Well, I just heard back from someone I trust on my bible study so here goes.............don't beat me up too awful bad, ok?
Oneness. Revelation or Common Knowledge?
For years I have heard it preached. For years I’ve heard I’ve heard ministers declare the revelation of the Oneness of God. Usually it happens when preachers are preaching against Trinitarian doctrine. We’ve heard it before. “Trinitarians just need the revelation of the Oneness of God!” While I agree that Trinitarians need a revelation, I am not so sure it’s a revelation of the Oneness of God. It doesn’t take much in the way of study to see there’s only one God and it doesn’t take much to get Trinitarians to agree there’s only one God. All throughout the scriptures the One God is declared.
• DE 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
• ISA 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.
• ISA 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
• ISA 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.
• ISA 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
• HO 13:4 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
• EPH 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
• JAS 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
It’s evident that there’s only one God. There is no revelation of the Oneness of God. It’s common knowledge, available to anyone with even the most basic of study tools. The Jews know it. The Trinitarians know it. And Apostolics know it.
So, what exactly is this revelation that sets Apostolic believers apart from Trinitarians? I submit the true revelation is in knowing God’s name. It’s in having Him reveal Himself in a personal way that opens the door for face to face communication with God, on a first name basis. Let’s begin by taking a look at some of Jesus’ interactions with those around Him and things He said about Himself.
•
John 8:23-24 And he said unto the, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
•
John 13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
•
John 14:7-9 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
•
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus not only claimed to be from above and not of this world, but He also told His disciples that they did well for calling Him Master and Lord. He also went so far as to claim deity and told His disciples if they had seen Him they had already seen the Father. In light of this and the previously posted scriptures, we see that Jesus did not hide His identity from the people around Him. Simply put, He claimed to be none other than God.
So how does all of this tie into knowing God’s name and Him revealing that name to us? Consider the following scriptures.
•
Luke 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
•
John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
•
John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou has loved me may be in them, and I in them.
•
Acts 9:1-5 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
In these scriptures we see several things. First, Jesus said no one knows who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. This tells me that Jesus has to reveal to us who the Father is. We also see Jesus, while praying for His disciples, specifically saying to the Father that He had manifested, (made known), His name, (the Father’s), to His disciples. He goes on in His prayer to say He had declared His name, (the Father’s) unto them. Either the disciples didn’t hear Him or they heard Him wrong, because the only name they ever used when calling on the power of God was the name, JESUS. By definition the name means Jehova-Saviour. It, Jesus, is the only known saving name. They prayed in that name, baptized in that name, and healed in that name.
I believe the last setting of scripture, ACTS 9:1-5, gives us an example of God revealing His name to a man. Saul was not your ordinary run of the mill man. He was an educated man. In Phillipians 3 he describes his qualifications. PHP3:5-6, Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Isreal, of the tribe of Bejamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrew; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. He was a man who had power.
When that light shone around Saul he knew that he was having an encounter with none other than God. Why else would a man, educated as he was, say, “Who art thou, Lord?” He was acknowledging that he was being spoken to by God. The voice from heaven answered with, “I am Jesus…”
“I am Jesus” is the revelation the world needs.
"I am Jesus" are the three words that can completely change one’s understanding of scripture.
"I am Jesus" is the key to tapping into God’s power for our lives. Knowing God’s name,
JESUS, will open a line of communication between you and God you’ve never experienced. Knowing there’s one God isn’t enough. That’s common knowledge anyone can find out for themselves with just a little bit of study. Meeting that God on the road of your life, and having Him reveal Himself to you is what will forever change you.
Linear Mode
