**(1 John 2:23) “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”**
And in what way am I denying the Son? I define him just as the scriptures define him. The Son expresses the words of the Father. He repeatedly witnessed that fact. He repeatedly said that he is in the Father, and the Father in him. His declaration that God is a Spirit was as plain and as accurate as could be.
If you don’t believe that the Father is the divine power in Christ, then you are denying the Son’s own testimony, and therefore denying the Son, IMO.
The problem people have in accepting the Son’s testimony as it is written, is that they have added to the scriptures by using teaching ‘helps’ that are just not scriptural, such as:
three persons of God
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
trinity
co-equal, co-eternal
I can take any passage you present, where you think that you can show separate and distinct deity, and I in turn can show you that the Father is present, and is the divine source. Do you not believe that the Father is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent?
To the Son, the words ‘Father’ and ‘God’, are interchangeable. Jesus Christ taught us that quite thoroughly in John. So much so, that you can switch them in any verse, and it is still the truth. Any time Jesus Christ mentioned God, he was referring to the Father. Anytime he mentioned the Father he was referring to God.
The Father is the only true God. Jesus Christ said it, so it must be so. And where did his testimony originate?....
The Father.
**I hope that one day, I can call you a brother in Christ.**
(or sister).
Likewise, FRiend
I’m a dude. Zuriel was a chief of the ‘sons’ of Merari, who was one of Levi’s sons. Zuriel was head honcho when it came to setting up the framework of the tabernacle, and taking it down and transporting it.
(I would have replied sooner, but Sat. morn greeting the wife and I to a PC that had downloaded Winndoze 10 without our permission. We chose to enjoy the weekend, and worry about it later. I guess we’ll just have to get used to the new OS. I’m still a little bent, but maybe I’ll just get off the grid someday.)
By not believing the whole of Scripture, that Jesus, the Son of God, is also omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
I define him just as the scriptures define him
No you don't. You only quote the Scriptures that agree with your world view, and you totally ignore the rest of Scripture. Jesus inspired the writing of the entire Bible, "John 8:58 before Abraham was, I am" so just quoting what He said while here on earth and disregarding everything else, puts you in the category of being a "smorgasbord Christian" take what you want, leave the rest.
I can take any passage you present, where you think that you can show separate and distinct deity,
I've given you many, but because they do not fit in with your ideology, you refuse to accept them, or you twist them to suit your personal belief system. But here is another for you.
Genesis 1:26
¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
This passage is plural, so either you believe in many gods, or you believe that God is one, and yet consists of separate and distinct personages. But to say that Christ is a created being is not Biblical, which makes you an unbeliever.
Here is another verse for you.
Hosea 13:4
Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
Obviously, this verse is referring to Christ being God, because there have been many people over the course of history, who have saved other people from many things, And I'm sure we both agree that they were not God. So this verse is referring to a particular saviour, isn't it?
And another one.
(Isaiah 43:10-11)
"Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. {11} I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour."
So is the Savior God, or is the Saviour a created being, or perhaps you don't believe Jesus Christ is the Saviour at all.