InTruth
11-20-2006, 11:04 PM
A Help for Mormons
"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone" (Deut. 6.4 NLT) or "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:" (KJV). 1 Corinthians 8.4-6: "Concerning therefore the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is [anything] in the world, and that there is no God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many; yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him." Mormons believe Jesus is uncreated, but that he is another being from God the Father. The key phrases are "no idol is anything in the world" and that "they are called gods", not that they are gods. Though gods are created by man's ideas, they are nothing and only puff up self. Rev. 22.4, "they shall see his face" is referring to "God and the Lamb" (v.3). His face is the one face of God and the Lamb showing us the 1st Person and the 2nd Person of the Godhead have one face because the Triune God is one being, not 3 beings.
The other proof to use is that the uncreated creator is but one; to add additional gods into the mix bears the burden of the proof which mormons are unable to justify. To assume 3 gods in the eternity of the past as being uncreated is to over assume, especially considering no evidence has even been put forth. It is just assumed. It then would deem the first god to be false also, not just the other two.
The "Lord alone" (Deut. 6.4) is agreed to by Christians as being both the Father (one God) and the Son (one Lord). What this detailing of Deuteronomy 6.4 shows is that in the early decades of the first century, Jewish Christians were including Jesus within the unique identity of Israel's "One God" and so remains consistently Biblical in monotheism, without any mention of separate beings. As God in the OT was one being, so is the God in the NT. Though Israel has since forsaken their "One God", even so, He remains unchanged. This is called "enemy attestation". When Israel which rejects Christianity testifies to a monotheistic God, they help give credence to God being one being. The precedence is set, so if you want to add beings or cut up God into beings, the burden of the proof falls on you.
"Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device" (Acts 17.29), that is, three different substances of man's making. Neither is art that is visually seen, nor an image in the mind one pictures considered to be a valid substitute for God. If you say the Godhead is 3 substances, then you are violating God's Word for "we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone".
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Rom. 1.20). God is saying here that you can even sense "his eternal power and Godhead" so you are without excuse. How can this be? It is because you have a spirit of God-consciousness being made in the image of God (Gen. 1.26,27). You have a spirit, soul and body (Heb. 4.12, 1 Thess. 5.23).
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2.9). Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily because all that the Godhead is, is revealed by God entering into creation through the 2nd Person of the Godhead when Jesus emptied Himself of His independent attributes. Before the foundations of the world the Godhead held council to agree the Son would enter creation, to die on the cross, be resurrected and raised to the right hand of the Father to erect obedience unto mankind and for God to have a people He can call His own. Jesus emptied Himself of His independent attributes to be a man when He is in creation.
The glory of God was to create us to receive those who would receive Him so that He could have someone to walk with for all eternity. He gives us all that He has to be in the image of the Son, but we shall not be deified gods. The sin of mormonism rejecting Christ is to exalt themselves above God by claiming they will be more than what they could ever be. The problem seen here is lacking humility to be obedient to God, but they know better, so it is their choice to remain unsaved.
"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone" (Deut. 6.4 NLT) or "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:" (KJV). 1 Corinthians 8.4-6: "Concerning therefore the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is [anything] in the world, and that there is no God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many; yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him." Mormons believe Jesus is uncreated, but that he is another being from God the Father. The key phrases are "no idol is anything in the world" and that "they are called gods", not that they are gods. Though gods are created by man's ideas, they are nothing and only puff up self. Rev. 22.4, "they shall see his face" is referring to "God and the Lamb" (v.3). His face is the one face of God and the Lamb showing us the 1st Person and the 2nd Person of the Godhead have one face because the Triune God is one being, not 3 beings.
The other proof to use is that the uncreated creator is but one; to add additional gods into the mix bears the burden of the proof which mormons are unable to justify. To assume 3 gods in the eternity of the past as being uncreated is to over assume, especially considering no evidence has even been put forth. It is just assumed. It then would deem the first god to be false also, not just the other two.
The "Lord alone" (Deut. 6.4) is agreed to by Christians as being both the Father (one God) and the Son (one Lord). What this detailing of Deuteronomy 6.4 shows is that in the early decades of the first century, Jewish Christians were including Jesus within the unique identity of Israel's "One God" and so remains consistently Biblical in monotheism, without any mention of separate beings. As God in the OT was one being, so is the God in the NT. Though Israel has since forsaken their "One God", even so, He remains unchanged. This is called "enemy attestation". When Israel which rejects Christianity testifies to a monotheistic God, they help give credence to God being one being. The precedence is set, so if you want to add beings or cut up God into beings, the burden of the proof falls on you.
"Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device" (Acts 17.29), that is, three different substances of man's making. Neither is art that is visually seen, nor an image in the mind one pictures considered to be a valid substitute for God. If you say the Godhead is 3 substances, then you are violating God's Word for "we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone".
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Rom. 1.20). God is saying here that you can even sense "his eternal power and Godhead" so you are without excuse. How can this be? It is because you have a spirit of God-consciousness being made in the image of God (Gen. 1.26,27). You have a spirit, soul and body (Heb. 4.12, 1 Thess. 5.23).
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2.9). Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily because all that the Godhead is, is revealed by God entering into creation through the 2nd Person of the Godhead when Jesus emptied Himself of His independent attributes. Before the foundations of the world the Godhead held council to agree the Son would enter creation, to die on the cross, be resurrected and raised to the right hand of the Father to erect obedience unto mankind and for God to have a people He can call His own. Jesus emptied Himself of His independent attributes to be a man when He is in creation.
The glory of God was to create us to receive those who would receive Him so that He could have someone to walk with for all eternity. He gives us all that He has to be in the image of the Son, but we shall not be deified gods. The sin of mormonism rejecting Christ is to exalt themselves above God by claiming they will be more than what they could ever be. The problem seen here is lacking humility to be obedient to God, but they know better, so it is their choice to remain unsaved.