Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

The identity of Jesus

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“Revelation no where declares that there are three persons of the same substance in the one only God; and it is universally acknowledged to be above reason” (Barton W. Stone, Address to the Christian Churches, 2nd Edition [1821])

From the early years of the church, the question of Jesus’ identity has been a difficult one for Christians. Heresies arose which contended that Jesus was not truly human or that “Christ” came upon Jesus at his baptism and left him before the cross. Others, seeing that some saw Jesus as being one with the Father, called their opponents “Father-killers,” saying that they would portray the Father as being nailed to the cross.

In modern times, men have more problems with the divinity of Jesus. Within the church, many have rejected the doctrine of the Trinity, refusing to see Jesus as God incarnate. The arguments presented tend to be:

  • The Bible teaches that there is only one God; if Jesus is God, then there is more than one God.
  • Jesus, while on earth, spoke of the Father as being superior. He presented himself as one who did what the Father told him to do.
  • Jesus was tempted, while James tells us that God cannot be tempted.
  • Jesus prayed to the Father while on earth. He spoke of the Father knowing things that he did not. He continually spoke of God in the third person.
  • The Bible speaks of Jesus as being created or begotten, not as an eternal being.

I’ll try to present the other side in my next post. For now, I’d like to know if there are other arguments that I’ve missed. These are the main ones that I have heard. (If you didn’t read the previous post, please do so before commenting!)

Within Understanding Distance

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I’m going to leave the discussion on principal themes of the Bible, not because I feel that I’ve exhausted the subject but mainly because the subject has exhausted me! Well, actually, I think that at some point such a discussion can be counterproductive. If you lay out too many rules, passages that don’t fit under any of them suddenly become “unimportant.” As was pointed out by several along the way, we are to look to the weightier matters without neglecting the others.

I also think that we can become too scientific in our Bible study, too logic bound, too mathematical. We want to apply formulas and matrices to the text in order to systematize our beliefs. While we can find guidelines to help us, I think that, in the end, Bible study is a spiritual activity. That may be a bit “touchy-feely” for some, but I honestly think that a scientific approach to Scripture can sometimes get in our way.

I’m not often inclined to quote Alexander Campbell or other leaders from the past, but Mr. Campbell said something very interesting about Bible study (yeah, I know… he said a lot of interesting things). In his Christian System, Brother Campbell wrote:

RULE 7. For the salutary and sanctifying intelligence of the Oracles of God, the following rule is indispensable: We must come within the understanding distance.
There is a distance which is properly called the speaking distance, or the hearing distance; beyond which the voice reaches not, and the ears hear not. To hear another, we must come within that circle which the voice audibly fills.
Now we may with propriety say, that as it respects God, there is an understanding distance. All beyond that distance can not understand God; all within it can easily understand him in all matters of piety and morality. God himself is the center of that circle, and humility is its circumference.

Within understanding distance. Campbell goes on to describe the need for spirituality in Bible study. He says “the philological principles and rules of interpretation enable many men to be skilful in biblical criticism, and in the interpretation of words and sentences, who neither perceive nor admire the things represented by those words.” Put another way… rules alone won’t get you there. It takes humility, it takes prayer, it takes spiritual discernment.

Scientific Bible study can only take you so far. Without a pious spirit, all the rules in the world are inadequate. You’ve got to be close to God to be able to really hear His voice. We’ve got to draw near to Him if we want to understand His Word.