Bible Question:
Does anyone disagree with this? The Creed of Saint Athanasius Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. Page 865 So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion, to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of his Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood; Who, although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh but by taking of the Manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the *catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved. *catholic means universal referring to the one church that Jesus Christ created. It is neither Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or Anglican. |
Bible Answer: God the father is the only true God there is (1 Corinthians 8:6), Jesus being in the image of God and having the authority of God is allowed to be God in only a sense. The Bible explains this very well in the first part of John. In John 1:1 it states, "In the beginning was the Word," okay lets start there, we all agree that the Word is Jesus, so, Jesus was there in the beginning, but the beginning of what? In genesis it states the GOD created the Heavens and the earth, so the beginning is the beginning of the heavens and the earth. But the word also states that Jesus is the Firstborn of ALL creation in Col. 1:15, well if he is the firstborn, firstborn means that Jesus was the First to be created, the only true one to be actually created by God Himself. So thus he can't be God, because we all know that God is not created. Continuing on, "And the Word was with God," Now just a minute, if Jesus is God, then how can He be with himself, the answer is he can't. People who believe in the Trinity believe that God is three in one, each person of the trinity being equal to each other in all aspects, but in John 14:28, Jesus himself says that the Father is greater than He is, so thus by Jesus' own words, he himself makes the trinity out to be a lie. Now in John 17:11 and 22 Jesus prays to God that we may be one as there are one, and in John 10:30 it states that Jesus and God are one, but what does this truly mean, does it mean that we can be part of the trinity, well no of course not, it means that Jesus is not God, and we are not God, but are one with God, one in unity with God, in other words we strive to do the will of God, and that is the same for Jesus, HE strives to do the will of God too, and in doing so Him and us are one with God in that we are all striving for the very same thing. We are all in unity with God. Going on, "And the word was God." Well here's where it has caused all the problem to begin with. It says that "the Word was God", well it says it that way, because like I said in the beginning, Jesus is only GOD in a sense, He is not God, but has ALL the AUTHORITY to ACT as God, just like a father and son here on earth, A son can ACT with all authority of the father because the father has told him and taught him what to do, so in a sense the son is the father, but the father is not the son. Hence this is the way it is with Jesus and the Heavenly Father. Therefore, finally, to answer the question, We've never seen God, flesh or otherwise, but have seen God's only begotten son, who came in the flesh, being the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15) so we have seen God only in a sense of the word, we have seen everything we can of God, nature, the burning bush, his son, each other (we to are created in the image of God), without actually seeing God himself. So as Romans 1:20 says, we have absolutely no excuse for not knowing who the TRUE GOD IS, So I ask you who should one believe, God’s own son, the only true teacher, or the men who came up with the Trinity doctrine |