God and His Messiah

John 17:3

"This is eternal life: that they may know you (Father), the only true God, and the one you have sent - Jesus Christ."

To fulfill our Mission of loving God with all of our heart, understanding, and strength, we have to grow in our knowledge of him. Here, we try to understand who God is and who Jesus is by seeing what Scripture says about them.

Christians and churches in general have often misunderstood and confused who God is, evidenced by viewing many churches statement of faith. Typically, churches will have little to nothing to say about GOD, other than there is a “trinity” of the Father, Son, and Spirit who are all co-equal and co-eternal. There are usually statements about who Jesus and the Holy Spirit are, but they are often woefully silent about the Father. Unfortunately, many claims about who God is are not found in Scripture but were formed in Catholic Church councils from the fourth and fifth centuries. History is very clear about this.

We hope to clarify from Scripture the differences between God and his Messiah. This will also demonstrate that many Christians have confused the roles of God and his son so thoroughly that we really know neither. John 17:3 tells us this is a big problem.

These scripture verses can aid you in knowing what the Bible says about who God is, as well as his son Jesus, the Messiah. Obviously, much more could be said about our Great God, this is simply an introduction. You may hover over the Scripture reference to view the verse in the ESV. References are adapted from the Christian Disciples Church.

2 Peter 1:2

“May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!”

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT ABOUT SCRIPTURE

Our sole and absolute authority is the inerrant Word of God. By this we mean the most reliable manuscripts available for the 39 books of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures and the 27 books of the Greek New Testament Scriptures, which together constitute the canon of the Scriptures. While we select specific verses to support the statement, these are not the same as a "statement of faith." The whole of the Bible, particularly, the New Testament (which depicts life under the new covenant) must be considered the only statement of faith that is authoritative. Even if we were to select only direct quotes from Scripture, this would still be a manmade statement because we selected verses on a limited, and likely biased basis.

ABOUT GOD

There is one and only one God, and He is one Person
—Dt.6:4; Mk.12:29; Jn.5:44; 17:3; Rom.16:27; 1Cor.8:6; 1Tim.2:5; Jude 1:25

The personal name of God is Yahweh (יהוה, YHWH-found over 6800 times in the OT)
— Ex.3:15; 15:3; Jer.16:21

There is no God besides Yahweh, the only true God
— Ex.20:2-3; Dt.4:35; 1Sam.2:2; 1Ki.8:60; Isa.44:8; 45:5-6,21-22; 46:9; Mk.12:29; Jn.17:3; Rom.16:27

God is eternal, immortal, invisible
— 1Tim.1:17; 6:16; Jn.1:18; 1Jn.4:12

God is all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present
— Job 11:7; Ps.139:2-8; Mt.19:26; Lk.1:37; 1Jn.3:20

God is holy, compassionate, and loving
— Lev.19:2; 20:26; Ps.99:9; 1Pet.1:16; Ex.34:6; Ps.78:38; Ps.136:1; Jn.3:16; 1Jn.4:8,16

God is Spirit
— Jn.4:24

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Yahweh
— Ps.51:11; 139:7; Isa.11:2; 40:13; Micah 3:8; Mt.10:20 with Lk.12:12; 1Cor.2:11; 2Cor.3:17-18

Yahweh alone is the Creator of the heavens and the earth
— Ex.31:17; Isa.44:24; 45:12; Neh.9:6; Jer.51:19; Acts 4:24; Rev.14:7

Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
— Ex.3:6,15; 4:5; Mt.22:32; Acts 3:13; 7:32

Yahweh is the God and Father of Jesus Christ
— Jn.20:17; Rom.15:6; Eph.1:3,17

Yahweh is the God and Father of those who are in Jesus Christ
— Jn.1:12; 20:17

We worship Yahweh alone
— Ex.20:3; 34:14; Mt.4:10 with Dt.6:13; Dt.8:19; Jer.25:6

ABOUT JESUS

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God
— Mt.16:16; Jn.20:31; Heb.1:5; 2Pet.1:11; 2Pet.2:20; 3:18

There is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ
— 1Cor.8:6; Rom.1:7 (repeated in 1Cor.1:3; 2Cor.1:2; Gal.1:3; Eph.1:2; Phil.1:2; Phm.1:3)

Jesus Christ is not Yahweh
— Jn.17:3; Acts 7:55; 1Cor.11:3

Jesus Christ is man, the Son of Man, and the last Adam
— Acts 2:22; 1Tim.2:5; Mt.8:20; Mk.14:62; Jn.8:28; 1Cor.15:45

Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He was crucified; died; buried; and was resurrected from the dead on the third day by the Father.
— Mt.1:18-25; Lk.1:35; Ps.22:1; Isa.53:3-12; Mt.27:22-50; Acts 2:31-33; Rom.8:34; 1Cor.6:14

Jesus Christ was exalted to the right hand of God, who made him Lord and Christ, and will come back to earth to establish God’s Kingdom and render God’s Judgment. He is lower than the Father and can do nothing apart from Him, yet has been exalted by God to be His plenipotentiary.
— 1Pet.3:22; Acts 2:36; Rom.1:4; Mt.24:30; Acts 1:11; Phil.3:20; Heb.9:28; Jn.14:28; 5:19; 6:57; 12:49-50; Acts 2:22; 1Cor.11:3; 15:27-28

Jesus Christ is the only Perfect Man, and the exact image of the invisible God
— Heb.2:10; 4:15; 5:8-9; 7:28; Col.1:15; 2Cor.4:4; Jn.14:9; Phil.2:6

There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
— 1Tim.2:5; Jn.14:6; Rom.5:19; Heb.8:6

Jesus is the way of salvation, the Lamb of God who was slain to take away the sins of the world
— Mt.1:21; Acts 4:12; Jn.1:29; Rev.13:8

Man is created in the image of God; man has fallen into sin and is redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ
— Gen.1:27; Isa.59:2; Rom.3:23; 5:12; John 3:16; Eph.1:7; Titus 2:14

God dwelled (tabernacled) in Jesus Christ, the temple of God, such that all the fullness of God dwells in him bodily; as a result, God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himself
— John 1:14 (literally “tabernacled among us”); Jn.2:19-21; 2Cor.5:19; Col.1:19; 2:9