THE FULLNESS OF GOD LIVES IN BODILY FORM IN Y’SHUA (Colossians 2:9).
The invisible God took the human form and became a visible God to the humankind. Y’shua was the personification of two natures: the human (pregnancy by Mary) and the divine (what was conceived was of the Holy Spirit). His person was like the mixture of water and wine in a glass.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son…” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overthrow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” LUKE 1
20 An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit… 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 The virgin will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means ‘God with us.’” MATTHEW 1
When Y’shua spoke, either the God in Him or the man in Him spoke. In studying each of His pronouncements, it must be determined who. The hint is, when the Gospel refers to the speaker as Son of Man, the reference is usually to His humanity; and when it refers to the speaker as Son of God, the reference is usually to His God-being.
When Y’shua prayed (and He prayed a lot while on earth), it was not a case of God praying to Himself; the man in Him was praying. The man in Him cried out in a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)
When He said “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), the man in Him spoke. The words should not be interpreted as if a lesser or inferior God was talking of a greater God. For there is no such being as a greater God or a lesser God. There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, John 5:44, 1 Corinthians 8:4, 5).
In Matthew 12:32 He said, “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” Son of Man in the pronouncement was a reference to His humanity.
In Mark 13:32 He said of the end time, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” The Son in the pronouncement was a reference to His humanity.
Open your Bible to Luke 5:17-26. The God in Him spoke when Y’shua said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.” God knew that the paralytic’s sins were causing the paralysis. The man had to be cleansed of his sins to be healed. So God said to him, “Your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and Torah-teachers thought Y’shua was blaspheming for, as they correctly asserted, “Only God can forgive sins!” (Luke 5:21). But no blasphemy was made. The paralytic got healed, an indisputable proof that the man’s sins were forgiven. Because the sins were forgiven and only God could forgive sins, an indisputable proof was given to believers and unbelievers alike that God had spoken.
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. 11 Believe Me when I say “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me;” or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. JOHN 14
WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT Y’SHUA COMMUNICATES TO US LARGELY IN FIGURES OF SPEECH.
When Y’shua spoke of “My Father in heaven” (Matthew 12:50), the man in Him spoke. The Son of God cannot possibly have a Father. Hebrews 7:3 is explicit: The Son of God was without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life.
As a rule the words of Y’shua are not to be taken literally, for seldom did He speak in plain language. He was rather fond of speaking in parables.
25 I have been speaking figuratively. JOHN 16
Why the veiled communication? Because the message of restoration has been exclusively reserved to those who have the heart for it (Matthew 13:11).
3 [The Gospel] is veiled to those who are perishing [those who persist in walking the realm of death]. 2 CORINTHIANS 4
The fact is, not even all of those who have the heart for it can understand God’s communications. Understanding comes only to persons whom God gifted with insight. As in the case of Simon Peter:
15 Y’shua asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Y’shua replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven.” MATTHEW 16
YHVH AND Y’SHUA AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE THREE DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS OF ONE AND THE SAME GOD.
Y’SHUA IS YHVH—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is really what 1 Corinthians 12:3, Romans 10:9 and Philippians 2:11 imply in saying “Y’shua is Lord.” Lord originates from Adonai, a veiled Jewish reference to YHVH. Apostle Thomas was correct in exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
Being YHVH, Y’shua fulfilled a promise made by YHVH in the Old Testament (“All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace”—Isaiah 54:13). He also fulfilled another promise (“I Myself will be the Shepherd of My sheep. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak”—Ezekiel 34:15-16) then identified Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). And as if to emphasize in our minds who He was, He said, “No one is good—except God alone” (Mark 10:17).
34 He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. MARK 6
22 The people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one with authority, not as the teachers of the Law. MARK 1
Is there contradiction when Isaiah 8:14 says on one hand, YHVH is “the stone that causes men to stumble” while 1 Peter 2:8 says on the other hand, Y’shua is “the stone that causes men to stumble”? Is there contradiction when Isaiah 8:12, 13 says, “Do not fear what they fear… The Lord Almighty is the one you are to fear,” while 1 Peter 3:14, 15 says, “Do not fear what they fear… In your hearts set apart (Y’shua) the Messiah as Lord (the one you are to fear)”? There is no contradiction because YHVH and Y’shua were one and the same (John 10:30).
They share one throne (Revelation 7:17, 22:1, 3) and one name (Matthew 28:19, John 17:11).
There is no contradiction when John 14:16 says YHVH would send the Holy Spirit to the children of God and John 16:7 says Y’shua would. There is no contradiction when God said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega [the beginning and the end], who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8) and Y’shua said, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” (Revelation 1:17-18).
Y’SHUA IS THE HOLY SPIRIT (2 Corinthians 3:17). Listen to His prayer the night before His death:
26 I have made You [Father] known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them, and that I Myself may be in them. JOHN 17
And to what He said to His disciples:
7 It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you. JOHN 16
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. JOHN 14
Forty days after His resurrection Y’shua ascended unto heaven then returned to earth in Spirit-form to dwell in the spirits of those who shall submit to water baptism. The NIV Study Bible noted that the Scripture talked of indwelling by interchangeably naming Y’shua as the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6), the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9), the Spirit (Romans 8:9), the Spirit of Y’shua (Acts 16:7), the Spirit of the Messiah (Romans 8:9), the Spirit of truth (John 14:16) and the Counselor (John 16:7).
17 Now the Lord [Y’shua] is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed [restored] into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 CORINTHIANS 3
9 You are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to the Messiah. 10 But if the Messiah is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ROMANS 8
13 When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own… 14 He will bring glory to Me [Y’shua] by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is Mine. JOHN 16
8 I am the [Spirit of] truth. JOHN 14
27 And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to follow My laws. 29 I will save you from all uncleanness. EZEKIEL 36
6 Because you are sons [of God], God sent the Spirit of His Son to our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. GALATIANS 4
45 The first Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 1 CORINTHIANS 15
THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURE, THE NAMES AND FORMS OF GOD VARIED BUT ONLY ONE GOD SPOKE.
Y’shua was the Ancient of Days who told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of life. Y’shua was the Lord of history, the God who made a covenant with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. Y’shua was the Burning Bush who spoke with Moses and gave the Ten Commandments. Y’shua was the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3).
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. JOHN 1
Nowadays Y’shua is the Spirit who whispers to our hearts about love and obedience.
8 Messiah Y’shua is the same yesterday and today and forever. HEBREWS 13
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed Heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is [the sh’khinah] the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things [the entire creation] by His powerful Word. HEBREWS 1
WE MUST UNDERSTAND WHY Y’SHUA NEVER EXPLICITLY SAID “I AM GOD!”
Y’shua would not preempt anyone’s freedom to choose which God to love and worship. It is left to every man to discern for himself who He really was and what was meant by His statements “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me” (Luke 4:18) and “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12) and “I have come down from heaven” (John 6:38).
His God-being was so camouflaged that even Lucifer failed to see early on. The devil went to tempt Him in the wilderness, but to Y’shua’s credit, He rebuked him simply, saying, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Luke 4:12).It is never too soon to accept that Y’shua is God.
5 The Messiah… is God overall. ROMANS 9
20 We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true—even in His Son Y’shua the Messiah. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 JOHN 5
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