Understanding the Godhead

Throughout the church age there has been much controversy on the subject of the Godhead. For the uninitiated, the term Godhead refers to the personality and the make-up of God. The two prevailing views on this subject are the Trinity, which espouses the teaching of one God in three separate but co-equal and co-eternal persons, these being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The opposing view, Oneness, holds that God is one, and has revealed Himself to humanity in three manifestations, Father in creation, Son in redemption and the Holy Ghost in emanation.

Often the question is asked, ‘What does it really matter?’ If this were a purely secular question, perhaps it would not matter. However, we’re talking about who we worship, and in whom we believe. I doesn’t get more important that that! So, can this question be answered with finality? or must it remain an area of controversy and division? Paul wrote there words in Romans 1: 20, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they without excuse.”

So, Paul is saying here that the Godhead need not be a mystery, but can be clearly understood. In fact, he says that there is no excuse for not understanding it!

Let us un-ravel this age-old controversy, using only the Scriptures as our guide. The Jews, God’s chosen people in the Old Testament era never questioned the Oneness of their God. Deuteronomy 6:4 contains what they still refer to as the ‘shamah’, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” This is a definitive statement about the God they worship and serve: He is One. This phrase is still paramount to Jewish religion. They whisper it into the ear of the new-born, and into the ear of the dying elderly. In between, they do as Deuteronomy 6: 6-9 instructs them, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be a frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the post of thine house, and on thy gates.”

The Jews lived surrounded by many other nations and cultures. Each of these cultures had their own concept of the god or gods that they worshipped. The Jews were adamant about keeping their doctrine pure. Isaiah, one of the major prophets wrote on this subject in the 43rd chapter of his writings, In verses 10 and 11 he said, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior.”. This concept of monotheism (one God) was very deeply ingrained in the minds and hearts of the Jews. That’s why they had such a difficult time accepting Jesus and according Him deity. If He were indeed the Son of God, that would mean that He was not a separate entity from the Father, but indeed the Father himself, because God is One.

At this point, it is important that we understand a fundamental fact, as stated by Jesus in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” God (speaking of the Father) is a Spirit! A holy, eternal, invisible, immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Spirit! In Luke 24:39 Jesus said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.”. If ‘God is Spirit’, and ‘a Spirit hath not flesh and bones’, then it would seem that Jesus and the Father were indeed two separate entities. For this reason, the Jews refused to accept Jesus for who He said He was: John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”. In John 14 Jesus said in the 7th verse, “If ye had known Me, ye should have known the Father also, and from henceforth, ye know Him, and have seen Him.” This prompted one of Jesus’ own disciples to asked Him, (Verse 8), “And Phillip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us.”. Notice Jesus’ response to Phillip’s challenge: (Verse 9) “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father.”. Jesus was plainly telling Phillip, ‘You’re looking at the Father! But, for all this, to the Jews He was still an imposter. Obviously, they had somehow missed some important clues to His true identity! One of the most important clues being the words of Isaiah in chapter 9, verse 6: “ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Let’s analyze the prophet’s words here. First of all, we know he is talking about a future event. This event will involve the birth of a child, a Son. Few would argue that this statement by Isaiah is in reference to any other than the Christ child, the Son that was given. But whoever this child, this son was, He would also be; ‘Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace’! Now, how could one be born of flesh and blood, that would be a child, yet at the same time be the Mighty God, and how could He be a Son, and at the same time be the Everlasting Father? This was the Jews quandary, and the confusion that Jesus sought, on numerous occasions, to clarify for them.

Not only did Jesus, Himself speak much on this subject, but Bible writers also weighed in heavily on this matter. Paul said in 1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”. The mystery that Paul refers to here is not the mystery of the Godhead, which as we’ve already read, he said it is ‘clearly understood’, but the mystery is, How can a God so high and so holy condescend so low that He would come and walk among sinful humanity? It’s a mystery indeed, but He did! Notice, that was ‘God manifested (revealed) in the flesh’. As we saw earlier, ‘God is a Spirit’, but that Spirit took on flesh and blood, and was ‘justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory’. When was this God, who was manifested in the flesh, ‘justified in the Spirit’? How about when Jesus forgave the sins of the man in Mark 2, Verses 4-7? “And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was; and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed where the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?”. They were absolutely right! God alone can forgive sins! But Jesus was justified in forgiving this man’s sins because, (2 Corinthians 5:19), “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself...”! When was this God, who was manifested in the flesh, ‘seen of angels’? How about when He had fasted forty days, then was tempted by Satan in the wilderness? Matthews 4:11, “Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold angels came and ministered unto Him.”? When did God, manifested in the flesh, ‘preach unto the Gentiles’? How about when Jesus sat at the well in Samaria, (John 4) and preached to the woman who came to draw water? When was this God, who was manifested in the flesh ‘believed on in the world’ ? How about John 7:31; “And many of the people believed on Him...”? And, when was this God who was manifested in the flesh, ‘received up into glory’? How about when Jesus had met with the 500 as recorded in Luke 24? Verse 51 says, “And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.”. Clearly, Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 3:16 describe none other than Jesus Christ, who was the earthly manifestation of the heavenly God!

Trinitarian dogma states that Jesus was, and is, the eternal Son of God, that He pre-existed with the Father in eternity past, being co-eternal with Him. This doctrine can not stand the test of Scripture nor reason. Again, turning to the words of Isaiah, in chapter 43, we read in verse 10, “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” Continuing on in chapter 44:8 “Fear ye not, neither be afraid: Have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God, I know not any.”. In the 24th verse of this same chapter, God said, “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee in the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.” These Scriptures clearly tell us, in God’s own words, that He was alone in creation! There was no Son, nor any other God with Him! Furthermore, to be co-eternal would mean that they had to have the same beginning, for if one preceded the other, He would not be co-eternal. We know that Jesus is a ‘begotten Son’ indicating that He had a definite time and place of beginning. (We’ll touch on that later in this artical).

Then, in Galatians 4:4-5, Paul wrote these words, “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” When Paul states here that ‘God sent forth His Son’, if there was no God with the Father in creation, then its obvious He didn’t sent Him forth from heaven. But rather, God sent the Son forth from the womb of the virgin Mary! Notice: the Son was ‘made of a woman’ (this tells us how He was made: the only begotten of the Father in the womb of a virgin); ‘Made under the law’ , this tells us when He was made: in the time of the Mosaic law: and ‘to redeem them that were under the law’ , this tells us why He was made!

The confusion arises when folks want to recognize only the Son-ship of Christ. Indeed, He was the only begotten Son of God, but He was more than just the Son, He was the Father IN the Son! Continuing the words of Jesus to Phillip in John 14, He said in verses 10-11, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” Understanding the Godhead requires the understanding of the fusion of humanity and Deity. God is a Spirit, and Jesus Christ is the fleshly tabernacle for that Spirit that was produced by the union of the flesh and the Spirit in the womb of Mary. Therefore, to comprehend the true identity of Jesus Christ it is necessary to see Him as more than just ‘the Son of God’, but He was, and is, as Isaiah said long ago, the child that was born, the Son that was given, but he is also ‘the mighty God’ and ‘the Everlasting Father’! Again, 2 Corinthians 5:19 “To wit, (we know) God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself...”.

To help in the understanding of the Godhead, and over-coming all the confusion, it will help to substitute two words: for the term ‘Father’, use the word ‘Spirit’, and for the word ‘Son’, insert the word ‘Flesh’. “God was in Christ...” (the Spirit) was in the Son, (the flesh). Most of what Jesus did, He did as the Son, after all, His mission on earth was to taste of life as we know it, and live a sinless life in order that He might be a pure sacrifice for the sins of man. As a man, He experienced tiredness in His physical body, hunger, thirst, pain, and even temptation; in fact, Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”. However, much of what Jesus did in His earthly ministry, He did as God; He walked on water, healed the sick, cast out demons, forgave sins, and raised the dead. These are super-natural things. So, the confusion sets in, and questions arise, such as, ‘If Jesus is God, why did he prayer to the Father?’ The answer is simple when you understand the dual nature of Christ: the flesh prayed to the Spirit. The Spirit certainly didn’t need to pray, but the flesh the Spirit was in was weak, and subject to temptation. It had to pray to maintain its sinless state! In each incident or statement made by Jesus, it is helpful to ask yourself, ‘Is he saying or doing this as the Father, (Spirit) or as the Son, (Flesh)?

We read earlier from the words of Isaiah where God (the Father) plainly stated, Isaiah 44:24, “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemed, He that formed thee in the womb; I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone, that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.”. Yet, we read in John 1:3, speaking of Jesus, “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Problem? Contradiction? Certainly not! Going back to the first verse of John’s words, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus did not pre-exist in eternity past with the Father as the Son, but He pre-existed as the Word of God! When God said (Genesis 1:3), “Let there be light, and there was light”, it was His Word that caused light to be. Each day and area of creation was accomplished with the Word of God bringing to life all of His creation. John 1:2, “The same was in the beginning with God.”. Moving down to the 14th verse of John’s writings here, we read: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father), full of grace and truth.” . Jesus Christ is the incarnated Word of God, that same Word that created the World!

Jesus Himself asked the question in John 6:62, “What and if ye shall see the Son of man (flesh) ascend up where He was before?”. We’ve seen by Scripture that Jesus was the Word before. He didn’t become the Son until He was begotten of the Father, because ‘to beget’ requires a Father and a mother. There was no mother in heaven in eternity past, therefore the begetting of the Son didn’t take place until a mother was involved in the process! The Son-ship of Christ began in a stable in Bethlehem! This is where God prepared Himself a body in which to come into our world to “...seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). Recall the words of the prophet, which were re-stated by the angel Gabriel to Joseph, Matthew 1:23, “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”.

Was this God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Ghost that is being referred to by Gabriel? First of all, we need to understand that the term ‘God the Father’ is Scriptural, and is found in many places in the Word of God. He is the ONLY true and living God. However, the terms ‘God the Son’ and ‘God the Holy Ghost’ are not found in Scripture. You’ll find numerous references to ‘the Son of God’, and the ‘Spirit of God’, but if Scripture employed the terminology ‘God the Son’, it would mean that the flesh of Christ was deity. It wasn’t, because He wouldn’t have been subject to temptations and could never taste of death for us if that were the case. (That’s the whole idea of redemption, for God to become one of US, so that He could become the sinless sacrifice in our place)!

Throughout the years the Oneness believers have been referred to as ‘Jesus Only’. As you can see, we’re not ‘Jesus Only’, but we believe that Jesus Christ is the earthly, fleshly manifestation of the heavenly, eternal God. We certainly believe in the Father. He is the creator of this world (by His Word). The Father came to our world in the form of man in the person of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. While Jesus was here, He told His disciples, John 14: 16-17, “And I (the flesh) will pray the Father (the Spirit), and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” If the Son and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, this is indeed a peculiar statement! However, it’s really not a mystery at all. Paul said in Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Colossians 1:27, “...Christ in you, the hope of glory.” On the day of Pentecost Jesus’ disciples were in prayer in an ‘upper room’ in Jerusalem. Acts 2:2-4, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”. The Holy Ghost is not a person nor a separate entity, but is very simply the Spirit of God, (God is a Spirit!). So we’ve seen the three manifestation or offices of the One true God, Father in creation, Son in redemption and Holy Ghost in Emanation! It does not require three men for an individual to be a father, a son and a husband at the same time. And it doesn’t require three persons in the Godhead for there to be three manifestations or offices of the same God. Remember, Paul said this could be ‘clearly understood by things that were made’; water can take on three forms, water itself, ice and vapor, but it is not three separate entities, its three forms of the same substance!

Paul wrote about Jesus in Colossians 1:8-10, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, And ye are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power.” The ‘traditions of men’ have stripped Jesus of His rightful place in the Godhead. Tradition places Him in second place. Yet, Scripture declares, He is the head of ALL principality and power! He said of Himself, in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet), and Omega, (the last letter) the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord” (Jesus). John finished the verse with these words, “Which is, and which was, and which is to come, the almighty.” He certainly didn’t put Himself second in a man-made trinity, and neither should we! John said he is ‘THE Almighty’. It is not possible to have more than one almighty!

Colossians 1:19, “For it pleased the Father (Spirit) that in Him (Jesus, the flesh) should all fullness dwell.” The fleshly tabernacle of Jesus Christ is the repository of all the fullness, truth and power of God the Father. Philippians 2:9, “Wherefore God (the Spirit) hath highly exalted Him (the flesh), and given Him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.’ How would it be possible to give glory to God the Father (Spirit) by bowing to Jesus Christ, (flesh) unless God was IN Christ, and in bowing to Jesus we are in fact Bowing to God! This is the same God who said in Isaiah 45:23, “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, and every tongue sware.” It should be clear that when we bow to Jesus, and acknowledge Him as Alpha, Omega, the first and the last, the Almighty, that we are bowing and giving honor and glory to one and the same God!

One more time, we read the words of God from Isaiah 43:11, “I, even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior.” Yet we read with joy the words of the angels in Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”. If there is no Savior besides God the Father, then it’s obvious, this has to be that same God come down to be our Savior! Emmanuel God with Us!

The flesh of Jesus was not God, the flesh was the Son of God, but IN that flesh was the Spirit, the power and glory Of Almighty God! That’s why John said, 1 John 2:23, “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” And that’s why Jesus said as He did in John 8:23-25, “And He said unto them ye are from beneath, I am from above, ye are of this world, I am not of this world. I said therefore that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto Him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning”. He told us from the beginning, “I and my Father are one”. Paul was struck down on the Damascus Road, (Acts 9) He also asked this question, (verse 5), “Who art thou Lord?” The answer came back plain and clear, “I am Jesus” If you were to ask that same question of God today, “Who art thou Lord?”, you would receive the same answer, “I am Jesus”! Will you accept the Scriptural account of Jesus? or will you, as so many do, stop with the traditions of men? Its all in Him! “Except ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.”. My prayer for you today is that you will reject the traditions of men (that relegate Jesus to second place in the Godhead), and fully accept and believe the Word of God: Jesus is the Almighty God!

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