Patripassian, Did The Father Dwell In Jesus As God?
By Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor
It is confessed by Apostolics that the Apostles believed that God was in Christ [2Cor 5:19]. That is, that it was the Father in Christ [John 14:10]. The Apostles believed Jesus to be God Almighty, the Father, manifested in the flesh [1Tim 3:16, Rev. 1:8]. In the Revelation of Saint John, Jesus was Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, the Lord God [God in the Greek, omitted in the KJV] (50), and the Almighty, made him the Father of Genesis 17:1 [Almighty God]; Isaiah 44:6 [first and Last]; Isaiah 46:10 [End from the Beginning].
The Apostles did not believe in an eternal Son in a human Son [there is not one verse of Scripture that claims this], for this would mean there were three begotten sons, two uncreated heavenly and unbegotten, and one earthly created and begotten. The question would arise, who died upon the Cross, the first eternal Son or the third begotten Son of Mary? Was it the eternal Son who departed and abandon the human Son on the Cross? Who was the Spirit in Christ that departed while he was upon the Cross: "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?"
Up to this point upon the Cross, no one would deny that whatever Deity was incarnate, suffered along with humanity. The trinitarians say it was the eternal unbegotten God the Son who suffered with the human begotten son. The Monarchians [Oneness] say it was God the Father in the Word [Word made flesh], Jesus, that suffered with humanity upon the Cross.
The Apostles understood Sonship to be the manifestation of the Word, incarnate by the Lord of Glory, the Father, not that of an eternal Son in a human son. When one understands that the Word was God and this Word was made flesh, then it is easy to understand that the Word and God are the same person in a different mode or manifestation. We may be called Modalist or Sabellians because of the continued bigotry and persecution of the trinitarians, but we suffer these hate terms gladly as we do "holy roller."
It is made clear that God has at sundry times appeared to mankind in a human body and a human form. The body he was manifest in was not a person other than himself. These bodies of manifestation called theophanies, were of a dual nature, God and man. God can take on human form and not step out of his Deity, or consider the body another God person. It is the dual nature of God and man in Christ, that confuses people to think of two persons and two possible Gods. The Apostles understood the departing Deity from humanity on the Cross to be God the Father, who after sharing the rejection of the Jews as their God, the cruel suffering as their God, and agony of the Cross as their God, surrendered his fleshly tabernacle up to die for the sins of man. Because Apostolics believed that the Father in Christ suffered through the entire trial and crucifixion, we are accused of being Patripassian [the Father was crucified]. The truth is, we believed the Father was crucified by the Jews and did suffer, and that his body of flesh, the Son, was the vehicle through which he did suffer. Even in the trinity, if the Father and the Son are inseparable and in a unity of oneness, the Son could not have suffered without the Father also suffering. So we are not ashamed to accept the taunt of Patripassian, the trinitarians being condemned of their own accusations against us.
Had it not been for a promise made to David that God the Father would take upon him his seed and sit upon his throne [Acts 2:30], God could have provided another incarnation and sacrifice for sins that would not have confused his Deity to some, or the Oneness of his person. It is only when Mary brings forth the body of his tabernacle, that we want to humanly ascribe a separate personage to the humanity that God took upon himself, to visit and redeem his people.
ISA 44:6
6: 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.ISA 59:20
20: And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.If Jesus is the LORD, the King of Israel, the Redeemer, the First, the Last, then he is God the Father in human form. If Jesus is not, when will God the Father as the Redeemer come and save us and turn transgression from Jacob? For when the Redeemer comes, he will be the LORD, God the Father, the King of Israel, the First, the Last, and he shall come to Zion. The question is, what makes the difference if Jesus was God the Father manifested in the flesh at Bethlehem, or if he is God the Father manifested in the flesh at another time? In both events, he will still be God the Father, the LORD, the Redeemer, come in the flesh! Nothing is gained by denying that Jesus is God the Father manifested in the flesh [the Son], as recorded in the Gospels, and then teach this same doctrine relative to another time period [Kingdom Age].
Apostolics do deny that it was an eternal Son who suffered through the human Son, who then abandons the human Son to die alone on Calvary. This would mean the eternal Son did not die at all. What the trinitarians deny us concerning the Father, they use to their theory concerning an eternal Son. They steal the doctrine of the Apostolics to apply to their theory of the eternal Son. Did the Father suffer? Did the eternal Son suffer? Who was it on the Cross who suffered? With the dual nature of Christ, did only half of him suffer? It was very clear to the Apostle Paul that Deity suffered, when he said concerning the Jews:
1CO 2:8
8: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.The Lord of Glory mentioned by Paul is the King of Glory as mentioned by David:
PSA 24:7
7: Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.PSA 24:8
8: Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.One may see then, that the gates here are those into Jerusalem and the doors are those into the Temple. The invitation was a prophecy to the Jews to stand ready at all occasions because the King would come. This King is the Lord. The Lord would come to his Temple. This was Jesus Christ as God the Father manifested in the flesh [1Tim. 3:16]:
MAL 3:1
1: Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to this temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.The Lord came as he predicted, riding on an ass and the foul of an ass:
ZEC 9:9
9: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.JOH 12:14
14: And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,JOH 12:15
15: Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.The LORD of the Old Testament was God the Father. The LORD as God the Father was to come as a KING riding upon an ass. The KING as the manifestation of GOD THE FATHER would ride into Jerusalem upon a colt the foal of an ass. This was fulfilled according to Apostle John by The LORD JESUS CHRIST. This proves that Jesus Christ is God the Father, the LORD, and the KING. What I Have written, I Have written [Pilate to the Jews]: "JESUS KING OF THE JEWS."
When Jesus said, I and my Father are one, he was referring to the incarnation of the Father in him. If it was an eternal Son within him, he would have said, the eternal Son and I are one! In fact, Jesus never did say that it was the eternal Son in him doing the work. He confessed as to his humanity that it was the Father in him:
JOH 14:10
10: Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.The real clencher here is the prophecy that the Jews would recognize Messiah as God come in the flesh:
ISA 25:9
9: And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.If he is the God prophesied about in the Old Testament the second time he comes, he is the Old Testament God the Father, the first time he came and dwelt in the flesh [the Son]. This is further proved by the name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is "God with us." The Jews stoned Jesus because he had made himself God [John 10:33].
The trinity doctrine which is the basis of the Eastern Orthodox Church, is no where found in the Bible. The word trinity is not in the Bible. The Apostles did not teach it as a revelation. The trinity of Christianity is copied from pagan philosophy and Gnosticism. This is confessed by all who have studied Church history and recognize the Plato-connection to the Nicaea adoption. All the pagan religions had a trinity of gods. The first Commandment, to have no other God, was in contrast and in opposition to the trinity doctrines in Moses' day. God prohibited the trinity doctrine from ever becoming a Jewish or Christian belief by the First Commandment.
Trinitarians all claim that the trinity was a development and revelation that is not in the Scriptures, but manipulated out of Scripture, they believe hints or could lead a person to believe, there are three separate person in a tri-unity of three separate Gods. The Nicene decree "God from God." Shows they believe each person to be a separate God, or how else can there be such a statement as "God from God?"
Trinitarianism is tritheism, three gods! They are forbidden to say this because it smacks of paganism. But they will still confess that the three persons are God from God, separate and distinct, and are in unity with one another, and talk things over before the other acts. This is not Orthodoxy, this is Mount Olympus, this is the tower of Babel and Babylonianism. This is pure paganism.
The real expose here is the many references in Church history of the impact of neo-Plato theology upon the trinity doctrine and its final interpretation. Trinitarian Churches are the strongholds of that ancient apostasy. When confronted openly as in this Primer, the trinitarians will resort to the decrees and creeds of the Catholic Church, to show how the Gnostic philosophers refuted the Monarchians, the Modalist, Praxeas, and Sabellius. Gullible Protestants are intimidated to accept the arguments of the Catholic Church, as if their mere existence is some evidence of final authority.
______________________________________________________
Bibliologhpy
(50) KJV Rev. 1:8 translated "saith the Lord". Why does the KJV omit the word "God" in the Greek text? The Marshall-Nestle Greek Interlinear at Rev.1:8, has the Greek saying "Lord God"; Revised Standard Version, Rev. 1:8, translated Lord God; Living Bible, Rev.1:8, translated, says God, who is the Lord; Modern Language Version, Rev. 1:8, translated, says the Lord God. In each of these the word "God" is translated and should be translated "says the Lord God" in the King James Version. This is proof that Jesus claimed to be Lord and God. When Saul cried to heaven in the Hebrew tongue: "who art thou LORD" the LORD answered from heaven and said: "I am Jesus." Another proof Jesus was the LORD or the "Almighty God" of the Old Testament manifested in the flesh.
Copyright Notice | Tribute | Introduction | The Eastern Greek Orthodox Church | Greek Claims of Orthodoxy
The Cabbalist Jewish Connection | Nicaea Where Truth Was Declared Illegal | Constantine Takes The Bait
Constantinople A Rival Religious Papacy | A Religion Of Works For Salvation
Things Greek Orthodoxy Must Admit | The Curse Of Nicaea Upon Constantine And His House
Additional Trinity Notes | Patripassianism | Gnosticism
Quotes Worthy Of Notice | True Orthodoxy