would go to heaven and the angelic conflict could not be won.
If God’s point of contact with us were His omnipotence He would be a tyrant, God will do everything Himself by His own power. He would force people to believe in Christ. There would be no free will volition and believers cannot glorify God.
If love were His point of contact with us, there is no need for Christ to die on the cross and there is no need for His justice and righteousness to be propitiated because God would save every human being there is no need for the Lake of Fire.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD GUARDS DIVINE JUSTICE:
God executes His justice apart from bias, prejudice, never arbitrary or capricious. His righteousness guards His justice. His justice is free from corruption and impossible to be corrupted by anything. It always functions according to the standard of fairness found in God’s perfect righteousness [Psalm 9:8].
Divine justice is the guard over God’s entire essence while the righteousness is the watchdog over His justice. Whereas justice is the function of divine integrity, righteousness is the principle of divine integrity. What the righteousness of God demands, the justices of God perform. What righteousness condemns, the justice judges? What righteousness approves, the justice blesses.
Absolute righteousness is the key to the character of God. If He did not have absolute righteousness, God would not be God. Righteousness protects His impeccable justice when dealing with sinful man.
Righteousness rejects sin therefore divine justice judge’s sin and executes salvation. Righteousness rejects human good- being relative it fall short of divine perfect standard. Justice Judges all forms of legalism, religiosity, human good works, and self-righteousness. It rejects evil; justice totally judges it [Isaiah 64:6].
God graciously imputes His righteousness to believer at the point of salvation- now; God approves His own righteousness imputed in the believer.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
193 - LOVE
LOVE belongs to the Being of God and cannot be disassociated from His eternal being [1 John 4:7-8, 16]. His love never diminishes or improves. God is love whether or not He has a creature to love.
His nature is to bestow Himself, to give Him self; thus love is the motivation of divine integrity [John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5].
Through eternity God has had a perfect object of His love in Himself, there was never a time when each Member of the Godhead did not love His own righteousness and the righteousness of the other Members of the Trinity.
The only object ever worthy of God’s love is God’s own eternal, unchangeable, perfect and absolute righteousness. God’s love was not less because there was no angelic or human object it did not increase once there were creatures to love.
God’s attribute of love is different from human love, which God does not possess. Even if we understand human love, which is not guarantee that we understand God’s love. Divine love in its totality is beyond our comprehension since it contains no emotion or passionate desire.
God does not love us because of what we are or what we are not. He loves us because of WHO AND WHAT HE IS. He loves His own righteousness with an infinite love and since we possess His righteousness at the moment we believed in Christ, He loves us with infinite love [Gen. 15:6, Romans 5:3].
God’s love is always related to His integrity thus He is very particular about whom He loves and admits into heaven. Jesus Christ is the only One worthy, and the only through His merits are we acceptable before God. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn the love of God or the right to live with Him in eternity.
Only God is said to be love [1 John 4:8]. Our love is always related to an object. GOD IS LOVE does not only refer to His attributes of His essence, which is an integral part of WHO AND WHAT HE IS, but also that His love is the perfect example of genuine love.
God’s love for God is subjectively internal within the essence of each members of the Godhead. God’s love for God is objectively external between the Members of the Trinity merit. God’s love remains eternal and changeless because He is eternal and unchangeable. Changes in man do not create changes in God’s love. His love does not depend on us or any other created object.
God’s justice and righteousness support and guarantee His love. His love also is directed toward His own character. He loves WHO AND WHAT HE IS [Psalm 11:7, 33:5, 37:28].
DIVINE IMPERSONAL LOVE for man is directed toward all members of the human race. I t is unconditional and without any reference to the object. It emphasizes the Subject and the integrity of God.
DIVINE PERSONAL LOVE is directed only to the redeemed members of the human race and therefore, exclusive for believers only. It is conditional, putting emphasizes to the object –the recipient of His righteousness. It emphasizes the positive volition of the saints toward God and His Bible doctrine.
Divine impersonal love toward mankind is manifested in divine action of delaying mankind’s final judgment [Romans 2:4].
Divine personal love for believers is manifested in divine provision of salvation [1 John 2:2], logistical grace provision for believers in time [Romans 5:10, 17], and the super grace blessings of the spiritually mature [James 4:6]. Divine personal love for believers will continue to manifest in distribution of blessings in eternity.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
194 - ETERNAL LIFE
GOD is life [Jeremiah 10:10, John 1:4, 14:6, 1 Thessalonians 1:19]. There never was a time when God did not live. He has always existed and His life is called eternal life.
Eternal life has no beginning and has no end. The life of the believer is technically called EVERLASTING LIFE, which has no end but begins at the moment of salvation.
Eternal life applies to the Being of God- the essence of God. God’s eternal life means that He has always existed and will always exist, there was never a time when God did not exist. He never had a beginning, no one preceded Him, and nothing caused God to come to existence.
Our difficulty in understanding the absolute infinity of God is because we are in time. Time is the invention of God for the convenience of His creatures. God is the cause and origin of time. God is not subject to time [Psalm 90:2, 102:27, 1 Cor. 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Timothy 1:17] God invented time so that He could manifest His eternal life to mankind.
We adjust to God by possessing His eternal life through faith in Christ. Man cannot live without time. Time is without substance yet is an object of God’s creation. God is not in time but time is in God. God transcends all creation including time. To Him one day is a thousand years and a thousand years as one day [2 Peter 3:8b].
God is logical and therefore does not need to be chronological [Romans 12:2], but He can be chronological if He chooses. God always accomplishes in time what has to be done in time as part of His eternal plan.
Time is finite it has succession and duration. Eternity is infinite it has duration only. The infinite God has duration only. He is not in time but time is in God.
Time is a line of procedure as far man’s perspective is concerned but eternity is beyond man’s perception, reaching into infinity.
The eternal life of God is imparted to all who believe in Christ as [John 3:16,18, 10:10, 14:6, 1 John 5:11-12]. Christ as the Creator is the source of all life [Hebrews 1:2]. God the Father is the Source of life from the standpoint that He breathes the life; The Holy Spirit is the Source of life as the agent of regeneration [Titus 3:5].
The Godhead are elated to life in specific, different ways that never contradict each other and are totally compatible with the operation of the Godhead:
Eternal life in relationship to man, is the everlasting relationship with God reserved in heaven for every person the moment they express faith in Christ. Eternal life is the life God when imputed to believers (everlasting life) is life designed for heaven for the world. It is life designed to continue living in the presence of God (in heaven) not in the world.
The eternal life of God has no beginning and has no end –it is infinitely and absolutely perfect when imputed to man remains perfect and infinite. Nothing can change, alter, revise or undone what God has created for the believer. To claim that our eternal life is not permanent is to say that God has cheated us with fake eternal life.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
195 - THE LIFE AND LOVE OF GOD
SINCE God is eternal therefore His life and love is also eternal, unchangeable, totally infinite and perfect.
The Divine self-love-directed toward the perfect righteousness among the members of the Trinity, is totally justified because of the perfect character of God. The self-love of God is infinitely perfect nothing can alter or change it.
The Divine personal love directed toward all believers because they possess the perfect righteousness of God is infinitely perfect nothing can change or alter it.
The Divine impersonal love of God toward all mankind as sinners [unbelievers and believers alike] based on the perfect divine integrity rather than on the merits of men is infinitely perfect nothing can change or alter it.
It is impossible for man to love another person forever because his emotion is not forever. Imperfect man does not possess the kind of love that God possesses.
The eternal life of God also refers to His absolute existence: GOD IS. He is the self-existing one. YAHWEH – the Great I Am [Exodus 3:14], who has neither beginning nor end [Psalm 90:2, 102:27].
The self-existing life of God means His existence is entirely self-contained and does not depend on anything external to Himself. The Hebrew word RESIT, translated to English as “beginning’ [Genesis 1:1] refers to the beginning of the work of creation and not to the beginning of God.
The Members of the Godhead existed eternally prior to creation since They had no beginning [John 1:1]. The Lord Jesus Christ was with the Father even before the creation of time and the entire creation.
Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega [Rev. 1:8]. Alpha refers to the eternal preexistence of Christ while Omega refers to Jesus Christ in hypostatic union during His First Advent. He is the eternal Son of God and as humanity, the Son of David, who will return as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords at His Second Advent and reign forever.
God is timeless. He does not thinks in terms of past, present, future, short or long periods of second, minutes, hours, days, months, and years as we do. Yet as loving and eternal God He cares enough to extend His gracious offer for us to share His eternal life [Psalm 8:4, John 3:16,36].
Time, which is finite, has both succession and duration. Its duration is measured by its succession in contrast to eternity, which has duration only. Therefore, eternity is beyond man’s perception, reaching into infinity.
Human love is finite- it has duration and succession. It is not permanent and will not last forever (infinity). Man is but temporal and finite.
By the grace of God, every believer is a recipient of eternal life of God –where the finite has become infinite, the temporal has become permanent, the mortal has become immortal –man has transcend beyond time.
We cannot learn or understand the love and infinity of God by mastering human love and life, because we have nothing in this world that could make us understand the Person and works of God. The finite has no capacity to understand the infinite.
The eternal life of God in us (Church Age believers) is something we cannot fully understand until we reach heaven where finite and temporal things have no place.
The issue is not the life or the love of God that we have received but the resulting effects and application of possessing such love and life.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
196 - OMNISCIENCE
GOD is all knowing or omniscience (which comes from the Latin OMNI, which means all, and SCIENTIA meaning knowledge. God is perfectly wise His wisdom is perfect. He knows perfectly and eternally all that is knowable, whether actual or merely possible.
God knows everything that has been known or ever will be known. Never was there a time when God did not know everything that is knowable He never learns anything because He has always known everything [Proverbs 15:3, Isaiah 36:9-10, 1 John 3:20].
The omniscience of God is both eternal and infinite He has always known everything and there is nothing that He does not knows (Acts 15:18).
The omniscience of God has complete and absolute knowledge of everything that is knowable and unknown to us. Everything is totally comprehensible to the infinite God. The Bible reveals only a small fraction of God’s perfect knowledge for us to known and understands Romans 11:33].
The omniscience of God is perfectly wise and has absolute knowledge of everything since maximum knowledge belongs to Omniscience of God (Ephesians 3:10).
Every detail of all creation and history is in God’s mind at all times and always has been from the eternity past. This is God’s mentality connected with His infinity. The future is as clear as the past.
God foreknows the future since all events take place according to His counsel (or what we called divine decree). God foreknows, but His foreknowledge is not predetermined.
God knows every step you will take, but He never interferes with human volition. He foreknows the function of every free will. He knows what every being will choose and He knows which way each person will decide in the function of his free will in every situation of life.
Although God never interferes with free will, God is gracious and all wise, so, He may determine which choice is made through His gracious influence through:
A. Bible doctrine resident in the soul of the believer. B. God’s control of the variable of life that are beyond human control. C. God’s direct control of human history.
God’s perfect knowledge (omniscience) is not subject to development, reasoning, regretting, foreboding and revising, because His omniscience is always total and perfect, therefore it cannot develop beyond what is already is.
God knows all the conclusions as well as the premises; hence, even though He is totally reasonable and rational in all things, He never needs to reason out.
We can never second-guess God. There is no way we can improve on His system. We can simply go along with His perfectly wise policy (which He designed for our best interest) or reject it, in such case; His perfect plan goes right along without us.
Although His omniscience transcends time and eternity, His perfect knowledge of all events before they occur does not violate or interfere with human volition. By divine design human beings are free agents who can choose to partake of God’s grace or reject Him. The God’s given human volition makes every person personally accountable to God for every decision and action that he made.
Under the omniscience of God, there is no such thing as FATE OR BAD LUCK because all events take place according to His counsel (the divine decree) and our present is the result of our previous decisions that we have made. Nothing is accidental. Every event happened as the result of the divine will, human will or satanic will.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
197 - OMNIPRESENCE
GOD is eternally, wholly; personally and simultaneously present everywhere [Psalm 139:8, Proverbs 15:3, Deut. 4:39, Acts 17:27]. God is the totality of His presence- without diffusion, expansion, multiplication, or division. He penetrates and fills the entire universe and everything beyond the universe to infinity [Psalm 139:7, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Acts 17:27].
God is free to be local while at the same time existing throughout all space and beyond space [Exodus 19:18-20, Lev. 16:2]. Omnipresence describes space in relation to God. Immensity describes God in relation to space.
God is not subject to the laws of space. As He did with time, God invented and created space. Space is large, but not as large as God. God cannot be more or less than He is. We cannot measure God.
God is the Cause of space He put order into space. Space is one of the boundaries God has given to us, the other being time. We cannot escape time or space, it would be disaster to do so- our entire orientation in life is tied up to time and space.
In relation to space, God is immanent in space and transcendent outside space. Since God is the Creator, the Cause of space God would exceed those boundaries to infinity.
God has the ability to construct time and space and is inside them as well outside them. Knowing this, we have no cause for worry on our personal or national problems.
God may be Self-limited as in the case of the Incarnate Person of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union kenosis (Philippians 2:7).
God’s infinity is intensive rather than extensive that is, God is not to be thought of merely as extending infinity beyond time and space but as possessing within Him infinite resources. God is the perfect Person who passes beyond all phenomena and constitutes the basis for them, as possessing within Himself a boundless supply of the infinite energy of His spiritual life and personality.
Omnipresence means that God is personally present, knowing firsthand our sins, problems, circumstances, because He is available to help, able to protect or provide our needs.
God exists beyond spatial limitations. He is immanent and transcendent. Immanence means His entire essence is always present everywhere in nature, in history, in all the affairs of mankind [Jeremiah 23:23-24, Acts 17:27-28]. Transcendence means He is totally independent of the created universe so that no particular place exclusively contains Him [Psalm 113:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9, John 8:23].
Immanence and transcendence exist in balance, so that the whole earth is full of His glory [Isaiah 6:3]. His whole being is present in every point in the universe, while at the same time He is HOLY and EXALTED infinitely beyond the universe [Isaiah 6:1,3]. He pervades the universe while at the same time He is free to be in specific location.
Omnipresence assures no believer will ever be alone in any given time anywhere in the world or beyond. The Father fills heaven and earth [Jeremiah. 23:23-24]. Jesus Christ promises not to leave the believers without the Comforter while in the world [Matthew 28:20]. The Holy Spirit permanently resides and indwells the believer [1 Corinthians 6:19].
God is not in time or space but time and space is in God. In relation to doing the will of God He has to provide us with the means of complying with His order. He gives us time and space so that we could be at the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
198 - OMNIPOTENCE
GOD is all-powerful. His power is infinite. He is able to do all things within the range of His character, that is, He can do all things, which are not Self-contradictory or contradictory to His divine nature or attributes. For God to do contradictory things would not imply power but imperfection and impotence.
God will never make right wrong nor act foolishly. He never abuses His power. His power is perfect and beyond comprehension of the finite mind [Isaiah 44:24, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:19-20, 3:20, Hebrews 1:3].
He can do all He wills to do, but He may not will to do all He can do. God will not do all things especially those dictated by men.
If God is limited at any time, it is because of a Self-imposed limitation consistent with His plan and essence.
God has infinite power and energy [Psalm 8:3]. He does not sleep and never gets tired. He was never worn out and never will be. God is compassionate but never ridiculous or illogical and He will never sympathize with the lame excuses of men –human alibi that are basically rooted in laziness.
When you need to do His will-He will provides the energy even before you come into realization of your inadequacy. By applying what we know of the infinite power of God we can see that God will always provide and thus we must therefore carry on no matter how we feel.
God never condones giving up when it comes to our spiritual life and divine will. When you start making excuses, you begin to develop maladjustments to the grace of God. We are insulting the power of God that He made available to us. In times of crisis, suffering, adversary or various trials, ignorant believers are still asking God for power or strength, which He has already provided at the moment of salvation. Some thought of God’s power as something mystical in nature for making miracles, healing or sensational ministry.
God will not ask or command us to do something in which He has not provided the capacity to fulfill. God did not impute His power to believers but allows them to use His power to do His will. His omnipotent power is not for doing miracles but for doing His plan of grace.
Miracles are the very least God will do and He does need human assistance for doing miracles. Miracles are for the unbelieving not for the believers.
The omnipotence of God is manifest in the lives of believers adjusted to the justice of God through their tactical victory in the angelic conflict, not in the exercise of the signs gifts or like healing or tongues that has come to cessation.
God is unlimited in His ability and authority, which guarantees order and systematic operation of His creation. Omnipotence is the superior divine power of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit supplies the power to the believers to do the will of the Father [Acts 1:8, Romans 15:19].
During the humanity of Christ, He limited the independent use of His deity to strictly conform to the plan of the Father and to utilize the power of the Holy Spirit. His purpose was to demonstrate to Church Age believer’s dependence on the Father’s plan and the Holy Spirit’s power in the Christian life [John 3:34, 5:17, 6:65, 8:28, Isaiah 42:1, Philippians 2:6-8].
The perfect and infinite power of God is not capricious but totally in harmony to His perfect essence, therefore, we can be sure that everything He does is perfectly good for He cannot violate His own essence.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
199 - IMMUTABILITY
God is unchangeable. He cannot change and will never change. Human being change but the perfect God is not subject to change. [Psalm 33:11, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17]
God cannot be better or worse than His essence. He never had a day when He was better or worse, in contrast to human being. The Creator is not like the creature. You cannot give God a good day or a bad day; He certainly will not give you either.
The language of the anthropopathy or symbolic human representations used by the Lord Jesus Christ merely represent His perfect attitude toward variations in man, in history, in time. God may appear to change but He does not. He is merely expressing His character differently as called for differences and changes in man or history.
God merely brings into view a different aspect of His unchanging Person and plan when we change. He treats each person as an individual and every historical event according to the facts of the case [Psalm 33:13-15, 139:1-18, 23-24, 147:4-5].
God deals with everything according to complete and perfect information He possesses. He does not deal with everything or with everyone the same way otherwise that would be stupidity not immutability. He is wise and just, and that He knows when to do what to do.
God, as the Chief Justice is perfect without any contradictions. He is immutable yet able to evaluate different situations in different ways. Since He is unchangeably perfect, His pronouncements are always perfect.
Immutability is consistent with God’s freedom and ceaseless activity. God simultaneously deals with millions and millions of people who come under His especial attention.
God is free to act according to His essence. The fact that He is immutable means that He cannot change His own nature, not that He cannot act as divine nature dictates but with respect to human free will. Thus God is always at His best –the changes in His creation do not affect him.
The pseudo Christians invented the doctrine of God’s second best. They claimed that God always has the second best for erring believers. Such teaching is purely demonic.
God is always at His best. He cannot make any mistake or error. No characteristic or attribute of God can change. He cannot compromise His perfect immutability. He merely brings into view a different aspect of His unchanging Person and plan when we change.
Prayer cannot change the plan and will of God –no matter how sincere and prevent. God answers our prayer not because of what we are or not but because of His essence or WHO AND WHAT HE IS.
God cannot reject prayer that are adjusted to divine justice and which is according to divine plan and purpose [John 15:7]. We receive positive answers to our prayer because we prayed according to His will.
Since each divine attribute is consistent with His integrity no attribute can supersede or operate independently of God’s other attributes. This means God will never act arbitrarily, capriciously or in violation of what He has already decreed. Divine omnipotence cannot dominate or overrule His immutability.
From God’s perfect immutability comes His faithfulness He is always reliable and He will never let anyone down. He is faithful to keep Word [Lamentations 3:22-23, Hebrews 6:17-19]. God remains faithful although we may be faithless [2 Timothy 2:13].
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
200 - VERACITY
GOD is not only true to other beings but God is true to Himself [Psalm 25:5, John 17:17, 1 John 5:6]. Each Members of the Trinity was true to each other and each true to Himself, possessing perfect integrity. They always possess perfect integrity based on truth of divine essence.
God does not hold the truth as being something He acquired He is the Truth from eternity past. The truth has never been diminished or compromised in Him; God is the Source of Truth.
God is the source of Bible doctrine. From the Truth that God is comes the Truth we have in writing. Every form of knowledge-every truth we have dwells in God’s absoluteness. The divine attribute of veracity guarantees the divine revelation in any form –spoken [pre-canon] or written canon [post-canon] in its accuracy, perfection, and absoluteness [Deut. 32:4, John 6:32, Hebrews 8:2, 1 John 5:20].
We do not naturally possess the Truth within ourselves; we are born liars because the OSN reside in us [Romans 3:4]. We cannot compare our human integrity with the integrity of God.
There is a vast amount of truth that will not be revealed until we get to heaven, but whatever God has revealed for us in time is design to be learned and understood by every believer.
If we are to adjust to the veracity of God, we must acquired truth in our souls. God designed the human body as the slave of the Spirit not the master or dictator. The soul is the steward of Bible doctrine not of human viewpoint. Souls without Bible doctrine operates through satanic viewpoint, stirs by emotions, flame by human passion and lusts.
People often adjust t each other by lying and deception. But we cannot adjust to God in the same manner because we cannot deceive Him. We must adjust to His justice through the Truth of His Word in our souls.
a. The Truth of the gospel in salvation. b. The Truth of rebound in spirituality c. The Truth of Bible doctrine in spiritual maturity.
God is infinitely perfect in veracity and faithfulness express to us in the Bible doctrine. In veracity, God honors Bible doctrine resident in the soul of the believer. God honors His Word wherever it is found.
Maximum Bible doctrine in the soul constitutes maturity adjustment to the perfect justice of God. It is maximum rapport with the integrity of God. Maximum Bible doctrine in the souls of believers is the only thing that will deliver the nation from national apostasy and divine discipline. With out Bible doctrine in the soul spiritual maturity is impossible to achieve.
In veracity and faithfulness God fulfills all His promises this is our basis of confidence toward God [Deut. 7:9, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 10:13, 2 Thessalonians 3:3].
God is eternally true to Himself, therefore, He cannot be untrue to any creature even in just one occasion. He cannot deny His perfection and holiness. His absolute veracity or Truth is evident in Words [John 8:45-46], in His Works [Psalm 33:4] and in His Ways [Revelation 15:3].
Understanding WHO AND WHAT GOD IS and completely relying upon His perfect and absolute character for both adversity and prosperity build a foundation of confidence and inner peace. The results are wise decisions and actions in every circumstance of life. Genuine confidence in God comes from the knowledge of His essence. Doubts and refusal to obey often comes from severe ignorance of divine essence and Personality.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
201 - GOD IS ONE IN ESSENCE 3 IN PERSONS
The doctrine of Divine Essence recognizes the existence of God from eternity past in three Persons –each Person being coequal, coeternal, co-infinite with identical essence or attributes.
a. The Father [1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 1:3] b. The Son [john 10:30, 14:9, Colossians 2:9] c. The Holy Spirit [Isaiah 6:8-9. 11:2, Hebrews 10:15-17]
THE ONENESS OF GOD, called THE GLORY OF GOD, is the identical essence or character IN ALL THREE PERSONS [John 10:30]. All the attributes of divine essence are present I God but all are not always manifest at the same time.
God exists in Three Persons but when emphasizing essence, the Scripture uses the phrase “GOD IS ONE” one being a descriptive adjective meaning identical in essence not a numerical figure.
TRINITY: a term not found in the Bible but the concept is purely Biblical. Historically, the formal doctrine of the trinity derives from the early church councils which sought to explain the Biblical testimony regarding:
A. The Oneness and unity of God in Three Persons B. The Deity of Christ C. The Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit
No single passages in the Scripture delineate point-by-point the very complex doctrine of Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity was formulated by combining all passages related to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Everything that God has made known about Him can be understood, even the fact that He is singular in one sense [Deut. 6:4] and plural in another [Isaiah 48:16]. The concept of the Trinity is established in both the Old and New Testament. The Oneness and Equality of the Trinity is emphasized in both Old and New Testament forming a solid unity of the Scripture.
ELOHIM the Hebrew word for God in plural form, which indicates the existence of more than One Person in the Godhead. The Old Testament generally uses the word JHWH when referring to one member of the Trinity. The English Bibles translated JHWH as Jehovah or Yahweh.
The context of Scripture may indicate which Member of the Trinity or Godhead the TETRAGRAMMATON: JHWH describes like in John 6:46, 14:9-10, 12:39-41.
Occasionally, Yahweh implies all Three Persons, in which the English Bibles simply translated using the pronoun Us or Thee like in Numbers 6:24-26, Genesis 1:26-27, 3:22. 11:7, Isaiah 6:8.
We cannot understand the infinite, eternal, spiritual God with our natural perception that is why God communicated to us in form of expression we could understand. He described His indescribable Person and plan in terms of human reasoning and experience, which is foreign to Him.
God uses two languages of accommodations namely; ANTHROPOPATHISM and ANTHROPOMORPHISM to accommodate our limited ability and capacity to comprehend the infinite. God uses human languages, symbolism, and experiences to illustrate the truth of the infinite God. God cannot use the language of angels and heaven. The doctrine of the Trinity is not human invention but divine revelation designed for finite mind.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
202 - THE TRINITY
The doctrine of the Trinity does not advocate three gods in one, but that one God exists as Three Persons coequal, co-infinite and coeternal. All the Three separate Persons of the Trinity possesses the same identical essential nature (Psalm 110:1, John 10:30].
The Trinity defines the unity of God as having one divine with specific and describable attributes. Each Person of the Godhead has a purpose related to the eternal plan and plan of God. The Bible ascribes to each person distinct roles not jointly shared by the Trinity.
A. The Father is the Planner, the Source of all things B. The Son is the agent through whom the Father’s plan is enacted C. The Holy Spirit is the revealer and empowers the plan in our lives.
Trinitarian tenets are not abstract theology. There is a practical reason for every believer in Jesus Christ to fully comprehend this doctrine. Our view of the Trinity affects our relationship with God:
A. Our overall view of the Trinity determines our understanding of the Person and works of Christ. B. Our view of the Holy Spirit affects our concept of living the Christian life. C. Our view of God the Son in His Hypostatic union (or His perfect humanity) determines our spiritual advancement toward spiritual maturity and spiritual motivation.
Genuine worship and spirituality are possible only with a Biblical perspective of the Godhead. We can only have a maturing and advancing relationship with God if we understand the Trinity.
Knowledge of the Trinity is essential in our understanding of the Divine essence and full knowledge of the divine essence is vital in understanding the Trinity. You must comprehend the unity of the Godhead before you can begin to grasp the concept of the Trinity.
Although each member of the Godhead has a different function, they cannot act in opposition to one another. Never assume that God adopts one of the Three names to coincide with each phase in His plan. The Three Persons are separate and distinct and exist separate even though They are One God in essence.
THE ANALOGY OF LIGHT: Light is a single phenomenon with three distinct properties:
o ACTINIC- or radiating energy is like God the Father, neither seen nor felt. o LUMINIFEROUS –or illuminating light- is like God the Son, both seen and felt. o CALORIFIC –or heat producing energy –is like God the Holy Spirit, felt but not seen. o AS THE SOURCE OF LIGHT –The Father is Source of the soul life; He breathes the spark of life (NESHAMAH). The Holy Spirit is the source of life- as the agent of regeneration who puts the believers into union with Christ.
The Father is God: co-infinite, co-equal and co-eternal with the Son and with the Holy Spirit. But the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit.
The Son is God: co-infinite, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. However, the Son is not the Father and the Father is not the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is God; co-infinite, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and with the Son. But the Spirit is not the Father and the Son is not the Holy Spirit. We can only understand the doctrine of the Trinity by faith not by human perception.
GOD IS THREE PERSONS BUT ONE GOD WITH ONE ESSENCE
One God exists in three distinct personalities that are not similar to three separate human personalities. Divine personality is not the same as human personality. No two human beings have the identical essence of personality that the Members of the Godhead possess.
There were several events and occasions in the Old and New Testament, which vividly demonstrate to us the reality of the Trinity. For example, in Isaiah 6:1-3, the angel repeated the word HOLY three times as addressed to the Three Persons of the Trinity. God is Three Persons but One God with one Essence.
In Matthew 3:16 water represented the will of the Father for the Son during the First Advent. Under the water refers to Christ’s identification with the Father’s plan for man salvation. As the Lord Jesus Christ emerged from the water, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove [Luke 3:22].
“And Behold, a voice out of heavens, saying, this is My (God the Father) Son (Jesus Christ), in Whom I (God the Father) am well pleased [Matthew 3:17]. The voice of approval was from God the Father, the approved person is the Second Person of the Trinity.
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in THE NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit” [Matthew 28:19].
Believers are baptized in the NAME not names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The term name is in singular form and parallel LORD in Isaiah 6:3 affirming that God is one in essence but Three Persons. While the emphasis in Isaiah 6:3 is on the Three-in-One, in Matthew 28:19 is on the One-in-Three.
The term FATHER is use in the Scripture which refers to the relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity, which also defines our family bond through regeneration. The title Father emphasizes the absolute authority and design of the First Person as author of the divine plan for humanity [John 14:24, Ephesians 1:1-23].
FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST, a title of the First Person [Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 1:3], which indicates the relationship between Christ and the Father. Jesus Christ is both the revelation of the Father and the focal point of His divine plan for the human race [John 1:14, Ephesians 1:1-23].
The relationship of the Father and Son has existed from eternity past in divine decree [John 17:5, 24], although possessing equality with the Father all throughout the eternity [Philippians 2:6]. The Son functioned in a subordinate role to accomplish the redemptive will of the Father. Phrases such as His only begotten Son”, the only begotten Son of God” must be understood in the sense of the unique mission of the Second Person of the Trinity.
THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD is exclusive to believers only [John 8:42-44, Ephesians 1:5] And does not include the entire human race. God the Father is the Author of salvation, and all believers are personally and eternally related to Him through the new birth. The concept of universal fatherhood of God is purely heretical and blasphemous.
Jesus Christ is the unique person of the universe who possess two natures (perfect humanity and perfect deity) that are inseparably united in hypostatic without loss or mixture of separate identity, without loss or transfer of properties, or attributes, the union being personal and eternal.
The doctrine of the Trinity is manifested from Genesis to Revelation- although the term itself was human invention. The term Trinity is a shortcut or a key that unlocks a lot of truth chain together.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
203 - THE INDWELLING TRINITY
The Trinity indwells every Church Age believer permanently evidence and guarantee of eternal salvation. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer so Christ may take up royal residence there. The indwelling puts the Spirit’s help within the believer. The instantaneous effect of the indwelling is permanent –it cannot be undone, loss, cancel, alter, change or reverse by anything or any one. It does not need to be repeated for the second time or so.
The indispensable ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit operates only within the believer is filled with Spirit. The believer cannot exist and reach spiritual maturity without the Word of God in his soul and the very operation of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The indwelling Christ, invisible today in time, will be the first Person the believer will see in the moment of physical death [2 Corinthians 5:8], but from that very moment, the SHEKINAH GLORY will be visible to the believers in glorious glorified and resurrection bodies.
The SHEKINAH GLORY indwells the Church age believers for the purpose of fellowship with the glorified Christ the unique Person of the universe, the perfect God-Man.
All the attributes of divine essence are resident in all Persons of the Godhead, but not all are manifested at the same time. The attributes of the Trinity never operate in a vacuum independently of each other.
God the Father indwells the believer [John 14:23, Ephesians 1:3, 6, 12, 4:6] for the glorification of His protocol plan.
God the Holy Spirit indwells the believer [Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, Ephesians 1:7-19, Romans 8:11] for several reasons:
1. To create a Temple for the indwelling Christ 2. As down payment of our spiritual inheritance. 3. To empower us in the execution of the Father’s plan
God the Holy Spirit indwells the believer for several purposes:
1. As Badge of the Royal family of God membership [John 14:20] 2. As guarantee of the availability of divine power in time [2 Corinthians 13:4-6, Romans 8:10] 3. As guarantee of eternal life and resurrected body [Colossians 1:27] 4. As the depository of blessing in time and blessing in eternity, as the escrow officer at Judgment Seat of Christ [Ephesians 1:3]. 5. As the basis for assigning highest priority to our relationship with God and the use of divine power [John 2:24]. 6. As motivation for continued growth and momentum when under any phase of undeserved suffering for blessings [Galatians 2:20]. 7. As the basis for the glorification of Christ in the unique life of the Church Age believers [John 17:22-]. 8. For our worship and privacy in our unique relationship with God. 9. As the Source of energy for Christ’s ambassadors in the satanic world system [2 Corinthians 5:20]. 10. As heirs of Christ joint heirs with Christ [Romans 8:17] and who will accompany our Lord and glorify Him forever [Ephesians 2:6-7]. 11. As the personal Great High Priest of the royal priesthood. 12. As guarantee of the divine perfect omnipotent power available to the mature believers for offensive attacks against satanic strongholds.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
204 - SUMMARY OF IDENTICAL ATRIBUTES
o God the Father and God the Son possesses the same attributes: o The perfection and authority of God and of Christ [2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 1:19, 2:22] o God is Truth and Christ is the Truth [Psalm 25:5, John 6:32, 17:17, 1 John 5:6] o The authority of God and Christ [Matthew 7:27, 8:27, 28:18, John 5:22,27] o The omnipresence of God and of Christ [Psalm 139:7, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Matthew 28:20, John 14:20, Colossians 1:17] o The omniscience of God and of Christ [Isaiah 36:9-10, Psalm 33:13-15, Proverbs 15:3, Matthew 9:4, 12:25, Luke 6:8] o The omnipotence of God and of Christ [Isaiah 44:24, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Matthew 8:26-29, 19:26, Ephesians 1:20-23] o The holiness of God and of Christ [Leviticus 11:44-45, Deut. 32:4, Mark 1:24, Hebrews 1:8, 1 John 2:20] o The justice and righteousness of God and of Christ [Acts 3:13-14, Hebrews 1:9, Rev. 16:4-6, 19:1-2, John 5:30, 2 Tim. 4:1] o The veracity and faithfulness of God and of Christ [Numbers 29:19, Deut. 7:9, 1 Cor. 1:9-10, John 5:30, 2 Tim. 4:1] o The pre-existence of God and of Christ [Genesis 1:26, Rev. 14:7, Psalm 102:25-27, Proverbs 8:22-23, John 1:1, 3, 8:58, 17:5, 24] o The attributes of God the Father are all identical with the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ is not God, then such titles would never been ascribed to Him.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
205 - THE DEITY OF CHRIST
o The deity of Christ in His pre-incarnation stage is UNKNOWN TO MAN o The deity of Christ in the hypostatic union is REJECTED MAN o The deity of Christ in the glorified Christ is IGNORED BY MAN
Philippians 2:6-8 described Christ as ekenose from kenoo meaning emptied of the glory of God (emptied of divine essence) of His pre-incarnate majesty and glory [John 17:5]. Christ in His perfect humanity did not regard equality with God He emptied Himself, He humbled Himself. As a perfect man He is not equal with God but as a perfect Deity He is equal with God.
There were times during His hypostatic union that Christ spoke as Deity and there were times when He spoke as perfect man.
When Jesus Christ claimed Himself as the Son of God, He was speaking from His Deity [Psalm 2:7, Hebrews 1:7-8, Matthew 2:15, 3:17, 8:29, 14:33, 17:5, 26:63-65].
When He claimed equality with God He was speaking from His Deity [Isaiah 40:3-5, Matthew 3:3, Luke 24:27, 44-47, 1 Corinthians 2:8, James 2:1, John 5:18, 19:7, 10:30, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8, 1 John 5:20]
As unique Person of the universe, Jesus Christ, He possesses two natures: perfect humanity and perfect Deity. Jesus Christ is both undiminished deity and true humanity. He bears every attribute of deity and is eternally related to the other two Members of the Trinity [Isaiah 48:16, John 1:1-4].
AS GOD, Christ has all authority and has the life of God and imparts eternal life and forgives sins [Matthew 28:18, John 5:26, 10:28, 5:22].
AS SON OF GOD, Christ is the exact re-presentation of the Father’s nature. AS THE SON OF MAN, He took the likeness and form of man – and lived in the world.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
206 - TITLES ASCRIBED TO CHRIST
The following are Titles ascribed to Jesus Christ with corresponding Names for God or other terms frequently use for God. (This is a partial list):
1. ANOINTED [Psalm 2:2] called THE WAY [John 14:6] or THE SEED [Genesis 13:15] 2. ALPHA and OMEGA [Revelation 21:6] the GOD OF ETERNITY (EL ‘OLAM) [Genesis 21:33] 3. CHRIST [Matthew 1:16] or SAVIOR (YASHA) [Isaiah 43:3] 4. DAYSPRING [Luke 1:78] the GOD WHO WILL PROVIDE (JEHOVAH-JIREH) [Genesis 22:14] 5. DAYSTAR [2 Peter 1:19] the LIGHT GIVER [Genesis 1:16] 6. DELIVERER [Psalm 18:2], the LORD MY SHEPHERD (JEHOVAH-RAAH) [Psalm 23:1] 7. EVERLASTING FATHER [Isaiah 9:6] or FATHER (ABBA, AB) [Psalm 89:26] 8. GOOD SHEPHERD [John 10:14] the SHIELD (JEHOVAH-RAAH or MEGEN) [Psalm 3:3] 9. HOLY ONE [Psalm 71:22] or the HOLY ONE OF GOD [Mark 1:24] (SSADDIG) [Psalm 7:9] the RIGHTEOUS ONE or (QADOSH) the HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL [Psalm 71:22] 10. I AM [John 8:58] the JEHOVAH or YAHWEH (JHVH and YHWH) the SELF-EXISTENT [Exodus 3:15] 11. IMMANUEL [Isaiah 7:14] who is called GOD IS MY BANNER (JEHOVAH-NISSI) [Exodus 17:15] 12. JUDGE (SHAPHAT) the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE [Acts 10:24,Genesis 18:25] the LORD-OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS or the RIGHTEOUS ONE (JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU) or the JUST [Acts 3:14] 13. KINGS OF KINGS [Revelation 19:16], the JEHOVAH SABOATH [LORD OF HOST] [Malachi 1: 14. The LAMB OF GOD [John 1:19] EL NOSE –the God of Forgiveness [Psalm 99:8], or El NOSE 15. LORD [Matthew 7:21] ADONAI or LORD OF HOSTS [Jeremiah 11:20] ELOHIM or TSEBHAOTH or LORD OF LORDS [Rev. 19:16] 16. LORD GOD ALMIGHTY [Rev. 4:8] EL ELYON –the God Almighty or Most High God [Gen. 14:18-24] 17. MASTER [John 1:38] The True Prophet of God [Acts 3:20-21] 18. MIGHTY GOD [Isaiah 9:6] ELOHIM or Mighty God [Psalm 50:1] EL GIBBOR [Deut. 10:17] EYALUTH (Strength) [Psalm 22:19] 19. Prince of Life [Acts 3:15] or the Prince of Peace called JEHOVAH SHALOM [Judges 6:23]- EL RAHUM (God of Compassion) 20. REDEEMER [Job 19:25] GAAL or YASHA (Savior) [Isaiah 43:3] SAVIOR or ROCK –TSUR (God) [Isaiah 44:8] the Son of God [Matthew 4:3] SON OF MAN [Daniel 7:13] WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR [Isaiah 9:6] JEHOVAH –RAPHA (God that Heals) or JEHOVAH (the Lord sanctifies) or the WORD –LOGOS [John 1:1] (God Who sees me) the EL ROI [Genesis 16:31], the God Who cleanses the hearts 21. YAHWEH (LORD) [Genesis 4:1, Exodus 3:2] –ADONAI YAHWEH (LORD GOD) [Genesis 15:2, Ezekiel 28:6] or ADONAI (LORD) [Genesis 18:27), YAH YAHWEH (LORD) [Isaiah 12:2]
The Center of the Bible is Jesus Christ Who is magnified by various names and titles that attributed to God alone.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
207 - JESUS CHRIST
The JEHOVAH or YAHWEH of the Old Testament is the Christ of New Testament. The Hebrew terms JEHOVAH; YAHWEH (sometime written as YHWH or JHVH) is exactly the same meaning with the Greek terms: o Kyrios Iesous= the LORD JESUS o Kyrious Iesous Christos = The LORD Jesus Christ
There are four (4) Hebrew words that are translated LORD in English:
o YAHWEH manifests divine omnipotence, veracity, omniscience, omnipresence, and sovereignty of Christ o ADONAI YAHWEH bears the justice and righteousness and eternal life, of Christ o ADONAI manifests the grace of God, bears the essence of God o YAH YAHWEH manifests the essence of God
There are four (4) Greek terms that are translated LORD in English that bears the essence and attributes of God
1. Kyrios or Kurios the Name of God used exclusively referring to Christ [Luke 1:32, Rev. 1:8] 2. Despotes - Name address to God when referring to Christ [Luke 2:29 ] 3. Kyrios Theos (Lord God) – the title of God used for Christ [Rev. 11:17] 4. Kyrios Iesous Christos = the Lord Jesus Christ [Romans 1:7, James 2:1] –the only unique Person of the universe and the only Savior of mankind
There are various form for JEHOVAH that refers to Jesus Christ:
o THE KING OF GLORY [Psalm 24:7-10, 1 Corinthians 2:8], OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS [Jeremiah 23:5-6, 1 Corinthians 1:30] o ABOVE ALL [Psalm 97:9, John 3:31, the FIRST AND THE LAST [Isaiah 44:6, 48:12, 16, Rev. 1:17, 22:13] o JEHOVAH’S EQUAL [Zechariah 13:7, Phil.2:5-6] the LORD OF HOSTS [Psalm 110:1, Matthew 22:45] o THE SHEPHERD [Isaiah 40:10-11, Hebrews 13:20-21]- the MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT [Malachi 3:1, Luke 7:27]-the OBJECT OF PRAYER [Joel 2:32 1 Corinthians 1:2] GOD IS ONE [Deut. 6:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:6]
The books of the Bible developed their themes around the Person and Work of Christ:
Matthew presented Him as the serving King of Kings. Mark portrayed Him as the suffering Servant of Christ. Luke presented as Son of Man, John as the Son of God. The book of Acts revealed Him as Power of the Church, and Romans as the Gospel.
In Corinthians, He is the Transformer of the carnal nature, in Galatians –He is the Rent Veil. In Galatians-the One sitting in the heaven, in Philippians- He is our Sufficiency That is available for any given situation. Colossians gave Him the Title as the Shadow now come in the flesh.
He is the coming King of the Thessalonians and the glorious appearing God and Savior of the Timothy. He is our Blessed Hope of Titus and the Forgiver of the restless wanderer of Philemon He is better than angels of Hebrews.
He is the Fulfiller of Hebrews, the Rock of Salvation and the blessed assurance of the epistles of John.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
208 - THE OFFICE OF JESUS
The Lord JESUS CHRIST performed His saving work in the threefold role of:
o Prophet [Deut. 18:15, Luke 4:18-21, 13:13, Acts 3:22] o Priest [Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 3:1, 6:20, 7:26, 8:1] o King [Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalm 45:6, John 18:36-37, Hebrews 1:8, 2 Peter 1:11]
Fulfilling His office work of Prophet Christ:
o Claims to bring the Father’s message to man [John 8:26-28, 12:49-50] o Proclaims His message to the unbeliever and to His disciples [Matthew 4:17-] o Predicts the future events [Luke 19:41-44] o He continues to reveal His Word to us [John 16:12-15] by the power of the Holy Spirit. o Executing His office work of priest, Christ:
o Offered Himself up to God as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile men back to God [Hebrews 2:17, 9:14, 28] o Continue to make intercession for all those who come unto God by Him [John 17:6-24, Hebrews 7:25, 9:24].
Performing his office work of king, Christ:
o Calls out of the world a people for Himself [Isaiah 55:5, John 10:16, 27] o Gives them leadership, protocol, censures and laws by which He visibly governs them [1 Corinthians 5:4-5, 12:28, Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Timothy 5:20, Titus 3:10] o Preserves and supports them in all their temptations and sufferings [2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Romans 8:35-39] o Restrains and overcome their enemies [1 Corinthians 15:25] o Powerfully orders all things for His glory and their own good [Romans 8:28, Colossians 1:18] o At the appointed time, will overcome all those persecuted His people and all those who rejected His gospel [Psalm 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 1:8]
In filling these offices Christ fulfills all the need of all men.
o As the Prophet of God He meets the problem of man’s ignorance, supplying him with knowledge. o As the Priest of God, He meets the problem of man’s guilt, supplying him perfect and total righteousness, acceptable to God. o As King, Christ meets the problem of man’s weakness and dependence, supplying him with power and protection.
The Lord Jesus Christ exercise His threefold offices in the estates of His humiliation and His exaltation [Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalm 2:6, Revelation 19:16]. The Scripture clearly represent Him as exercising all three offices in both estates – both during His earthly ministry prior to His spiritual death and now, since His resurrection and ascension.
The purpose of Christ’s Incarnation is not to humiliate Christ but to glorify Him (His perfect humanity). Incarnation is designed to show to men the divine mysteries the only begotten God [John 3:13, 8:58, 17:5].
Christ became a man in order to reveal the justice and the perfect love of God for the imperfect men. He became a Man in order to die for men. Christ became a man to glorify God Himself and to manifest God’s absolute power in man’s absolute weakness. He became a Man in order to bring gifts to men, especially the gift of grace. It is exceeding graciousness of God for the exceeding sinfulness of men.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
209 - THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the adorable Trinity. His personality is proved in several reasons:
From the fact that the attributes of perfect personality, perfect intelligence are ascribed to the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 1 Cor. 2:10, 11; 12:11). The Holy Spirit reproves, helps, glorifies, and intercedes (John 16:7-13; Rom. 8:26)
The Holy Spirit executes the offices peculiar only to a divine personality. The very nature of these offices involves personal distinction (Luke 12:12; Acts 5:32; 15:28; 16:6; 28:25; 1 Cor. 2:13; Heb. 2:4; 3:7; 2 Pet. 1:21). His divinity is established:
The names of God are ascribed to Holy Spirit (Ex. 17:7; Ps. 95:7; comp. Heb. 3:7-11); and
Divine attributes are also ascribed to Holy Spirit omnipresence (Ps. 139:7; Eph. 2:17, 18; 1 Cor. 12:13); omniscience (1 Cor. 2:10, 11); omnipotence (Luke 1:35; Rom. 8:11); eternity (Heb. 9:4).
Creation is ascribed to Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30), and the working of miracles (Matt. 12:28; 1 Cor. 12:9-11).
Worship is required and ascribed to Holy Spirit (Isaiah 6:3; Acts 28:25; Rom. 9:1; Rev. 1:4; Matt. 28:19).
The Holy Spirit is a Person not a force, not an influence but co-equal, co-infinite and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
210 - THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
The primary witness of the Holy Spirit is to Christ, not to Himself, or to Bible doctrine [John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-15, Matthew 16:16-18] though the Spirit’s witness focuses upon the Person and the work of Christ, it incorporate:
o The totality of God’s saving acts for the entire human race o The intrinsic and instrumental authority of the Scripture o The nature of fallen man and the their response to God o A ministry of assurance and instruction to God’s own possession o The center of the witness is that Jesus is Lord and Christ [Acts 2:36], the truth that the antichrist denies but which the believers affirm [1 John 2:20-22].
THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SUSTAINING JESUS CHRIST as prophesied in the Old Testament [Isaiah 11:2-3, 42:1]:
The Holy Spirit was given without measure (constant unhindered filling) to the perfect humanity of Christ [John 3:34]. In the humanity of Christ, the Holy Spirit was never grief or quench, not even for a second because He did not sin.
The Holy Spirit was related to the baptism of Jesus Christ as the One that confirmed His identity, calling and mission.
The Holy Spirit sustained Christ during His entire earthly ministry [Luke 4:14-15, 18]. There was never a time during the humanity of Christ when He did not rely on the power and resources of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit sustained Jesus Christ when Christ was bearing our sins on the cross [Hebrews 9:14].
The Holy Spirit had a part in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus [Romans 8:11, 1 Peter 3:18]. The present ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ results to His glorification [John 7:39, 16:14].
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
211 - THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world:
RESTRAINING EVIL in the cosmic system so that the believers can continue to exist [2 Thessalonians 2:6-8]
CONVICTION OF SIN so the unbelievers will come to realization of his own sin and depraved condition before God [John 16:8-11]
REGENERATING MEN [John 3:14-16]
The ministry of the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation:
EFFICACIOUS GRACE [Ephesians 2:8] –is the work of the Holy Spirit in providing the unbeliever access into the plan of God through the merit of Jesus Christ. It is the perfect work of God where human power and ability has no merit.
REGENERATION is the imputation of eternal life at the moment anyone believes in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation making the person passed from spiritual death to eternal life. The Holy Spirit regenerates the unbeliever making him a child of God [Titus 3:5].
BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit baptizes the unbeliever making him a child of God, sealing him permanently a part of the kingdom of God [Romans 6:1-4].
SEALING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [2 Corinthians 1:21-22] –The Holy Spirit sealed the believer permanently and nothing can destroy or change that relationship. We are children of God forever.
INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer and nothing can destroy that indwelling. The Holy Spirit will never leave or forsake the believer.
DISTRIBUTION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to every believer at the point of salvation.
FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Making the person qualify to receive the blessings of salvation.
212 - The post-salvation ministry of the Holy Spirit:
CONVICTION OF PERSONAL SINS – The Holy Spirit provide Bible doctrine to convict the believer of his personal sins and guide them to execute the grace provision.
FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The divine provision for the believer to maintain spirituality and go back to point of blessedness. It is a provision for knowing and doing the will of God.
GLORIFY CHRIST IN THE BELIEVER [John 7:39, 16:7, 14] The Holy Spirit is assigned to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of the believers in three stages:
o At spiritual maturity when the believer has accumulated maximum Bible doctrines in his soul and has become capable of doing the will of God – o At the point of spiritual victory over personal sins applying Bible doctrines to his problems and rejecting human viewpoint o At the point of undeserved sufferings and disasters –when the believer resolved to trust and believe God- rejecting human solutions.
The Holy Spirit convicts the believer to rebound [John 16:8-10, 1 John 1:9] and as a result, fills the believer with Bible doctrine. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ in the world through spiritual maturity –in the function of Royal priesthood. The Holy Spirit glorify God in the life of the believer whenever he overcome undeserved sufferings or gains momentum in the function of spiritual ambassadorship [John 14:12-15].
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
213 - SINS AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Person of the Holy Spirit refers to the distinct role of His Person- the unseen power of God, the Person through whom divine power is conveyed. He reveals the plan of God on earth and is the agent for executing the Christian way of life.
The lack of material form or substance, of the Spirit does not make Him any less a person than the Father, Who is equally invisible. The term ghost is a mistranslation of pneuma, which is used for Spirit. There is no word for ghost in Greek. phantasma which means apparition [Matthew 14:26] is never used for the Third Person of the Trinity.
The role of the Holy Spirit must not be confused with the other Members of the Trinity. The phrase “the Lord is the Spirit” refers to the Holy Spirit [2 Corinthians 3:17], which asserts the deity of the Third Person, the phrase never means that the Spirit supersedes the presence of the resurrected indwelling Christ in the believer [Romans 8:10, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:37].
The activity of one Member of the Trinity cannot be attributed to the other. They are separate and distinct Persons, both of whom are equally present with and in the believer.
BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT refers to the unpardonable sins committed by unbelievers during the Hypostatic union of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the sin of rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting the unbelievers to change their mind toward Christ [Matthew 12:13-32].
The sin of blasphemy attributes the works of the Lord Jesus Christ as coming from the devil. It rejected the redemptive work on the cross for the sin of the human race. They called Him the devil or Satan.
RESISTING THE HOLY SPIRIT [Acts 7:51] is the sin of rejecting the Holy Spirit in making convicting the unbeliever to change their mind toward Christ –so as to believe and accept Christ as Savior.
LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT [Acts 5:1-10] is the sin of false motivation coming from the old sinful nature based from satanic and human viewpoint. Lying to the Holy Spirit may appear with any or all of the following characteristics: o Ignorance of the True Bible doctrine o Arrogance and hatred complexes o Desire for human recognition o False Humility o Desire for self-glory and self-honor o Desire for divine approbation
The sin of lying to the Holy Spirit steams from selfish desires to be known as spiritual, faithful or committed servant of God. It is aspiring great thing for God without giving Him all the glory. It is human motivation energizes by ego and arrogance to do little or great things for God.
QUENCHING THE HOLY SPIRIT is the sin committed by the believers perform as human good work- energized by the old sinful nature, coming from the area of strength of the soul that results to asceticism [1 Thessalonians 5:19, 2 Corinthians 11:13]. Quenching the Holy Spirit is human good works outside spirituality. It is doing noble or good things from the power of old sin nature and apart from the will and purpose of God. It is doing the will of God by human power and resources.
GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT refers to personal sins of the believers coming from the area of weakness of the soul that results to lasciviousness [Galatians 5:19-21]. It is thinking and acting contrary to the will of God, based from the satanic viewpoint. It is the adaptation of satanic will, purpose and scheming into the human lifestyle.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
214 - THE UNPARDONABLE SIN
"Therefore I say to you, any sin (hamartia) and blasphemy (blasphemia) shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy (blasphemiai) against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come.
"Truly I say to you, all sins shall (panta ta hamartemata) be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"
BLASPHEMY is giving wrong impression to others about our Lord Jesus Christ- that is teaching or talking about false character or attributes of Christ. This category of blasphemy shall be forgiven [James 3:1-2].
The issue on the above verses is not between God and Satan but between the Holy Spirit and Satan particularly, the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting men of sin, their spiritual standing before God.
FORGIVEN (aphiemi) meaning to remove away the sin, in order that the sin can never be fond and charge against the sinner [John 16:8-10].
It applies to any and all sins that will be removed by God from the regenerated men. This verb is in the coming future, which means that it will be taken away each time that is necessary to do so. This forgiveness is not automatic, but requires the exercise of human volition.
The forgiveness of God does not require any action from human resources or power but from the merit of Christ in behalf of mankind His spiritual death on the cross. SHALL NOT BE FORGIVEN HIM (ouk aphethesetai) refers to that, h sin or guilt which shall not be removed or taken from the unsaved person [John 16:8-9].This applies to one time blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be taken away from the unbeliever in this age or age to come. This applies to one time eternal sin of rejecting the salvation by grace through the spiritual death of Christ.
In the absence of the Holy Spirit, there is no one to convict the person of his sin. If the Holy Spirit does not convict a person, then he cannot and will not repent.
Genuine but carnal and worldly believers may suffer the sin unto death if they do not rebound [1 Corinthians 5:5, 1 Timothy 1:20] yet they are eternally saved. Sin unto death is the sin leading to death [1 John 5:16].
Among the Members of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the most subject of mockery, insults and persecution. All the members of Cultic-heathen religious groups who have heard but rejected the plan of God and those who rejected Christ will receive the full judgment of the lake of fire.
We do not pray for brethren under heaven heavy divine discipline leading to divine discipline of sin unto death. We do not pray for the cultic leaders to believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ.
The phrase shall not be forgiven applies to the heathen and not to Christians any where in the world. This category of blasphemy has no forgiveness since it rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. God cannot forgive those who rejected His plan of grace. Rejection of Christ are categorize into three: Rejection from conviction (like Caiaphas) Rejection against conviction (like Pilate) Rejection without conviction (like Herod)
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
215 - THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
The primary witness of the Holy Spirit is to Christ, not to Himself or to Bible doctrine [John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-15, Matthew 16:16-18]. Although the Holy Spirit’s witness focuses upon the Person and work of Christ, it incorporates several things:
o The totality of God’s saving acts for the entire human race o The intrinsic and instrumental authority of Scripture o The nature of fallen man and positive response to God, o The ministry of assurance and instruction to God’s own possession
The center of the witness is that Jesus is Lord and Christ [Acts 2:36], the truth that the antichrists deny but which the believers affirm [1 John 2:20-22].
The verb "to be a witness martus or "to bear witness to," sometimes rendered "to testify" is used of the "witness" o of God the Father to Christ, John 5:32, 37; 8:18 (2nd part); 1 John 5:9, 10; to others, Acts 13:22; 15:8; Heb. 11:2, 4 (twice), 5, 39; o of Christ, John 3:11, 32; 4:44; 5:31; 7:7; 8:13, 14, 18 (1st part); 13:21; 18:37; Acts 14:3; 1 Tim. 6:13; Rev. 22:18, 20; of the Holy Spirit, to Christ, John 15:26; Heb. 10:15; 1 John 5:7, 8, which rightly omits the latter part of v. 7 (it was a marginal gloss which crept into the original text: it finds no support in Scripture; o of the Scriptures, to Christ, John 5:39; Heb. 7:8, 17; o of the works of Christ, to Himself, and of the circumstances connected with His death, John 5:36; 10:25; 1 John 5:8; o of prophets and apostles, to the righteousness of God, Rom. 3:21; to Christ, John 1:7, 8, 15, 32, 34; 3:26; 5:33, RV; 15:27; 19:35; 21:24; Acts 10:43; 23:11; 1 Cor. 15:15; 1 John 1:2; 4:14; Rev. 1:2; to doctrine, Acts 26:22 to the Word of God, Rev. 1:2; o of others, concerning Christ, Luke 4:22; John 4:39. 12:17; o of believers to one another, John 3:28; 2 Cor. 8:3; Gal. 4:15; Col. 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 3 John 3, 6, 12 o of the apostle Paul concerning Israel, Rom. 10:2; (i) of an angel, to the churches, Rev. 22:16; o of unbelievers concerning themselves, Matt. 23:31; concerning Christ, John 18:23; concerning others, John 2:25; Acts 22:5; 26:5; "to give a good report, to approve of," Acts 6:3; 10:22; 16:2; 22:12; 1 Tim. 5:10; 3 John 12 (1st part); some would put Luke 4:22 here.
In the OT the Spirit of the Lord (pneuma kyrios) is generally an expression for God's power, the extension of Himself whereby he carries out many of his mighty deeds (e.g., 1 Kings 8:12; Judges 14:6ff; 1 Sam. 11:6).
The origins of the word "Spirit" in both Hebrew ruah and Greek (pneuma) are similar, stemming from associations with "breath" and "wind," which were connected by ancient cultures to unseen spiritual force, hence "spirit" (John 3:8, note the association with air in English; e.g., "pneumatic," "respiration,".). The use of the term "Holy Ghost" for "Holy Spirit" based on an obsolete usage of the word "ghost" (from Middle English and Anglo-Saxon, originally meaning "breath," "spirit" is incorrect.
Thus it is understandable that God's creative word (Gen. 1:3) is closely akin to God's creative breath (Gen. 2:7). Both ideas are identified elsewhere with God's Spirit. As an agent in creation, God's Spirit is the life principle of men.
The primary function of the Spirit of God in the OT is as the spirit of prophecy. God's Spirit is the motivating force in the inspiration of the prophets, that power which moved sometimes to ecstasy but always to the revelation of God's message, expressed by the prophets with “thus saith the Lord”. Prophets are sometimes referred to as "men of God" (1 Sam. 2:27; 1 Kings 12:22) in Hosea. 9:7 they are "men of the Spirit” of God.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
216 - THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ISRAEL
The Holy Spirit was not universally given to all believers until Christ was glorified by being seated at the right hand of the Father [John 7:39].
The Holy Spirit only endued with power some Old Testament saints to perform special functions:
o Political leaders [Genesis 41:38] o Artisans who worked in the Tabernacle and Temple [Exodus 28:3, 31:3] o Administrators [Numbers 11:17, 25] o Political and military leaders [Judges 3:9-] o Kings of Israel and prophets of God
Old Testament believers were discipline by removal of the Holy Spirit [1 Samuel 16:14, Psalm 51:11]. Certain of believers obtained the Holy Spirit by request prior to doing the will of God in certain mission [2 Kings 2:9-10, Luke 11:13].
MORE ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Lord Jesus Christ gave the Holy Spirit without request to the disciples just before His ascension –for the purpose of sustaining them for the ten (10) day interim before the Church Age began [John 20:22].
The Holy Spirit does not act base on human petition or intercession but according to His integrity that is righteousness and justice. The Holy Spirit is unaffected and untouched by human emotion, sincerity or humility.
The NT teaching of the Holy Spirit is rooted in the idea of both the spirit of God as the manifestation of God's power and the spirit of prophecy. Jesus, and the church after him, brought these ideas together in predicating them of the Holy Spirit, God's eschatological gift to man. When Mary is "overshadowed" by the power of the Most High, a phrase standing in parallel construction to "the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:35; cf. 9:35), we find echoes of the OT idea of God's Spirit in the divine cloud which "overshadowed" the tabernacle so that the tent was filled with the glory of the Lord (Exodus 40:35; Isaiah 63:11ff. identifies God's presence in this instance as "God's Holy Spirit").
Luke records Jesus' power to cast out demons "by the finger of God," an OT phrase for God's power (Luke 11:20; Exodus 8:19; Psalm 8:3). This power is identified as the "Spirit of God" (Matthew 12:28), the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32). At Jesus' baptism the Spirit came upon him (Mark 1:10; "the Spirit of God," Matthew 3:16 "the Holy Spirit," Luke 3:21), and He received God's confirmation of His divine Lordship and messianic mission (Matthew 3:13)
Jesus went up from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1), and after the temptation began His ministry "in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14). Taking up the message of John the Baptist, Jesus proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17), a coming marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28) as the sign of the messianic age of salvation (Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38).
From the beginning of Jesus' ministry He identified Himself with both the victorious messiah king and the suffering servant figures of OT prophecy (Isaiah 42:1) ideas, which Judaism had kept separate. When Jesus identified Himself with the Messiah promised in Isaiah 61:1-2 He stopped short of reading the "words of judgment" of Isaiah 61:2b (even though Isaiah 61:2, "comfort to those who mourn," is part of Jesus' teaching at Matthew 5:4). This emphasis is made again when John the Baptist asks whether Jesus is indeed the one who was to come (Luke 7:18-23).
Jesus understood the Holy Spirit as a personality. This comes out especially in John's Gospel, where the Spirit is called the “Paraclete” i.e., the Comforter (Counselor, Advocate). Jesus Himself was the first Counselor (John 14:16).
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
217 - THE PARACLETE
When He is gone, He sent the disciples another Counselor, that is, the Spirit of truth- the Holy Spirit (14:26; 15:26; 16:5). The Holy Spirit will dwell in the believers (John 7:38; cf. 14:17), and will guide the disciples into all truth (16:13), teaching them "all things" and bringing them "to remembrance of all that [Jesus] said" to them (14:26). The Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus, as the disciples must also testify (John 15:26-27).
Paul taught that the Holy Spirit, poured out in the new age, is the Creator of new life in the believer and that unifying force by which God in Christ is "building together" the Christians into the body of Christ (Rom. 5:5; II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:22; cf. I Cor. 6:19). Romans 8 shows that Paul identified the Spirit, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ with the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ as the spirit of prophecy in I Pet. 1:10), and that these terms are generally interchangeable. If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9); but those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Rom. 8:14).
We all have our access to the Father through one Spirit (Ephesians 2:18), and there is one body and one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4). We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body -and we received one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13). The believer receives the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15), indeed, the Spirit of God's own Son (Gal. 4:6).
“…Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4) The Spirit of Holiness refers to the integrity of God (justice and righteousness) that guarantees our resurrection and eternal in Christ. It refers to God as a Person who holds our spiritual redemption (salvation) and physical redemption (resurrection). The Spirit of Holiness guarantees our redemption through the work of Christ.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death (Romans 8:2). The Spirit of Life refers God as the Cause and Source of the Life that comes from God. The Holy Spirit gives the life of God to those who believed and received His grace.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out," Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15). The Spirit of adoption), which refers to the work of God in bring men into His Heaven by His power and grace upon men.
But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we also believe, therefore also we speak (2 Corinthians 4:13). the Spirit of faith refers to Holy Spirit function of converting the gnosis into epignosis in the soul of positive volition believers.
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13) The Spirit of Promise points to God who cannot deny and violate His own perfect plan for the human race. The Spirit of Promise explains the faithfulness of God based on His own perfection, and not based on human good works or righteousness.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17) - The Spirit of Wisdom refers to perfect knowledge of God the Holy Spirit, particularly related to His omniscience concerning man. The Holy Spirit is not only an invisible Person but also an absolute and intelligent Person who knows everything around the world.
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29). The Spirit of grace explains the total depravity of men before God. God did everything for man’s salvation and growth inside the plan of God. Everything about our salvation comes from the grace of God.
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you (1 Peter 4:14). The Spirit of glory refers to the pre-incarnate and eternal glory of God. God is not dependent on mankind to be glorious. His glory is intact with Him no matter what happen to human history. The glory of God is not based on actions, reactions or thinking of man but on His perfect characters.
Each of these eight (8) descriptions of the Holy Spirit is mentioned only once (hapax legomena) giving a very significant truth above the Person of God the Holy Spirit. Such titles are related and associated with divine essence and functions.
The pneuma Kurios or the Spirit of the LORD [Luke 4:18] refers to the Second Person of the Trinity at work in the perfect humanity of Christ.
And when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them (Acts 16:7). The Spirit of Jesus refers to God manifested in Christ not to his humanity. It affirms the truth that Jesus Christ is co-equal with God since He the Spirit of God.
What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness? (1 Corinthians 4:21). The Spirit of gentleness refers to the Christian virtue produce by the soul operational and functional inside the divine power system and loaded with Bible doctrine. This is the soul advancing toward spiritual maturity. The Spirit of gentleness is produced by spiritual maturity.
The pneuma tees Profeeteias (Revelation 19:10) is the Spirit of Prophecy referring to Christ’s perfect knowledge of all things (omniscience) in the future, which He reveals to us through His Word. The Holy Spirit is also called; o The Spirit of the Lord o The Spirit of God o The Spirit of Christ o The Spirit Truth o The Spirit Jesus Christ o The Spirit of your Father o The Spirit of Him o The Spirit of our God o The Spirit of the living God o The Spirit of His Son
The Spirit is the Comforter, the Helper and the Paraclete [John 14:26]. He is the Searcher, the Revealer of the truth, and the great Teacher of the Believer. He is the only Guide, the Indweller and the Strengthener of every believer.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
218 - THE INDWELLING & FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit indwells the body of every Church Age believer, together with the Father and Son. The purpose of the indwelling is to make the believer’s body a temple worthy of Christ. [2 Corinthians 6:16]. The believer by himself is not capable of providing an acceptable dwelling place for Christ the Shekinah glory. The presence of this secret spiritual sanctuary for Christ to dwell made it possible for the believer to obey the command to glorify God in your body [1 Corinthians 6:19-20].
The command to glorify God is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit executes and maintains the plan of the Father in the life of the positive and who adheres to the will, plan and purpose of God. Two vital ministries of the Holy Spirit are involved in the glorification Christ- the filling and indwelling.
The Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer so Christ may take up royal residence there while the filling of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to reflect the glory of the resident Christ.
Indwelling puts the Spirit’s help near at hand, in fact, within the Christian himself; filling actually delivers the Spirit’s help as He invisibly energizes the divine sphere.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent while the filling of the Holy Spirit is intermittent. Scripture never commands the Church Age believers to be indwelt by the Spirit but rather regards the indwelling as a constant reality. The Bible commands the believer to be filled with the Spirit [Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:16].
The believer cannot change the indwelling of the Holy Spirit while the filling of the Spirit is a matter of choice.
The believer loses the filling of the Holy Spirit by committing sin. He restores the filling of the Holy Spirit by confessing or acknowledging his sin to the Father [1 john 1:9]. The principle of rebound remains the same in all dispensations as the only means of recovering fellowship with God (but the fellowship with God does not include the filling of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the power source in the divine sphere –living outside is living under the power of the old sinful nature (called “grieving or quenching the Spirit” Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19).
Living inside the divine sphere implies being filled with the Holy Spirit. While the believer concentrates on Bible doctrine and through which the Holy Spirit illuminates the truth in the soul of the believer [1 Corinthians 2:9-16].
The indispensable ministry of the indwelling Spirit (like illuminating the Bible doctrine, convicting the believer to rebound, teaching the Word and others) operates only when the believer is filled with the Spirit.
Filling of the Holy Spirit is the “access key” that opens many doors inside the will, plan and purpose of God.
The instantaneous effects of the indwelling is permanent it cannot be lost, undone, alter, cancel and it does not need repetition or what they called the “second baptism” of the Holy Spirit.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred when the believer decided to believe and receive the salvation by grace alone, through faith alone – in Christ alone. At that moment the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the believer permanently.
Nothing can make the indwelling of the Holy Spirit invalidate –not even God because He cannot deny Himself or void His perfect decision or work [Romans 8:37].
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
219 - THE SHEKINAH GLORY
In the Old Testament Israel, the Pillar of fire and the Pillar of cloud was the Shekinah Glory the spiritual presence of the Second Person of the Trinity manifested through physical created things in the world.
The Shekinah Glory dwelt between the Golden cherubs in the Tabernacle [Leviticus 26:11-12] and dwelt between the golden cherubs at the Temple [1 Kings 8:11]. The presence of the Shekinah Glory in the Temple and Tabernacle was the focal or center point of worship of the ancient Israel.
The Shekinah Glory became a Man [John 1:14, Luke 9:28-56] to die and redeem men from the penalty or wages of death –that is the spiritual death that Adam left for all men. During the Hypostatic union of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Shekinah Glory dwelt among men but was not recognized by many.
The Shekinah Glory indwells the Church Age believers for the purpose of fellowship with the glorified Christ [1 Corinthians 6:16]- It is synonym with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was the Paraclete (during the Hypostatic Union) but when He is gone to heaven, He send the Holy Spirit Paraclete to indwell the saints.
Before the Church Age, the Shekinah Glory, the Paraclete resides among the people of God but did not indwell them permanently. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was transient and temporal.
The Shekinah Glory of Christ is the visible manifestation of God's glory. While Scripture denies any permanent localization of God it does describe, simultaneously with his transcendence, his "glory," or apprehensible presence. Glory may be expressed in God's "face," "name" (Exodus 33:18-20), "Angel", pre-incarnate appearances of Christ, or "cloud" (Exodus 14:19), The Shekinah concerns the cloud, which surrounded the glory (40:34), like thunderheads through which lightning flashes (19:9, 16).
The Shekinah first appeared when God led Israel from Egypt and protected them by "a pillar of cloud and fire" (13:21; 14:19). The cloud vindicated Moses against murmurers" (16:10; Num. 16:42) and covered Sinai (Exodus 24:16) as he communed there with God (vs. 18; cf. 33:9). God "dwelt" among His people in the tabernacle (miskan), "place of dwelling," a type of his dwelling in heaven (I Kings 8:30; Heb. 9:24).
The Shekinah guided Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 40:36-38); and, though the ark's loss meant “Ichabod” [no glory]" (I Sam. 4:21), the cloud again filled Solomon's temple (I Kings 8:11; cf. II Chronicles 7:1). Ezekiel visualized its departure because of sin (10:18) before this temple's destruction, and Judaism confessed its absence from the second temple. The Shekinah reappeared with Christ (Matt. 17:5; Luke 2:9), true God localized (John 1:14 “skene” or "tabernacle"), the glory of the latter temple (Hag. 2:9; Zech. 2:5). Christ ascended in the glory cloud (Acts 1:9) and will some day so return (Mark 14:62; Rev. 14:14; Isaiah 24:3; 60:1).
God is holy and calls Israel to be a holy nation. The temple and its priesthood remind her of this vocation to holiness. The sacrificial system provides atonement for the sins of the people and for the sanctuary (Lev. 16). The holy God reveals his name, his glory, and his presence to Israel at Mount Sinai. However, the tabernacle is to be the ongoing focus of God's presence throughout Israel history. God is seen as permanently dwelling in the tabernacle or temple (Exodus 29:43-46; I Kings 6:13); but he also manifests his glory, in blessing or wrath, at critical moments in Israel's life (Exodus 40:34-38; Num. 14:10 16:19; Ezek. 1-10; 43:1-7; Mal. 3:1). The rebuilding of the temple is an indispensable token of God's continuing will to bless Israel (Hag. 1:18-19; Zech. 4:9-10).
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
220 - THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. God the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, while the Father is neither proceeding nor begotten.
The Holy is God Himself who possesses all the attributes of infinite and perfect deity. He is Person who has a mind, wisdom, a will and emotion [Romans 8:27, Ephesians 4:30, 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, 12:11, Acts 15:6-11]. As a Person, He can be lied to [Acts 5:3], resisted [Acts 7:51], grieved and blasphemed [Ephesians 4:30, Matthew 12:31], or insulted [Hebrews 10:29].
The Holy Spirit is of the same essence as of the Father and of the Son. Although the Holy is same in substance, equal in power and equal in authority with the other Persons of the Trinity, He is subordinate to them in role and function. There is a functional hierarchy within the Godhead (in relation to men in the world).
God the Son is under God the Father who sent the Son in to the world [John 3:17, 17:8]. God the Spirit is both sent by God the Father and God the Son [John 15:26]. The Son glorifies the Father and [John 14:13] and the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son [John 16:13-14].
In the lives of believers, the most laborious task of the Holy Spirit is the conviction of sin leading to rebound and its results-the filling of the Holy Spirit.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit the coming of the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation is a one-time experience for the believer at the same time of conversion [Ephesians 1:13]. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer and makes him a child of God permanently [Romans 8:9-14]. The divine relationship made by God transcends time and space a relationship that goes beyond time and space.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is a repeatable work of the Holy Spirit in the post salvation life of the believer, which enables the submissive believer to live a victorious Christian live by the power and grace of God. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time experience that needs not repetition.
THERE IS NO SECOND BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE!
The book of Acts is a historical book where the narrative is descriptive not prescriptive, therefore the period covered by Acts is transitory. Many of the recorded events were one-time and non-repeatable events or experiences. The historical context may not be neglected in our efforts to understand the Word of God.
What the cults calls “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is actually called by the Bible as filling of the Holy Spirit. The so-called “baptism” of Acts 1:5 is defined as filling in Acts 2:4. The Koine Greek word baptizes has several meaning: to dip, to immerse, to cleanse, to wash or to be filled.
There is no command to believers for second baptism of the Holy Spirit but for the filling of the Holy Spirit. The believers of Acts chapter 1 and 2 were not yet baptized with the Holy Spirit when Jesus ascended to heaven. The “disciples” of chapters 8 and 10 did not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it was their first (and last) baptism of the Holy Spirit, and not a second baptism.
The title for the Holy Spirit as Paraclete is often mistranslated as “helper” or “comforter” came 50 days after the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven. Some Christians regard the Holy Spirit as their servant-helper. The events of Acts 2, 8, and 10 were unique they are not repeatable and were not meant to be normative. There were no second baptism and there were no consistent pattern of second baptisms. And there is no necessity for the second baptisms because the Holy Spirit will be with the believer forever.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
221 - SLAIN BY THE SPIRIT?
The reversionist Christians are teaching that unless the believers are slain by the Holy Spirit they are not spiritual and less equipped for doing the work of the kingdom of God.
Is being slain by the Spirit Biblical; does the Spirit of God slay people? Can you cite any situation or event recorded in the Bible where the Holy Spirit had a ministry of slaying people?
During the “manifestation” of the growing and dominating charismatic phenomena of being slain by spirit, people fall backwards. Often those who fall backwards also start rolling on the floor and some go into uncontrollable fits or seizures (similar to that of epilepsy a form of chronic disorder of the nervous system characterized by partial or complete loss of consciousness.
King Saul was slain but not by the Holy Spirit but by evil spirits [1 Samuel 19:23-24] because he disobeyed God. Saul fell down backward and for a day and a night he lay down naked.
Eli the high priest fell backwards broke his neck and died [1 Samuel 4:18]. It was divine judgment for Eli. The murderous mob looking for Jesus fell backwards when confronted [John 18:6]. Falling backwards is not sign of blessing but judgment, not a sign of spirituality but of corruption.
The slaying of the spirit is not Biblical and not the teaching of the Lord Jesus or of His disciples. Slaying people is not the ministry of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing in the Scripture that teaches or implies such work or function of the Holy Spirit. No Bible character ever mentioned that he in any way had experienced the slaying of the Holy Spirit. The slaying of the spirit is not the work of God but of the devil. The advocates of the devil invented such doctrines to mislead and deceive the ignorant.
PRAYER TO HOLY SPIRIT - WORSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is God, co-equal and co-infinite with the Father and with the Son. In essence possessing the same attributes with the Father and with Son, but in function (toward the created beings), He is different.
We received our salvation in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ [Acts 4:12]. There is no other Name given under Heaven where a person can be saved other than Jesus Christ. A person is not saved unless he received that salvation in the Name of Christ.
Our spiritual service is acceptable only to God if we are filled with the Holy Spirit and if serve God in the Name of Jesus Christ [Mark 9:41].
We pray to God the Father in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit [John 14:13].
We assemble together for worship of God the Father in the Name of Christ under the leadership of the Holy Spirit [Matt. 18:20].
We “hold fast” in Christ’s Name in the midst of crooked and perverse generation in the power of the Holy Spirit [Revelation 2:13].
We worship God the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. We serve God the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit
We are commanded to pray to the Father through the Son but we are not commanded to pray to the Holy Spirit. We are not in any way, instructed to bypass the function of the Father or the Son of God.
The functions of the Holy Spirit are not the same with the Father or with the Son. The devil and his world has gained favorable devious themes through satanic scheming that destroy and separate men from one another.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
222 - THE DIVINE NAMES AS VEHICLES OF REVELATION
Efforts to find the origins and significance of the Hebrew divine names in other ancient Near Eastern cultures have yielded generally disappointing results. One of the major reasons for this is that the ancient Hebrew theology invested these names with a uniqueness that renders investigation outside the narratives of the OT incapable of exploring fully their historical and religious significance.
Basic to ancient Hebrew religion is the concept of divine revelation. While God is conceived of as revealing his attributes and will in a number of ways in the OT, one of the most theologically significant modes of the divine self-disclosure is the revelation inherent in the names of God.
This aspect of divine revelation is established in the words of Exodus 6:3, "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My Name the Lord [Yahweh] I did not make myself known to them." According to classical literary criticism, the verse teaches that the name Yahweh was unknown to the patriarchs. Thus, an ideological conflict exists between the Priestly author and the earlier believer of God who frequently put the name Yahweh on the lips of the patriarchs.
However, the words "by My Name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them" have a somewhat hollow ring if the name Yahweh is understood only as an appellative. The reason for this is that Moses asks in Exodus 3:13, "What is his name?” mah-semo has demonstrated that the syntax of this question does not connote an inquiry as to the name of God but an inquiry into the character revealed by the name. He says, "Where the word 'what' is associated with the word 'name' the question asked is what finds expression in or lies concealed behind that name".
Exodus 14:4 also support the view that the name Yahweh embodies aspects of God's character. It says, "and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh." It is hardly likely that the intent of this assertion is that they would learn only the name of the Hebrew God.
In the light of these observations, the use of the concepts of the name of God in the early narratives of the book of Exodus is far broader than simply the name by which the Hebrew God was known. It has a strong element of divine self-disclosure within it.
The corpus of divine names compounded with el and a descriptive adjunct also support this concept. The very fact that the adjunctive element is descriptive is an indication of its value as a source of theological content.
Typical of this type of name is el rot ("God who sees"; Gen. 16:13) and el olam ("God eternal"; Gen. 21:33). These el names sometimes emerge from a specific historical situation that illuminates their significance.
The Meaning of Yahweh, Jehovah (LORD): Efforts to determine the meaning of the tetragrammaton (YHWH) through historical investigation have been rendered difficult by the rareness of informative data relative to the various forms of the name ya in historical sources outside the OT. For this reason the investigation has generally followed philological lines. The form ya was originally an ejaculatory cry, "shouted in moments of excitement or ecstasy," that was "prologue to ya(h)wa(h), ya(h)wa(h)y, or the like." He suggested further that the name Yahweh arose from the consonance of an extended form of ya with the "imperfect tense of a defective verb." Thus, he saw the origin of the name in a popular etymology and asserted that its original form was forgotten.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
223 - UNDERSTANDING THE NAMES OF GOD
The tetragrammaton should be understood as consisting of the ejaculatory element and the third person pronoun hu' meaning "O He!"
Another approach to the problem is to understand the tetragrammaton as a form of paronomasia. This view takes account of the broad representation of the name ya in extrabiblical cultures of the second millennium B.C. The name Yahweh is thus understood as a quadrilateral form and the relationship of the name of “haya” (“to be”) in Exodus 3:14-15 is not intended to be one of etymology but paronomasia.
The most common view is that the name is a form of a trilateral verb hwy. It is generally regarded as a third person imperfect verb in a causative stem. Is it is a Greek causative participle with ay preforrmative that should be translated "Sustainer, Maintainer, Creator-Establisher."
With regard to the view that the tetragramaton is an elongated form of an ejaculatory cry, it may be pointed out that Semitic proper names tend to shorten; they are not normally prolonged. The theory that the name is paronomastic is attractive, but when appeal is made to the occurrences of forms of ya or yw in ancient cultures, several problems arise. It is difficult to explain how the original form could have lengthened into the familiar quadrilateral structure. It is also difficult to understand how the name Yahweh could have such strong connotations of uniqueness in the OT if it is a form of a divine name that found representation in various cultures in the second millennium B.C.
The derivation of the tetragrammaton from a verbal root is also beset with certain difficulties. The root hwy on which the tetragrammaton would be based in this view is unattested in West Semitic languages before the time of Moses, and the form of the name is not consonant with the rules that govern the formation of lamed he verbs as we know them.
It is evident that the problem is a difficult one. It is best to conclude that the use of etymology to determine the theological content of the name Yahweh is tenuous. If one is to understand the theological significance of the divine name, it can be only be determining the theological content with which the name was invested in Hebrew religion.
Jah, Yah. This shorter form of Yahweh occurs twice in Exodus (15:2 and 17:15). The former passage is echoed in Isaiah 12:2 and Psalm 118:14. It also occurs numerous times in the adoration or worship formula haleluya (“praise yah”)
The compounding of yah with Yahweh in Isaiah 12:2 yah yhwh indicates a separate function for the form yah, but at the same time an identification of the form with Yahweh.
Yahweh Seba’ot (“the Lord of Hosts”) is The translated as "He creates the heavenly hosts" has been suggested for this appellative. It is based on the assumption that Yahweh functions as a verbal form in a causative stem. This conclusion is rendered difficult by the fact that the formula occurs in the expanded Aramaic form yhwh elohe sebaor ("Yahweh God of hosts"), which attributes the function of a proper name to Yahweh. The word seba’ot means "armies" or "hosts." It is best to understand Yahweh as a proper name in association with the word "armies."
The names of God are vehicles for knowing and understanding His personality or essence not for the purpose of identification. God uses names that provide information’s and documentation of His perfect essence or personality to believers. The names of God are medium for knowing God.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
224 - ELOHIM and EL SHADDAI
The root of Elohim is El or el. The form elohim is a plural form commonly understood as a plural of majesty. In the OT the word is always construed in the singular when it denotes the true God. In the Pentateuch the name elohim connotes a general concept of God; that is, it portrays God as the transcendent being, the creator of the universe. It does not connote the more personal and palpable concepts inherent in the name Yahweh. It can also be used to apply to false gods as well as to judges and kings.
El. El has the same general range of meaning as Elohim It is apparently the root on which the plural form has been constructed. It differs in usage from Elohim only in its use in theophoric names and to serve to contrast the human and the divine. Sometimes, the pronoun El is combined with yah to become Elyah.
El Elyon (“God most High”) from which the word elyon an adjective meaning "high," is derived from the root Ih ("to go up" or "ascend"). It is used to describe the height of objects (II Kings 15:35; 18:17; Ezekiel 41:7) as well as the prominence of persons (Psalm 89:27) and the prominence of Israel as a nation (Deut. 26:19; 28:1). When used of God it connotes the concept of "highest."
The name El Elyon occurs only in Gen. 14: 18-22 and Ps. 78:35, although God is known by the shorter title Elyon in a significant number of passages.
There is a superlative connotation in the word elyon In each case in which the adjective occurs it denotes that which is highest or uppermost. In Deut. 26:19 and 28:1 the superlative idea is apparent in the fact that Israel is to be exalted above the nations. The use of the word in I Kings 9:8 and II Chronicles 7:21 may not seem to reflect a superlative idea, but there is an illusion to Deut. 26:19 and 28:1, where the superlative idea exists. The superlative is also evident in the use of the word in Psalm 97:9, where it connotes Yahweh's supremacy over the other gods.
EL SHADDAI The root word of sadday is obscure, which has been connected with the Akkadian sadu ("mountain") deity by some ancient theologians. Others have suggested a connection with the word "breast," and still others have seen a connection with the verb sadad ("to devastate"). The theological significance of the name, if it can be understood fully, must be derived from a study of the various contexts in which the name occurs.
The name Shaddai frequently appears apart from El as a divine title. The translation “God Almighty” is somewhat dubious since it is based on a Hebrew root sadad, which does not exactly mean “almighty”, but “to deal violently with.”
Shaddai refers to a tribal deity, a high god worshipped by the patriarchs, who were not monotheists. They usually point to Deuteronomy 32:17 and Joshua 24:2, which recorded the facts that theirs ancestors served and worshipped other gods beyond the Euphrates.
Zurishaddai [Numbers 7:36] in many ancient Egyptians documents, Shadai amni is the same as Shadai-amni the Egyptian god of the mountains. Out of its 46 appearance in the Bible, only the RSV translated el Shaddai to God Almighty.
Shaddai is one of the unknown deity and who came from nowhere but feared by the ancient Israel who did not know God [see Deuteronomy 32:17]. The patriarchs were not monotheistic but served other gods [Joshua 24:2]. It is true that the term shaddai or shadday is in the Bible but does not refer to God of the Bible.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
225 - THE GOD OF ISRAEL
El-Eloe-Yisrael is an appellation that occurs only in Gen. 33:20 as the name of the altar that marked the place of Jacob's encounter with God. It denotes the unique significance of El as the God of Jacob.
Adonai is from the root dn which occurs in Ugaritic with the meanings "lord and father." If the word originally connoted "father," it is not difficult to understand how the connotation "lord" developed from that. The basic meaning of the word in the Old Testament is "lord."
Critical to the understanding of the meaning of the word is the suffix ay. It is commonly suggested that the ending is the first person possessive suffix on a plural form of addon" my lord"). This is plausible for the form adonay but the heightened form adonay which also appears in the Massoretic text, is more difficult to explain, unless it represents an effort on the part of the Massoretes "to mark the word as sacred by a small external sign."
Attention has been drawn to the Ugaritic ending -ai which is used in that language "as a reinforcement of a basic word," However, it is doubtful that this explanation should be applied in all cases. The plural construction of the name is evident when the word occurs in the construct as it does in the appellation "Lord of lords" adone ha adonim) in Deut. 10:17. And the translation "my Lord" seems to be required in such vocative addresses as my Lord Yahweh what will you give me?" (Gen. 15:2; see also Exodus 4:10).
It appears, then, that it is best to understand the word as a plural of majesty with a first person suffixual ending that was altered by the Massoretes to mark the sacred character of the name.
Other Names of God in the Bible: The name Baali occurs only once, in Hosea 2:16 "My Baal," in a play on words. The word means "my husband," as does , the word with which it is paired.
Ancient of Days is an appellation applied to God in Dan. 7. It occurs with other depictions of great age (vs. 9) to create the impression of noble venerability. The title is related to Christ title as Son of Man the perfect Judge of all men.
Abba is an alternate Aramaic term for "father." It is the word that Jesus used to address God in Mark 14:36. Paul pairs the word with the Greek word for "father" in Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6.
The alep that terminates the form 'abba functions as both a demonstrative and a vocative particle in Aramaic: In the time of Jesus the word connoted both the emphatic concept, "the father," and the more intimate "my father, our father."
While the word was the common form of address for children, there is much evidence that in the time of Jesus the practice was not limited only to children.
The word occurs three times in the NT. Mark uses it in Jesus' Gethsemane prayer (14:36). Paul employs it twice for the cry of the Spirit in the heart of a Christian (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). In every case it is accompanied by the Greek equivalent, ho pater that means Father.
Abba is from the Aramaic abba. It signifies "my father." It is not in the Greek Bible. In the original text, the Lord Jesus said only "Abba! Abba!" but the Aramaic and the English translators combined Greek and English terms. Paul's usage suggests it may have become a quasiliturgical formula.
Abba! Father! Denotes intimate relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
226 - YAHWEH
Yahweh. The parallel structure in Exodus 3:14-15 supports the association of the name Yahweh with the concept of being or existence. It says, "I AM has sent me to you" (vs. 14; "The LORD has sent me to you" (vs. 15). The name "I AM" is based on the clause "I AM WHO I AM" found in 3:14 which, on the basis of the etymology implied here, suggests that Yahweh is the third participle form of the verb ehyah (I am).
The Aramaic clause “ehyeh aser ehyeh” been translated in several ways, "I am that I am" (AV), "I am who I am" (RSV, NIV), and "I will be what I will be" (RSV margin). Recently the translation "I am (the) One who is" has been suggested. The recent modern translations are grammatically incorrect.
The main concern of the context is to demonstrate that a continuity exists in the divine activity from the time of the patriarchs to the events recorded in Exodus chapter 3. The Lord is referred to as the God of the fathers (13, 15, 16). The God who made the gracious promises regarding Abraham's offspring is the God who is and who continues to be. The affirmation of verse 17 is but a reaffirmation of the promise made to Abraham. The name Yahweh may thus affirm the continuing activity of God on behalf of his people in fealty to his promise.
Jesus' application of the words "I am" to Himself in John 8:58 not only denoted his preexistence but associated him with Yahweh as the begotten Son of God.
Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham, the fulfillment of which Abraham anticipated (John 8:56).
In the Pentateuch, Yahweh denotes that aspect of God's character that is personal rather than transcendent. It occurs in contexts in which the covenantal and redemptive aspects of God predominate. The name YHWH is employed when God is presented to us in His personal character and in direct relationship to people or nature; and 'Elohim, when the Deity is alluded to as a Transcendental Being who exists completely outside and above the physical universe" This precise distinction does not always obtain outside the Pentateuch, but Yahweh never loses its distinct function as the designation of the God of Israel.
The name Yahweh Saboath appears for the first time in Israel's history in connection with the cult center at Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:3): It is there that the tent of meeting was set up when the land of Canaan had been subdued by the Israelites (Josh. 18:1). The name apparently had its origin in the period of the conquest or the post-conquest period. It does not occur in the Pentateuch.
It is possible that the name was attributed to Yahweh as a result of the dramatic appearance to Joshua of an angelic being called the "commander of the host of Yahweh" at the commencement of the conquest (Joshua 5:13-15). The name would thus depict the vast power at Yahweh's disposal in the angelic hosts.
The association of this name with the Ark of the Covenant in I Samuel 4:4 is significant in that Yahweh is enthroned above the angelic figures known as the cherubim (II Samuel 6:2). Because the name was associated with the Ark of the Covenant, David addressed the people in that name when the ark was recovered from the Philistines (2 Samuel 6:18).
The almighty power of Yahweh displayed in this name is manifested in the sphere of history (Psalms 46:6-7; 59:5). His power may be displayed in the life of the individual (Psalm 69:6) as well as the nation (Psalm 80:7). Sometimes he is simply referred to as "the Almighty."
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
227 - ELOHIM
Elohim is the more general name for God: In the Pentateuch, when used as a proper name, it most commonly denotes the more transcendental aspects of God's character. When God is presented in relation to his creation and to the peoples of the earth in the Pentateuch, the name Elohim is the name most often used. It is for this reason that Elohim occurs consistently in the creation account of Genesis 1:1-2:42 and in the genealogies of Genesis. Where the context takes on a moral tone, as in Genesis 2:4bff., the name Yahweh is used.
Throughout Genesis and the early chapters of Exodus Elohim is used most often as a proper name. After Exodus 3 the name begins to occur with increasing frequency as an appellative, that is, "the God of," or "your God." This function is by far the most frequent mode of reference to God in the book of Deuteronomy. When used in this fashion the name denotes God as the supreme deity of a person or people. Thus, in the frequent expression, "Yahweh your God," Yahweh functions as a proper name, while "God" functions as the denominative of deity.
The appellative Elohim connotes all that God is. As God He is sovereign, and that sovereignty extends beyond Israel into the arena of the nations (Deut. 2:30, 33; 3:22; Isaiah 52:10). As God to His people He is loving and merciful (Deut. 1:31; 2:7; 23:5; Isaiah 41:10, 13, 17; 49:5; Jeremiah 3:23). He establishes standards of obedience (Deut. 4:2; Jeremiah 11:3) and His sovereignty punishes disobedience (Deut. 23:21). As God, there is no one like him (Isaiah 44:7; 45:5-21).
The same connotations obtain in the use of the shorter form el He is the God who sees El roi Genesis 16:13) and He is el the God of Israel (Genesis 33:20).
As El Elyon, God is described in his exaltation over all things. There are two definitive passages for this name. In Psalm 83:18 Yahweh is described as "Most High over the earth," and Isaiah 14:14 states, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High."
However, in the majority of cases the attributes of this name are indistinguishable from other usages El or Elohim. He fixed the boundaries of the nations (Deut. 32:8). He effects changes in the creation (Psalm 18:13).
This name occurs six times in the patriarchal narratives. In most of those instances it is associated with the promise given by God to the patriarchs. Yet the name is often paired with Yahweh in the poetic material, and thus shares the personal warmth of that name. He is known for his steadfast love (Psalm 21:7) and his protection (Psalm 91:9-10).
The root of Adonai means, "lord" and, in its secular usage, always refers to a superior in the OT. The word retains the sense of "Lord" when applied to God. The present pointing of the word in the Massoretic text is late; early manuscripts were written without vowel pointing.
In Psalm 110:1 the word is pointed in the singular, as it usually is when it applies to humans rather than God. Yet Jesus used this verse to argue for His deity. The pointing is Massoretic and no distinction would be made in the consonantal texts. Since the word denotes a superior, the word must refer to one who is superior to David and who bears the messianic roles of king and priest (vs. 4).
The name Abba connotes the exclusive fatherhood of God. This is affirmed by the accompanying translation ho pater ("father"), which occurs in each usage of the name in the NT (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
228 - ABBA
The use of this name as Jesus' mode of address to God in Mark 14:36 is a unique expression of Jesus' relationship to the Father. He spoke to God like a child to its father, simply, inwardly, and confidently. Jesus' use of Abba in addressing God reveals the heart of his relationship with God.
The same relationship is sustained by the believer with God; It is only because of the believer's relationship with God, established by the Holy Spirit, that he can address God with this name that depicts a relationship of warmth and filial love.
In a sense the relationship designated by this name is the fulfillment of the ancient promise given to Abraham's offspring that the Lord will be their God, and they His people.
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet while Omega being the last letter. These letters occur in the text of Rev. 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13, and are represented by "Alpha" and "Omega" respectively. They mean "the first and last." (Compare: Hebrews 12:2; Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; Rev. 1:11, 17; 2:8.) In the symbols of the early Christian Church these two letters are frequently combined with the cross or with Christ's monogram to denote his divinity.
The rendering of the Greek expression to Alpha kai to O which is found in three places in the NT (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13):
In this phrase there is probably a reference to the Jewish employment of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to indicate the totality of a thing. "The symbol t' was regarded as including the intermediate letters, and stood for totality; and thus it fitly represented the Shekinah It is a natural transition to the thought of eternity when the expression is related to time.
The expression is essentially the same as Isaiah's words, "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6). Thus it is a claim that the one to whom it refers is the Eternal One.
The expression in Revelation 1:8, due to the explanatory phrases that modify the subject, refers to the eternity and omnipotence of the Lord God. In 21:6 it is further defined by the words "the beginning and the end and in 22:13 by the words "the first and the last." The thought conveyed in the second and third occurrences is the same.
In patristic and literature the expression referred to the Son. It seems clear, however, that the first two occurrences refer to the Father (1:8; 21:6), while the third properly refers to the Son. On its last occurrence (22:13) the phrase is applicable in many senses, but perhaps it is used here with special reference to our Lord's place in human history. As creation owed it’s beginning to the Word of God, so in His incarnate glory He will bring it to its consummation by the Great Award.
Holy One of Israel: This title for God occurs twenty-six times in the book of Isaiah and only six times in the rest of the OT. From the very first chapter (1:4), Isaiah contrasts the perfection and purity of God with the corruptness and sinfulness of Israel.
A God so powerful and so holy deserved to be held in awe (8:13; 29:23), but instead the people of Israel spurned him and mocked him (5:19). It is against the background of Israel's blatant sin that Isaiah presents his vision of the Holy God in chapter 6. So overwhelming was his glimpse of the holiness of God in the heavenly temple that Isaiah acknowledged his sin and responded in obedience to the Lord.
Throughout the rest of the book Isaiah refers to "the Holy One of Israel" as the God set apart from all other Gods and worthy of all honors.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
229 - HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL
Jeremiah announces the defeat of mighty Babylon for the same reason the children of Israel were judged with fifth cycle of discipline [Jeremiah 50:29]. The Holy One is the judge of the entire world.
Six times Isaiah links the "Holy One of Israel" with the word "redeemer" (41:14; 43:14; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5). Just as God delivered his people from the slavery of Egypt, so will he bring them back from the Babylonian exile. God will build a highway for the redeemed, called "the way of holiness" (35:8-10). An incomparable and faithful God will once again come to the rescue of his chosen people (49:7).
It is likely that Isaiah patterns the name "the Holy One of Israel" after the title "the Mighty One of Jacob." This name for God first occurs in the patriarchal blessing of Genesis 49:24, and appears three out of six times in Isaiah (1:24; 49:26; 60:16). The first time it is given as "the Mighty One of Israel," rather than "Jacob," probably echoing "the Holy One of Israel" in 1:4. The God whom Jacob worshipped needed to be revealed in new power to the rebellious nation of Isaiah's day.
THE LOGOS is the most usual Greek term for "word" in the NT: occasionally with other meanings (account, reason, and motive); specifically in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1, 14) and perhaps in other Johannine writings (I John 1:1; Rev. 19:13) it is used of the second person of the Trinity. In ordinary Greek parlance it also means reason.
According to John 1:1-18 the Logos was already present at the creation ("in the beginning" relates to Gen. 1:1), in the closest relationship with God ("with" pros, not meta). Indeed, the Logos was God (not "divine," This relationship with God was effective in the moment of creation (1:2). The entire work of creation was carried out through ("by" =dia, verse 3) the Logos. The source of life (1:4) and light of the world (9:5) and of every man (1:9), and still continuing (present tense in 1:5) this work, the Logos became incarnate, revealing the sign of God's presence and his nature (1:14).
The prologue thus sets out three main facets of the Logos and his activity: his divinity and intimate relationship with the Father; his work as agent of creation; and his incarnation.
In I John 1:1 "the Logos of life," seen, heard, and handled, may refer to the personal Christ of the apostolic preaching or impersonally to the message about Him. Revelation 19:12 pictures Christ as a conquering general called the Logos of God. As in Hebrews 4:12, it is the OT picture of the shattering effects of God's word which is in mind or soul.
Diverse factors give some preparation for John's usage. God creates by the word (Genesis 1:3; Psalm 33:9) and his word is sometimes spoken of semi personally (Psalm 107:20; 147:15, 18); it is chock-full of life, dynamic, achieving its intended results (Isaiah 50:10-11). The wisdom of God is personified (Proverbs 8, note especially verses 22. on wisdom's work in creation). The angel of the Lord is sometimes spoken of as God, sometimes as distinct (Judges 2:1). God's name is semi personalized (Exodus 23:21; I Kings 8:29).
In the Palestinian Judaism, besides the personification of wisdom, the rabbis used the word me’mraword," as a periphrasis for "divinity.
Among the philosophers the precise significance of Logos varies, but it stands usually for "reason" and reflects the Greek conviction that divinity cannot come into direct contact with matter: The Logos is a shock absorber between God and the universe, and the manifestation of the divine principle in the world.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
230 - LOGOS
In the Stoic tradition the Logos is both divine reason and reason distributed in the world (and thus in the mind or nous.
In Alexandrian Judaism there was full personification of the word in creation (Wisdom of Solomon 9:1; 16:12). The Logos is "the image" (Colossians 1:15); the first form protogonos), the representation (charakter, Hebrews 1:3), of God; and even "Second God" deuteros theos; the means whereby God creates the world from the great waste; and, moreover, the way whereby God is known through spiritual perception not through human wisdom.
Logos occurs frequently in the Hemmetica though post-Christian, these are influenced by hellenistic Judaism. They indicate the Logos doctrine, in something like Philonic terms, in pagan mystical circles.
John 1 differs radically from philosophic usage. For the Greeks, Logos was essentially reason; for John, essentially word. Language common to Philo's and the NT has led many to see John as Philo's debtor. But one refers naturally to Philo's Logos as "It," to John's as "He." Philo came no nearer than Plato to a Logos who might be incarnate, and he does not identify Logos and Messiah. John's Logos is not only God's agent in creation; He is God, and becomes incarnate, revealing, and redeeming.
The rabbinic me’mra hardly more than a reverent substitution for the divine name, is not sufficiently substantial a concept; nor is direct contact with Hermetic circles likely. The source of John's Logos doctrine is in the person and work of the historical Christ. "Jesus is not to be interpreted by Logos: Logos is intelligible only as we think of Jesus.
Its expression takes its suitability primarily from the OT connotation of "word" and its personification of wisdom. Christ is God's active Word, his saving revelation to fallen man. It is not accidental that both the gospel and Christ who is its subject are called "the word." But the use of "Logos" in the contemporary hellenistic world made it a useful "bridge" word.
In two NT passages where Christ is described in terms recalling Philo's Logos, the word Logos is absent (Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:3). Its introduction to Christian speech has been attributed to Apollos.
The apologists found the Logos a convenient term in expounding Christianity to pagans. They used its sense of "reason," and some were thus enabled to see philosophy as a preparation for the gospel. The Hebraic overtones of "word" were under-emphasized, though never quite lost. Some theologians distinguished between the Logos prophorikos or Word latent in the Godhead from all eternity, and logos prophorikos, uttered and becoming effective with creation and the creation Origen seems to have used Philo's language of the deuteros theos. In the major Christological controversies, however, the use of the term did not clarify the main issues, and it does not occur in the great counsel.
There is nothing in the Bible to support the heathen notion of a literal divine fatherhood of clans or nations. Several passages of Scripture imply that God is the Father of angels and men as their Creator (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Psalm 86:6; Luke 3:38). But it is chiefly in connection with Israel, the Davidic king, and Messiah that references to the fatherhood of God occur in the OT.
By the historical event of deliverance from Egypt, God created the nation of Israel and subsequently cared for them, establishing a special relationship with them. Allusions to his fatherly regard for them look back to this crisis as the time of the nation's origin.
The most usual Greek term for "word" in the NT is logos occasionally translated with other meanings (account, reason, motive); specifically in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1, 14) and perhaps in other Johnnaine writings (I John 1:1; Revelation 19:13) it is used of the Second Person of the Trinity. In ordinary Greek parlance it also means reason.
According to John 1:1-18 the Logos was already present at the creation ("in the beginning" relates to Genesis 1:1), in the closest relationship with God ("with" pros, not meta or syn) Indeed, the Logos is God (not just a "divine being”. This relationship with God was effective in the moment of creation (1:2). The entire work of creation was carried out through by - dia vs. 3) the Logos.
The source of life (1:4, probable punctuation) and light of the world (cf. 9:5) and of every man (1:9, probable punctuation), and still continuing (present tense in 1:5) this work, the Logos became incarnate, revealing the sign of God's presence and his nature (1:14).
The prologue thus sets out three main facets of the Logos and His activity: His divinity and intimate relationship with the Father; His work as agent of creation; and His incarnation.
In I John 1:1 "the Logos of life," seen, heard, and handled, may refer to the personal Christ of the apostolic preaching or impersonally to the message about Him. Rev. 19:12 pictures Christ as a conquering general called the Logos of God. As in Hebrews 4:12, it is the OT picture of the shattering effects of God's word, which is in mind.
Diverse factors give some preparation for John's usage. God creates by His Word (Genesis 1:3; Psalm 33:9) and His word is sometimes spoken of semi-personally (Psalms 107:20; 147:15, 18); it is active, dynamic, achieving its intended results (Isaiah 50:10-11). The wisdom of God is personified in His Word. The angel of the Lord is sometimes spoken of as God, sometimes as distinct (Judges 2:1). God's name is semi-personalized (Exodus 23:21; I Kings 8:29).
John chapter 1 differs radically from philosophic usage. For the Greeks, Logos was essentially reason; for John, essentially word. Language common to Philo's and the NT has led many to see John as Philo's debtor. But one refers naturally to Philo's Logos as "It," to John's as "He." Philo came no nearer than Plato to a Logos who might be incarnate, and he does not identify Logos and Messiah. John's Logos is not only God's agent in creation; He is God, and becomes incarnate, revealing, and redeeming.
The source of John's Logos doctrine is in the person and work of the historical Christ. "Jesus is not to be interpreted by Logos: Logos is intelligible only as we think of Jesus Its expression takes its suitability primarily from the OT connotation of "word" and its personification of wisdom. Christ is God's active Word, his saving revelation to fallen man. It is not accidental that both the gospel and Christ who is its subject are called "the word."
The apologists found the Logos a convenient term in expounding Christianity to pagans. They used its sense of "reason," and some were thus enabled to see philosophy as a preparation for the gospel. The Hebraic overtones of "word" were under-emphasized, though never quite lost.
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
231 - FATHER
The emancipation of the believers from slavery marked them off from other people as His adopted children. His care for them is frequently compared to that of a father (Hosea11:1; Deut. 14:1; 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalms 2:7; 89:26; Deut. 1:31; 8:5; Isaiah 1:2). On the other hand, a response of filial love expressed in obedience was required from them (Jeremiah 3:9; Malachi 1:6), and since it was so often refused, a more restricted conception of the fatherhood of God resulted. According to this deeper view, he is the Father of the God-fearing among the nation rather than of the nation as a whole (Psalm 103:13; Malachi 3:17).
The number of instances of the word "Father" as applied to God in the Gospels is more than double the number found in the remaining books of the NT. In the Gospel of John alone, the term occur 107 times. Two points in connection with Jesus' use of this title are of special interest:
First: He never joins His disciples with Himself in allusions to His relationship with the Father in such a way as to suggest that their relationship to God is of the same kind. He was aware of standing in an intimate and unparalleled relation. He claimed to be the preexistent eternal Son, equal with the Father, who became incarnate for the fulfillment of his purpose of salvation, being appointed by Him sole Mediator between God and men (Matthew 11:27; John 8:58; 10:30, 38; 14:9; 16:28; 3:25; 5:22).
Second: When he speaks of God as the Father of others He almost always refers to His disciples. While accepting the teaching of the OT that all persons are children of God by creation and receive his providential kindness (Matthew 5:45), he also taught that sin has brought about a change in men, necessitating rebirth and reconciliation to God (John 3:3; 8:42; 14:6).
In accordance with this, the apostles teach that one becomes a child of God by faith in Christ and thus receives the Spirit of adoption (John 1:12; Galatians 3:16; 4:5; Romans 8:15). Sonship leads to likeness and inheritance (Matthew 5:16; Romans 8:17, 29; I John 3:2). The Father is revealed as sovereign, holy, righteous, and merciful. Prayer may confidently be offered to him, but only in Jesus' name (Matthew 6:32; John 17:11, 25; 14:14).
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
232 - ANGEL OF THE LORD
Both in the Old and New Testament the angel of the Lord mal’ak yhwh) is represented as acting on behalf of the nation of Israel as well as of individuals. The lack of precise data in the OT with regard to the identification of this figure and his relationship to Yahweh has given rise to a number of conclusions. We have to understand the presence of the Angel of the Lord in the OT as an attempt to express the concept of Theophany in a less direct manner because of the early realization that it is impossible to see God.
The figure of the Lord may have been inserted into some of the older traditions in place of an original Canaanite writings. However, this presupposes an already concrete idea of the concept and does not explain its origin or the nature of the concept in early Israelite religion.
Many understand the angel of the Lord as a true Theophany. From the time of Justin on, the figure has been regarded as the preincarnate Logos. It is beyond question that the angel of the Lord must be identified in some way with God (Genesis 16:13; Judges 6:14; 13:21-22), yet he is distinguished from God in that God refers to the angel (Exodus 23:23; 32:34), speaks to Him (2 Samuel 24:16; I Chronicles 21:27), and the angel speaks to Yahweh (Zechariah 1:12). The evidence for the view that the angel of the Lord is preincarnate appearance of Christ is basically analogical and falls short of being conclusive.
The NT does not clearly make that identification. It is best to see the angel as a self-manifestation of Yahweh in a form that would communicate his immanence and direct concern to those to whom he ministered.
ANGEL OF THE LORD: The word "host" is associated in the OT with God's heavenly throne, with the created order, and with divine and human warfare. The heavenly host is the angels of God's council, also called "holy ones" or "sons of God" (I Kings 22:19; Psalm 89:6, 8; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7).
Although at times the biblical writers consider the heavenly bodies almost naturalistically as markers of time (Genesis 1:16; Isaiah 40:26; Nehemiah 9:6), elsewhere they describe them as exercising a delegated authority over the nations of the earth (Deut. 4:19; 32:8). While the heavenly host is as a whole subservient to God's will and offers him praise (Psalm 103:21), there are also elements of discord within its midst (I Kings 22:21; Job 1:6-12; 15:15), leading to God's final judgment (Isaiah 24:21).
The heavenly host also refers to God's army. The Lord of hosts yhwh sebaot) is a title associated with the Ark of the Covenant and the holy wars of early Israel (I Samuel 4:4; Numbers 10:36). In God’s saving appearance (or theophany) in support of Israel's army, He is accompanied by heavenly warriors (Deut. 33:2; Judges 5:20). The angelic leader of the heavenly host is called a "prince" (Hebrew ‘sar” a title later associated with the archangels (Joshua 5:14; Daniel 8:25; 10:13; 12:1).
The divine, cosmic, and military associations of the heavenly host reach far back into the biblical tradition and into the background of the ancient Near East, and they continue to flourish in the apocalyptic literature of the intertestamental period and to a lesser extent in the New Testament (Luke 2:13; Revelation 12).
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
234 - MESSIAH
The study of the rise and development of the figure of the Messiah is primarily historical, and then theological. Confusion arises when specifically Christian ideas about the Messiah invade the OT data. Jesus' concept of his messianic mission did not accord with contemporary popular Jewish expectation.
In the OT, "Messiah" is the Hellenized transliteration of the Aramaic mesiha. The underlying Hebrew word masiah is derived from masah, “to anoint or smear with oil’ This title was used sometimes of non-Israelites - sometimes of the prophet as in I Kings 19:16. But most frequently it referred to the king of Israel as in I Samuel 26:11 and Psalm 89:20. It is noteworthy that the word "Messiah" does not appear at all in the Old Testament.
The primary sense of the title is "king," as the anointed man of God, but it also suggests election, i.e., the king was chosen, elect, and therefore honored. It could scarcely be otherwise than that it referred to a political leader, for in its early stages Israel sought only a ruler, visible and powerful, who would reign here and now. But the entire evidence of later Judaism points to a Messiah not only as king but as eschatological king, a ruler who would appear at the end time.
David was the ideal king of Israel, and as such he had a "sacral" character, and this sacral characteristic came to be applied to the eschatological king who was to be like David.
How did the national Messiah come to be a future ideal king? After the death of David, Israel began to hope for another like him who would maintain the power and prestige of the country. But Israel came into hard times with the rupture of the kingdom, and with this event there arose a disillusionment concerning the hope for a king like David.
Gradually the hope was projected into the future, and eventually into the very remote future, so that the Messiah was expected at the end of the age. This is the mood of the messianic expectations in the latter part of the OT. It looks forward to the birth of the Davidic king in Bethlehem; and Zechariah 9 and 12 describe the character of the messianic kingdom and reign.
The Son of man figure in Daniel is not to be identified with the Messiah; it is later in the history of Judaism that the two figures were seen to be one. The suffering servant of Isaiah by reason of his role is yet another figure. So the Messiah or future ideal king of Israel, the Son of man, and the suffering servant were three distinct representations in the OT.
. As in the OT the formal use of "Messiah" is rare. It is well to remember that in this literature there is a distinction between Messiah and messianic; a book may have a messianic theme but lack a Messiah.
The book of Enoch is best known for its doctrine of the Son of man, which has many messianic overtones. Yet he is not the Messiah, but a person much like Daniel's Son of man. It remained to the Psalms of Solomon (48 B.C.) to provide the one confirmed and repeated evidence of the technical use of the term in the inter-testamental literature.
Out of the welter of messianic hopes in this period there emerges a pattern: two kinds of Messiah came to be expected. On one hand, there arose an expectation of a purely national Messiah, one who would appear as a man and assume the kingship over Judah to deliver it from its oppressors.
On the other hand, there was a hope for a transcendent Messiah from heaven, a Person with two natures: a perfect God and a perfect Man who would establish the kingdom of God on earth.
To the popular Jewish mind of the first two centuries before and after Christ these two concepts were not mutually hostile, but tended rather to modify each other. It has been argued by some scholars that the conflation of the concepts of Messiah and suffering servant took place in hypostatic union.
It remained for Jesus to fuse the three great eschatological representations of the OT, Messiah, suffering servant, and Son of man, into one messianic person. Apart from this truth there is no explanation for the confusion of the disciples when he told them He must suffer and die (Matthew 16:21). That Christ knew Himself to be the Messiah is seen best in His use of the title Son of man; in Mark 14:61-62 he equates the Christ and the Son of man.
"Christ" is simply the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "messiah." John 1:41 and 4:25 preserve the Semitic idea by transliterating the word "messiah." Jesus willingly accepted the appellation Son of David, a distinct messianic title, on several occasions, the cry of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:47), the children in the temple (Matthew 21:15), and the triumphal entry (Matthew 21:9), to name but a few. It has long been wondered why the Lord Jesus did not appropriate the title Messiah to Himself instead of the less clear title of Son of man.
The former was probably avoided out of political considerations, for if Jesus had publicly used "Messiah" of Himself it would have ignited political aspirations in his hearers to appoint Him as king, principally a nationalistic figure, and to seek to drive out the Roman occupiers. This is precisely the import of the Jews' action at the triumphal entry. Jesus seized on the title Son of man to veil to his hearers his messianic mission but to reveal that mission to his disciples.
The first generation of the church did not hesitate to refer to Jesus as the Christ, and thereby designate Him as the greater Son of David, the King. The word was used first as a title of Jesus (Matthew 16:16) and later as part of the personal name (Ephesians 1:1). Peter's sermon at Pentecost acknowledged Jesus not only as the Christ, but also as Lord, and so the fulfillment of the messianic office is integrally linked to the essential deity of Jesus. Acts 2:36 affirm that Jesus was "made" Christ, the sense of the verb being that by the resurrection Jesus was confirmed as the Christ, the Messiah of God. Romans 1:4 and Philippians 2:9-11 contain the same thought. Other messianic titles attributed to Jesus include Servant, Lord, Son of God, the King, the Holy One, the Righteous One, and the Judge.
The doctrine of the hypostatic union, first set forth officially in the definition of faith), concerns the union of the two natures dyo physes) of deity and humanity in the one hypostasis or person of Jesus Christ. It can be stated as follows: In the incarnation of the Son of God, a human nature was inseparably united forever with the divine nature in the one person of Jesus Christ, yet with the two natures remaining distinct, whole, and unchanged, without mixture or confusion so that the one person, Jesus Christ, is truly God and truly man.
Jesus Christ is truly, perfectly, and wholly God and truly, perfectly, and wholly man.
Admittedly, this doctrine leaves many metaphysical questions unanswered. However, it should be noted that this doctrine was not produced as the fruit of philosophic speculation on the possible singular co subsistence of the finite and the infinite. Rather it was offered as a precise description of the incarnation recorded in Scripture, drawn from the greatest extent of biblical data and making use of whatever language that might help in that descriptive task (such as the introduction of a technical distinction between thesis, physis and hypostasis).
J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries
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