Podcast 113, 1st John, “Pt 3, Ch 3”

A concept of the gospel that is perhaps sometimes understated is our personal relationship with our Father in Heaven. John addresses that issue.

1 John 3:1

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Some almost want to deny the Father’s existence but the early apostles believed firmly in the separate existence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. For example, at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, we have all three of the Holy Trinity Present as separate beings.

Matthew 3:13-17

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

There are unmistakably three persons: (1) Jesus, being baptized by John. (2) The Spirit of God or Holy Ghost descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. The Holy Ghost is not a dove. The Holy Ghost is a spirit that descended like a dove. (3) The Father, a voice from heaven, bore witness of his Son, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We have innumerable instances where the Son prays to the Father. He was not praying to himself. In the wilderness, he declared that he must do the will of the Father. On the cross Christ cries to the Father, “Why has thou forsaken me?” To deny the separate existence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one would have to deny many scriptures. In addition, the Savior said that he must leave so that the Holy Ghost could come. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one in purpose just as we must become one in purpose, but they are not three persons in one. To deny the personal existence of the Father creates problems with one of the greatest moments in the apostleship of Peter, James, and John—the Mount of Transfiguration.

Matthew 17: 1-9

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

It is clear that Peter, James and John believed in three separate beings. Whose voice did they hear? It was not the voice of Jesus or Moses or Elijah. It was the voice of the Father who was also present but hidden by a cloud. They were terrified. Jesus had to comfort them.

There are so many instances from Genesis to Revelation that have no other explanation but to say that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings. In the Garden of Eden we are told,

Genesis 3:22

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

The pronoun “us” is plural, but one of the most poignant moments in the life of Christ occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane when he asks the Father to remove the cup from him.

Matthew 26:39-44

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

It is not logical to think he was praying to himself when he said, “O my Father.” Three times he prayed to the Father, but only once did he ask him to remove the cup. All three times he made it clear that regardless he would bow to the Father’s will. In the first prayer he said, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” In the next two prayers he said, “Thy will be done.” It is an absurd contradiction to think he is talking to himself. It makes a mockery of one of the most sacred moments in Christ’s life. He was praying to his Father and our Father. In Jesus’s own words, following his resurrection, he says to Mary Magdalene.

John 20:17

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

It is clear that John believes that the Father and Son were two separate beings.

1 John 3:2

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

There are many scriptures that say that the Father and Son are one in purpose just as the scriptures ask us to be one in purpose, but nowhere do the scriptures teach that they are not separate beings. That concept was not taught until several hundred years after the resurrection of Christ after the apostles were killed. The concept of three in one was rejected by the early church. It did not become formal doctrine until the First Council of Nicaea, formerly referred to as the Nicene Creed as opposed to the earlier Apostle’s Creed and the Athanasian Creed. Let me quote the beginning of the Apostle’s Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,

Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell;

The third day he rose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;

The Apostle’s Creed clearly establishes that the church at that time believe that there were three separate beings of the Godhead. The Nicene Creed, which contradicted the Apostle’s Creed was not written until 325 A.D which originated at the First Council of Nicaea. It is safer and more logical to stay with the Holy Bible, the written word, rather than accept someone else’s interpretation of the written word. Constantine, certainly a great man in Christian history, was a politician, not a prophet and not an apostle. He did not have the authority to change the doctrine of the Holy Bible and contradict the early apostles such as Peter, James, and John.

John also taught us the nature of law and its relationship to sin. To John sin is not an arbitrary ethical opinion. Sin is violation of law. Without law there would be no sin.

1 John 3:3-4

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Laws were organized by God. Sin does not self-exist. Without law there is no sin. Violation of law is the only sin. Law brings order; lawlessness brings chaos. God is a God of law and order. To live outside of law is to live outside of God. When Adam fell a law was broken. That law was so powerful that it brought sin and death into the world. Man was cut off from God forever. He suffered both a temporal death and a spiritual death. That is why the atonement of Christ was necessary. Without his atonement, we could never again enter into the presence of the Father and we could never rise from the dead. That would have put us in the power of Satan forever. Even those who do not believe in Christ have a debt to Christ that they can never repay. Among those debts is the resurrection which is free to all of the descendants of Adam and Eve.