The Essence of God & Christ

We believe that God is the Alpha and the Omega and the Beginning and the End (Revelation 1:17; 21:6; 22:13). God is everything to us. We know that He sent His only Son (John 3:16), that in Him He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17), and God has given Him all authority as Messiah, Lord, Master, Father of the First Born and that He has created all things through Him (Colossians 1:16). Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God that was sacrificed for our sins and through His blood we are reconciled back to God. Through His blood we can now enter the presence of God; that is, since the curtain has torn through the sacrifice of Christ we can enter the Most Holy of Holies (Hebrews 10:19). Because God has told us to follow Christ and love Him, we obey God and we love and obey Christ as our Master, Great Shepherd, Messiah, Lord and the Son of God. We pick up our cross and follow Christ in suffering and shame and in sacrifice for this is the will of the Father.

Three hundred years past the death of Christ, a council met in Nicea, and they started developing a totally new concept that was both foreign to the Jews and the early Christians.

This man-made creed, now known as "the trinity," has been summarized as follows:

"Are there more Gods than one? There is but one only, the living and true God. How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory." (Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963).

Prior to the release of the "god-head" trinity statements, there were no books written on the essence of God, nor were there any controversies, for everyone knew that God was God and that a Messiah would come. There was no discussion of three heads, three "persons" or three anything. God had never been referred to as a person or a "triune being." There was no need for debate given that this concept never crossed anyone's mind until 325 A.D. Since then, there have been volumes written to try to explain this new creed. Why would it take volumes? The reason is because it is inexplicable in light of the Word of God.

There was a big difference between the two approaches for persuasion: one side used/uses the loving words of Jesus, the Prophets, and the Apostles for promoting the truth, while the other side used/uses slander, sarcasm, labeling, fear of isolation and, in the past, torture and burning at the stake (Foxe's Book of Martyrs, John Foxe, 1583). Reason and fear are very different. Since we originally released the Essence of God statement, several preachers have called, come by the office, or written to say that they agree with my statement. Some admitted to having remained quiet because of the unyielding and forceful criticism and labeling that they would have to endure. Never did Christ force His view by fear - but the enemy would try to get Him to change His views by threatening death and carrying it out. There has been many a Christian killed by the hand of professed Christians for disagreeing that God and Jesus are "one person" and disagreeing that God's Spirit is a third person. People were, and still are, dis-fellowshipped and labeled for believing that Jesus is the Son of God. This practice was adopted by mainstream Protestant churches, and even today one is still labeled a "cult" if you do not believe that there are three co-equal partners in one godhead – a description that is not found in the confines of Genesis to Revelation. Understanding the essence of God is deemed "a mystery" by trinitarians because, again, there are so many contradictions in the Word of God to what they are trying to teach. However, the most hypocritical practice of all is that a man-made mystery and creed (created in 325 A.D. and not included in the Word of God) is the "critical doctrine" for deciding who is "in" or "out" of Christianity. "Heresy" should originate from creating a new doctrine not found in the Word of God!

This several page document could easily have turned into a 500-page book because of all the evidence supporting that God is the Father and that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, under the authority of God, but I felt led to condense this text. Therefore, this text will not include arguments from other well-respected writers or theologians (and there are many) who agree that the trinity is a man-made doctrine that defies all scripture. This document will depend only on the words and concepts brought forward by Jesus, the Apostles, and the Prophets of God who spoke on God's behalf. Those words are all we need. The other great men who have bravely stood their ground over the centuries will be blessed.

God told us to seek wisdom and dig for it like one mines silver or precious stones. Those who are willing to look beyond the man-made creeds and traditions are true seekers. Seeking the truth will set you free. A subject that has been so hotly debated over the centuries needs more than a cursory look and this basic subject, like all foundational subjects, should not be left up to debates between a few theologians. Many people have grown up just accepting this man-made creed called "the trinity" without ever knowing what it meant. Part of this indoctrination includes a teaching that "no one can really understand this mystery." The person then reasons that, "since no one can understand, why bother?" This is exactly what satan wants you to do in your seeking process. He wants you to just "accept" everything without really testing it against the Word of God. There is a war going on for each of our souls and the first weapon you need to put on is the belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14).

As you dig for this wisdom, we encourage you to keep the Bible handy to reference all scripture given. We strongly encourage the use of the New International Version (NIV 1984) of the Bible. The world's top theologians, linguists, and scholars of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek spent many thousands of hours researching and discussing the meaning of the original manuscripts and texts, producing perhaps the most thorough and reviewed translation of God's Holy Word to date.

We will have to give account for our words when the Day of Judgment comes (Matthew 12:36). The writer of the book of Revelation (most likely the Apostle John) says, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city…" (Revelation 22:18). We all know that we are mere men and that we cannot change what God wants taught.

There are many words, but especially concepts, that are added in this new doctrine: "trinity," "god-head," calling God, Jesus and the Spirit of God "persons." All of these things should raise a red flag. A new word that defines a concept that has already been presented is fine, such as the word "Bible." The word "Bible" is Latin for "The Book," which is referencing "The Scriptures." References to "the scriptures" are found all over the Word of God. We are talking about a new concept that was introduced 325-400 years past Christ and again, the concept is not found in the Bible. Surely a "triune God" would have been referred to by our Lord Jesus, by the Apostles or by one of the main writers of the New Testament, such as the Apostle Paul. Neither the concept, nor term "god-head," nor the concept or term "trinity" is found in the sacred scriptures. How can this be denied or ignored? Again, do a word search: there is no reference in the Bible to the word or the concept of "trinity," for it was never on the lips of our Savior, of any Apostles, nor of any prophets. The Jews strictly reject the concept of this creed and never in history have they ever supported such a teaching throughout all of the centuries. That should speak volumes. The religion of Islam is a religion formed from the teachings of Old and New Testament and represents millions of people who strictly reject all the implied concepts of the trinity. Moses, who God spoke to face to face, never ever implied the concepts of the "trinity" nor "god-head." The point, in and of itself, is not what I use to argue its invalidity. These man-made teachings have been hotly debated since their inception because they do create a whole new religion that is not found in the Old or the New Testaments. The words "Christian" and "trinitarian" do not go together. In other words, the teaching of the trinity was formed hundreds of years after the time of Christ; yet the Old Testament and the New Testament are thousands of years old and are divinely inspired. What happened in 325-415 A.D., that all of the sudden a new (and confusing) revelation of God was added to the Judeo/Christian thought?

Jesus was with God in the beginning. Surely He would have let His Apostles in on the fact that, "by the way, I really am God the Father and sorry about the confusion of calling myself the Son of God all the time!" But no, He insisted on the fact that He was not the Father but rather the Son. John Chapter 10 tells the classic story of where the preachers of the day were going to stone Jesus for they thought He was claiming to be God, and yet Christ denied it and made it clear that He was only saying that He was the Son of God. (You have got to stop here and read that story: John 10:22-42.) Christianity came from the Jews and for centuries they knew that no one could see YHWH face to face and still live. The Jews were afraid to say God's name much less see Him face to face. The Jews were well aware of the distinction between YHWH and the coming Messiah who would be an earthly Savior. It was and should be impossible to think that God made Himself into a baby and then let men kill Him on a cross!

At the time this new concept was introduced, there wasn't a strong scriptural argument for this new teaching, but rather a powerful authoritarian leadership in the 3rd and 4th century that burned dissenters at the stake. Arguments for the creed would remain weak but with the use of strong fear tactics, the teaching was reinforced and surpassed the centuries-old Judeo/Christian foundational teachings of "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4), and that God would give power and authority to His Son because His Son lived to please Him and was tempted by satan but refused to misuse this power and try to take over God's position. (Read about the temptations of power offered to Jesus in Luke Chapter 4.) This several thousand year old Judeo/Christian teaching was replaced with a "god-head with multiple personalities and forms;" a god-head that would even talk to Himself on the cross, in the garden and during baptism. Because of an oppressive religious system that was unlike any system that had ever hit the planet, people were tortured into reciting and accepting the new man-made doctrine. The introduction that God had two or three heads was most definitely frightening to the early church, for the Jews and early Christians knew from all scripture that Jesus was the Son of God and God Almighty and Jesus were two separate beings. No such god-head concept had been introduced in scripture. God as the Father is referenced many, many times and Jesus being referred to as the Son of the Father is referenced multiple times. This new concept, that Jesus was really just the Father incarnate, was shocking and that was why it was and is hotly debated. Not one passage says that God and Jesus are a "god-head," nor a "trinity," nor that God incarnated Himself in the form of a human and came to earth and talked to Himself. One voice from heaven stated, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22) at the same time that Jesus was most definitely on earth being baptized. To think that this is a two-headed "person" who talks to Himself and is pleased with Himself is too horrifying to conceive, for it completely goes against the entire Word of God. Only a demon could have birthed this concept and could have tortured people to keep them out of the Word of God and in the Dark Ages. Demons burn dissenters at the stake – not God. This creed mutated the true church into a new and twisted religion. Can you imagine the horror of knowing that you and your loved ones would be burned at the stake if you did not accept this new three-headed monstrous view of God? Imagine being tempted to quote this creed in a weekly ritual because dissenters would be caught and weeded out, leaving behind a confused and weakened crowd of only those too afraid to die for truth. This tradition is still in place today.

Monotheism was fundamental to the Jews as well as to Christians. In fact, all of Jerusalem and the Church would be founded on the fact that we have to forsake the world and other passions and idols and serve only one God. Chapters 28 and 29 of Deuteronomy (the Book of the Law, the Torah, or the commands of God) lay out clearly that if the children of God remain monotheistic then they will prosper, and if they become polytheistic they will suffer. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below" (Exodus 20:4). God would go on to describe Himself as a Jealous God and that indeed His name was "Jealous" (Exodus 34:14).

God sending a Son or a Savior (Messiah) was not polytheism. His was a very high but subordinate position. Just as John the Baptist spent his entire life pointing to Jesus and making Him known, Jesus spent every waking breath and action pointing to the Father with statements such as, "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good-except God alone.'" (Mark 10:18); "'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'" (John 4:34); "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36); "…the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me." (John 14:31) Jesus never thought that He was the Father; if He did – Christ would have been free to let the Apostles know that "new" secret. satan surely never treated Jesus as God the Father. How absurd to think that God Himself tested Himself against satan. The scripture reads as follows: "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." (Luke 4:5-8) (See also Deuteronomy 6:13). Do you really want to rewrite the Bible to say that God sent Himself to earth to be tempted by satan to worship satan and the prize would be the kingdoms of the earth? God already owns the earth and gave the earth to satan – only Jesus could be tempted with power. Satan wasn't asking the Creator of the Universe to worship him! Satan asked the Son of God to worship Him. Satan wants power and he is behind the push to make you think that "Jesus is equal in power to YHWH" because he wants to dilute God's power.

The only plausible explanation for mankind to come up with such a creed that made Jesus and God a "triune God" was the fear of being associated with polytheism - which was a concern due to the widespread influence of the Greeks at the time of Christ (Acts 17:16-23). In the midst of polytheism, the Israelites had always proclaimed truthfully that there was but one God. Once Jesus (the Son of God) entered the picture, someone erroneously thought that this might appear "polytheistic." In other words, they feared that Christianity would not be distinctive, but would look like a "multiple God" religion. This was such an unnecessary concern because many rulers have had sons. No one, however, has ever thought that a king/prince, father/son, or ruler/son line of authority means polytheism. You assume they are one or united in purpose else the Father would have fired him long ago. Everyone has a soul and a spirit – this does not make them two people. Well, in spite of the clear Word of God that Jesus was the only begotten Son - the Council of Nicea came up with the new concept that Jesus and God are the same being. This was a heretical, dangerous and unnecessary stretch for Christianity. The above creed developed by man between 325 and 415 A.D. (300-400 years past Christ's death) brought forth this new doctrine that God transformed Himself into multiple personalities, with no scriptures to back this up. How simple (from scriptures) it is to overcome this polytheistic dilemma: just because God has a Son, it is still the same kingdom – it is not polytheism. King David had a son, Solomon, who would take over the throne but this is not a new kingdom. Many employers have sons who rise up to right-hand management, but it is not two separate businesses. Again, this was an unnecessary doctrine created out of fear of association with the Greek culture of polytheism, especially in the light that no lives were more devoted to one God than the early Christians. The early Christians gave up everything for God and His only Son. The whole concept of Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem is wholehearted devotion to God's Kingdom, through Jesus Christ His Son.

There are 2-3 scriptures that reference Jesus as "God" or Lord of man, and this in reference to His position over us. Jesus was given authority by God as our Savior, Lord, Master and God – but Jesus always referred to His Father as His God. "…My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) "…I am returning to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God." (John 20:17) As you can see from these scriptures, Jesus never left us with a mystery. The false teachers of the third century did that. So, this is simple: any reference to Jesus as God or Father is Christ's relation and position to mankind. He is the father of the firstborn and He is our God (see Essence of God illustration). Jesus was the firstborn over all creation, was in heaven and then came to earth, and then went back to heaven to sit at the right-hand side of God. Immanuel (God with us) lets us know Jesus' position to mankind – He is our God and we must bow down. Simple; easy. No one should ever feel any pressure from the scriptures to come up with a new concept to explain why Jesus is our Lord. He is the tried and true, tested all the way to death on a cross, Son of God who has lived out total loyalty to God the Father.

The point here is that it is easy to see the positional scriptures that refer to Jesus as God to mankind (but He still remains the Son of God) (1 Corinthians 15:27), but there is no way to explain away the hundreds of references of Jesus being the Son of God. Anyone can see this. So, why was there the push to make God into "water, steam, and ice" in 325 A.D.? It was because a few people could not understand this simple concept of relation. God made Jesus our Master, Lord—but this did not make Him morph into God. Jesus would not consider this. It takes effort to stay confused because this is so simple. My brother is my brother—but his children also call him "father." Simple. Again, read 1 Corinthians 15:27. You can rest assured that any confusing doctrine or anti-authority seeds are planted by satan. Satan would love to take over God's power, and if not, diminish His control by spreading the power out. But Jesus would have none of that, as He was tested in the desert after fasting for 40 days for that very thing. Christ refused to take God's power to rule, control or manipulate Him. After passing His test, Jesus was then allowed to start His ministry.

God does not give His position away after testing Christ, who is at His right hand. God does not deny Himself. If you claim to be a "trinitarian," then you support this "doctrine" which teaches that God and Jesus are one being--equal in power, substance and glory. Again, neither the concept or term of the word "god-head," nor the concept or term of the word "trinity," is found in the sacred scriptures. But, most of all, the concept of "equal in power" is a teaching straight from hades. Jesus and God are one only in purpose: God rules. God made up the purpose and Jesus accepted it. We have been called to be one in purpose with Christ – that does not make us the same being. Jesus is the Son of God and He is Lord, Master and God of mankind. But, Jesus never took over the Father's position, though tempted by satan many times. Indeed, He is the Son sitting at God's right hand while God is on the throne. Satan started early in the church to get rid of the precious authority line that would prove to be a strategic element to salvation by trying to make Jesus equal in power. Philippians Chapter 2, however, clearly lays out the truth which says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped…" (Philippians 2:5,6). Scripture cannot be broken. Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped or comprehended. You know it from this passage. You know it more by His actions, which speak louder than words.

For centuries the scriptures talked of the coming Messiah who was referred to as "The Helper of Israel". Saying that YHWH was also Jesus would always be the biggest question that outsiders would have for Catholicism for they could see no reference to this in the Word of God. Again, the Jews would preach for centuries that God would send a Messiah or Savior for the people of Israel. God would say (through the Prophet Isaiah): "Here is my servant, [not "here is myself"] whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. …So do not fear, for I am with you; [not, "I am with myself"]; do not be dismayed, for I am your God [how clear can this get?]. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you, declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 42:1; 41:10,13) Clearly God was the God of Jesus, and God sent Jesus – not Himself – to earth. Jesus did not send God. 1 Corinthians 15:27 teaches: "For he 'has put everything under his feet.' Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ." So, Jesus was the firstborn over creation (Colossians 1:15), so He was there before the creation of the earth. In relation to man, He is "I Am" [before Abraham, I Am], and in relation to us, He is God, Lord, Messiah (John 1:41), and Father of all the First Born. This does not in any way minimize His relationship to His Father, in whom He claimed, "my food is to do the will of him who sent me [my Father] and to finish His work" (John 4:34). Jesus lived to please the Father; He did not live to please Himself! Jesus did not even begin to imply that He created God, or that God lived to please Him, or that God was equal to Him in position or power. These teachings are heretical and will be judged by God Almighty because they lead the sheep away from the true Jesus.

The trinity doctrine wrongly teaches that God incarnated Himself and came down as Jesus and then ascended back to the throne, and all that you will see when you get to Heaven is God the Father or a Spirit. We know that this teaching is heretical and defies the Bible's clear teaching that God is the Father, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of God and that the "Spirit of Christ" is the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:10,11). When Stephen was martyred, the "heavens opened and he saw Jesus sitting at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55; Christ seated at right hand side of God also in Luke 22:69; Ephesians 1:20 and Colossians 3:1). People who disagree with parts of the trinity statement need to stand up and confess that they do not uphold the traditional trinity doctrine; they should boldly admit that they believe differently. After all, you are not to fear man, but God alone. It is well documented that early critics of the trinity statements were burned at the stake for disagreeing and also so they could serve as an example to the quieter dissenters. The creed of the trinity was recited in worship each week, and it was easy to recognize the protester who would not open his mouth to recite the creed. All were banished or severely tortured or burned at the stake.

All people who supported the true Biblical view of God died off or became "chicken," leaving behind a zombie-like and compliant congregate that would not question the essence of God for the next 1,500 years…with the exception of a few. I have found that most who profess to be a "trinitarian" cannot actually explain what they believe, meaning that they do not really know what they believe or what their leadership teaches. Presently, some denominations teach that Jesus and God are the same "person," while others say "separate beings" who are still one – never making that clear. You cannot have it both ways. So as not to divide the congregation, most leaders become diplomats and say that it is thereby a "mystery" and "no human will ever really know the truth." This unexplainable doctrine now allows multiple beliefs under one roof – as long as they claim to be a "trinitarian" since it has become a centrally accepted creed by mainstream Christianity. Therefore, most members have blindly accepted this "trinity teaching," and it became very widespread and has been offered to members without question for over 1,500 years. Yes, at one time, people were burned at the stake for holding strong to the teachings that were actually in the Bible, but today you are free to believe what you want and state it…and perhaps you will undergo only verbal criticism (from man, not God) for thinking on your own. But the people who have not sought God out on this entire issue will undergo criticism from God – not man!

If the scripture is our ultimate authority, we can reason together. But if you hold what your minister or preacher or pastor says as higher than God's Word, then man is your source and numbers of men are your confirmation – and this will not hold up on Judgment Day. The Word of God easily dispels the trinity teaching, and it is frightening that such a teaching has been swallowed by this generation without question when Bibles are so readily available. God will be much more forgiving of those back in the 3rd and 4th centuries who were illiterate or without the translated Word of God at all.

What heresy it would be to teach that when Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened and a voice came from the heavens while Jesus was still on the earth and it said, "This is myself, with myself I am well pleased," instead of the actual scriptural version of, "This is my Son…with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 17:5)!

How can this well-educated generation support that when Jesus was in the Garden, He said, "Not my will, but my will be done," instead of the scriptural "Not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42)? Do you really believe that when Jesus was on the cross, He must have meant, "Myself, myself, why have I forsaken myself?" instead of what is actually in Mark 15:34: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" You cannot possibly have enough arguments to convince the world that God is not the Father and that Jesus is not the Son of God using the scriptures.

trinitarians cannot seem to answer questions such as, "Are you saying that God transforms Himself into different beings?" and "Why does He talk to Himself, such as saying He was pleased with Himself at Jesus' baptism?" and "Why would anyone want to begin to teach that Jesus is not the Son of God but actually God the Father?" It makes no sense at all.

In the early 1600s, Galileo taught that the Earth and the other planetary bodies rotated around the sun, contradicting centuries of teachings that everything revolved around the Earth. As a result for teaching what they felt was heresy, Galileo was ultimately denounced, tried, and condemned by the Catholic Church. Found guilty because of what he taught, he was forced to live the rest of his life under house arrest – not for any heretical theological views, but because he defied the current beliefs by teaching that the Earth revolved around the sun. Almost 400 years later, in the fall of 1992, Pope John Paul II gave an address in which he admitted that errors had been made by the Catholic Church's theological advisors in the case of Galileo. However, he still did not admit that the church was wrong to convict Galileo on a charge of heresy due to his correct belief that the Earth rotates around the sun. The generations since Galileo's time have all paid for the wrongful conviction and treatment of this scientist, because one has to wonder how far science could have progressed if they had been free to follow his truthful discoveries.

After reading this document, many will say that they have never believed that Jesus and God are the same being, but they are still "trinitarians." These people cannot have it both ways! The title of "trinitarian" means you believe that God has three facets (God in three persons) but is ultimately one being, and so you cannot also believe that He, Christ, and the Spirit are three separate beings. This person who tries to claim it both ways is afraid of man and needs to take a stand against this wrong creed.

What this debate boils down to is this: either you support the trinitarian creed or you do not. You cannot be a "trinitarian" and think that you are not supporting God in two or three persons. It is a creed. You can't sing on Sunday morning, "God in three persons, blessed trinity" if you are not supporting the "three-is-one concept." If you believe that God and Jesus are the same being by way of the trinity creed, then you have to believe that THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE made Himself into a baby, then let man kill Him on a cross, and then made Himself rise again after three days!

Man cannot and did not kill the Alpha and the Omega on a cross. The God of the Universe did not die on the cross – Jesus Christ died on the cross. Stop letting the blind lead the blind. Repent now from believing that God and Jesus are the same being. This is an abomination. What has happened to the New Testament teachings? Why have we let over 17 centuries go by without putting a stop to this madness? This very discrepancy has been one of the biggest arguments against Christianity from atheism and other religions. God cannot bless such false teachings.

The Bible is far too clear on what "heresy" is. A heretic is someone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. First John 2:22-23 says, "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist – he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." A person who believes in the trinity believes that the Father and the Son are one person, denying the "Father" and denying the "Son." So who is it that we will see when we get to heaven – the Father or the Son? Certainly not both, if you hold to the trinitarian belief. You have denied that they can exist as two separate beings.

If you see my point at all, please know that there is no need to continue to support this unstable doctrine from centuries ago, since people are not burned at the stake anymore. You might find verbal persecution, but you should leap for joy and rejoice when you are persecuted for the sake of the Word and for Jesus Christ! There is only one thing to fear, and that is God.

I fully believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I do not believe that He will change into the Father, but He will remain the Son and be seated at the Father's right-hand side when we get to heaven (Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1). Luke 22:69-71 says, "But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God." They all asked, 'Are you then the Son of God?' He replied, 'You are right in saying I am.' Then they said, 'Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.'"