Tag Archives: jesus

GOD IS SPIRIT: Day 3 of 5

Posted on by

It seems that some believe that the Holy Spirit didn’t come on the scene until the day of Pentecost. If that were so, who do they say that the Old Testament Holy Spirit was? You have probably guessed this about me. I like to ask (sarcastic) questions that require a little thought to answer? I wonder who I got that from? Maybe I spend too much time with the Holy Spirit of the Old Testament. LOL

Before we look at a few Scriptures, please allow me to clearly state that the Holy Spirit is the exact one and only Spirit of God. There are not more than one Spirit of God. At times, the Scriptures refer to Him as “the Spirit of the Lord” or “Holy Spirit”. But with whichever label, He is God, the one and only.

Old Testament Examples of the Holy Spirit:

*”Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 NIV)

*”Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.’” (Genesis 6:3 NIV)

*”Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.'” (Exodus 31:1-5 NIV)

*”Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.” (Judges 6:34 NIV)

*”So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16:13 NIV)

*(King David said this after he sinned against God.) “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:11 NIV)

*”I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.” (Ezekiel 39:29 NIV)

*”The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,” (Isaiah 61:1 NIV)

*”The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me.” (Ezekiel 3:14 NIV)

*”The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me,” (Ezekiel 11:24 NIV)

Clearly, the Holy Spirit was on the scene long before the day of Pentecost as described in the New Testament book of Acts. So why did Jesus say “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”? (John 16:7 NIV) Was He carefully saying that He would be with them as Spirit not wearing Son of Man flesh? Was He comforting them in their grief of losing Him? Or was He signaling that He wasn’t exactly “God” but just one-third of a corporation of God? (That last one was sarcasm.)

GOD IS SPIRIT: Day 2 of 5

Posted on by

Reminder: Son=Flesh and Father=Spirit

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” (John 14:6-10 NIV)

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Why would Jesus say those words? It can only be that He was telling them that He is the Father. He is the Spirit of the Father who was at that time wearing Son flesh. Jesus is not a separate God. He is the one and only Spirit of God. We need to look beyond the flesh to see Him.

Let’s look at another Scripture passage that is often misinterpreted to suggest that Jesus is not the same God as the Father. It is intentionally worded so let’s look closely.

Red letter words: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36 NIV) (Also in Mark 13:32)

The Son (flesh) doesn’t know, but only the (Spirit) Father knows. So let me ask you a question” Does your flesh know the things that your spirit knows? Obviously NOT. Our physical being has a brain that operates our physical body. But our mind is part of our spirit that operates our spiritual body. Again, the flesh is temporary but the spirit is eternal. Our flesh gets buried in the ground and our spirit is transported to Heaven. We need to look beyond our flesh to see our spirit.

If you did not carefully read that passage, you might misinterpret it to say that the Spirit wearing flesh doesn’t know what the Spirit without flesh knows. Jesus is the Father (Spirit) who chose to wear Son flesh. Notice that it DOES NOT say that Jesus doesn’t know the day.

“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV)

GOD IS SPIRIT: Day 1 of 5

Posted on by

The central message of this week’s posts is that God is Spirit. I will provide proof texts from the Bible and commentary from my time spent in prayer hearing from God.

We will visit a few of the Biblical texts that are often misinterpreted because they are meant to be figurative language, not literal facts. For example: 1) The Son doesn’t know the end times; 2) Jesus must go before the Holy Spirit can be delivered; and more.

For now, let’s just look at a few of the Scriptures, that clearly define that God is Spirit. But please keep the idea in your mind that God is not flesh. God made Himself known in flesh, but the essence of God is Spirit. You and I are spirit beings made for eternity while we are wrapped temporarily in flesh-and-blood frames. As I wrote about last week: Father=Spirit. Son=Flesh. This does not equate to two Gods, but instead one God who is Father who temporarily wrapped Himself in Son flesh.

“God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 NIV)

“For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11 NIV)

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NIV)

It is our spirit being that is made in God’s image because God is Spirit. Our physical flesh is intentionally crafted by God to be in the image of our human flesh-and-blood parents as part of the biological reproduction process. God provided the biological seed for the flesh-and-blood frame delivered through Mary. Hence the “Son of God” label that is often wrongly interpreted as a second God. Son=flesh. Father=Spirit. There is only one Spirit of God.

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15 NIV)

It is our spirit, not flesh, that goes to Heaven or Hell for all eternity.

A Letter of Caution

Posted on by

Dear Christian Parents,

I’m writing this caution six weeks before Halloween in the hope that you will seek God on this subject in advance. Remember that God has entrusted you with the hearts and minds of your children. Just as He expects you to teach them to know Him, hear His voice, and obey, He also expects you to keep them from harm.

Halloween events are surrounded by evil and death. Why would anyone who loves their child want to subject them needlessly to darkness? Obviously, they wouldn’t knowingly want that for their loved ones. But for too long, Halloween, has been painted as a harmless night of fun. In the spiritual realm, it is not that. It seduces participants into waywardness from the Lord and walks them across boundaries never meant for light-bearers.

I’m asking you to simply seek the Lord in prayer. Ask Him what would be a meaningful alternative for you and your family. Perhaps it is that you spend the month of October studying your Bible together as a family. Read about how Jesus evicted evil spirits and cast out demons to be reminded that evil is real. (Obviously, some children are too young for the weight of this subject, but you’re not.) Maybe use the money that you would have spent decorating for Halloween, buying costumes and candy, etc. to save for a family vacation or towards your child’s future education. I encourage you to seek the Lord about the specifics.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:8-11 NIV)

I know that you want to be a good example to your children and to be good stewards to all that God has entrusted to you. Please seek Him about this. Blessings!

He Has Always Been Savior

Posted on by

The one and only God of the Old Testament is the exact same one and only God of the New Testament. He has always had the power over life and death. He has always been sovereign. Nothing about His saving power changed as we turned the pages of the Bible into New Testament times.

God did not create a second God. After 400 years of silence, God gave mankind what they always craved … an image of God that they could see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and identify with in suffering. He is the exact same one and only Spirit of God whether He was wearing flesh or not. Nothing about His power changed. He always had resurrection power. He always had power to forgive sin. That whole New Testament walk on earth was Him getting down to our level to look us in the eyes and teach us about Himself.

It completely offends me that some think that God sent a second and/or third God to do what only He could do. Are they just not reading the Bible or are they too ignorant to understand? But what is really offensive is that they claim to hear God’s voice in prayer, yet they have no idea who He is. The worst part (for me personally) is that I have sacrificed a life of comfort so that I’m able to teach them to hear God’s voice, yet they refuse. At best, they’re liars and at worst, they’re intentionally bringing false doctrine into God’s houses of worship to misguide innocent believers.

I’m in a relationship with the God of the Old Testament. He is the Old Testament Father who wore New Testament “Son” flesh. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I hear His voice just like they did. They didn’t need a mankind image to hear and obey God. They experienced God in the spiritual realm just like I do. Oh, I believe that God did everything He said that He did: coming to earth in mankind flesh, teaching, mentoring, healing, casting out demons, and evicting evil spirits. He proved Himself to those who needed proof. He even let them witness His death on a cross and resurrection power. And for some that still wasn’t enough.

He has always been the only Savior. Some are just too stupid to understand.

ONE GOD: Day 5 of 5

Posted on by

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (James 2:19 NIV)

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV)

A local pastor has recently more than once referred to Jesus as interceding on our behalf. Seriously? My question is who is He interceding to? Even in wrong Trinitarian theology, their Son-God is equal in authority to their Father-God. And I’m pretty sure that they would not say that the Father-God is mute: unable to hear prayers or speak. So why would God need a second God to intercede? Obviously He doesn’t.

Did God need an intercessor when He spoke with the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets? Where was an intercessor ever mentioned by Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or anyone besides in this one Scripture text? Isn’t it more likely that this Scripture was reminding us not to pray to any human representative like Mary or saints?

God walked in human (Son) flesh as the man Christ Jesus. In that role, He was clear that we should only pray to the Father (the Spirit). God is all knowing, always present, and all powerful. He knows a word before it is on our tongue. He doesn’t need an intercessor.

While God walked in human (Son) flesh, He personally experienced our sorrows. God purposely chose to suffer as mankind. He tethered Himself on earth in a Son-of-Man flesh-and-blood frame and allowed Himself to be crucified on a cross. He didn’t send someone else. He personally did it. He didn’t send a Son-God. He made Himself visible as Son of Man. God is Spirit, not flesh.

John 16:25 NIV
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.”

The flesh suit delivered through Mary was not God. It was the vehicle for which God was made seen. Mary was a created being. She could not EVER be the mother of God — because God is the CREATOR. Mary simply birthed a biological flesh suit and God provided Himself as the Spirit. A second God was NEVER created.

When I die, and my body is disposed of, my spirit being will be transported to Heaven with God. There is not a second spirit that stays in the corpse. Same for you. Absent from the body, you are a spirit being. The human reproduction process only provides for the flesh and blood frame. It is God who provides the spirit being within each of us. Our parents are not responsible for creating our eternal spirit. And Mary had zero to do with creating the Spirit of God.

I maintain that this one Scripture text was reminding us that we are not to pray to a human agent, living or dead. But, God knows that it is easier for us to relate to a flesh-and-blood person that we can picture rather than an invisible Spirit that has never been seen. So if you must have an intercessor, make it the “man” Christ Jesus so that you are not praying to a second God. Jesus is God and has always been God. There is only one God, but don’t believe me. Ask Him yourself! If you really have a relationship with Him, then you know who He is. Right?

You can call Him “God”, “Jesus”, or “Holy Spirit”. But Jesus is the only name. God and Holy Spirit are titles, not names. My parents have names but I call them mom and dad (which are titles). I ask you to dig a little deeper into your analytical thinking because figurative language and parables were God’s specialty as He walked on earth as Son of Man. If that’s too much to ask, then I guess you could keep praying to three Gods, but I don’t recommend it. He hears every word and knows that He can’t trust you with His anointing or power until you belong wholeheartedly to Him.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3 NIV)

ONE GOD: Day 4 of 5

Posted on by

Today, let’s start off with a few more of the “One God” Scriptures to remind us that there are NOT three Gods. Christianity is monotheistic meaning ONE GOD. (There is not a God sitting next to another God in Heaven.)

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV)

“This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (Isaiah 44:6-8 NIV)

“’The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” (Mark 12:29-30 NIV)

To be clear: I am a Christian — I am NOT a Trinitarian. Trinitarians believe that there are three individual Gods that they separately worship. Their description seems to express that the three separate Gods form a one-God corporation. Evidently, their Son-God is sitting at the right hand of their Father-God each with separate, but equal, authority and lordship. They pray to their Father-God independent of their Son-God (they talk to their Father-God about their Son-God). And evidently, their Holy Spirit-God doesn’t need a throne in Heaven because He is independently too busy anointing people with Father-God’s power. (Yes, I’m mocking their false religion.)

Meanwhile, in Christianity there is only one sovereign Spirit of God who made Himself known for a limited time in human form as Son of Man. That temporary Son of Man position of God was for a specific purpose and ministry. The Christian God is one Spirit, with three distinct ROLES. The Son ROLE took place 2,000+ years ago. God is not in positioned in human form as Son of Man today.

Jesus (while wearing Son of Man flesh) often referred to Himself as ‘Son of Man’ and rarely as ‘Son of God’. Both ‘Son’ labels spoke to the biology of the earth suit not the deity of the Spirit of Christ. God is Spirit. Christ’s Spirit is the one and only Spirit of God or The Holy Spirit. It’s interesting to note that the Pharisees who crucified Christ, as well as the devil and demons, referred to Jesus as ‘Son of God’ but not as God. I call Jesus “God” because that’s who He is!

ONE GOD: Day 3 of 5

Posted on by

In yesterday’s post, I wrote about the Son “flesh” and the Father “Spirit” to remind us that God is Spirit and that God is not flesh. Two thousand plus years ago, God who is Spirit wore Son of God or Son of Man flesh so that He could be visibly seen and audibly heard in the physical realm.

Each time that Jesus referred to Himself as Son of Man while referring to God as Father, He was differentiating between the physical realm flesh and the Spirit. He was differentiating between the temporary Christ suit and His eternal Spirit being. “Son” equals flesh and “Father” equals Spirit. Again, there is only ONE Spirit of God, also known as the Holy Spirit. There is not a separate Spirit of God who made Himself known in flesh and then stayed in flesh to sit on the throne next to a God who was never in flesh. There is only one God who was temporarily in flesh as the Christ whose flesh would be crucified at the appointed time.

Let’s again look at some of the ONE GOD Scriptures to emphasize that there is truly only one God.

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:2-6 NIV)

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV)

“Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” (Isaiah 46:8-9 NIV)

To recap, there is only ONE GOD. He is Spirit. He did not become a second Spirit of God when He robed Himself in temporary flesh and then eventually sit beside Himself on a throne in Heaven. The references to the Son sitting next to the Father are to remind us of when God intentionally took on flesh as an earthly king and a heavenly King. It was not to divide our allegiance between two separate Spirits of God.

Now let’s talk about the picture attached. Next month marks the 40th anniversary of the death of my youngest brother, Robby. The photo was taken just a few months before he died in a tragic car accident just before his 20th birthday. When I picture Robby in Heaven, this is how I picture him because that’s how he is remembered by me. I know analytically that he doesn’t look like that in Heaven because Robby’s flesh and blood body did not go to Heaven. His spirit being went to Heaven to be with God. I was at Robby’s funeral. I saw his temporary/earthly body in the casket. I saw the casket buried in the ground. And I know that all that is remaining of his human form is physical DNA that can be found in his decomposing skeletal bones. But Robby wasn’t ever just flesh and bones, he was a spirit being inside that temporary body.

So why is this important to the discussion of one God? Let’s see if I can make this understandable. We picture Jesus sitting on a throne in Heaven the way that He was present on earth (more than 2,000 years ago). The image we have of him doesn’t ever age or change. It is a fixed image in our mind of what He looked like when He was here in bodily form. But what we miss in that image is that Jesus is Spirit. He is the one and only Holy Spirit of God. He was only temporarily in bodily form for a period of time on our calendar. The essence of who He was then is His Spirit who is the Creator God. Jesus is not sitting next to God. He is God.

One God: Day 2 of 5

Posted on by

The Son of God or Son of Man labels represented the empty flesh and blood frame that the Spirit of God wore as He walked on earth in the physical realm. We understand that packaged person (flesh and Spirit) to be known as Jesus. Jesus was at that time both flesh and Spirit. The Spirit part of that union is the Spirit of God. The flesh part of that union was temporary and disposable just like our flesh is temporary. The Spirit is eternal. Jesus is that eternal Spirit. That Spirit is the one and only Spirit of God. God is a title. Jesus is His name.

There is not an empty, human born, flesh and blood frame sitting next to the Spirit of God in the spiritual realm (Heaven). Therefore there is not a “Son of God” or “Son of Man” sitting on a throne next to the one and only God in Heaven. So why are there Biblical references to a Son sitting next to the Father in Heaven?

Did you ever notice when reading about God, that He often answered questions with another question? He spoke in parables and seldom gave a simple “Yes” or “No” direct answer. Why is that? Perhaps it was because He wanted us to think more analytically and discern His answer deeper. So let’s do that here.

Why would God need a second God to sit next to Him in Heaven? If God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (always present), and omnipotent (all powerful), why would we conclude that He needs help being God? If He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, how could a human-born flesh-and-blood frame be before and after Him? If God is the Creator, then why would He need a created, empty (without Spirit) human to sit on His throne in Heaven?

So again why the references of a human born Son sitting next to the Spirit of God in Heaven? Those two positions represent the spiritual realm and the physical realm. Heaven is the spiritual realm. When the Spirit of God temporarily wore a human-born flesh-and-blood frame, He was visible in the physical realm. The representation of that flesh body sitting next to the Spirit of God in Heaven gives us a memorial representation of Him in flesh. Rather than leave us without closure or grieving our loss of Him in the physical realm, we can visualize His fleshly existence sitting next to His Spirit in Heaven. We know that there are no flesh and blood beings in the spiritual realm of Heaven, but grief can cause us not to analyze the obvious. We know that our human bodies do not go to Heaven when we die. We bury them with the understanding that our spirit goes to Heaven to be with the Spirit of God. God is Spirit. God is not flesh.

So in the physical realm, King David was promised by God (in the spiritual realm) that he (David) would always have an heir on the throne. That again is figurative language or a parable to describe that a human born descendent of King David’s lineage would always be on the throne. Let’s look at a few Scripture verses to prove this out.

The promise:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (See also Jeremiah 23:5-6 and Acts 2:39-40)

We know that the “child” is the child that was born from Mary’s womb. Mary was in the lineage of King David. (Study: Matthew 1:1, Matthew 22:42.) The child represents the human-born flesh-and-blood frame, NOT the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the Creator. The word that became flesh was the Creator’s Spirit Voice that made Himself audible and visible in the physical realm.

God could have made all this much easier to understand. Why didn’t He? Maybe He wants us to get to know Him in the spiritual realm more intimately. A Reminder: God is not a book and God is not flesh. God is Spirit!

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40 NIV)

One God: Day 1 of 5

Posted on by

Before I go attacking the false doctrines of the four remaining pastors that God has assigned to me as His prophet, I want to say that I heard some really good things that demonstrate a heart for God from this weekend’s online sermons.

Consistently I have seen the right heart from “my” pastors. They seem to want to please God even bringing a little bit of uncomfortable stuff into the challenges that they speak to the congregations that follow them. But how long is the right heart enough when false doctrines are being taught? It seems that only God knows the answer to that. I’m still shocked from God saying that He hates one pastor who He removed from my assignment. That God doesn’t want me to waste my time on the pastor with the wrong heart speaks volumes.

So for the pastors with the right heart, I really want to help you overcome the wrong doctrines. I’ve invested much already in directing you to seek the Lord, and I want to see you succeed rather than receive God’s wrath. This week, I will daily post about there being only one God (not three 1/3rd gods). I hope that God will put it on your heart to really study this with Him. You seeking Him on this doctrine will go a long way towards pleasing Him.

Let’s look at one very important Scripture first. Remember that every time you teach contrary to this Scripture, it’s the same as calling God a liar.

Isaiah 43:10-11
“You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.”

Did God lie when He proclaimed that there is no god before Him or after Him? Did God lie when He said that He is the only Savior? That’s what your three-God theology sounds like to me. It sounds very much like you are saying that God is a liar. Why would He put up with that?

So, please ask the Lord “God, is there one God or three Gods?”. If you really have a relationship with Him that includes hearing His voice, it’s not a difficult conversation to have … or it shouldn’t be! But maybe you are lying about hearing God’s voice. That’s more likely in my opinion.