Is the Godhead a Mystery?By Brother Chris

Great Commission Ministries International

1 Timothy 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.

• It has been said that the Godhead is a mystery - that it was designed by God to be a mystery.

• What is a "mystery?" It is not something that nobody understands.

• A mystery is something that some understand, and others do not. The entire ministry of Jesus Christ was designed this way.

• Jesus sometimes baffled His disciples by teaching in parables. They would become frustrated. One day a disciple asked Him, "Why do you always teach in these parables?" (Matthew 13:10; Mark 4:10; Luke 8:9)

• A parable is a story that reveals truth to one, while veiling truth from another.

• And so Jesus explained to them, "I teach in parables because it is given to you to understand, but to them it is not given." (Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10)

• On the surface, this might not seem fair.• Jesus went on to explain: "For the

prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them having eyes to see they see not, having ears to hear they hear not. Lest at anytime they should hear with their ears believe in their heart and should be converted and I should heal them." Finally Jesus said, "For this people's heart is waxed gross and their eyes they have closed." (Matthew 13:13-15; Mark 4:11-12; Luke 8:10)

• What happens when truth comes to us - especially if it goes against our grain? Against our traditions? There is a tendency to close our eyes and say, "I just don't believe that. I just don't see it that way."

• But the reason we don't believe it or see it that way is not because it is untrue. It is because we have deliberately closed our eyes.

The Choice Is Yours

• It is important to realize that there is one sin that is probably more deadly than any other sin.

• It is the sin of unbelief. It is the sin of unbelief.

• Some of us may think that either you believe something or you do not. It's like a chemical reaction. Either it happens or it doesn't.

• This is untrue. Unbelief is not like this. Unbelief is a conscious and deliberate choice of will. The Bible tells us that all unbelievers will have their part in the lake of fire.

• When we encounter truth, our intelligent minds know how to run down the path.

• We think to ourselves, "If I embrace this truth, it might upset my church membership, it may upset my family, upset my friends..."

• Our minds continue to run down this path. We think, "This issue is going to turn my life "This issue is going to turn my life upside down!"upside down!" And this may very well be true. When Jesus Christ comes into people's lives, He always turns them upside down, and many times it's not comfortable.

• In Jesus' day, it would cause a person to be thrown out of the synagogue.

• Because of this, Jesus encountered many people with their spiritual eyes closed saying, "I don't see it. I don't want to see it. I don't see it. I don't want to see it.

• This is called a deliberate choice of free will.

• This process casts a person into the role of an unbeliever, and all unbelievers shall have their place in the lake of fire.

• This is very basic, and it is an issue to which we can all relate.

Why the Mystery?

• The Godhead was, in fact, enshrouded in mystery for the deepest of reasons. It was so that only those who seek shall find, and only those who knock, unto them is it open, and only those who incessantly ask...receive (Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10). If you, however, are willing to not understand, then God will provide that option. It is readily available.

• For God is not in the mass production business. He is in the quality control business. He's not looking for the many. He is looking for those who will rule and reign as kings and priests with Him for 1,000 years and throughout eternity.

• He is looking for those who are He is looking for those who are obedientobedient.

• Right now, the Kingdom of God is in formation. How we respond to truth will determine whether we will rule and reign with Christ in that coming kingdom. So, these concepts and purposes are very deep.

By the way, I would like for you to notice something. Let's look at 1 Timothy 3:16 again:

• “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”.

Notice... we are first told that godliness is a mystery. But now... look at the rest of the scripture. It defines the mystery for us! It's not a mystery for those who seek!

• Paul writes in I Timothy 3:16, "...God God was manifest in the flesh." was manifest in the flesh."

This is the reason why He was called Emanuel. That interpretation means, "God with us." "God with us."

Matthew 1:23, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

Jesus Christ was God... and He was God with us.

"God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory."

From cradle to ascension, Jesus Christ was God This is the central question. Unless we get this one question right, nothing else will be right. How many Gods are there?

How Many Gods? One.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Before we just say this glibly, let us look at some of the teachings of the Bible concerning how many Gods there actually are. Deuteronomy 6:4, of course, is the cornerstone of all truth.But let's go beyond it to see if the rest of the scriptures bear it out.

Deuteronomy 4:35 says it this way:

Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the LORD He is God; there is none else beside Him.

So, not only is there just one God, there is none else beside Him.

None Else Beside Him

No God With Him

Deuteronomy 32:39 tells us that there is no God with Him:

See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no God with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.

So, according to the Lord, there is no god beside Him, there is no god with Him.

• Furthermore, Isaiah 43:10 tells us that there was no God formed before Him and it tells us that there will not be any God formed after Him.

“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, before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me.” neither shall there be after Me.”

No God Before Him or After Him

This is not complex. There is one God, there was none before Him, there will not be another God created after Him, there is no God beside Him, and there is none with Him.

None Like HimAs we have already seen, there is no God with Him, were none before Him, and will never be any after Him. Also, there is not even any God like Him, as we read in II Samuel 7:22:

Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

The Scriptures go on and on with this consistent truth.

Even Devils Know There Is Only One God

Here now is one of the very interesting scriptures - James 2:19. It says:

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Satan, who found his realm in heaven, knows that there is one and only one God. Additionally, I Corinthians 8:4 says:

As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

From these Scriptures, and many, many others like them not mentioned here, we can reach a conclusion of truth. There is one and only one God.

Is Jesus God?

The next question is if there is one and only one God, does the Bible teach that Jesus is God? Isaiah 9:6, the great Messianic prophecy, tells us:

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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Jesus Both Son and Father?

This is an interesting scripture because it says that this Messiah will be both Son and Father. He will be the Son born, but yet He will also be the everlasting Father!

Matthew 1:23 teaches us:

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Jesus is God with us.

Revelation 1:8 the Lord God Almighty speaks:

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.

In verses 10 and 11 the Lord continues:

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:

• The same voice is speaking to John in both verses. We know this because He said in verse 8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" and He again repeats, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last."

Verses 12 and 13 continue:

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

And verses 17 and 18:

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;

• Now we know for sure who is talking here when He says, "I am he that liveth, and was dead." Jesus is speaking.

Continuing in verse 18 we read:

and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The One who said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, the Almighty," is the same One who said, "I am he that liveth, and was dead and, behold, I am alive for evermore."

This is Jesus Christ is taking claim not only to be God but to be the Almighty God!

God Is the Only Savior

Isaiah 43:11 tells us that the Lord Jehovah is the only Savior:

I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

God Is Jesus?

• In Acts 9 we witness a conversion - the revelation to Paul. The man named Saul of Tarsus, then a persecutor of the church, was on his way to persecute Christians at Damascus. He had papers that had been granted to him to fulfill this commission. However, God had a different plan for this man's life. As he was traveling along, Acts 9:4 reads:

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Saul knew this was God speaking to him. But remember, up to this point, Saul had not been thinking that he was persecuting followers of God. He thought he was persecuting followers of Jesus. But here now was God Himself asking Saul why he is persecuting "Me."

• Saul obviously concluded, "I must not know who God is." He asked God that very question... and received in response what the amazing revelation that should be apparent to us all. Acts 9:5:

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Paul said, "Who are you Lord?" And God responded, "I am Jesus."

I'll Believe It When I See It

• In another story, Jesus had appeared to the ten disciples (Thomas was absent). When Thomas returned, the disciples told Thomas they had seen Jesus. Thomas replied, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25)

Several days later, Jesus appeared to them again, and this time Thomas was present. Jesus went straight to Thomas and said, "... behold my hands; and...my side..." (John 20:27)

• Thomas fell on his knees and replied, "My "My Lord and my God." Lord and my God."

In that moment, Thomas realized that not only had Jesus risen from the dead, but that Jesus had been listening to his denials.

• At that moment, Thomas realized that this is a God who is an ever-present God, who knows my thoughts while they are yet afar off. He is Jesus. And He is God.

The Only Wise God

• Jude 1:25 reads:

To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.

If there is more than one God, the others don't have any sense. As we just read, "... the only wise God..." Only one God possesses wisdom, glory, majesty, dominion, and power. This doesn't leave much for any god other than the One.

God Bless You in Jesus God Bless You in Jesus name!name!