Probably one of the most significant times of schism in Church history occurred during the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. when Nestorius debated Cyril, the Patriarch of Alexandria, regarding the complex specificity in the meanings of "ousia" (essence) versus "prosopon" (person).
Sadly, I think we are still being divided by our misunderstanding of the Tri-UNITY of God (three essences) by Trinitarian (three persons) teaching gone awry.
However, we readily accept the triunity of ourselves in our everyday vernacular. Let me give you a few quick examples. I'm sure you've heard some variation of any three of these statements:
"She was there in body and words but her mind was elsewhere
"I'm sorry I won't be able to attend your wedding, but I'll be there in spirit!"
"His mind and spirit were still active, but physically he was wasting away."
If we heard any variation of these three comments, we wouldn't call the loony bin and have the person carted away. We would totally understand the concept that was trying to be conveyed. Why do we completely acknowledge our own tripartite nature but find God's a difficult concept to grasp? He said we are CREATED IN HIS IMAGE.
Thus, in the Hebrew, let's examine the exact word in Genesis of "Elohim." Elohim is a PLURAL. Was God having a split personality disorder in Genesis? Of course not. He was referring to Himself-all "ousias" or "essences" of Himself.
Jesus Christ is God. In a similar analogy, your body is YOU but it is not the complete definition of you. Your body may die but your "essence" will still continue to live on (your words, your spirit). God said He would make man in His Image. Are you just your words? Well, no. Are you just a spirit? Uh, no. Are you just a mind? Nope. Are you, in fact, ALL THREE-Yes, yes, yes! Jesus came to redeem/resurrect the fallen flesh of mankind so that we may live with Him throughout eternity in body, mind and spirit.
To figure this one out we must go back to the beginning... Few people accurately read one of the most misquoted verses in the Book of Genesis:
Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves." ~ Genesis 1:26
Next let's, fast forward to John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
~ John 1:1: (KJV)
I love scripture and how orderly it is. Even this very verse is sovereignly labelled 1:1. It's as if God is saying: "Listen up, people. The very FIRST thing you need to know is God is 1...multiple essences, yes...but 1...you must get that straight before we begin."
Then it goes on to say:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, a glory as of an only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
~John 1:14 (Berean Literal Bible)
The Word was made flesh. (made, "genea," generated G1096 in Strong's Concordance). The Word always was, is, and will be. Yet, the flesh of Jesus Christ was generated/begotten. No Christian will deny that Christ came to Earth as a baby and grew into a man. Yet the "essence" of Jesus always existed. The appearance of Jesus Christ is better understood as "The Word came on the scene" as if called into an epic drama. He was not created, He is The Creator.
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
~ Colossians 1:16
The WORD created the world. Jesus Christ is THE Word!
By the
Word of the Lord the Heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
~ Psalm 33:6
We are created through Him and for Him. It would be as if the Author, Producer and Screenwriter showed up in His own drama on stage. He is not simply "one of the actors"...He created all the characters and wrote the entire epic story! In the Book of Daniel, we find an excellent example of a "theophany" where Jesus Christ Himself shows up directly in the drama:
"Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
~ Daniel 3:25
Jesus clearly said:
"Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father" (John 14:9). "I and the Father are One" (John 10:30).
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, Prince of Peace.
~ Isaiah 9:6 (Berean Study Bible/emphasis added).
To understand the personhood ("prosopon") of Jesus better, we must understand that God "put on" the necessary attire in order to appear within His own Epic Drama. Jesus is the physical manifestation of the FULL Godhead (Colossians 2:9), not a separate adjunct of some Three-Headed deity.
This "three heads" type of belief is found in paganism such as the multiple-headed legends of false Roman gods: Cerberus and Hydra being examples. If you are blessed to grasp this mystery by the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, one might understand that Jesus' flesh tent "encased" God FULLY: The Father, His Word, His Spirit.
For in Christ all the FULLNESS OF THE DEITY dwells in bodily form.
~ Colossians 2:9 (Berean Study Bible)
In Jesus we see the glory of God manifested in the flesh.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
~ John 1:14
In the Old Testament we learn that no one can see God's face and continue to live in the flesh (Ex 33:20). By this "encasement" (ie: Incarnation), we are protected from having our eyeballs melt out of our skulls like an Indiana Jones episode when we "see" God (Yeshua).
Then, how is mankind able to see Jesus, Who is Himself God, and still live? Spoiler answer: WE DON'T!
Then Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
~ Matthew 16:24-25
"
Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat fails to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." ~ John 12:24-25
Those who only "saw" Yeshua's skin casing and not His Mind, His Spirit, the full Godhead that dwelled within Him, crucified HIM instead of themselves! However, just one glimpse at His "insides" then we become DEAD to this temporal life! That is how the First Century Church was able to experience such crushing persecution and martyrdom. After looking into the eyes of Yeshua and grasping that they were looking at GOD ON EARTH (Emmanuel), this earth became nothing but dirt to them. They had their eyes focused on a Heavenly Kingdom where they would gaze into His eyes for all eternity.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
~ 1 Corinthians 15:50
To sum up: Nowhere does Scripture state that God is "three persons" any more than we would describe ourselves as three people. Perhaps this is just bad semantics gone awry over time in Church teaching, but it is critically important as all heresies, at their core, attempt to LOWER or SEPARATE Jesus to an improper position. This cannot be done once we accept and understand Tri-UNITY instead of Trinitarian teaching. God is One. This may seem nitpicky, but Jesus told us it was
THE most important thing to know!
Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus replied, "This is the most important: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord."
~ Mark 12:28-29
Only when we get back to this correct understanding, will we truly grasp the Deity of Jesus Christ and the Incarnational work that He has done for us on the Cross so that we, as His Bride, may join Him one day IN UNITY as the "two become one."
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Prayer:
Heavenly Father: Open up our understanding and pour out your great wisdom from Heaven so that we may fully grasp the majestic mystery of the Incarnation. There is no salvation under Heaven and Earth in any other Name than the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Since Your Holy Word declares that You are a saving God from Genesis through Revelation, we must then grasp that there is no separation between Yahweh and Yeshua and that You, indeed, are One. There is NO OTHER SAVIOR...no not one. Help us to not think of ourselves as more complex than our Creator by acknowledging that we have a body, a mind/soul and a spirit to reflect how we were created in Your image. Once, having grasped the unique nature of "Elohim," let us then utilize this knowledge to REPENT for any time we have rejected LIFE and treated others in a one-dimensional way without seeing them as creations of the Most High. Teach us to grasp that You love Your creation so much, that you made a way, through the Incarnation, to fuse God to man so that we might enjoy eternal life in Your Heavenly Kingdom. There is NO OTHER WAY that this incredible mystery of God/man spiritual melding could possibly happen without You coming IN PERSON ("prosopon") to show us the Way (to Your "ousia"). We pray this prayer in the Name above all names, Yeshua Hamaschiach, our Messiah and Great God and Savior. ~ Amen.
~Pastor Jeffrey Daly
