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@Soldier of Christ1516
The various branches of unitarianism deny the deity of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, saying only the Father is God and the Holy Spirit is not a personal being. This, I believe, is because of very little understanding of what it is that Christ came to do and did. I cannot speak for how exactly they are looking at the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus, as I can get none to answer when I ask. But it cannot have any depth but must be rather flat, limited to some degree to a simple definition," He died for the forgiveness of my sins." Which of course is true, but there is much more behind the scenes, that is revealed in His word.
There is a wealth of glory and beauty and power and love, in God sending His Son and the Son paying the price of redemption, and the Holy Spirit placing persons in Christ. A great deal to learn about God in understanding what took place in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, when we see exactly how far down He stooped to rescue a people from the world of darkness. And in learning that it is something only God Himself could do, something far outside the reach of a created man who was no different than ourselves.
To think of Jesus as a mere man and not both man and God, it seems to me, would be the direct result of a very cursory view of God. The words ascribed to Him such as omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, even sovereign may well be acknowledged, but are not given any consideration in arriving at doctrine or theology. Not only that, but the idea of mankind is placed above that which it is. Both views are inaccurate according to Scripture and distort the person and work of Jesus.
We need to see God as He is self revealed. As He revealed Himself to Israel, in fact, in His actions in history. He juxtaposed Himself with the many gods of the other nations. They were made of wood. They could not act, see, hear, or move. They were deaf and dumb and without life. They were not gods, he said, and there was only one God, and He was that God. He showed Himself to govern and direct every aspect of creation and to be the Creator of it all, from the mountains, to the weather to kings to peoples and stars and the sun and moon. He made water to come from stone, and food rain down from heaven. He divided the sea and stopped the sun, even moved it backwards.
Since we have the whole story of redemption (which is the whole story of the Bible) from Genesis through Revelation, we can go to the conclusion to discover what the end game is and exactly what Jesus came to do. And from there we can return to the beginning and find out why only the God-man could accomplish that purpose. Rev 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with then as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said t me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
We see here in the end result that it is not only that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins, but something far more. He came to conquer death and sin. Not just cover over them or remove them from persons. And in doing so, restore the entire creation that was subjected to futility because of our sin. (Romans 8:18-25)
So now we must go back to the beginning to see exactly what happened, and then perhaps we can keep everything in the "middle" in line with these two things, as constant, consistent forward movement from the need of redemption and from what, to arrive at the conclusion. It is important to note here that even though we can go to the beginning, there was a lengthy spam after creation and the fall, when none of this was known, unless God had personally revealed it to some or by word of mouth. It was not written until Moses wrote it, and He wrote it for Israel of course, but also for any and all who would read it.
To be continued.
The various branches of unitarianism deny the deity of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, saying only the Father is God and the Holy Spirit is not a personal being. This, I believe, is because of very little understanding of what it is that Christ came to do and did. I cannot speak for how exactly they are looking at the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus, as I can get none to answer when I ask. But it cannot have any depth but must be rather flat, limited to some degree to a simple definition," He died for the forgiveness of my sins." Which of course is true, but there is much more behind the scenes, that is revealed in His word.
There is a wealth of glory and beauty and power and love, in God sending His Son and the Son paying the price of redemption, and the Holy Spirit placing persons in Christ. A great deal to learn about God in understanding what took place in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, when we see exactly how far down He stooped to rescue a people from the world of darkness. And in learning that it is something only God Himself could do, something far outside the reach of a created man who was no different than ourselves.
To think of Jesus as a mere man and not both man and God, it seems to me, would be the direct result of a very cursory view of God. The words ascribed to Him such as omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, even sovereign may well be acknowledged, but are not given any consideration in arriving at doctrine or theology. Not only that, but the idea of mankind is placed above that which it is. Both views are inaccurate according to Scripture and distort the person and work of Jesus.
We need to see God as He is self revealed. As He revealed Himself to Israel, in fact, in His actions in history. He juxtaposed Himself with the many gods of the other nations. They were made of wood. They could not act, see, hear, or move. They were deaf and dumb and without life. They were not gods, he said, and there was only one God, and He was that God. He showed Himself to govern and direct every aspect of creation and to be the Creator of it all, from the mountains, to the weather to kings to peoples and stars and the sun and moon. He made water to come from stone, and food rain down from heaven. He divided the sea and stopped the sun, even moved it backwards.
Since we have the whole story of redemption (which is the whole story of the Bible) from Genesis through Revelation, we can go to the conclusion to discover what the end game is and exactly what Jesus came to do. And from there we can return to the beginning and find out why only the God-man could accomplish that purpose. Rev 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with then as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said t me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
We see here in the end result that it is not only that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins, but something far more. He came to conquer death and sin. Not just cover over them or remove them from persons. And in doing so, restore the entire creation that was subjected to futility because of our sin. (Romans 8:18-25)
So now we must go back to the beginning to see exactly what happened, and then perhaps we can keep everything in the "middle" in line with these two things, as constant, consistent forward movement from the need of redemption and from what, to arrive at the conclusion. It is important to note here that even though we can go to the beginning, there was a lengthy spam after creation and the fall, when none of this was known, unless God had personally revealed it to some or by word of mouth. It was not written until Moses wrote it, and He wrote it for Israel of course, but also for any and all who would read it.
To be continued.