Untitled Sermon (11)

Fundamental Differences in Arianism

This bible study is based on the Semi-Arian perspective. Everyone should fully understand that we read the Bible with different conclusions and assumptions, largely because of the differences between Trinitarianism and Arianism. Given that many people have already read trinitarian teachings on these verses my interpretation may come to you as new and unexpected. While it would be nice for the differences to show up slowly and unexpectedly over the study of the Bible it comes in intensely here in Genesis at the onset. With that let us begin… with “The Beginning”

We must also understand that there are two types of interpretations of the Old Testament. The first interpretation is the one without any clarity from the New Testament. This I will call the veiled reading. The other with the clarity of the New Testament, and this will be called unveiled reading. There is also a high spiritual reading, with typology and symbolism this will be included only when it is very useful of deeper meanings. We will study in the unveiled reading.

Genesis 1:1 NASB95

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The full context of this verse comes from understanding what we know from the New Testament. If we are to look at it in a veiled reading, we would only assume the meaning to be that at the commencement God almighty created everything. While that is true, there is a wealth of understanding from the New Testament that gives more clarity and depth, it would be a disservice not to point them out. Let’s delve deeper into the beautiful truths within this statement.

“In the Beginning”

One God/One Originator

When we think about the beginning initially, we think about the commencement or the start of something. God before he begot the Son, was alone and by himself. Nothing else existed, not even time.

Isaiah 44:24 NASB95

24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone,

In this verse the Bible says that all alone, God only, created all things. This is an important context because when God says this, he means this in the most absolute sense of the word “all alone” and “by Myself. God is the one Originator by himself that has caused all into existence, One God, One Originator. If we were to say that there was another Originator where all things came from, at that point we would be introducing someone else as the Originator of all things and thus another Origin besides God. Now you may ask where that leaves Jesus then because we know that all things were made through Christ, and it seems like there would be no harmony or a contradiction in the text of the Bible. But I assure you that there is no contradiction.

The Son has as his Originator, God. God bore, birthed, begot the Son.1 God then using his son to create the universe is not contradictory to the text because the Origin is still one alone and that is God.2 I will give an illustration with Eve, Eve was created by God all alone, but he used someone (Adam) to create her did God do it alone when he made her, didn’t he use Adam? God did use Adam. 3 Adam was vital to the creation of Eve, Adam was where God sourced the material, but Adam is not his own source, God is still the Originator of Adam4 just as God is the Originator of the Son56. Just as compelling as Adam’s involvement for Eve, also the Son’s with the creation of all things, is not a contradiction, because a contradiction would involve a new origin. Thus, God being the Originator of all things he “all alone” produced all things. With this we understand the heart of the matter with clarity. God is not saying that God didn't have anyone else around him or even that no one else was involved. God is saying that he is the only Originator, only reason all these things be, God all by himself. Otherwise, Adam existing and having a role when God made Eve, would make a contradiction. But with maturity we understand that it's not saying no one else was around, but that God is the only Originator where all things come from including the Son.

God “acquired” Him

With this truth as the foundation that God was alone, and sole Originator of all7, God prior to begetting the Son, was by himself, knowing what will be, having not acted on his intention.8 Then obtains, births, begets his Son, “the Beginning”. Prov 8:22 tells us about this.

Proverbs 8:22–36 (CSB)

22 “The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago. 23 I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. 24 I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. 25 Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth— 26 before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth. 27 I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, 28 when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, 29 when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth. 30 I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him. 31 I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam. 32 “And now, sons, listen to me; those who keep my ways are happy. 33 Listen to instruction and be wise; don’t ignore it. 34 Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway. 35 For the one who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but the one who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

This translation of proverbs 8:22, is a great translation of this verse concerning “qanah” and the meaning. It uses the word “acquired”, because it is the best way to convey that God was alone and then acquired something that he produced. If you look at it as though you have someone that's doing a card trick where you don't see a card in the man's hands and then he suddenly produces one, if that were God by himself and then produces the son of God it would be OK to say he acquired his Son. Looking at the situation the only place that God could acquire something is from himself. There is nowhere else to go to acquire something for God because he can do anything he wants and nothing else exists. Other translations prefer to use the word possess or possessed. This is preferred because of trinitarianism. In trinitarianism there is avoidance or maybe conformation bias in translating things that are “confusing” to them or unclear. “Acquired” assumes that the Son was not there and then began to be, which the word means. They prefer “possessed” because it does not disturb the trinitarian reader. They won’t assume an acquisition, with the hope that the reader will only infer that he has always possessed the Son and not that he acquired him. I don’t blame trinitarians for this, they must operate in their world view, and I will operate in mine. This causes a little bit of confusion as to why is this possession even mentioned if it's ultimately God himself. The reason this is mentioned, is because there is a coming into possession that is being discussed, otherwise why would it be remarkable, or noteworthy that God is before all? Why would there be a need to explain that God is before everything else, as it says before ancient times, before the earth began, before this, and before that12, with God there is no need to discuss what he is before it should be assumed he is before everything. But because this is something that was acquired and is the beginning of the rest of God's actions this is important. And this is why the bible goes out of its way to explain before everything else this was acquired.

The beginning of the Creation

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; (Col. 1:12-15 CSBO)

col 1:12-15

The first born of all creation is an interesting statement because we are understanding that the first thing that God did was to beget or birth his son. And in this context, he is the first-born overall creation meaning he was born first but also that he is the beginning of all creation and senior to all things created. And here we begin to see the harmony that we know of in the New Testament that all things were created through Christ by God. But we're also getting the concept of him being the beginning, the first born. And eventually we will see that he is the only born of God.

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: (Rev. 3:14 ASV)

And now we see an even more explicit identification of the son of God by the son of God himself calling himself “the beginning of the creation of God”. So now that we have understood that God was alone prior to begetting the Son, and after the Son is given life, we must address a very key truth. The truth is that nothing else exists yet. At this point only the Father and the Son exist. Time itself does not yet exist because according to the Bible the Son comes prior to time, given that eternity is timeless. Micah 5:2 explains the Messiah comes from a timelessness when it says eternity.

Mic 5:2 " But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."

This verse is repeated in Matthew concerning the Son of God in the New Testament.

2 saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" (Matt. 2:2-6 ESV)

In the statement “from the days of eternity” we see that the Son is being described existing in eternity. This truth has limitations, we must not assume that this means the Son has always existed, coming from eternity does not infer that the Son “has always existed” but that he is not subject to time just as the Father is not, but THE FATHER ONLY HAS ALWAYS EXISTED, the son again has his Father as his Originator, this is key, let us remember the Father “gave” life to the Son. FORGETTING THIS WILL CAUSE SOME TO ASSUME THE SON HAS ALWAYS EXISTED AND BECOME A STUMBLING BLOCK TOWARD TRINITARIANISM. Biblically we understand that the Son came before time. All must come through “the Beginning” he is prior to time and this verse corroborates that he existed prior to time in eternity which is a timeless place. Just as the Father existed prior to the Son being born.

Given this understanding there is no way that we are properly calling “the Beginning” anything other than the son of God, because that is what we are told from the New Testament, the unveiling of the old. We by God’s grace have been given to see, “the Beginning” is the Son not a reference to the commencement rather he is the commencement of all things.

All the things we know, all time, all things spiritual or physical, all heavenly or earthly, all concepts and so on is summed up in the bible as “the heavens and the earth” that was created in him, in the Son, in him called “the Beginning”.

Born before time

Let us turn now to the verse that all of this is being built toward.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1 NAS)

Because we know time does not exist yet. “In the beginning” speaks of Christ, in Christ God created the heavens and the earth. We know this because the previous scriptures tell us, the son was born before time, and was the beginning of the creation and is the first one born. It is an unusual position that we are speaking on, of the Son being the beginning and excluding times involvement in the term beginning. Which predominantly carries the concept of time. As rare as it is beginning in Genesis 1:1 carries no time with it. There is no other beginning, to say anything else be the beginning and not the prior to all things Son, prior to time and concepts from time given what we know, would be improper. Even the Apostle John would agree as you will soon see. And God created the entire universe and all things within the Beginning, who is the Son and that through the Son all those things created within him come out to existence. Because the Father is prior to the Son and they both are prior to time and not subject to time. Time is a thing made for our existence which is why “one day” was first mentioned and not “a billionth day”. Time is connected to space and motion. These are all created things. The scientific concept of spacetime, shows time depends on space and is woven together into spacetime.

Spacetime is a concept that combines space and time into a single four-dimensional continuum, where events can be described by specifying their position and time. Spacetime is based on the theory of relativity, which states that the speed of light is constant for all observers, regardless of their motion. This implies that space and time are not absolute, but relative to the observer’s state of motion. Different observers may disagree on the length, duration, and simultaneity of events, but they will agree on the speed of light and the causal order of events13

Notice that light and the speed of light is involved in spacetime. It is no coincidence that light was made and consequently “one day” a reference to time, was completed14, therefore time began after light was made. Through the Son all things were made through him, even time.

Fulfilling that all things came through him15 and all things by him hold together16.

In the beginning was the Word, (Jn. 1:1 NAS)

Now when you read this the first time you naturally look at it as though it carries a temporal meaning ( a meaning relating to time) saying that at the start existed the Logos. Let’s read it from a different perspective. Read John 1:1 as though it is speaking of the very same Beginning, the Son as it is in Genesis 1:1, even quoting the verse. To read it this way in English and properly punctuate it the text would look like this.

“In the beginning” was the Word – John 1:1

Looking at it in this way we see it is saying “In the beginning” of Genesis 1:1 is the same as the Logos in John. We inherently know that when we read Genesis and John, we find a harmony there because they both start with “In the beginning”. In John 1:1 “In the beginning” is explaining who “the Logos” is and where he is found in the biblical creation narrative. Because there is no other beginning. The Logos regarding a time-based beginning is only found in verse 2 where it says…

Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

The first mention of “the Beginning” in John is not in the commencement time sense, if it were there would be no need to repeat the same sentiment in verse 2, but because verse 2 is saying something different than verse 1, verse 2 is clearly regarding a “commencement time beginning” saying he was with God “in the beginning” or another way to say It would be “at the commencement” granting that the Son was already existing with the Father to then use time in reference to them both. John 1:1 is saying “in the Beginning” = the Word / Logos.

The Logos/Word is the Beginning, and “In” him, all the creation, all the heavens and all the earth, all things visible and invisible, laws of nature, principles, all hosts of heaven, all things on Earth, the spiritual and the physical came to be through him.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (Jn. 1:1-3 NAS)

John is explaining Genesis we can see Genesis saying…

In the Logos God created the heavens and the earth

And John saying ….

“In the beginning” was the Logos, and the Beginning was with God, and the Beginning was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being…

… And the Beginning became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Hopefully this blesses your understanding on these verses.

With that understanding let us read Gen 1:1 with what we know so far.

In THE BEGINNING God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1)

“God’s”

In the beginning God. (Gen. 1:1 NAS)

Plural God?

Elohim is plural in this verse but, in every translation, it is translated “God” singular. In the veiled reading it is understood that God expounds on his mightiness and the plurality but only means one God. And that would be sufficient to understand and move forward but we are looking at this in the unveiled reading which in the New Testament gives us more understanding about why God is plural here.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Jn. 1:1 NAS)

Since we have established that the Beginning is the Logos that John is referencing here, we must look at the rest of the verse to understand fully what he was saying.

“and the Word was with God”

This part is self-explanatory the Word, the Beginning, the Son of God was with his Originator, his God, his Father.

“and the Word was God”

Here we start to get into a more complicated subject, in that it says that not only is the Word, the Beginning, the Son with his God, yet somehow, he is God, we must understand in what way he is God. As we move forward in this conversation let us make sure and maintain that only the Father is the Originator of all things, and that the Son has the Father as his Originator. Maintaining this truth is going to be key in understanding this concept.

Image of God

15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. (Col. 1:15 NAS)

In this verse we get a clearer picture of the role that the Son plays for God and for us. He is as we discussed the first born, the beginning but also we see here that he is the image of God and we have to understand that concept. To be the image of God is to be the representation of God because God is invisible.

Invisible God

Here we need to speak on the concept of invisibility and what being invisible means.

1Ti 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1Ti 6:16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. Exo 33:20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" Job 9:11 "Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him. Job 23:9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

The concept of invisibility is another difficult concept that we must grapple with here. The best way to understand invisibility is for you to put yourself into invisibility, to think of what it would be like to be invisible. So let's imagine that you were born with a horrible condition called invisibility and no one could see you. And let's say that somehow you were able to get married and have a child that did not have this condition of invisibility. And if someone wanted to see what you look like you could say that if they look at your son they can see what you look like in him. Because obviously the DNA that you carry is within him the features that you have your passing on to him somehow someway, they will be able to see what you look like through your son. The greatest remedy for your condition is for your son to operate as though he were you and skip discussion of your invisibility or separate identity, representing you to the world. If you need to return an item to the store you could send him into the store as you and go with him and have him, say all the things that you want him to say for you to the cashier. It's easier for you and everyone than trying to explain that you're invisible and that he is your agent etc. That's not exactly the relationship between God and the Son is but it helps understand how God and the Son are operating toward everything. This should clarify for a lot of people the verse of Jesus saying, “when you see me you see the Father”17, it's not talking about a consubstantial union but the Representative of The Invisible God and his shock that his disciples yet still don’t understand him being the Image of God.

8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father '? (Jn. 14:8-9 NAS)

In the previous fictitious scenario suffering under invisibility, you can see where your son is your image, he is all there is for what you look like. And you could say you both share the very same image, he owes his image to you and you to him, it would be both of your image. And this truth is reflected in the creation of Man when they say, “our image.”

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Gen. 1:26 NAS)

The understanding that the Son, is representing His Father and for that reason “the Word was God”. God is invisible and the truth is, the Son is the only way to the Father. This exclusivity to the Son being the only access to the Father18, shows us a new facet to the Sons role as the image of God, the Son is, literally the only way, and this has been true in all the Old Testament, the Son has been this gate to the Father, all who encountered God in the biblical past has done so through the image of God, the Beginning, the Son.

18 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (Jn. 1:18 NAS)

Because God made it that we all exist through his Son, the Son is the image of God, and the Word of God to us therefore John said, “and the Word was God”. The Word is God, because the Son is the image of God, the Son is as God to us! You may think that this would be blasphemous to say that someone else other than the Almighty can stand in the place of God for God to the rest of the world, but it happens very explicitly in the Bible.

16 "Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him. (Exod. 4:16 NAS)

And…

And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (Exod. 7:1 ASV)

Going into the high spiritual reading Moses is a type of Christ and things about Moses’s life when we get there shows us how he is a type of Christ. In this place we see that God is using Moses to be as God to Aaron. This is given to us to help us understand the role Christ has been as God to us in the same way that Moses is as God to Aaron and Pharaoh. So, we're seeing in that story a little bit about the Son and his role being as God to us and that God can and has appointed a mediator to represent him fully. Notice that Moses was as God to the High Priesthood, showing that the Messiah would have Authority over the Aaronic Priest hood and all subsequent ones, just as Levi paid tithe in Abraham showing the Melchizedek priesthood greater. Even more remarkable is that an appointed human could stand as God to the human priesthood which seems like it should not be allowed but God clearly does. So, we must understand that God can appoint someone like his Son to represent him to the rest of the world if he wants to, it’s not incongruent with the Bible, it's not contrary to what we understand for God. This is how God has operated before. And there is nothing saying he would not do it again. These are things that we must understand the Bible clearly to see what's possible and the reason God did this before so that we can understand the role of Christ now and the role he had in the Old Testament. Understanding this when the Bible says “and the word was God” we understand the representative sense in which that means or is intended. This also shows how we do not infer or add to the Almighty God, not add to the concept of God and saying that two beings equal God almighty but that The Almighty God, the Originator of All, the Father by his will caused everything else, Originator of even of his only begotten Son.

Begotten of God

This is the meaning “and the Word was God” he is God, being “the image of God”. And yet the revelation does not end there. Something we cannot overlook is that the Son is called the Son because he is as the Bible says, “the begotten of God”.

the only begotten from the Father (Jn. 1:14 NAS) that He gave His only begotten Son (Jn. 3:16 NAS) he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn. 3:18 NAS) 'Thou art My Son; today I have begotten Thee (Acts 13:33 NAS) By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son (1 Jn. 4:9 NAS)

Before we overlook this important detail, lets take a moment to appreciate a truth, prior to Jesus coming to earth in human form, it was strange to believe that there was a concept in which God Almighty had a son. The terminology “only begotten son of God” and “God the Father” is revolutionary because it's a brand-new revelation during the time of Christ. It's a foreign concept prior to Christianity that the Jewish God ever had a Son or was a Father. We are accustomed to hearing about the son of God and it seems like it's nothing new. But to the Jews of the day and to many Jews today that don't believe in the Messiah it is still a very foreign concept and that is the actual hurdle that needs to be overcome to reach the Jewish community. Trinitarianism trying to add the Son and God almighty together and then the Holy Spirit and making this triunal God is not helping anything because that's not actually biblical, whether New Testament or Old Testament and so that is a stumbling block for Jews to accept the Messiah with the Trinity Doctrine. This is the biggest truth the Arian Church has been given, “the Christ the Son of the Living God19”, literally and truly Son, everything else flows from this truth, including salvation.

Joh 11:27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Mar 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Act 8:37 And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Act 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." 1Jo 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

Begotten speaks of having a child after your own kind, to be born of God, we understand biblically what it means when someone in the Bible was born from someone else, and the Bible uses the same term because the Image of father and child is intended. Even more so the words “Father” and “Son” are used to convey that relationship and the reality of that relationship. Along with that the term “only begotten” even more so because it's saying that there is only one being who is literally begotten from God there's no need to use this kind of terminology if it's not true and literal.

This is an important principle that God has established that you are reproducing what you are, when you are actively reproducing. We see that in the plant and animal world.

Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so. (Gen. 1:11 NAS) And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (Gen. 1:21 NAS) Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so. (Gen. 1:24 NAS) 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (Jn. 3:6 NAS) 24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (Jn. 4:24 NAS)

And so, we need to see that God has instituted this principle that you produce after your own kind that's something that we just inherently know. When we think of God having a begotten son, a born son then we must consider the ramifications of that statement, God makes after his own kind. This is coming from the context of John saying that “and the word was God.” This is another way to understand that verse is that the word was God because that is the kind he was before becoming human. So, there is a twofold understanding in that section of John in one way the Son is God because he is the image of God representing God, The other way is concerning into what kind was the Son born, after God's kind. Ultimately, I can say whatever I want but I need to have scripture that corroborates this so let's look at verses that confirm this.

Son with Gods full nature

For the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ, (Col. 2:9 CSB)

For “the only begotten son of God” to be begotten of God, the nature of God should be given. And the verse says that the fullness of God's nature, THE NATURE OF GOD is in him entirely. That is a huge statement. I must interject here about how we must remember in all this conversation that God is still and always will be the Originator of the Son and that God was alone, that God chose to bear a Son and because the Father is prior to the Son and chose to beget a Son at his own will, The Father is the Origin of all. We are not introducing a new source we are teaching that this is the Son of the Origin of all things. This is very important which is why the true God, God in the truest sense is the one who has no originator who has no God that he owes worship to, the Son owes his existence to God, his Father. Although we are walking into a discussion of a being in the nature that God is we're not introducing a new Originator a new power we still maintain the original but also acknowledge the reality of the sonship of the Son. We are explaining another Person with the fullness of the Nature of God, does that make this Person the Originator of All? No as we discussed before the Son is born from God, and although he is in the Form of God, he is not the God that begot him.

who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, (Phil. 2:6 ASV)

This verse in Philippians is great because it says that he was on an equality with God that he had equality with God. And in this sense, we must understand that equality means that he was the same kind as God and that he had an equality of kind calling it the form of God. But this does not mean that he has the same authority or power because he has God as his origin so any power or ability or authority that he possesses, has had to be granted to him from his Originator his God. Which is why Jesus freely and unabashedly says that all power was given unto him.20 Also saying that life was given unto him21, and the Bible saying Jesus learned or grew in knowledge22. Being the Son of God doesn't mean that He has everything and is as powerful as His God, these things must be granted and were. The Father even withholds information from the Son, according to his will23. This is why maintaining that the Father is the Originator of all, is critical. We cannot say that the Son possesses any power of his own apart from what's given to him from God the Father.

We also must address trinitarianism at this point because trinitarianism wants to assume that because the Son is born from God and therefore, he is Co-equal and Co eternal and even one being with the Origin of all. But as we can see the Father said he was alone and by himself24, and we understand that he meant that he is the Origin of all even Jesus himself says that God gave him life.

"For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; (Jn. 5:26 NAS)

Because Jesus himself says that the Father gave him life that means that he didn't have life and that life was given to him. Therefore, the Father existing always prior to the Son gave him life therefore the Son, is not the living being that gave himself life, that makes no sense. Why give life to something already living? But at this point we must continue with more evidence that although the Son, regarding his kind, is a God he is not the Most High God. And these verses are truly amazing given the complexity of the subject we're in if we were on the wrong path, we would not have verses like this supporting this understanding. Hebrews chapter one explains how the Son is called God, but this God is subject to the Most High God. Therefore, supporting this perspective that although the Son is of the God kind, and biblically called God he is not the most high God.

8 But of the Son He says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. 9 "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness above Thy companions." 10 And, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands; 11 They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment, 12 And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; As a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end." (Heb. 1:8-12 NAS)

It is amazing that there exists a scripture that talks about a being called “God” and the Bible itself explaining that it's the Son who is being called God, but then showing that this God has a God that has anointed him, clearly the Originator anointing his Son. This shows that the identity of the Son as a God is separate from the identity of the God that is over him. Now we understand in this Bible study that the Originator is the true God that caused even this God to exist and that there is no other Originator. Imagine how confused someone would be if they didn't understand the Father as the Originator of all things, and because of this is the Most High God, God over even God the Son, reading this lacking this understanding, in a state of confusion and fear. To someone who does not have this understanding would be in crisis! To make sense of it all, fearing violating the scripture that says there's only one God all by himself25! This will force that person to invent a solution that may not be supported by scripture, driven by desperation. While there is only one God, in the truest sense, the bible itself understands that the Son is properly called a God, but he is an Originated God or as the bible says “the only begotten God” speaking of his kind and his being originated.

No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (Jn. 1:18 NAS)

We should also get the opinion of the son of God himself about whether he is the God of all, and the Originator of all according to his own perspective. Jesus regarding who God truly is said…

These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee, 2 even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. (Jn. 17:1-3 NAS)

This is a brutally clear verse from the perspective of Jesus to him the only true God, who God truly is to the Son of God only, is his Father only not himself. This should lay to rest the idea that Jesus is the True God in any way, this comes from his own testimony and if Jesus were to tell a modalist trinitarian this they would probably disagree with him. Let us move on to further evidence.

We saw in Hebrews where it was discussing the Son and calling him God, and then it mentions his God, the next verse is going to show that the son of God is going to point to who his God is.

17 Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'" (Jn. 20:17 NAS)

So here we see that Jesus is saying my Father is your Father, and in the same way my Father is your God and mine, that's what the context is saying, so there is no ambiguity over who Jesus wants his disciples to consider God, he wants them to have the same God he has which is his Father. I could continue but we're going to move on.

And so now how do we proceed we see now that we have the Father who is the Origin of all things, had a Son and begot him after his own kind. It is fair to say that we believe that there are two beings with the same kind of nature one of which is the Almighty God, while it cannot be said is that we have two Originators of all things the Son is not independent of the Father’s will. One Originator of all, one Son of the Originator of all, this Son is the image of God, and is biblically standing as God to us. In an escalation to the sense in which the Son represents God the Father, God even wants us to honor the Son as we honor him.

21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (Jn. 5:21-24 NAS)

The Father wants us to honor the Son as we honor him, would the Son not also be called “God” to reflect the Son as His Image, given that the Son is as God to us, and recognize that his full nature dwells in his Son. To what extent do we honor the Son as we honor the Father? This is a dizzying question, that will be complicated next. The revelations of this exaltation of the Son do not end there. Above all this still God the Father has granted that the Son even to Sit on the Throne of God, that means he has Authority of God upon him. This truth is astonishing! How much more could God give his Son? And how much more we should honor his position as representative of God. How should we address the Image of God, who also Sits on the Throne of God at the request of the Almighty God? God has loved his son so much he gave him everything, God can not die, so he allows him to sit on the Throne with him.

'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne (Rev. 3:21 NAS)

To be clear the role of the Son, as the image of God and the representation of God goes to a profound depth that the authority of God himself is upon the Son. Again, we must reiterate that the Originator of all is granting his son all authority, not only as image of God, but as Son of God. This also goes against the trinitarian or the modalist perspective because if the Son were the Almighty there would be no need to give him to sit on the throne if he was already sitting there. The truth that the Son is numerically different from the Father the Originator of all things is obvious with this truth.

To conclude this extraordinary look at the Sons role and representation of God, and communicating the facets of his unique qualities, we must understand that ultimately, he is representing the Almighty God, yet not that alone but he is the Son of God, and later given to sit on the throne of God. With this the truth that John states is now an understatement, “and the word was God”. And as we go back to genesis and the word “God” is plural, exemplifies a paradox, I call the Identity/Image paradox, as we had explained at the beginning of this section the plural meaning ultimately leads us to a singular God. We know that there are God's plural and existence one that is unoriginated and the other that was originated but even in this plurality of divine beings only one of them truly is God almighty. And so just as in the veiled reading, the answer is only 1 God, in the unveiled reading there is a plurality but ultimately, it's pointing to only one the Originator of all.

Even in this perplexing role of the Son, God the Father directs the Son in all things, because the Son, represents the Father, he is not his Father. Even if he sits on the Throne of God, the Son is always under the Father, being subject to the one who gave him life, nature, image, power, and authority.

23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:23-28 NAS) 1Co 3:23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. 1Co 11:3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Joh 14:28 "You heard that I said to you, I go away, and I will come to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.

Very important to point out is that this is a relationship of love the Son revealing the Father to us in the Olt Testament, the Father sending the son to us as his Son and not his image, firstly so we know about the Fatherhood of the Father and the Son, and then to save us. And then the Father out of love for his son giving him as a reward for saving us, everything. We are fortunate to be involved in this loving relationship between Father and Son, how grateful we should be.

16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (Jn. 3:16-18 NAS)

In summary the Son is the image of God, full of the divinity of God, God from God, sits on the throne of God and has all authority granted to him, and has in the Old and New testament represented God. As we read Gen 1:1 again, we see that the Originator of all created with in the Son all things. We do not use the plural form “Gods”, because the Son is involved with the Originator of all, without forgetting the role of the Son, the glory goes to the one who Originated all.

In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1 NAS)

1 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn. 1:14 NAS)

2 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Cor. 8:6 KJV)

3 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." (Gen. 2:21-23 NAS)

4 7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Gen. 2:7 NAS)

5 26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; (Jn. 5:26 NAS)

6 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. (Jn. 6:57 NAS)

7 24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, And spreading out the earth all alone, (Isa. 44:24 NAS) Isa 45:18 For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens(He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, But formed it to be inhabited), "I am the LORD, and there is none else. Isa 44:6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.

8 God does not need of anything, God does not lack anything, God knows the existence of all and the sum of all these things in the end, and God causing us all, the Son, the Universe is proof the creation, with all its problems and difficulties is ultimately worth doing.