Jesus Is Not the Father He Is the Son

[Kelley]

(This is an archived correspondence at The Path of Truth. We have sent notification to the correspondent.)


I do believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior because God has put all things under his feet Ephesians 1:22, but Jesus is not the father he is the son. 1st John 2:22-27
Mark 16:19
Acts 7:55-56
Colossians 3:1
Romans 8:34
Corinthians 15:27
Hebrews 2:8
St john 14:8-16
Matthew 28:17-19

We read in Luke iii. 21, 22, “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.” Here the clearest possible distinction is drawn between Jesus Christ, who was on earth, and the Father who spoke to Him from heaven as one person speaks to another person, and the Holy Spirit who descended in a bodily form as a dove from the Father, who was speaking, to the Son, to whom He was speaking, and rested upon the Son as a Person separate and distinct from Himself.

We see a clear distinction drawn between the name of the Father and that of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit in Matt, xxviii. 19, [034] where we read, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

The distinction of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son comes out again with exceeding clearness in John xiv. 16. Here we read, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.” Here we see the one Person, the Son, praying to another Person, the 23 Father, and the Father to whom He prays giving another Person, another Comforter, in answer to the prayer of the second Person, the Son.

If words mean anything, and certainly in the Bible they mean what they say, there can be no mistaking it, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are three distinct and separate Persons. Again in John xvi. 7, a clear distinction is drawn between Jesus who goes away to the Father and the Holy Spirit who comes from the Father to take His place. Jesus says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.”

A similar distinction is drawn in Acts ii. 33, where we read, “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” In this passage, the clearest possible distinction is drawn between the Son exalted to the right hand of the Father and the Father to whose right hand He is exalted, and the Holy Spirit whom the Son receives from the Father and sheds forth upon the Church.

To sum it all up, again and again the Bible draws the clearest [035] possible distinction between the three Persons, the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son. They are three separate personalities, having mutual relations to one another, acting upon one another, speaking of or to one another, applying the pronouns of the second and third persons to one another. From the fact that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, it does not follow that the Holy Spirit is in every sense equal to the Father.

While the Scriptures teach that in Jesus Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in a bodily form (Col. ii. 9) and that He was so truly and fully Divine that He could say, “I and the Father are one” (John x. 30) and “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John xiv. 9), they also teach with equal clearness that Jesus Christ was not equal to the Father in every respect, but subordinate to the Father in many ways.

In a similar way, the Scriptures teach us that though the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, He is subordinate to the Father and to the Son. In John xiv. 26, we are taught that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and in the name of the Son. Jesus declares very clearly, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

In John xv. 26 we are told that it is Jesus who sends the Spirit from the Father. The exact words are, “But when the Comforter is come, [037] whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.” Just as we are elsewhere taught that Jesus Christ was sent by the Father (John vi. 29; viii. 29, 42), we are here taught that the Holy Spirit in turn is sent by Jesus Christ.

The subordination of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son comes out also in the fact that He derives some of His names 25 from the Father and from the Son. We read in Rom. viii. 9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Here we have two names of the Spirit, one derived from His relation to the Father, “the Spirit of God,” and the other derived from His relation to the Son, “the Spirit of Christ.” In Acts xvi. 7, R. V., He is spoken of as “the Spirit of Jesus.” The subordination of the Spirit to the Son is also seen in the fact that the Holy Spirit speaks “not from Himself but speaks the words which He hears.” We read in John xvi. 13, R. V., “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak from Himself ; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come.”

In a similar way, Jesus said of Himself, “My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me.” (John vii. 16; viii. 26, 40). The subordination of the Spirit to the Son comes out again in the clearly revealed fact that it is the work of the Holy Spirit not to glorify Himself but to glorify Christ. Jesus says in John xvi. [038] 14, “He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.” In a similar way, Christ sought not His own glory, but the glory of Him that sent Him, that is the Father (John vii. 18). >From all these passages, it is evident that the Holy Spirit in His present work, while possessed of all the attributes of Deity, is subordinated to the Father and to the Son. On the other hand, we shall see later that in His earthly life, Jesus lived and taught and worked in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I tremble for those who are preaching the truth, the truth as it is in Jesus, the Gospel in its simplicity, in its purity, in its fullness, but preaching it " in persuasive ways of wisdom" and not "in the demonstration of the spirit" (1st Corinthians 2:4), preaching it in the energy of the flesh and not in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more deadly than the gospel without the Spirit's power.

"The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." It is awfully solemn business preaching the gospel either from the pulpit or in more quiet ways. It means death or life to those who hear, and whether it means death or life, depends very largely on whether we preach without or with the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. We must be baptized with Holy Spirit. -R.A. Torrey

[Paul Cohen and Victor Hafichuk]

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 MKJV).

Hi Kelley,

For the answer to your main objection to our demolition of the “trinity” doctrine, read The Perfecting Faith of the Son of God.

The Spirit of God is God. The first three verses of the Bible tell us so:

Genesis 1:1-3 MKJV
(1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
(2) And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
(3) And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.

You say:

“We see a clear distinction drawn between the name of the Father and that of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit in Matt, xxviii. 19, [034] where we read, 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.'”

“Name” is singular there, not plural. We are baptized into one Name, not three. That's why Peter put it this way:

“Then Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 MKJV).

Read all of our writings in the sections on The Trinity and Jesus Christ Is God. But don't stop there, Kelley. Read everything you can on our site. Believe the Lord's words and teachings. You need to hear and follow Him instead of the doctrines of men. Those bring death, but He brings life.

And by the way, we most certainly agree with R. A. Torrey, that one needs to have the Spirit to preach, but even with the Spirit, Whom he received by Ananias' laying on of hands 3 days after his conversion, Paul had to ride it out for many years before entering his ministry. Have you received the Spirit since you believed, Kelley?

And speaking of other gospels, according to your subject line, have you red The Gospel According to Trinitarians?


Paul Cohen and Victor Hafichuk
www.ThePathofTruth.com