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KINGDOM
BIBLE STUDIES
“Teaching the things
concerning the
THE KINGDOM
FAMILY OF GOD
Part 1
Originally
published around 1970-71
WHO – WHAT IS GOD?
“In the beginning GOD created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
In the first verse of the Bible God
introduces Himself to mankind as the Almighty Creator. In the English
translation of the Hebrew it is unfortunate that the term “God” is used because
it does not describe fully the Hebrew word from which it is translated. The
word “God” or even “Lord”, as we see it in our English Bible conveys little
more to us than the designation of the Supreme being and Sovereign of the
universe. We can know little of what the word “God” means until we go to the
language from which the word “God” is translated, the language which is the
first written record of the revelation of Himself, the language in which He
spoke to Moses and the prophets.
GOD INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO MANKIND WITH A PLURAL NAME!
“In the beginning GOD…” The Hebrew
word from which this word “God” is translated is ELOHIM. Elohim occurs in the
first chapter of Genesis thirty-two times. The English word “God” conveys the
idea that only ONE being or individual is involved. It is singular. In the
Hebrew it is NOT singular!
The one striking peculiarity in the
name ELOHIM is that it is in the plural. It has the plural Hebrew ending for
all masculine nouns in the plural. In English we use “s” as a pluralizing
letter on words. In Hebrew they use “im” as a
pluralizing form. In some cases this is confusing. One example of this is in
Genesis 3:24 where the Hebrew word “Cherubin” is transliterated from the
Hebrew. In order to make people understand that there is more than on
individual involved, the word is Anglicized and spelled “Cherubims”!
By thus bringing the Hebrew word over into the English and adding the English
“s” to it, this conveys the idea to English-speaking people that there was more
than one Cherub involved and so helps us to understand the original language in
which the Bible was written. BUT – it is also misleading in the sense that this
practice is not consistently exercised throughout the Bible.
If the translators had been consistent
with this form of translating, then the first verse of your Bible would read,
“In the beginning ElohimS…”
It is significant that although
plural in form, Elohim is constantly accompanied by verbs and adjectives in the
singular. In the very first verse of Genesis the verb “create” is singular, and
so all through the chapter and indeed through the Bible. In many places (as in
Deut. 32:39; Isa. 45:5,22, etc.) we find singular pronouns. “I am Elohim and
there is no Elohim beside ME.” Other places in the scriptures (II Kings
19:4,16; Ps. 7:9; 57:2, etc.) use adjectives in the singular of Elohim. In
contrast with this, when the word “elohim” is used of
heathen gods plural adjectives are used, as in I Samuel 4:8, etc. But then
again this one Elohim speaks of Himself as US. In Genesis 1:26 Elohim says,
“Let US make man in OUR likeness: and let THEM…” Then in Genesis 3:22 Elohim
says, “Behold, the man is become as ONE OF US, to know good and evil…” In
Genesis 11:7 God says, “Go to, let US go down, and there confound their
language.”
To harmonize the foregoing facts, we
must understand that in reality the Hebrew word Elohim is a UNIPLURAL NOUN. It
is uni-plural, like such words as group, church,
family, crowd or organization. Take, for example, the word
church. You will read in I Corinthians 12:20 that the church is only
And so, incredible as it may seem at
first thought, God (as revealed by the uni-plural
name ELOHIM) is not merely one Person, but God is a plurality of Persons – in
fact, God is a FAMILY! God is a KINGDOM – the Supreme Divine FAMILY which RULES
the universe! You see, the GOSPEL, the GOOD NEWS that Jesus brought to men is,
merely, the GOOD NEWS of the KINGDOM (GOVERNMENT) OF GOD – and that KINGDOM is
God. It is a FAMILY – a RULING, Righteous, Divine Family! Elohim does not
mean One person of God. Elohim does not mean many Gods.
Elohim means that there is ONE GOD and that one God is a Family – a Kingdom –
into which humans may be born!
THE TRINITY
All true Christians believe in God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and that these three, though
distinct from one point of view, constitute only one God. Some of course, have
scoffed at this belief that God can be ONE God, and at the same time be MORE
THAN ONE PERSON. It is contrary to established and inalterable mathematical
principles, they say, to maintain that 1 + 1 + 1 = 1, rather than 3. However,
God in the scriptures has revealed Himself to man in a TRINITY OF PERSONS –
making one God. These three Persons are clearly designated by Jesus in John
14:26 in these words, “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will
send in My name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf), He will
teach you all things. And He will remind you of, bring to your remembrance –
everything I have told you.” Amplified Bible.
The doctrine of the Trinity of God
is not only scriptural, it is also sound mathematically and is reflected in all
true science in such a wonderful way that the assumed fact of an eternally
existing triune God is an inductive necessity before the universe, as science
knows it today, can be explained at all. All knowable things in their universe
may be classified under the THREE heads of space, matter, or time. Now
scientifically, space consists of exactly THREE dimensions, each equally
important and absolutely essential. There would be no space, no reality,
if there were only two dimensions. Then it is interesting to note that to get
the cubical contents of any certain confined space, one does not add the
length and breadth and width, but rather multiplies them together.
Analogously, the mathematics of the Trinity of the Godhead is not 1 + 1 + 1 =
1, but 1 x 1 x 1 = 1!
The analogy is even more striking in
matter. Matter is composed of atoms. The whole universe is made of atoms. For
thousands of years men thought an atom was a particle of matter so small that
it could not be divided any further. The word “atom” is derived from the Greek
and means “uncuttable.” Men anciently gave the atom this name because they had
no real idea of what an atom is like. It is now known that one atom is like a
solar system in itself and is composed of THREE DISTINCT PARTICLES. These particles
are electrons, protons, and neutrons. It takes all three of these distinct
particles to make ONE ATOM.
The new physics has come to regard
matter more and more as simply tremendous ENERGY in MOTION. Depending on the
rates and types of motion, there are then various PHENOMENA presented to our
senses – sound, color, heat, texture, hardness, etc. ENERGY is the unseen power
and source manifesting itself in MOTION and thus producing PHENOMENA. Matter
involves these THREE phases and no others that cannot rightly be
included in one of these three. Each is distinct, yet each involves the whole
of matter and none of the three can exist by itself without the other two.
Further, matter exists in exactly
THREE DIFFERENT KINDS or STATES: liquid, solid and gas.
TIME is a trinity – consisting of
the past, present and future. Each contains the whole of time, yet is distinct,
and cannot exist without the other two. Furthermore, the three basic entities
unite to form the SPACE – MASS – TIME continuum which constitutes the physical
cosmos itself. Space is the invisible, omnipresent background, manifest
everywhere in matter (energy), interpreted and experienced through time. Thus,
the physical universe is actually A TRINITY OF TRINITIES, A TRIUNIVERSE in the
fullest sense!
But this same remarkable phenomenon
can be seen in the realm of human life as well. The Bible says that man was
created in the image of God, so this should be expected. God’s purpose, of
course, was to create man spiritually in the image of God, but it is
also true that man is in the image of God so far as the constitution of his
being is concerned, for man is the TRIPARTITE BEING – indeed, MAN IS A TRINITY!
The apostle Paul identifies the three parts of man in I Thessalonians 5:23,
“And the very God of peace sanctify you WHOLLY; and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” This is not the place to go into a detailed explanation of
the difference between the three parts of man’s being, but suffice it to say
they ARE DISTINCT, divisible (Hebrews 4:12; II Corinthians 5:6-8; II
Corinthians 12:2), but interdependent and the three together make ONE WHOLE
MAN.
Illustrations could be piled upon
illustration until they would become voluminous. But may the Holy Spirit
graciously allow us to see that God is indeed a family – a kingdom – and this
Kingdom Family from eternity is a Triune God. Always the logical, causal order
presented is: first, God the Father – the unseen source and cause of all
things; second, God the Son – who tangibly and visibly reveals the Father to
man and is the Spokesman for the Godhead and He who executes the will of the
Father; third, God the Holy Spirit – who is unseen and yet reveals God the Son
to men and makes real in the hearts and lives of men the reality of fellowship
with the Son and the Father. All are equally eternal and equally God – ONE GOD.
The Son is presented as “begotten of the Father,” the Spirit as proceeding from
the Father through the Son. Ephesians 4:4-6; Acts 2:32-33; John 15:26; John
14:28; Ephesians 2:16-18; Ephesians 3:14-16; Colossians 1:3-4,8; John 14:26;
etc.
WHO IS YAHWEH?
In Genesis 1:1 the word for “God” in
the Hebrew – the language in which it originally was written – is “ELOHIM” –
meaning more than one Person forming one God – the one GOD FAMILY or the
GOD KINGDOM – for God is a KINGDOM.
Elohim is the only word used for God
in chapter one of Genesis. But now in chapter two of Genesis, when the historic
account first begins to record the fact of God – ELOHIM – speaking to
the man He created, a new and different Hebrew word or name is used. The
English version reads: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying…” Genesis
2:16. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden.”
Genesis 3:8. “And the LORD God called unto Adam…” Genesis 3:9, etc. etc. These
two English words “LORD God” are translated from the Hebrew “Yahweh Elohim.”
The Hebrew Elohim has already been defined as a uni-plural.
It is the plural of El, or Eloah, meaning God, Strength, Might,
Deity.
But “YAHWEH” is a name meaning, “He
(who always) is,” or “the Ever living – Eternal.” This Hebrew thought of
YAHWEH, the Ever living – Eternal One is attached in the New Testament to the
very Person of Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:8: “I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was,
and which is to come, the Almighty.”
This is not the place for a long,
technical, theological explanation. But suffice it to say, in many places in the New Testament you may
find quotations from the Old Testament referring to Jesus Christ, where, turning
to the Old Testament passage from which it is a citation, it speaks of that
particular Person of “ELOHIM” known as Yahweh – which is
translated as “the LORD” in the King James version. In other words, the “LORD”
(Yahweh) of the Old Testament, in nearly every case, is the Jesus Christ of the
New – but as He was prior to His birth as a human of the virgin Mary.
In John 1:1-3, this same Personage
is spoken of as the WORD. The Greek word is “Logos,” meaning Word, or Spokesman, or Revelatory
Thought. This Logos, this Word, or Spokesman was in the beginning!
In the beginning GOD created the heaven and the earth! And – “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All things were made BY HIM; and WITHOUT HIM was not
anything made that was made!” John 1:1-3.
HOW were all things made BY HIM –
the Logos, Word, or Spokesman? Answer – “And God SAID let there be… and
there was!” This clearly identifies the YAHWEH, the SPOKESMAN of Genesis and
all the Old Testament as the Lod Jesus Christ, the Logos, the Word of the New!
Let us SEE THIS! Jesus the Christ
is, and always has been, the individual Person of the God Family – Kingdom who
is the Spokesman. The great order of the Godhead is clearly revealed in the
first two chapters of the Bible. ELOHIM created the heaven and the earth. But
HOW?
1. The FATHER. The Father of the God Family is the HEAD. Paul speaks of
this in I Corinthians 11:3, “But I would have you know, that the head of every
man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the HEAD OF CHRIST is
God.” God the Father is generally referred to in the New Testament as “The God
and Father of OUR LORD Jesus Christ.” Sometimes simply, “the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ,” or, “the Father of our Lord…” In Ephesians 4:4-6 we learn that
there is “one body,” (we are the body) “one Spirit,” “one Lord,” etc. but then
in verse 6 we find that there is “One God and Father of ALL (the
forenamed things), who is ABOVE ALL, and through all, and in you all.” As HEAD
of the God Family it is the Father who planned and purposed ALL THINGS. So it
is that we read in Ephesians 1:3-5,9,11: “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ: According as He (the Father) hath chosen us in Him (Christ)
before the foundation of the world… having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Christ Jesus to Himself (the Father), according to the good
pleasure of HIS WILL… having made known unto us the mystery of HIS WILL,
according to His good pleasures which HE HATH PURPOSED IN HIMSELF; In whom also
we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE
of Him WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL…”
2.
The WORD. All that has come forth in creation, yea, all that shall yet
come forth in the ages to come, has and shall come forth – originated – in the
infinite wisdom and gracious design of the Father. Then, that which the Father
purposed in Himself, the Word SPOKE. So when we read the “ELOHIM SAID,” it was
the eternal Son of God – Christ – Yahweh Elohim, who did the speaking.
The WORD spoke what the FATHER had planned and said, “Let there
be!” And there WAS! Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, was the One who
spoke. But He only spoke that which the Father planned and commanded Him! It
was THROUGH Jesus Christ in a TOTAL UNANIMITY with His Father that all things
were created – the invisible things as well as the visible. Hebrews 1:2; John
1:1-3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:15-17. When that same Pre-existent Word was
made flesh and walked upon this earth He declared, “I have many things to say
and to judge of you: but He that sent Me is true; and I speak to the world
those things which I HAVE HEARD OF HIM. They understood not that He spake of THE FATHER. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye
have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he (the sent of the Father), and that I DO NOTHING OF MYSELF; but
as My Father HATH TAUGHT ME, I SPEAK THESE THINGS… I speak that which I have
seen with My Father…” John 8:26-28, 38. Jesus reiterates this great truth in
John 12:49-50 in these words, “For I have not spoken for Myself; but the Father
which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should
speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak
therefore, even as the Father SAID UNTO ME, SO I SPEAK.” This same Jesus
Christ, as the WORD, was in the beginning with God and BY HIM were all things
made that were made and with out Him was not anything
made.
This same Word (Yahweh) spoke to
Adam and Eve in the garden. It was He who called out Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It was Christ who called
3. The HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit
is the POWER which PRODUCES what the WORD commands. “And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2
SUMMARY
The “ELOHIM” is the Divine FAMILY –
only ONE family, but more than one Divine Person. Jesus Christ spoke of His
Divine Father as GOD. Jesus said He was the Son of God and the scriptures
repeatedly call Jesus GOD. So the Father is a Person, and is GOD. Jesus Christ
is a different Person – and is GOD. The Holy Spirit is a different Person – and
is GOD. The Father is the Supreme HEAD of the God Family. Christ is the
WORD – the Divine SPOKESMAN. The Holy Spirit is the POWER who accomplishes the
will of the Father spoken by Christ. The
WHERE DO YOU FIT?
It is vitally necessary that we
UNDERSTAND the foregoing TRUTH – if we are to understand OUR VERY OWN DESTINY!
For in a few moments I was to show you from the Scriptures – as it is now revealed
by the Holy Spirit – the awe-inspiring, transcending PURPOSE OF GOD for US who
have received HIM and thus been given power (Gk:
authority, right) to become the very SONS OF GOD!
Now let’s UNDERSTAND! Genesis 1:1.
In the beginning, ELOHIM – the GOD FAMILY – created the heaven and the earth…
and ELOHIM – the GOD FAMILY – said, “Let US!” – not “Let ME!” Did you
ever wonder WHY “God” said: “LET US make man in OUR image?” Notice! We speak of
the mineral kingdom – the vegetable kingdom – the animal kingdom. Then there is
the human kingdom or family – for humans are not animals and did
not descend from animals. There really, truly, is a “missing link!” But the
“missing link” does not link men to dumb animals. The “missing link” is JESUS
CHRIST – the true LINK between MAN and GOD – and through HIM we may be born
into the GOD FAMILY and KINGDOM!
God said, “Let us make man in
OUR IMAGE and after OUR LIKENESS.” God made cattle “after their kind” –
after the cattle kind. He made “every winged fowl after his kind” –
after the winged fowl kind. But it is evident that God made MAN after the
GOD kind! Now, incredible as it may sound to those who do not understand
the revelation of God’s truth – God is a FAMILY. And in MAN, God is reproducing
HIS (God’s) KIND! For man, out all the infinite creation of God, has the
supreme POTENTIALITY of being born into the very divine God Family! Do you
realize what this means? The transcending essential factor is that God
is PERFECT SPIRITUAL CHARACTER. It is the supreme intelligence, combined with
holy and righteous Character that most importantly distinguishes GOD from every
other living creature. Of course God, too, possesses supreme ALL-mighty POWER.
But without right CHARACTER, this power would be destructive and dangerous!
Character springs forth from nature.
Webster defines nature as: “The inherent tendencies directing conduct…
what a thing really is… quality… essence.”
As a degenerate human we were born
with a nature just the opposite of GOD’S NATURE. Paul describes our
former nature in Ephesians 2:2-3 thus: “… in time past ye walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (those who have
followed Adam in his rebellion against God and His original thought and
purpose for man): Among whom also we all had our conversation in times
past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind; and were by NATURE the children of wrath, even as others.” Yes, we were
by NATURE the children of wrath! Sinners! Our NATURE was of the Devil because
our Father was the Devil!
But now, as believers in Christ,
Peter says, “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things
that pertain unto (divine, spiritual) life and godliness (God-like-ness),
through the knowledge (knowing) of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue…
that… ye might be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption
that in the world through lust.” II Peter 1:3-4.
Yes, we are now made partakers of
GOD’s divine nature! This happens through the new birth, for nature is inherited.
We are begotten of God – become actual children (off-spring) of GOD – and thus
we share HIS NATURE. And from this new nature springs forth GOD’S DIVINE
CHARACTER. But we must note in connection with this that character is not
created instantaneously. The human child who because of the fall is born
with a degenerate, carnal nature, then, develops a sinful character.
Likewise, at the time of our new birth our basic NATURE was changed – or a new
one added – we were then made partakers of God’s divine nature – but –
to the Holy Spirit – the active agent in our new nature!
THE MEANING OF THE NEW BIRTH
Regeneration – new birth – being
begotten – being born again into the Kingdom of God – becoming Sons of God –
these are all principles with which every Bible student is familiar. The
beautiful ANALOGY is accepted by everyone. But all this means to the average
Christian is that he conjures up the nice spiritual feeling of thinking of
himself “AS IF” he were a son of God. The average Christian has absolutely no
idea of the transcendental implications of the new birth into the family of
God. Most think of being a child of God as sort of an “honorary” title
conferred on them by an indulgent God who accepts them as “little adopted human
children” whom He plans to give as their reward for accepting Jesus as Saviour, a beautiful park – a celestial playground – called
heaven. This heaven is for them to enjoy for eternity – loafing, playing,
running, shouting, rejoicing, playing harps, visiting, and doing whatever
sinless thing their hearts may desire.
But let us UNDERSTAND what it really
MEANS to actually be BORN into the very FAMILY of GOD. Let us turn that phrase
around in order to better be able to catch it’s full significance. Rather than
saying that we are born into the family of God, it is just as proper to say
that we are born into the GOD FAMILY! I, by way of natural illustration, might
say that I was born into the family of Luke Eby. But this also means that I was
born by natural birth into the EBY FAMILY. So, by the new birth, I am born into
the GOD FAMILY. Not only are men born into the
Before
you dismiss this thought as blasphemy, let us consider a dialogue which
occurred between Jesus and some Jews. It is recorded in John 10:30-36. “I and
the Father are One. Again the Jews brought up stones to stone Him. Jesus said
to them, My Father has enabled Me to do many good works – I have shown many
acts of mercy in your presence. For which of these do you mean to stone Me? The
Jews replied, We are not going to stone you for a good act, but for blasphemy;
because you, a mere man, make yourself out to be God. Jesus answered, Is it not
written in your Law, I (God) said, Ye are gods? (Psalm 82:6) So men are called
gods – by the Law – men to whom God’s Word came, and the scripture cannot be
set aside or cancelled or broken or annulled. If that is true do you say to Me.
The One Whom the Father consecrated and dedicated and set apart for Himself and
sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?”
Amplified Bible. The quotation of Jesus from Psalms 82:6 says simply, “I have
said Ye are gods (elohimS); and all of you are the
children of the most High.”
GOD’S PURPOSE IN CHRIST
Jesus said, “Father, I will that
they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold
My glory, which Thou has given Me: for Thou lovedst
Me before the foundation of the world. And I have declared unto them Thy
name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be
in them, and I in them. And the glory which Thou gavest
Me I have given them: that they may be ONE, even as we ARE ONE; and that the
world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou
hast loved Me.” John 17:24, 26, 22-23.
Then in Ephesians 1:3-6 we read,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN CHRIST: according as He hath
CHOSEN US IN HIM before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of
His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us
accepted IN THE BELOVED.”
Consider these statements:
vs. 3 “… blessed us… IN
CHRIST…”
vs. 4 “… chosen us IN
HIM before the foundation…”
vs. 5 “… predestined
unto adoption… BY JESUS CHRIST…”
vs. 6 “… accepted IN THE
BELOVED…”
Oh! Let us see this thing as God
sees it! Why do parents have children? Do they beget them primarily for the
benefit of the child that is to be born? Any parent, after a moments reflection
on this question will unequivocally answer “No!” It will be seen that there is
a PATERNAL DESIRE in the heart of a husband and wife, in the union of the love
they share, to project the fulfillment they experience in one another into a
NEW EXPRESSION by the begetting of children. There is joy, delight and fulfillment
in children. Children are the projection of our life, our beings, OURSELVES,
into an expanded existence and expression.
If you had one son in whom you found
unspeakable delight, would it not be normal as a father to want more? It is
exactly so with the eternal Father, who by nature and choice, has desired and
purposed to have a vast FAMILY of human-divine Sons who are just like His only
begotten Son. God did not bring us forth just to be doing something or as a
hobby to play at for pastime. Study carefully the above scripture in Ephesians
1 and you will see that God has brought us into His Family as Sons because of:
(1) The Father’s love for His Son (2) The appreciation (fulfillment) of the
relationship and fellowship of the Son unto Himself (3) The paternal
desire of the Father to bring forth a multiple and expanded expression of
Himself in Sons (4) It was His love for the firstborn Son, Christ, that
caused the Father to purpose to identify all His Sons IN HIM!
I Corinthians 12:12-14. “For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST.” Contrary to popular teaching,
Christ is NOT one person, but many. Ponder for a moment that
which pertains to the BODY OF CHRIST. The eternal WORD, YAHWEH, was embodied
and revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ. But it was never God’s intention to
bring forth only one Son. “… chosen us IN HIM before the foundation
of the world… having predestinated us unto the adoption of children…
accepted IN THE BELOVED.” It was God’s purpose, before the foundation of the
world, to bring forth a vast company of Sons. But OUR Sonship is dependent upon
the Spirit of THE SON, the same pre-existent WORD (Yahweh), dwelling in
us. This great truth is clearly set forth in Galatians 4:4-7: “But when the
fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman… that WE
might receive the adoption of Sons. And because YE ARE SONS, God has sent forth
the Spirit of HIS SON into your hearts, crying, Abba (Daddy), Father! Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a Son…” It is the Spirit of HIS SON that
has been sent into our hearts. Therefore, it is this indwelling of THE SON
which makes US Sons. Those who are the Sons of God are in reality the EXTENSION
of the incarnation of Christ! Thus it is that Christ is no longer ONE (Jesus),
but MANY.
“For it was an act worthy of God and
fitting to the divine nature that He, for whose sake and by Whom all things
have their existence, in bringing MANY SONS INTO GLORY, should make the pioneer
of their salvation perfect… For both He Who sanctifies – making men holy – and
those who are sanctified all have ONE FATHER. FOR THIS REASON He is not ashamed
to call them brethren…” Hebrews 2:10-11, Amplified Bible.
NOTE: Even though ELOHIM – the GOD
FAMILY – from eternity is a TRINITY – yet, God because of His paternal nature
has designed to have not only one Son but many Sons. But the Father so
loves His first-born Son that He has purposed to include ALL THE REST OF
HIS SONS IN the “ONE SON”. As we view from the Father’s heart, it seems
evident that He makes all His plans with His eternal Son in view; that in the
unfolding ages ahead, Jesus Christ might have a glorious Body in which to
express His very life, nature, and glory – and a family of brothers with whom
He might enjoy fellowship and share all that He is, and has, and does. It was
this purpose which had previously been a mystery, but is now made manifest to
his saints: which is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27.
We can quickly see how this ultimate intention for THE SON and HIS BODY springs
out of God’s paternal nature and desire. We can also understand how the Father
“marked out for Himself” a vast family who would share His life, nature,
spirit, purpose, and dedication. We can further see how this FAMILY PURPOSE was
to be accomplished both through and for His Eternal Son! “And HE (the Father)
has… appointed Him (Jesus) the universal and supreme HEAD of the church ( a
headship exercised throughout the church), which IS HIS BODY, the fullness
of HIM Who fills all in all – for in THAT BODY lives the full measure of
Him who makes everything complete, and who fills everything everywhere with
Himself.” Ephesians 1:22-23. Amplified Bible.
So LET US UNDERSTAND! Even though
ELOHIM – the GOD FAMILY – from eternity is a TRINITY – yet, God is bringing a
vast company of Sons. But He included ALL the Sons IN THE SON, Jesus
Christ (Yahweh) His first-born! So, in the final analysis, God shall not have
MANY SONS, but ONE CORPORATE SON, one many-membered Son – and THUS God shall
STILL BE A TRINITY even though He becomes a VERY LARGE FAMILY! WE are all IN
CHRIST, are HIS BODY, and it is HIS SPIRIT which is incarnated within us. “And
He gave some apostles… etc… for the perfecting of the
saints… till we all come… unto A PERFECT MAN, unto the measure of the stature
of FULLNESS OF CHRIST.” Ephesians 4:11-13. “As the body has many members… and
yet is one body… SO ALSO IS CHRIST.” ONE CORPORATE SON! So God remains a
TRINITY after having brought forth and matured into His very own image and
fullness a vast FAMILY OF DIVINE SONS!
To
be continued… J.
PRESTON EBY
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