Who Is The Creator?
By Bob Cope
It
seems to matter not, how plainly certain places in the Bible are written;
there are still those who will go about and try to force the clearest of verses
from their originally intended meanings, in order to get them to fit their
particular traditional religious bias. The way most people try to answer the
question posed in the title of this article is a classic example of what I'm
referring to.
There
are those who simply say that God did all the creating, but underneath they
really mean Jesus, because many have been taught by their church that Jesus
Christ is God the Father.
This
is due to having failed to note the precision with which the Scriptures are written,
not only in John 1:1-3, but in thousands of other places as well. It is
something we all are prone to do. We'll demonstrate what we mean about
John 1:1-3 further along.
And
there are some who will say that God the Father created Jesus and then Jesus
created all else. This is closer to the truth but still not quite on the money.
There
are many who will answer simply that God is the Creator without any further
elaboration. Saying it that way is quite safe, because no one can
successfully dispute it; however, the use of a safe, general answer like that
is not good enough. It is not really an answer at all, it is simply
a convenient answer for those whose ignorance of the Scriptures prevents them
from elaborating and clarifying what their understanding of this issue
is. It is kind of like answering the question of, who invented the car?
with the reply, "man." Humphhh! No kidding!
The
first verse of the Bible supplies us with the answer—it was indeed God, but
further along, in other books of the Scriptures, much greater detail is found
explaining everything we need to know regarding the who and how of creation.
One
thing that the reader ought to notice is that the name Jesus is conspicuously
absent from Gen 1:1 and that name doesn't even appear in Scripture until its
first mention in Matt. 1:1; some 39 books, and many hundreds of
years later.
I
realize that his proper Hebrew name is Yahshua, and in my opinion ought to have
remained Yahshua throughout both the New and Old Covenants. But nowhere
prior to his conception and birth can it be shown he existed as a separate
entity.
Now
if He existed as a separate entity prior to his conception in the virgin, we
ought to be able to read of it in the Scriptures. But the best that
anyone can come up with, is the title Elohim, which is traditionally
taught to be a reference to Christ's supposed pre-incarnate
existence. Such teaching is as full of holes and as incapable of holding
water as a colander.
There
is teaching forwarded to me by one of my correspondents which states that:
Our
word God is not one word in Hebrew.
There,
the concept of God (or god) is written in three different forms:
EL
(or AL - in Aramaic) THE Subjector -
the One at the end of the line, to Whom all in the end will be subjected by
Eloah (or Alue). EL = God, the Father of Christ.
Eloah
Christ (sometimes also referred to as Elohim, as the God of Israel), the TO
Subjector (He subjects all to EL) He, in turn will be assisted by the Elohim
(or Alueim).
Elohim
1. Christ in the His pre-existent form as the God of Israel.
2. All those beings who assist Eloah in His subjecting of creation, the
to-subjectors (they subject all to Eloah - Christ)
I
have never seen this teaching in anywhere outside the confines of Universalism,
and after giving it very careful thought, I dispute the title Eloah, as being a
reference to Christ. Christ is not mentioned by name anywhere in the Old
Testament and I firmly but kindly resist the tendency of even those who are
very dear to me insisting that it is there. It is not.
I
do however admit to having unshakable faith in many other truths
associated with Universal Reconciliation.
There
is another way though, that the concept of El, Eloah, and Elohim is expressed;
and this is the one I can fully agree with. Another correspondent of mine
states:
"The
word el means mighty one, and refers in almost all
occurrences to God, Yahweh. The word eloah means God,
an object of worship. "Is there a God [eloah] beside me? Yea, there
is no God [tsur, a rock]; I know not any." Isaiah 44:8
This verse alone should vaporize the idea that Eloah is
Jesus Christ. The term is used 55 times in the Old Testament, and 40 of
those are in the book of Job. The word Elohim refers to rulers
or judges with divine connections.
Although plural, it has both singular and plural applications. It
can, for example, refer to angels (Psalm 8:5; 97:7, confirmed in the Jewish
Septuagint as a legitimate translation of the word); pagan gods (Exod. 18:11;
Psalm 86:8); a man (Exod.7:1); or God himself (Deut 7:9; Ezra 1:3 and
hundreds of other places)."
What
I'm trying to say here is that the Scriptures do not identify the Word by the
name Jesus Christ prior to its being made flesh by Qodesh Ruach
(Hebrew), or Hagios Pneuma (Greek) that is, Holy Spirit. And please
folks, the Qodesh Ruach is not the third member of the imaginary trinity; the
Qodesh Ruach is simply just another way of referring to the Spirit we know as
Yahweh. Yahweh is Spirit; so what else could He be but Qodesh Ruach
which is Hebrew for Holy Spirit?
The
Scriptures are quite clear about the Word being made flesh.
But the Word, prior to being made flesh, was not named Jesus or
Yahshua; otherwise the Scriptures would've stated so, and all I'm contending
is, let us not give a name to the Word, seeing that God or EL did not do
so.
I
believe He did not do so because it would have been inappropriate. He and
the Word were One, and did everything together as One. When El was
silent, the Word ceased from any further activity until EL spoke again.
Since
EL is God, and the Word is God [being of God] together they were Yahweh
Elohim. EL, now known as Yahweh the Father, is the One from Whom
emanates all the power by which all things including Yahshua Himself
consist.
After the Word was made flesh
in the womb of the virgin Mary and was named Yahshua, Yahweh Elohim has since
been known as Yahweh or Yahweh Elohim, the Father of Yahshua the Messiah.
It
is interesting to note that nowhere is it written in the Old Testament that
Yahweh Elohim was called "Father." So we see then how Yahweh's
position as Father is intimately connected first to His only begotten Son! Their
Names are intimately related as well. Both have "Yah" in them.
A
correspondent of mine wrote to me and stated:
"...according
to the traditional trinitarian stand, the 'Word' is Jesus Christ, which we
know it isn't. It's a pity that Strong's concordance lists it as a
meaning for 'Word' when it isn't -- it shows Strong's Trinitarian bias."
Now,
here's the definition of <logos> as it appears in Strong's
Concordance:
[Grk.
3056] logos (log'-os) from 3004; something said (including the thought); by
implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental
faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article
in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):--account,
cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent,
matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say(-ing), shew,
X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings,
treatise, utterance, word, work.
I
want you to notice something extremely important: Young's concordance provides
a more correct interpretation of the word: a word, speech, matter, reason. If
you just remove the yellow highlighted words [the trinitarian bias of James
Strong that my correspondent mentioned], you will have the very same sense of
what appears in Young's Concordance! That is a very remarkable point. It
leaves no shadow of doubt in my mind as to who the Creator is. It is none other
than Elohim through the means of His Word that all was created; not through a
yet to be born, pre-incarnate Jesus Christ,
There
is a particular set of verses in the Bible which speaks of those who alter the
truth of God and in doing so make it a lie.
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart
was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the
lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amein." (Ro 1:21-25)
Believing
that someone other than God the Father is the Creator constitutes an act of
agreement with the changing of the truth of God into a lie and the worshipping
and serving of the creature more than the Creator! The Word of God ought
to be viewed as the means through which Yahweh Elohim created all.
(Sigh)
That is how tradition effects us all, and I was no exception. Please do not
interpret that the verse states that the worshipping of Yahshua is wrong, for
He is worthy of such. It simply states that the worshipping and the serving of
the creature (Yahshua) MORE than the Creator (Yahweh) is the
problem. In that sense, the word "creature" in this verse
can safely be though of as a reference to Yahshua. Yahshua the Messiah is
the creation of God the Father. He was created the moment at which God
the Father made him in the flesh with the Word. Just understand that the
Word was created the moment that EL first spoke it. The Word did not
exist until EL spoke it. Got that?
I
know that what I just stated won't sit well with with most folks; but I
don't have to ultimately answer to them for what I believe. But I DO have
to answer to Yahshua and our Father for what I believe, so, what I believe had better
be what they have written for me to believe; not what someone else's tradition
fogged concept might wish me to hold.
I
believe the Bible is quite clear on the issue of Who the Creator is in the Book
of John. The Bible has not switched from what is written in Genesis Chapter 1,
to stating in John that someone, other than God the Father, is the
Creator. There are millions of people however who believe and teach
traditionally that the Book of John proves that it was Jesus
who did the creating. Such 'proof' is absolutely wrong and is based
upon a misunderstanding of what is stated there.
Here are the verses from the first chapter of John, along with added comment to
help clarify the meaning of the content: Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the
Word, <logos> and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
"God" meaning EL.
EL's Word was the beginning of all that was created. EL Himself was
before the the beginning. Therefore, EL is timeless.
2:
The same was in the beginning with God.
Do
you see the name Jesus Christ written there? I don't.
3
All things were made by him; [God the Father through the means of His Creative
instrument, His Word] and without him [God the Father] was not any thing made
that was made. 4 In him [God the Father and His Word] was life and
the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the
darkness comprehended it not. (The word of God is entirely incomprehensible to
those of the darkness. It is foolishness to them.) 6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear
witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
The Light being referred to at this point is the Word of God, which was soon
after used as the means by which the Qodesh Ruach (the Spirit Yahweh) made
Yahshua the Messiah in the womb of the virgin Mary.
8
He [John] was not that Light, [the Word of God] but was sent to bear witness of
that Light. 9 That was the true Light, [the Word of God] which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world. 10 He [God in Yahshua] was in the world,
[see 2Cor 5:19] and the world was made [came into being] by him [God], and the
world knew him [meaning God in Yashua] not. 11. He [God in Yahshua] came
[generally] unto his own, and his own [generally] received him not.
Here
are some examples of the word coming to individuals: 1Ki 12:22 But the word of
God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Lu 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being
the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the
wilderness. What these verses mean are that what God was thinking, He
supernaturally made His thoughts (His Word) known to the men mentioned above.
12
But as many as received him, [God in Yahshua] to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his [Yahshua's]name: 13 Which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, [it is here that we have Jesus
being made and coming forth, but not before this] and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.
If God has given the reader the ability to understand spiritual matters, and if
the reader is honest with God, himself, and his peers; you must admit
then, after carefully re-reading and studying the context of John 1:1 through
verse 14, that these verses have as their main topic, the word (logos)
throughout. Jesus is not, I repeat, NOT
in view at all in those particular passages until verse 14. J
Jesus
[Yahshua] is not the Word either; Jesus is the one whom the Word made when the
Word made flesh in the womb of the virgin Mary. It is perfectly fine to
state it that way, because that is precisely what happened.
There
are those who would use Heb 4:12 in the attempt to prove that the logos was
Jesus because it says the logos "...is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart." But that is simply the application of a wrong
understanding of the meaning of that verse. Let's take the verse and
expand it according to Strong's definition of it and see how it makes Heb 4:12
clearer: Heb 4:12 For the word of God [word meaning something said
(including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also
reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation;
specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression] is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.
So
what the verse really states is that: Whatever God says or thinks, His
communication is lively and active, operative and effectual. It is sharper than
any double-edged sword. It completely cuts through anything [including
any religious nonsense] with a smooth single stroke; whereas the sharpest
double-edged sword (meaning the word of anyone else) would require repeated
blows or hacking; and even then such would probably not be successful, making a
total mess of the whole operation. God's thoughts—His
communication—are His word, and they are a separator, a distributor, and
provider of gifts.
God's Word—His thoughts—can separate and distinguish between that which
is of the soul and that which is of the spirit—between the natural and the
spiritual because as we have seen, His Word are His thoughts and
communication. It can separate whatever is articulative (the joints) from
whatever is basic and formative (the marrow). Jesus Christ was conceived spiritually by the
thoughts--the Word of God and then developed biologically in the womb of Mary.
At full term, Jesus [Yahshua] was born as first and only flesh and blood man
that ever came into the world as he did. Unique because he is without a
human father, and therefore is without the natural human accompaniment—the
inheritance of Adam's sin. God the Father, made with His Word an entirely new
man, the last Adam (1Co 15:45), who is His only begotten Son. The
Spirit dwelling in Yahshua, is God the Father Himself. Jesus also
had a human spirit once—the one that once imparted mortal life to him;
the same spirit that is standard issue for all men. But Yahshua's
temporal human spirit, no longer needed to keep his formerly mortal body alive,
has been superseded by immortality.
For those who yet persist in the notion that Jesus Christ is God the Father, I
would implore them to please understand that God the Father is Spirit, and
cannot be anything but Spirit; and Jesus Christ was human flesh and
blood. Since his resurrection however, he was changed to immortal flesh
and bone by God the Father. So you see, Jesus, still cannot be God the
Father, the Creator; and neither can God the Father, the Creator, be the
Son.
There are those who would accuse me of robbing Jesus of his deity, but wait
just one minute; you can't rob a man of something he doesn't have!
Jesus is not Almighty God. Here is what he is, according to Scripture: And
declared to be the Son of God with power, (Ro 1:4)
In closing there are three verses that absolutely slam the door in the faces of
those who insist that Jesus was Jehovah, and that Jesus was the Creator.
God the Father's name is Yahweh.
Ex
6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH [Yahweh] was I not known
to them.
Ps
83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name
alone is JEHOVAH [Yahweh], art the most high over all the earth.
Isa
43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, <Yehovah [Yahweh]> 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.
[Heb. 3068] Y@hovah (yeh-ho-vaw') [Yahweh] from 1961; (the)
self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah,
Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.
There
is no question that Jesus is a man. But is he fully God and fully
man as traditional church instruction would have us believe? NOT ON
YOUR LIFE!
Here
comes another irrefutable declaration of Scripture on this issue!
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he
should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and
shall he not make it good?" (Nu 23:19)
There
you have it. Plain and simple.
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