Is The One God Eternally Existing In Three Persons?

Part 3

Bishop Marthy C. Austria

HUG of Christ Fellowship PURE GRACE

Comparison of JEHOVAH of the Old Testament and JESUS CHRIST of the New Testament

The FIRST And The LAST

JEHOVAH: “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am THE FIRST, and I am THE LAST; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. (Isa. 44:6-8)

“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am THE FIRST, I also am THE LAST.”  (Isa. 48:12)

JESUS: “I am ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING and THE ENDING, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8)

“Saying, I am ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE FIRST and THE LAST: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am THE FIRST and THE LAST: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev. 1:11, 17, 18)

“I am ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING and THE END, THE FIRST and THE LAST.” Rev. 22:13

Who alone can say those words except God alone? The Lord says “I am the FIRST and the LAST”. He did not say “We, I and my Son are the FIRST and the LAST”. No! For there is only ONE LORD who can say that.

No God formed before or after God. It is also essential to emphasize God’s Word in 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. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

The LORD said, “I am THE FIRST and THE LAST. Before me there was no God formed neither shall there be after me”. JESUS CHRIST also said the same thing, that he is THE FIRST and THE LAST, which means that JESUS CHRIST is the same Lord of the Old Testament.

The Confession of Traditional Trinitarian Christianity says “In the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons of one substance, power and eternity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.”

That Confession teaches that “The Father is of none, but the Son is eternally begotten of the Father”.

The Bible teaches that the Son is “the only begotten of the Father” (Jn. 1:14). “The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” (Jn. 1:18). But nowhere in the Scriptures can we find the words “eternally begotten of the Father”.

Being begotten means “being born”. And if somebody is born, it means that somebody has a beginning. A son is called “son” because he has a beginning, and before his existence was his father that begot him. He is born of the father. When talking about JESUS CHRIST as the Son of God, eternity is not involved, because JESUS CHRIST’s Sonship is not eternal. Yes, JESUS CHRIST is eternal, because he is God, and only God is eternal. 

JESUS CHRIST is everlasting. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; WHOSE GOINGS FORTH HAVE BEEN FROM OF OLD, FROM EVERLASTING.” 

JESUS CHRIST is the EVERLASTING FATHER. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)

Yes, JESUS CHRIST is eternal. He is the Everlasting Father. That Scripture teaches that the child who was to be born, and the son to be given is the Everlasting Father. If that child was to be born – then that child has a beginning, a birthday. So it means that child is not eternal. But the child who was to be born is the Everlasting Father.  It means the one to be born is eternal. But that doesn’t make him eternal Son. JESUS CHRIST as the Son of God is not eternal, but as God he is the Everlasting Father. His sonship has a beginning.

JESUS CHRIST is not eternally begotten of the Father. He was begotten not in eternity, but he was begotten in the flesh, when he became flesh (Jn. 1:14), when the Holy Ghost came upon Mary and the power of the Highest overshadowed her (Lk. 1:35).

JESUS CHRIST’s sonship has a beginning. As the Son of God, he was formed in the belly of his mother. Therefore the Confession “The Son is eternally begotten of the Father” is not a Scriptural Confession but only made by human tradition and categorized as a false doctrine!

JESUS CHRIST as the Son has a beginning, when he was formed in the womb of his mother, Mary. But JESUS as God is eternal. He is the Everlasting Father. No beginning, no ending. The FIRST and the LAST.  The Alpha and the Omega.

JESUS CHRIST is not a God formed after the first God JEHOVAH. JESUS CHRIST is not a Mighty God contrasted with the Almighty God JEHOVAH. No! He is the Mighty God and the Almighty God JEHOVAH!

There is not teaching in Scriptures that JESUS CHRIST is “eternally” begotten, born, or formed of God the Father. That is a false doctrine!

If JESUS CHRIST is the eternally begotten Son of God, then it means that after JEHOVAH, in eternity, the Son is formed or begotten. Then it means that the Son is in eternity beside JEHOVAH. That in eternity there is another Saviour beside JEHOVAH. But God’s words in Scriptures refute that teaching: “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. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” (Isa. 43:10-11).

If JESUS CHRIST is the eternally begotten Son of God, then in eternity the Son is in eternal submission to the Father, the Son is eternally under the Father, the Father eternally above and greater than the Son. Then the Trinitarians will teach that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three co-equal persons in eternity? How can the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost be equal in authority? That’s a false doctrine.

The LORD said: “There was no God formed before me or after me”. If JESUS CHRIST is eternally begotten of the Father, then this verse is wrong! But it can’t be wrong! What is wrong is the “eternally begotten Son” doctrine! The Scriptures must not line up with the doctrine, but the doctrine must line up with the Scriptures. For the Scriptures are the truth and the Authority!

If JESUS CHRIST, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, then it also means that he is eternally formed of the Father. Then he cannot say that he is the FIRST and the LAST, but the Second! And that’s what the Traditionalist Trinitarians teach: JESUS is the Second Person of the Godhead. Why! Because the Traditional Trinitarian teaching teaches that God the Father is of none – he came from none, no beginning (which makes him the FIRST Person). But the Son is unlike the Father, he is eternally begotten or formed of the Father(which makes him the Second Person). The Holy Ghost is not begotten, but eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son (which makes him the Third Person).

If JESUS CHRIST is the eternally begotten of the Father, then it means he was a God formed after JEHOVAH. So JEHOVAH God formed him “in eternity” as “the Eternal Son”, the “Firstborn of every creature” (erroneously used and misinterpreted by Unitarians).

The word “formed”. The word “formed” is used in the creation of the first man Adam (Gen. 2:7). It is also used in forming a man in the womb or belly of his mother (Isa.44:2; Jer. 1:5; Isa. 49:5 and Zech. 12:1).

When the LORD said, there was no God formed before or after me, he was talking about a god created or begotten (believed and taught by pagan nations around Israel).

JESUS CHRIST is not “eternally” begotten of the Father, but in “the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4), he “was made flesh” (Jn. 1:14) “begotten of the Father” (Jn. 1:14).  And that begetting has a beginning, when he was formed in the womb of his mother, Mary. Mary was the mother of JESUS CHRIST, as the Son, as a man, but not as God. Mary is not “The Mother of God” for God has no mother. Mary was the mother of JESUS as a man. JESUS as a man was born of Mary, making Mary his mother in the flesh. But as God, JESUS has no mother. Actually, as God, Mary is his creature and daughter. JESUS CHRIST is Mary’s “God my Saviour” (Lk. 1:47).

Only Begotten Son vs. Only Begotten God. The King James Bible teaches that JESUS CHRIST is “the Only Begotten Son” – Monogenes Uios (Jn. 1:18). But the corrupt versions, following corrupt texts, teach that Christ is “The Only Begotten God” – Monogenes Theos (Jn. 1:18), teaching that JESUS CHRIST is God – Only begotten. It is obviously contradicting the Scriptural doctrine of Isa. 43:10 which says that “I am he. Before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me”. (Corrupt versions teach corrupt doctrines. But the correct Bible – Authorized King James Bible teaches correct doctrine.)

Traditionalists following the corrupt versions teach that JESUS CHRIST is God Only Begotten. They teach that JESUS CHRIST is God but a formed God, a begotten God after the FIRST Person JEHOVAH or God the Father, making JESUS the Second person. They teach that the Father (the FIRST person) is of none, not begotten nor proceeding, absolutely eternal, no beginning. But the Son, JESUS CHRIST they teach is God also, called God the Son, eternally begotten of the Father. But unlike the Father, the Son because he is eternally begotten is not absolutely eternal because he came from God the Father. That he has an eternal beginning, eternal begetting, and eternal birth. Ridiculous! But to avoid the Unitarians’ attack on the Deity of JESUS CHRIST, they added the word “eternally” to the “begotten of the Father”. That’s what the Traditional Christianity did to combat the Arians who teach that JESUS is not God. They created the “eternal Son” doctrine to prove the Deity of Christ. But they are mistaken. They produced what they opposed: heresy.

The doctrine that JESUS CHRIST is only a man, a creature, a small god, a god made by God but not The God must be rejected! But the “eternal Son” doctrine also does not line up with the teachings of the Scriptures and must be also rejected!  

The Trinitarians teach that In the Godhead are the Three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They teach that JESUS CHRIST is in the Godhead. But the Scriptures teach that JESUS CHRIST is not in the Godhead but rather “The Godhead is in JESUS CHRIST”. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Col. 2:9) Because JESUS is The God.

JESUS CHRIST says: I am the FIRST, and I am the LAST. JEHOVAH says: I am the FIRST, and I am the LAST. How many are “The FIRST”? Of course, only One! It is God! This God is JEHOVAH who became flesh and dwelt among us as the Only Begotten Son – no other than OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

The Everlasting Father. JESUS CHRIST who was born as “a child”, who was given as “a son” is “The EVERLASTING FATHER” (Isa. 9:6).

JEHOVAH is our FATHER. “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” (Isa.  64:8)

We have only ONE FATHER. “Have we not all ONE FATHER? hath not ONE GOD created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?” (Mal. 2:10)  “And call no man your father upon the earth: for ONE is your FATHER, which is in heaven.” (Mat. 23:9)

If JEHOVAH is Father, and JESUS CHRIST is also Father, does it mean we have two Fathers? NO! We have only One Father and it is JEHOVAH. JEHOVAH is JESUS CHRIST. JESUS is OUR FATHER, THE EVERLASTING FATHER!

JESUS CHRIST is not the “Eternal Son” of God, because his sonship has a beginning. But JESUS CHRIST is the Everlasting Father, the Alpha and the Omega, the FIRST and The LAST. No other than him – the Only One.

-          To be continued –