Y'Shua

By Gerald S. Sumeracki

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord." By: Gerald S. Sumeracki At the onset, one might find it beneficial to have a Bible handy while reading this humble attempt to discuss the nature of the Almighty. The writer, unlike the source material, is subject to error. Let God’s scriptures be the final authority in your quest for the Ultimate Truth. "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord." This is a state- ment of steadfast faith and has been a Judaic pillar of accepted truth dating back to the time of Moses as recorded in the Torah and the Bible’s Book of Deuteronomy 6:4. The referenced script- ure reveals God’s nature to be singular. This “oneness” of God is an accepted doctrine by many belief systems across the world. The basic tenant states that there is only one deity res- ponsible for all that ever was, all that currently exists and all that has yet to come. God’s singularity, although widely believed to be true, is the subject of dispute as it relates to how his nature has, is, or can be expressed. The question arises, “Can the nature or essence of this single God be expressed in other than a singular fashion?” Christianity has a unique view of God’s nature, which is referred to as the “Trinity.” In that this view seems to be in opposition to the general belief that God is strictly “One,” this view will be explored in an attempt to clarify the reason why it is held to be a doctrine of truth. Doctrines, by definition, are considered to be absolute truths required to be believed by all who profess the faith structure holding such doctrines. Hopefully, the idea that Christians believe there are three Gods, will be dispelled, they absolutely do not! Christians steadfastly hold to the belief that there is only “One” true God and the doctrine of the Trinity does not oppose that belief! The identities that comprise the Trinity are held to be person- alities of God; three distinct and separate expressions of God’s nature, that of “Father” “Son” and “Holy Spirit.” Hopefully it will be shown that God can and does express himself in whatever way he chooses. If the reader acknowledges that God possesses this “right” to express himself as he wishes, it will help clarify any misunderstanding that may linger about the “Trinity.” In contemplating the core essence of God, I believe it is reason- able to deduce that nothing is impossible for God. Any “god” that has any hint of limitations would not be the BIG “G” God of scrip- ture; omnipotent, omniscient, pure power, being perfection in all aspects … eternally. A small “g” god who could not express him- self in different ways would therefore be limited and not the one true God whose nature we seek to focus upon. No matter how God chooses to express himself, he is his expres- sion; he is always the “One” no matter how he manifests. Whether or not we can or will accept a particularly evident manifestation of God is always a matter of personal choice. Christian’s accept God’s ability to do inexplicable things. Such things that fit such parameters, and are backed by scriptures, become matters of “faith” for Christians. Scripture states that we were all made in God’s likeness and therefore have been granted the ability to reason and choose, even when it comes to accepting or rejecting God himself! Christianity holds to a doctrine of faith that all manifestations of God proceed from him, i.e., that which flows from God is God. Any and all noble attributes we could possibly attribute or as- cribed to God, such as love, truth, justice, beauty, etc., are personifications proceeding from God’s one and only nature. His “oneness” always remains “one.” This is so no matter how God manifests or to what degree. Just how God could be each and all simultaneously in what we call “time and space” is beyond our ability to comprehend. A simple analogy would be a physicist trying to explain the intricacies of Quantum Physics to an ant. That ant would never begin to under- stand the subject being taught … never! God’s nature for us is that ant’s Quantum Physics. We are not able to understand the “how” of God but we must seek to understand what God wants us to under- stand as he chooses to reveal himself. Where does one find reason to accept the doctrine of the Trinity, the belief that God’s singular nature is manifested in three separ- ate and distinct ways, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Each is separ- ate, an expression of the one true God, acting independently of the other two! A time and space example that could be put forth to attempt to explain such an unlikely concept would be simple water. Under different conditions it is liquid, solid or gas. Granted, it cannot be all three at the same time as can the personalities of God, but then again, water is bound by physical laws not limitless deistic potentials. Christianity’s view of God’s nature is based on a number of script- ures. Some of the more notable passages of these scriptures have been gleaned from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and shall now be shared, hopefully to help clarify why Christians believe as they do. Foundational to all faith issues held by Christians is the belief that scriptures are “inspired” records written by ancient indi- viduals such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel or their con- temporaries. Likewise, men like Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James and Saul of Tarsus (later in life called Paul the Apostle) are believed to have been so inspired in their writings which now comprise the New Testament of the Bible. Although authorship in some cases is disputed among scholars of the scriptures, what was recorded and passed down is not. All scriptures are therefore believed to express revealed truths of God that have been passed from generation to generation without error, and shall continue to be so till the end of time, for it is believed God will ensure it be so. Let us start a focused journey into the nature of God at the very beginning of the Judaic/Christian scriptures…the Book of Genesis. The first indication that the Almighty has shown Himself to be other than “one” is expressed in Genesis 1:26 when the Lord God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” Although one cannot ascertain just how many are included in this “us” and “our,” other than one is a certainty. An interesting use of titles within the first four chapters of Genesis may be indicative of an early revelation that three distinct deistic identifications were revealed to the author. The writer refers to the Almighty in these chapters as GOD, LORD GOD and LORD. The question arises, why would the author use three different and distinctive identifications to reference the Almighty when one would suffice? In Genesis 11: 5-7 another early indication of the Almighty’s unique identity is expressed where God comments about what mankind has been achieving in the construction of the “Tower of Babel.” With whom was the one and only God conversing when he used the term us? In Genesis chapter 18, “three men” converse with Abraham prior to the destruction of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. These three individuals, some refer to as theophanies, conversed with Abraham regarding the wickedness of those cities. This triple identification, expressed in conjunction with the Almighty, is found along with the aforementioned expressions within the very first book of scripture, a book believed to have been written by Moses himself! In case the reader is not familiar with the word theophany, here is a brief definition. Basically it’s a visible, physical manifestation of deity. The use of this word, as applicable to the scriptures being referenced, refers to Almighty God’s appearance upon the earth in human form, a visitation that brings enlightenment to the one visited or revelation essential to God’s unfolding expression of himself to all of mankind. Other theophanies appear throughout the early scriptures such as the “angel” who wrestled with Jacob and the “Son of Man” seen in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. (The Son of Man title was later used to refer of Jesus.) Over the lifetime of Moses, God manifested himself in a number of different manners, three notable ways being the voice from a burning bush when the mighty “I Am” first revealed himself, the visual sighting of God’s back as He passed Moses while they were together on the mountain top and the “face to face” encounter ex- perienced when the second set of stone tablets inscribed with the Law were given to Moses. (Exodus 34: 29-35.) In the latter case, an exceptional phenomenon was recorded after Moses returned to the congregation after his long stay with God on the mountain; it had to do with his face! It seems that Moses absorbed some of God’s “glory” which caused his face to radiate an intense light. It was so intense in fact, which the people could not look upon him with the naked eye! Moses was actually required to wear a veil over his face whenever he addressed God’s chosen! To help explain the nature of the above noted phenomenon, a New Testament scripture (1 Timothy 6:16) informs the reader that God “dwells in unapproachable light.” This infers that the radiant Holi- ness and Purity of God is so incredibly intense that nothing but God himself can experience it. Moses was blessed beyond measure when the Almighty miracu- lously protected him during their face to face encounters. Moses was allowed to look upon God’s Holy Countenance without harm. This awesome sight, i.e., a vision of God as he truly exists, is re- ferred to as the Beatific Vision by the Roman Catholic Church. It is the ultimate personal communion we yearn for, were made for. The chosen people of God had an important relationship with their offspring which helps in the understanding of the Trinity, that rela- tionship being between a father and his first born son. In the scrip- tural recounting of lineage, with some exceptions, the firstborn son is the only offspring mentioned in tracing a family’s link back to Adam and Eve. One such exception occurs in Genesis, where Noah’s three sons were all named. It is interesting that it was to be through these three offspring that all future humans were to originate since all living had perished in the flood. This new beginning was to spring forth from Noah’s three sons, could this be a shadow of the Trinity’s initial creation of Adam and Eve? Does not God work and communicate in mysterious ways as he wills? There are other multiple expressions in the Old Testament rela- ting to the Lord God. The reader is encouraged to let the Holy Spirit lead you to all of them if it is your desire to be so enlightened. Let us, however, move on to the New Testament as we expand our inquiry into God’s nature. In the Book of Matthew, after noting the genealogy of Christ, in verse 17 of Chapter 1 it is recorded that 42 generations (3 separate 14 generational increments) separate the patriarch Abraham from Christ Jesus. The three groups of 14 generations each are an interesting observation that was included in this scripture …but why? Might it be another mysterious message indicative of God’s nature as were the three identities given the Almighty in the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis? Does the belief in one, indivisible God, exclude one from believing that this “oneness” can be expressed in other than one way? Could God, for instance, represent himself as something He created? Could God appear to man in human form, i.e., a theophany, or more specifically could he actually become a man as opposed to just appearing as one? In addressing such a question, one has to first determine if God could somehow be limited. You may have heard it asked “Could God create a rock so large he couldn’t lift it?” or “Could God make a square peg fit perfectly into a round hole?” These are rather childish ways to say that God himself might have limitations but such paradoxical challenges are really meaningless. The “Laws” God placed within physical reality apply to all that exists in that realm, namely we humans and all materiality! God however, by nature, is spirit and dwells in the eternal where the laws of the physical have no meaning. Could God therefore be able to break the physical laws we are bound by? Did not Jesus, God’s human manifestation, walk on water, bring sight to the blind, multiply loaves and fish and cure terrible diseases during his time on earth? If the God of scriptures is real, nothing would be impossible for Him. God’s “Word” was manifest, made flesh in the person of Christ Jesus (see John 1: 1-14) some 2000 years ago and, as doctrine, is referred to as the “Incarnation.” God’s perfect knowledge, his expression as “Word,” became one with mankind. In this becom- ing one with mankind, God took on human flesh to provide the per- fect and complete redemptive sacrifice for all mankind, to pay the required price that only God himself could pay, the only price that would be acceptable to re-establish the union mankind lost through the fall of our first parents. Scripture is filled with the model God required of man to make things right ... only through blood sacrifices could man cover sins. Blood provided a spiritual covering which became the means God’s chosen people were provided to atone for their sins. In the very beginning, God killed an animal in the Garden of Eden to acquire skins to clothe Adam and Eve after their sin (Genesis 3:21) ... and so the means to cover sins had its beginning, a animal sacri- fice to foreshadow the perfect blood sacrifice to come! There could only be one truly pure and perfect sacrifice accept- able to God for the corporate sins of mankind and it was that very sacrifice that God provided in Christ Jesus. Man had fallen from grace and all posterity inherited a sin-stained nature. Humanity, because of sin, became disconnected from God, a separation only God could restore. It was man’s sin that brought death to mankind; it would have to be a sinless man’s death to restore life. All through the scriptures the only sacrifice that was acceptable to atone for sins was a “spotless lamb,” an innocent, unblemished, untainted offering. Only the very best of the best was to be offered to God in seeking his forgiveness. In that no human offspring of Adam and Eve could ever be eligible (because of humanity’s acquired sin nature,) God Himself, the Incarnation, would be the only solution. Jesus Christ, the Image of God (Colossians 1: 15,) the “Word of God” (John 1:1,) God’s promised and long awaited savior, became fully man while retaining his divine nature. Two natures became one in the miracle of miracles; God did the unthinkable, the most unreasonable and humbling thing God could do, he became one of us! In Mathew 1: 23, an Old Testament scripture is quoted, which foretold the birth of the Christ. “Behold, the virgin will be with child, and will bring forth a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” which is translated, “God with us.” This ancient prophecy is re- corded in Isaiah 7:14 and refers to the one who would come to redeem Israel, the Messiah, the Anointed One, “God with us.” This prophecy is believed by Christians to have been fulfilled in Jesus, the Incarnation of God’s “Image,” the second person in the Trinity. (See Colossians 1:15) In Chapter 2 of Matthew, where King Herod deceitfully deals with the “wise men from the East,” he inquired of the Jewish priests and scribes as to where the “King of the Jews” i.e., “the Christ” was to be born. They responded by telling him it was to be in Bethlehem of Judah. Herod asked the wise men to come back to let him know where they had found the Christ so that he too could go and worship him. Now Herod, as well as every Jew of that day, knew that worship was reserved for God alone, so the use of this terminology in scrip- ture strongly suggests the priests and scribes believed their pro- phesied Messiah would be no mere mortal, but the promised Immanuel (God with us) foretold by the prophets. After his arrest, Christ was taken before the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas. The high priest demanded that Jesus tell him whether he was the Son of God (see Matthew, Chapter 26.) Jesus answered him: “It is as you said.” Upon hearing Christ’s affirmation, Caiaphas tore his clothes proclaiming that Christ had blasphemed! There is no doubt what Caiaphas was asking Jesus, he plainly wanted to know if Jesus was claiming equality with God. The high priest had said “I adjure you, by the living God that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” It was because of the affirma- tion of Father God’s living reality that Jesus answered in the manner he did. His proclamation to be God’s Son, therefore being God in every respect, is why he was condemned. To make such a claim was blasphemy for a Jew, punishable by death. In the Jewish culture, at the time of Christ, the first born son, even one adopted into the family, was held to have equal authority to represent his father in all matters. What the son did or said would be looked upon as coming directly from his father in the fullness of that father’s authority. Christ claimed, as by oath by the living God, to be His Son in the flesh and therefore having full equality with the Almighty! This was the claim Caiaphas used to condemn Jesus, the claim of Christ to be the God of Israel! After Jesus had been crucified and awaited death, the chief priest and various scribes and elders of Israel were mocking him as he suffered. Among these men were the most learned of the Jewish nation, well versed in the Law of Moses and the scriptures they held to be most sacred. As they stood and witness the death of the “King of the Jews” as Pontius Pilot had posted on Christ’s cross, they were witness to all that had befallen Jesus as well as how those in the crowd behaved … they witnessed the dividing of Christ’s garments by the soldiers. They heard Jesus cry out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Everyone witnessing Christ’s crucifixion no doubt heard this cry, especially the Jewish clerics. These learned religious priests and scribes must have known Jesus had quoted the first words of the 22nd Psalm! The words of this Psalm vividly describe an execution by cruci- fixion, a means of extreme punishment not even used at the time the Psalm was written! The Psalm prophesized the casting of lots for the executed criminal’s clothing! Did not the Jewish elders just witness that very thing! Yet, they refused to believe in what God was clearly telling them. Why? Their own seers referred to them as “stiff necked” people for they always seemed to look the other way when God revealed truths to them. They seemed to only cling to cherished traditions and anything that opposed them was rejected. Just seeing how Psalm 22 was fulfilled through Christ’s crucifixion and death should convince any seeker of truth as to the legitimacy of God’s touch with humanity in Christ Jesus. Anyone having a mind open to God’s oftentimes subtle means of communication, plainly sees He has been pointing the way to Christ Jesus from the very beginning of recorded time, the Way for man to return to God. There is a famous biblical story of a rich man and poor man, both of whom died. The rich man went to Hell and the poor man went to Heaven. The rich man in his torment pleads to father Abraham that he send the poor man to Hell with a drop of water to cool his burn- ing tongue. Abraham answered, that due to the wide chasm be- tween Heaven and Hell, it was impossible to do so. The rich man replies “Then send him back to my living brothers to warn them to NOT come to this place.” Abraham told him that they had the Law and Prophets and further said that even though a man come back from the dead, they would still not believe. The truth of that prophetic utterance was historically realized after Jesus rose from the dead. Israel, to whom the Messiah came, still refused to listen. Christ did not fit into their traditional think- ing of what Messiah was expected to be. Even though the proph- etic words of their seers’ of old plainly foretold what their spiritually blind eyes had witnessed in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, they still could not accept him as the one they were waiting for. Why? Simply because he did not do what they thought he was supposed to do, i.e., restore the nation of Israel to the power and glory it once had. God’s nature, no matter how it is revealed or expressed, will always emanate from His “oneness” for there is only one God. The Christian faith holds fast to the revealed truth of God’s singularity, it also believes that God can and has expressed himself in many other ways, be it as a Trinity or in any way he chooses. Before all which was, and now is, came into being …before man, earth, stars and time itself came to be, God was. In this realm of eternal, God existed as a unique reality, needing nothing, perfect- ly complete as a singularity of infinite intelligence, power and will. In this state of being, the infinite, eternal interaction that existed within the Godhead was perfect having no needs whatsoever. Within God there was perfect harmony, joy, and fulfillment. Intelligence of self was loved. Putting titles to these three words that express God would equate to: Self=Father, Intelligence= Son, Love= Holy Spirit This is deep theology and humanly incomprehensible. To visual- ize a being having one nature with three distinct personalities, each able to act independently of the others in time and space, is beyond a human’s capacity to comprehend! Only when one places himself out of the natural into the spiritual, accepting God’s ability to be God, can the beginning of comprehension occur in the context of faith. For man to say it is not possible for God to express himself in ways that do not fit our humanity’s frames of reference, or parameters of what we think are acceptable deistic behavior, is arrogant indeed. Once again, a limited god cannot be the God! If one can look at God as the “Self” or Father and that which He eternally knows as his “Intelligence” or Son, then it follows that he must “Love,” the binding force which is the Holy Spirit. According to scriptures, God refers to us as the greatest of his creations, made to spend eternity with Him in paradise. We are, however, given the free will to refuse such a destiny. As God’s most precious created beings, we have been given all that will ever need to achieve what God has promised for our eventual communion with him. The Almighty expressed His power through creation and the heavens proclaim that might. Man was created with an eternal yearning to know and understand all that could be understood. Mysteries hidden from the very beginning of time are daily being uncovered in man’s perpetual search for answers. Knowledge is growing exponentially and the more mankind comes to know, the more he realizes that much more is yet to be learned. Learning is an eternal quest. This “eternal” is a difficult concept to understand. It is the back- drop to mankind’s destiny of learning which God promises will be a perpetual challenge … for those who so choose. God has pro- claimed in scripture (see 1 Corinthians 2: 9 and Isaiah 64: 4) that those who love him will come to be with him one day where the challenges of learning will never end, where wonders beyond one’s wildest imagination will be forever experienced, where limitless abilities and challenges will be the norm and perfect peace, contentment and happiness an eternal blessing. It is not really possible for man’s intelligence to comprehend spiritual concepts or how something spiritual could be the source of what we know as materiality. Conjecture as to the nature of the invisible can only be base on what is observable in the physical realm, be it personal experienced events or the confirmed historical experiences of others. The Torah, and supporting ancient sources of scriptures, as well as more recent scriptures written about Jesus, attest to the reality that a “God” has been believed in for all recorded time. Logical deductions based on those authenticated documents support belief in a “Higher Power” responsible for all that has ever existed, is now or ever will be. Since God is spirit, man’s free will can and often does deny his reality since he cannot be physically exper- ienced. Belief therefore is based on faith. To believe or not be- lieve becomes the choice available to all. That choice, like all choices, has consequences. Just what are the consequences for a “God centered” individual and one who is “self centered” (other than God-centered?) For the answer, check the promises of God in the most referenced book in all history, the Bible. Is your eternal destiny important enough to you to invest time and effort in discovering the truth about God and his desired relationship with you? A promise of scripture is that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. The One and only God, patiently waits for our knock on the door that will open up to reveal His love, that door is the Bible. “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord." These words will resound throughout eternity! The question is: Who will come to know God as He desires to be known? Who will one day experience the wonders the Almighty has prepared for those who love him? Time is guaranteed to no one. We each use what time we are allotted to do what we must or can to achieve the goals we ulti- mately set for ourselves. Eventually our time ends and we either “poof” out of existence or enter the eternal. This life may be the only hell you will ever know if you enter into the wonders God has prepared for you from the beginning of time. Others of you will look upon the earthly lives you lived as being the only heaven you will ever experience as you look forward to eternal gloom away from the God you had no time for. The choice is ultimately ours. As much as God would have all of mankind choose eternal life with him, he allows us to choose otherwise. God has not left us destitute, without direction. For those who diligently seek to know him, he will be found. He will reveal himself with as much detail as the one seeking can under- stand, hopefully as the Father he wants us to experience, the Son he would have us accept as our Savior and the Holy Spirit, the teacher, counselor and ever present love of God. It is my hope that in some small way I have opened up a vein of thinking for anyone who reads this weak attempt to look at God’s nature. What I have written comes from many years of exposure to God’s Word, The Bible, as well as what I can only say has been a fervent need to express what I feel the Lord inspiring me to write. I pray you find your way to God as I have and experience him in ways unexplainable, as I have. He loves you far more than you can know. To allow him to embrace you as his child, through Jesus his Son, will be the most awesome, loving and rewarding event of your earthly life ... and eternity.