For today's study I'm going to copy parts of a thought paper and we're going to delve into more about what I was talking about yesterday, the Godhead and eternal truths. I'll interject it with my own thoughts and probably end up breaking it up into digestable pieces, meaning give it bit by bit so it's not overwhelming and gives us time to think about what's being presented. If you're reading this you'll have access to the internet and as such it's easy to check various facts such as the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words. Don't hesitate to take time to check things for yourself. We are accountable for what we can do and that means seeking the knowledge where we can. In our time we live in something called the 'Information Age' and it is. Information is right at our fingertips and we have to avail ourselves of it.
May God bless us as we seek to understand more fully His will, His way, the truths that we need to know and believe as this world becomes more and more deceptive.
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3/14/10
1998 Jan -- XXXI -- 1(98) WWN
The Eternal Verities - Part 1 -- THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
3/15/10
Yesterday we talked a bit about the 'great divide in time' being the birth of Christ. Almost universally we use this time reference most people without nitpicking at it at all, but accepting it at our great time divider. Life before our Savior's birth and life after our Savior's birth. Amazing and wonderful.
Let's continue with the thought paper.
'THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
However, had there been no God, there would have been no Incarnation; and if no Incarnation, there would have been no atonement; and if no atonement, no Intercessor. Thus the "eternal verities" - the Godhead, the Incarnation, and the Atonement - are inseparably linked as a chain connecting and reconnecting earth with Heaven, and Heaven with earth.'
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My thoughts- there really is no arguing with this at all. The truth of it is undeniable. Without a God there is no God to become incarnate-
Dictionary Def- 1. a. Invested with bodily nature and form: an incarnate spirit. b. Embodied in human form
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
A God had to become incarnate, a spirit form of a God chose to embody a human form. Without a God there could have been no incarnation, without the incarnation, no atonement. We need atonement to be made one with God again because we began estranged to Him through sinning. The only thing that can bring us back to that - at - one - ment is the Intercessor- the incarnate God in human form - Jesus Christ our Savior.
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Let's continue with the thought paper.
As we study the Godhead, we shall note various verses of Scripture and seek to exegetically analyze them. Having done so, we shall draw certain conclusions, and where there is apparent mystery in reconciling the revelation, we shall leave it as a mystery until other texts which we will consider illuminates that mystery. It will be a progressive study with the sole objective to comprehend truth as far as a mortal can.
Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}
This text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
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My thoughts-
Let's really get what this is saying to us. An exegetical study is what?
exegesis (èk´se-jê´sîs) noun
plural exegeses (-sêz)
Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
As it's been explained to me, exegesis is letting a text speak for itself- letting the analysis say what it will without reading anything EXTRA into a test that isn't there. When we deal with language translations it becomes necessary to revert to the original language and render from that the meaning, the grammar, the form all of it is different as it is translated. It'd be foolhardy for us to believe that every translation is exact because it isn't and where we have the know-how to find out the literal translations and recognize where things have been supplied and such we should do so- not just believe it doesn't matter. We are accountable for our knowledge, for our ability to study and learn. I'm not a scholar in Hebrew, nor Greek but I recognize others who are and I do have the ability to use the Internet to help me compare what they are saying to true translations in different languages. So as the author of the thought paper says- we need to study to understand as much as we are able and leave the mysteries to God until things unfold so we have understanding.
'Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}'
The KJV does say 'also that holy thing' but as explained satisfactorily- the word 'thing' is a supplied word, the word 'thing' does not actually exist in the Greek text. Holy being an adjective needs an object to modify as adjectives do, however the choice of the object to modify could be something other than 'thing' it could be 'one' or 'spirit'. The Writings spoken of here aren't something I'm going to be too concerned with, wanting to use the Bible and the Bible only. Those who believe in the Writings can use it as a reinforcement of the truth, but those who don't wish to really don't have to as the Bible speaks for itself. The reason we are seeking understanding of this supplied word is because the idea of God before being incarnate as a 'thing' doesn't necessarily sit well. Holy 'One', Holy 'Spirit' these are more likely words for the God who took on flesh and Jesus was a God with God in the beginning. A God who became the 'Son of God'.
'This text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
'
The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, the power of the Highest overshadowed Her. Mary knew no man and therefore understood that she could no be with child without a man. The promise of the Holy Spirit fulfilling the role in a miraculous manner and the power of the Highest would overshadow Mary was the role a man would normally play but this was NO normal conception. The Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus of this there is no doubt. Mary was the maternal relation, the Holy Spirit the paternal relation. Those who try to explain that the Holy Spirit didn't exist before Bethlehem would have trouble explaining this verse.
Luke 1:32-
Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David
Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
We know it was the angel Gabriel - Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Twice Gabriel did say the child born of Mary 'shall be called', 'shall be called' the shall be is indicative of future tense not present. When a woman gets pregnant people ask what are you going to name the baby, very seldom if ever do they say what is the baby's name as if it's a given. Of course nowadays with ultrasounds and the ability to know the baby's sex prior to birth does have people naming the child before birth yet sometimes there is that little tidbit of doubt where the ultrasound could be wrong and people will pick out names for both sexes- just in case. God incarnate was to be called the Son of God. It's plain fact that Mary wasn't told that the child in her womb *is* the Son of God, but rather *shall be called* the Son of God. A minute distinction but one that must be noted. Spirit would take on flesh. The Spirit form of who would become the Son of God existed before conception.
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
God was manifest in the flesh.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
I'm going to stop here for now and we'll recap tomorrow before continuing. These truths are important to realize and while they might seem simple and obvious and something that doesn't bear repeating or reviewing, they do. The pre-exisitence of Jesus was in spirit form. God is spirit so it could be nothing else. God took on flesh, yet it wasn't God the Father who took on flesh, it was God taking on flesh to become known as the Son of God. The Holy Spirit was to come over Mary, the power of the Highest overshadow her and the result was the conception and ultimate birth of the Son of God. Such an amazing mysterious act, eternal spirit taking on flesh in a miracle.
More tomorrow.
May God continue to bless us as we study His Word, as we speak to understand more fully His truths. Please, open our hearts and minds to all that is You now and forever. By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Amen.
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