THE GOD OF JESUS

Is the phrase “the God of Jesus” scriptural?

In Ephesians 1:17, the apostle Paul writes: “the God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”

It was clear to Paul that the God of Jesus is the Father of glory. Beginning his letter to the Ephesians, Paul blesses “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.” In closing, he blesses them with “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who has blessed us in union with the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish in His presence in love, having decided in advance that we would be adopted through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” [Ephesians 1:3]

Epesians 6:23-24: "Peace be to the brothers and sisters, and love with trust, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus the Messiah with an incorruptible love."]

In John 20:17 Jesus tells Mary: “I ascend to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” In John 17:3 Jesus refers to his Father as: “the only true God.” Jesus was a unitarian believer in the One God - Yehovah [Deuteronomy 6:3; Mark 12:29].

Those who believe in the doctrine of the Trinity say that a denial of an eternally preexistent “God the Son” diminishes Jesus by stripping him of divinity. But one can reject the doctrine of the Trinity and yet still affirm the Messiah was filled with “the fulness of God” by pointing to his unique origin with his God and Father Yehovah. When the “power of the Highest” overshadowed Mary, the “Son of the Highest” was begotten (Luke 1:32, 35). God declared His fatherhood of Jesus when He called him, “My beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17). Christians too are filled with the fullness of God [Ephesians 3:19: "know the love of the Messiah that surpasses knowledge, so that you are filled with all the fullness of God"].

Some believe that Jesus the Messiah was a “mere man”; no different from any other; except that he was sinless. They diminish the Messiah. In standing against the error of the Trinity they sometimes reduce the status of Jesus. There is no need to overreact. The inspired writers of the New Testament speak of Jesus in superlatives. The exiled John’s graphic figures of speech describe an otherwise indescribable risen Lord Jesus! (Revelation 1:14-16). 

Jesus was and is “the image of the invisible God” (in whom we see the Father clearly); “the brightness of His glory” (mirrored on our faces); and “the exact image of His person” (stamped on us, leaving a lasting impression)! How can we not rejoice in our wonderful Lord? We should not think that God is more exalted when His Son is diminished. Most son’s accomplishments reflect the person of their earthly father? How much more, then, is the Father of Jesus glorified when we praise the spotless life, excellent works and selfless sacrifice of His Son? And his revelation of the secret of immortality in his Gospel of the Kingdom (2 Timothy 1:10: "now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior the Messiah Jesus, who on the one hand destroyed the power of death, and on the other hand brought life and incorruptibility to light through the good news,"). “And whatsoever you shall ask in my name I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13).

The spirit of God opens up truth concerning God and His Son, but only to the genuine seeker after Truth. It certainly is a matter of perception, something like buying a new car and then seeing so many of the same make and model on the road. We find the One God - Yehovah of Jesus where we had never seen Him before. We are encouraged and inspired by the scriptures, but only when Yehovah "opens our eyes” to how little we know, do we realize how much we’ve missed. An example of this lack of perception is how we either see or don’t see the significance of 1 Corinthians 8:6, which clearly informs us that “there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus the Messiah, because of whom are all things, and we by him.”

How is it possible for the “one Lord - Jesus” to be seen as co-equal with the “one God - YehovaH”? Tradition answers that the One God is comprised of three Persons: a co-equal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We should never underestimate the ability of tradition to accommodate scriptural truth before veiling it in mysticism. How many hours in how many months over how many years did the theologians of the Church debate the question about Jesus’ part in sending the spirit? The eastern and western church actually excommunicated one another over this question! A quick look at Acts 2:33 would have resolved the issue immediately: “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he [Jesus] has shed forth this, which you now see and hear.”

We find it difficult to believe that the same Martin Luther who defied the Church of Rome in stating “the just shall live by faith” actually referred to the book of James as “an epistle of straw” and was openly and actively anti-Semitic. We are horrified to learn that the great Calvin could order Servetus, a younger brother in the Messiah Jesus, to be burned to death at the stake (slowly, on green wood). What terrible heresies did Servetus profess? He taught that the rite of infant baptism and the Church’s belief in the Trinity were unscriptural.

My belief is that Christians in years to come will see the doctrine of the Trinity for what it is: the product of a gathering of bishops convened by Constantine the Great to unify the teaching of the Christian Church in the disputed matter of the Godhead. Under pressure, some bishops capitulated against their better judgment and the matter was settled. It was set in stone and used to “club” others into conformity.

Only when Christendom accepts 1 Corinthians 8:6 as the true definition of the nature of God will it be able to proclaim to the Jews: “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is also the God of Jesus; your Messiah and ours!”

Around the globe two strong forces are locked in conflict: the Spirit of the Messiah and the spirit of antichrist. When Jesus returns, one body comprised of both Jew and Gentile, the called-out Assembly of God, the true Israel of God [Romans 11] inseparable in faith and in confession of the One True God - Yehovah and His Son, Jesus the Messiah; will rise to meet the Lord Jesus in the air, and then descend with him to rule the nations. “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.”