(The video is located at the bottom of the article)
"This is Eternal Life" to know the Only True God - John 17:3
The Savior tells us that many who "thought" they were saved are going to find out on Judgment Day, that not only were they not saved, but the Messiah tells us that he "never" knew them (Matt 7:21-23). They went their entire lives believing that their final reward was Eternal Life only to find out - they died lost. Why? One reason being they denied the very words of the Savior, Himself, when he tells us that his Father is the "Only True God " (John 17:3; 20:17).
John 17:3, "This is Eternal Life, that they may know you Father, the only true God, and Yahoshua the Messiah, whom you have sent."
In this article we'll discuss the biblical concept of "God" as taught by the prophets, apostles and the Savior Himself.
Why is it that so many that profess to beleive in the Messiah Yahoshua refuse to beleive the things he said? Notice in John 17:3 he tells us that there are two things necessary for Eternal Life
1) to know the Father as the "Only True God"
2) and Yahoshua the Messiah, the One who He sent.
Both of those facts "must" be believe in order for one to have Eternal Life.
Let me ask you, if John 17:3 said the following "This is Eternal Life that they might know you Yahoshua (Jesus), the Only True God." Do you think this passage would be shouted from every Christian pulpit in the world? Of course it would be. This would be the principle passage used to support the idea of the Messiah being part of a 3 in 1 god, or Trinity. But the fact is that so many people who say they believe in the Savior refuse to believe the things he said. That being that his Father, not himself but the Father is the "Only True God" - "His God" and ours (John 20:17).
The vast majority of Christians today take a strong stand on something the Bible never mentions, or ever even hints at, that being a "Trinity." And yet they deny the very words of the One they say they believe in when he said, "This is Eternal Life, that they know You Father, the Only True God...." Clearly according to the Savior and everyone else in the Bible, the Father Yahuweh is the Only True God (Deut 6:4; Jer 10:10; Matt 27:46; Mar 12:29; John 20:17; 1Cor 8:6; Eph 4:6; 1Tim1:17; 1Tim 2:5; 1 John 4:12; Jud 1:25; Rev 3:2; 3:12)
If the Messiah stood in front of you right now and asked you, "Who is the Only True God" would you give the scriptural answer as taught here by the Savior Himself, that the Father is the Only True God? Or would you continue to cling to a teaching that is never once mentioned in the entire bible, a 3 in 1 god, or Trinity? You can answer that question now, or when you stand before him on Judgment Day (Act 17:30-31).
If you say you believe in the 3 in 1 god, known as a Trinity what will you tell Savior, 'that he was mistaken in declaring his Father as the 'Only True God'? No, my friend the Savior wasn't mistaken.
With a minimal amount of research, such referencing almost any encyclopedia, you’ll learn that the idea of the God of Israel being a triune Being was first made the ‘official’ teaching of the Catholic Church at the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Constantine. The first Roman Catholic ‘Pope.’ Constintine himself was a "sun-worshipper" who had nothing to do with the faith of the apostles.
Is where you’ll spend Eternity worth your taking the time to look into it?
I'm convinced that one of the primary reasons today that people continue to cling to the triune God is due to their misunderstanding of the Hebrew word "elohim", which is typically translated "God", along with a few other passages that are causing so much confusion among so many Christians and Messianic Jews today. Causing them to deny the very words of the One they say they believe in, Yahoshua the Messiah, who clearly tells us his Father is the "Only True God" (John 17:3; John 20:17).
There are a handful of passages that so many misunderstand, or in some cases actually 'twist', often times intentionally, in order to hang on to a 3 in 1 god, the Trinity, which has been part of the 'Christian heritage' since the founding of the Catholic Church in the 4th century by the first Roman Catholic Pope, Constintine. Some of those misunderstood passages are:
"In the beginning was the Word...." John 1:1
"...I said you are gods" John 10:34;
"I and the Father are one" John 10:30;
"before Abraham was I am" John 8:58;
The above passages and just about every other passage that is often times used to support a Trinity are discussed on this website, all of which are listed under "Articles."
I'm convinced that anyone sincerely looking for Truth, rather then simply joining a particular church will come to recognize the Father, who's name is Yahuweh, is the Only True God after hearing the explanations given in the articles.
"Trinities" were born out Greek and Egyptian mythology and believed on by most of the pagan religions of the world. It was a concept that was never taught or even mentioned anywhere in the entire Bible. It was brought into the faith hundreds of years after the death of the apostles. There are a handful of passages that some try to use in an attempt to "imply" that someone other than the Father, Yahuweh, is the Only True God, but never is such a idea ever mentioned in the Bible. As I mentoined terms like "god the son", the "god/man", the 2nd person of a Trinity, or even the term "Trinity" itself, is ever mentioned in the Bible. Since it's never mentioned in the Bible, the best defense anyone has for supporting such an idea is to say that it's "implied" in the passages I mention above and on the website.
The thing that has always separated Israel from the rest of the world is the fact that Israel has always had One God, Yahuweh. The Babylonian "mystery" of the 3 in 1 god' has no place among a true worshipers of Yahuweh. Yahoshua said, "we (including himslef) worship the Father in spirit and truth." (John 4:22-23).
As you read through the following passages ask yourself if the Savior sounds as if he's trying to contradict that which was believed on by the patriarchs and prophets before him, that being, that the Father, Yahuweh, is the Only True God. (John 17:3; Deut 6:4)
Does the Messiah sound as if he's trying to introduce a new concept of who the Almighty is, that God is actually comprised of 3 different and distinct beings or personalities? Or is Savior simply saying that which has always been believed on by Israel, that God, Yahuweh, is One, (Deut 6:4). His Father and ours, His God and ours (John 20:17)
"Hear oh, Israel, Yahuweh our God, Yahuweh is ONE." (Deut 6:4; Isaiah 64:8).
Forget what it is you've been taught by so many ministers or teachers today and let us begin to look at a few things that the One you say you believe in actually said.
Matt 27:46; And about the ninth hour Yahoshua cried out with a loud voice, "...My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?"
Was this 2nd person of a Trinity crying out to the other two parts of the Trinity, or is this Yahoshua crying out to his God and Father? (John 20:17; Heb 5:7-9).
Keep in mind as you read all of the following passages that they were recorded by the apostles literally decades "after" the resurrection, and of course the apostles are still refering to the Father as the "Only True God", their God and ours. Never once did any writer of the "New" Testament ever tell anyone to believe in a Trinity or that Yahoshua was the god/man. In all the passages I'll list here, they continue to say that the Father is the Messiah's God and ours. That never change after the Savior took his seat at the right hand of the the Father, who is the Majesty on High (Heb 1:3; 8:1).
In Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 John tells us that the revelation he was about to receive was given first to the Messiah Yahoshua, and afterwards the Savior communicated it to John through his angels.
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Yahoshua Messiah, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
Most scholars believe the Book of Revelation to have been written in the year 97 A.D., over 60 years after the resurrection and yet this revelation was something that was ‘revealed’ to the Messiah Yahoshua. Let me ask you, is it possible to "reveal" anything to the Almighty that He doesn’t already know? Of course not, and yet it was the Father who "revealed" this revelation to the Messiah some 60 years after he took his seat at the "right hand of the Majesty on High, Yahuweh" (see Heb 1:3; Act 5:31; Rom 8:34; Heb 8:1; 10:12; 12:2)
Again, over 60 years after the Savior took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on High, he is still referring to his Father as "His God." The Father did not stop being the God of the Messiah after his death and resurrectoin.
Rev 3:12, "He who overcomes, I will make a pillar in he temple of MY GOD and he will not go out from it any more; and I will write upon him the name of MY GOD, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from MY GOD and my new name."
Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of Yahuweh, and the song of the Lamb, Yahoshua, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Yahuweh God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Jer 10:10 But the Yahuweh is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
Ask yourself, as you read the following passages, if the God spoken of here, or anywhere else in the bible for that matter, could possibly be referring to a 3 in 1 god, or Trinity.
Did Peter on the day of Pentecost, when 3000 souls were converted, try teaching these thousands of Jews that the One who died for their sins was actually "god/man" or the 2nd part of a triune godhead? Of course not, never is anyone told to believe such a thing. Notice what Peter does say about the Messiah.
Act 2:22, "Men of Israel, listen to these words; Yahoshua the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know."
Would the ministers of today have corrected Peter when he called the Savior, a man, that God performed miracles through?" Should the apostle Peter have known that this was not the 'man' Yahoshua that was 'sent from' God as he stated, but rather the 'god/man,' the 2nd part of the triune godhead? The trinity was as foreign to Peter as it was, and is to every 'true worshiper' of Yahuweh today, John 4:23-24.
Act 2:36 "therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord (or Master) and Messiah this Yahoshua whom you crucified."
That was Peter's message to the Jews, now let's take a look at what Peter said to the first Gentile converts. Did he tell them that the God Almighty died for their siins, or did he tells them that it was God Almighty who was with this "man" Yahoshua?
Act 10:38 "You know of Yahoshua of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
There is a big difference between someone "being God" and "God being with someone."
Does it sound here like Peter is trying to convince these gentile converts that the Messiah was actually the Almighty, himself, or possibly the 'god/man', the 2nd person of a triune godhead? And yet today that is the first thing, and often times the only thing, that people are taught by the ministers when someone enters a church.
Surely the apostle Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles, argued vehemently to convince those around him of this New Concept of the 3 in 1 god, a Trinity. Actually NO, NEVER, NOT ONCE did Paul or anyone else in the entire bible try to convince anyone that Yahoshua was part of a 3 in 1 god, or trinity. Today it's simply a handful of misunderstood passages that are taken out of context which are used to promote a Triune God.
Acts 17:30-31, "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because he (God) has fixed a day in which He (God) will judge the world in righteousness through a Man (Yahoshua) whom he (God) has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead."
Friend, did you notice who's going to judge the world, God is, not the 3 in 1 god, the Triune god, but the "Only True God" the Father and He'll do it through a Man, not the god/man, but the "man,' Yahoshua the Messiah.
I'm convinced that if a person never heard of such a thing as a trinity from their ministers or others, no one would ever come away with such an idea on their own after reading the scriptures. For never, ever, did anyone ever so much as mention such a thing as a 3 in 1 god.
Heb 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and
to the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriad's of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven and
to God, the judge of all, and
to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and
to Yahoshua, the mediator of a New Covenant..."
The writer of Hebrews makes a clear distinction between God and the Messiah, Yahoshua.
1 Tim 2:5 "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and Man, the Man, Messiah Yahoshua..."
1 Corinth 11:3 But I want you to understand that Messiah is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Messiah.
Rom 16:27 "...to the only wise God, through Yahoshua the Messiah, be the glory forever, amen. (Could the Only wise God spoken of here possibly be the triune god believed on by so many today?)
1 Cor 8:6 Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him, and one Lord (or Master), Yahoshua the Messiah, through whom are all things, and we exist through him.
We're told that the Messiah Yahoshua is the "first-born" of all creation (Col 1:15), and it was "through" the Messiah Yahoshua that Yahuweh made the worlds (Heb 1:2). In Genesis 1:26 the "Us" mentioned there is the only true God, Yahuweh, and His first-born, Yahoshua. The Father made the worlds "through" His Son. (see the article on Gen 1:26).
1 Thess 1:9-10"...you turned to God from idols to serve a Living and True God, and to wait for His (God's) Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, that is Yahoshua, who delivers us from the wrath to come."
Who is the "living and true God" and who is "His Son"? Clearly Paul is not trying to convinice anyone that the Savior Yahoshua is the 'living and true God.' Notice also the Messiah is "God's Son", never is the term "god the son" ever mentioned in the Bible.
Eph 4:4-6 There is one body and one spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord (Yahoshua), one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Friend, the scriptures could not make it any clearer in putting to rest forever, in the heart of the individual who is honestly seeking after the truth, this teaching of a 3 in 1 god, or trinity, a concept which the bible never speaks of.
Notice what a few scholarly sources say concerning the trinity.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica says: "Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and His followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: 'Hear o Israel ' The LORD our God is one LORD (Deut 6:4) ...the doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversy...by the end of the 4th century...the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since" (1976, micropedia, vol. X, p126.)
The Encyclopedia Americana we read: "Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian (believing that God was one person). The road which led from Jerusalem to *Nicea was scarcely a straight one, 4th century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teachings regarding the nature of God; it was on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching."...(1956), vol. XXVLL , p249L
In 1 Thess 1:8, we're told that when the Messiah returns He is going to deal out retribution to those who do not know God, and Christian if your God is the 3 in 1 god or Trinity, you not only do not know God, but you are indirectly calling the Savior a liar by refusing to believe him when he said, His Father is the 'Only True God.'
You'll find on the website a number of articles that people often times try to use in an attempt to give some validity to a triune godhead, such as Gen 1:26; John 1:1; John 10:30 and others.
To know exactly who the Only True God is, is a "MATTER OF SALVATION" and if your God is a Trinity, then now might be a good time to figure out how you're going to explain to the Messiah "it's not His Father."
If you say you believe in the Savior, then believe Him when He said, "HIS FATHER IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD' for this is "Eternal Life." John 17:3.
Of course there is much more I could have added to this article, and I will over time but for now "PLEASE" consider what has been said. But let me warn you, when you accept the words of the Savior and believe that his Father is the Only True God, it will cost you "in this life" but it's not this life we should be living for, consider the words of the Savior, in Matthew 10:33-39.
Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me, or my words, before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37 He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.
May Yahuweh bless the honest heart that is sincerely seeking the truth of his Word.
Reuven
Related Articles:
"Hear Oh Israel, Yahuweh our God, Yahuweh is ONE" - Deut 6:4
"Yahuweh, this is My name FOREVER, throughout ALL generation" - Ex o 3:15
(to begin the video click what looks like a 'pause' button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Also throughout the video I use the Hebrew word 'Elohim' rather than the English word 'God')