The False Doctrine of Modalism

There are so called Bible teachers called modalists who attack the doctrine of the Trinity (One God, but three persons), when they teach their false doctrine.

When a person rejects the Trinity, naturally they will present a false gospel which says the Father did not send His Beloved Son, whom He has had an eternal relationship with, to enter into His own creation and take on humanity, to lay down His life for sinners.

They do not believe that God is One God, three Persons, but they believe God is One God, one person, who takes on three modes or manifestations, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe God manifested Himself as the Father, then God manifested Himself as the Son, and presently, God is manifesting Himself as the Holy Spirit. 

First of all, the Bible clearly teaches that the Father and the Son had an eternal relationship before the world was created. John 17:4 LITV, And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the existence of the world. Notice Jesus prayed "And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you". The Son is communicating with another person, the Father, and He expresses their eternal relationship. It is not as some suggest, the human nature praying to the divine nature, because the human nature had a beginning, but His divine nature did not have a beginning, and we see here that the Son is praying to another who had no beginning like Himself, which is the Father, sharing the glory together before the world ever was. 

Secondly,  in John 14:16 LITV, the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, And I will petition the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may remain with you forever. Notice the word 'another'. The word in the Greek in the context it is written means, 'Another of the same kind',  not the same person, but of the same kind, meaning the One true God. Jesus says in John 14:26 LITV, Jesus says, "but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and shall remind you of all things that I said to you."  Notice all three person are in verse 26, the Father, and the Son (in My name), and the Holy Spirit, and they are expressed clearly as three distinct persons. 

Thirdly, there is only One God. The Bible says in Isaiah 46:9 LITV, Remember former things from forever, for I am God, and no one else is God, even none like me. Isaiah 44:6 LITV, So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: I am the First and I am the last; and there is no God except Me. And in Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus calls Himself, The First and the Last which is a title for God alone, He says, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet, as dead. And He put His right hand on me, saying to me, Do not fear. I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I became dead; and behold, I am living forever and ever." The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons, but They are the One true and living God, Yahweh.

Just looking at these fews verses, this truth can be seen, but there are many other verses in the Bible, which testify to this very truth about God.

The Father has declared in His Word that only through the Son, can you come to the Father. The modalists teach that the Father did not send His Beloved eternal Son, but the one person of God who was the Father in the Old Testament, then became the Son. This is a false gospel. They reject the testimony of the Father, and believe not in the unique Son of God.

The Bible says in 1John 5:10 to 13 LITV, The One believing in the Son of God has the witness in himself. The one not believing God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has witnessed concerning His Son. And this is the witness: that God gave us everlasting life, and this life is in His Son. The one having the Son has life. The one not having the Son of God does not have life. I wrote these things to you, the ones believing in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have everlasting life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.

This makes it very clear that God gives everlasting life in His Son, and not in a person who was first the Father, and then became the Son, because this is not the Son declared in scripture. You have to have the Son recorded in scripture to have life. The Bible says, The one having the Son has life. The one not having the Son of God does not have life.

The Bible says the one denying the Father and the Son (notice two persons) this is the antichrist. The Bible says in 1John 2:22-25 LITV says, Who is the liar, except the one denying, saying that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one denying the Father and the Son. Everyone denying the Son does not have the Father. The one confessing the Son also has the Father. Then what you heard from the beginning, let it abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will abide both in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise which He promised us: everlasting life.

Notice the Bible says, both in the Son and in the Father, which speaks of two persons, not one person, not two modes or manifestations, but two persons. Modalists who reject the Triune God, deny the Son found in scripture, and the Bible says, "Everyone denying the Son does not have the Father." Someone can only know the Father through the Son, the Son who is revealed in scripture, the reason it is important you have the right Jesus,  because it is only through Him, you can have the Father also. There are many false Jesus' out there, and believing in any of them will led a person to hell, there is only one true Jesus, the Jesus found and taught in the Bible, and believing in Him will give you an eternal home with Him in heaven by the grace of God. Make sure you have the right Jesus.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, If you ever come across a person who claims to be a Christian minister, and rejects the Triune God revealed in scripture (Three persons, but one God), and teaches God is one person, they are a false teacher teaching people to reject the Triune God revealed in scripture, and to believe in a lie. 

God always achieves His plan

It is important to understand, God depends on no man to achieve what He has planned to do. God does not hope there will be some who will come to repentance and faith and be saved, God does not hope for nothing, He is God. God chose to have a people for Himself in Jesus, and chose them before the foundation of the world. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:4 LITV, according as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, and everyone whom He has chosen for salvation will be saved in His Son, the Lord Jesus, by the grace of God, and they will be in heaven with Him. That is what 2Peter means when the Bible says in Ch. 3 v. 9 LITV, The Lord of the promise is not slow, as some deem slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not having purposed any of us to perish, but all of us to come to repentance. God has not purposed any of His Elect people to perish, but all His Elect people to come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. God will grant them by His grace the gifts of repentance and faith to receive the gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, which is also by the grace of God. Salvation is by the grace of God in Christ Jesus. That is what 2Peter 3:9 means. Every one of God's elect will come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not perish.

Some may say then, if God did not choose me, then it is not my fault I do not come to repentance, and I go to hell because God chose not to save me. No. A person goes to hell because they willfully rejected Christ and die in their sins. They have offended a Holy God, and receive what they deserve, which is the righteous justice of God for their offences. John 3:18 LITV, The one believing into Him is not condemned; but the one not believing has already been condemned, for he has not believed into the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

Understand, because God has chosen whom He will save for His eternal glory, and will accomplish what He has planned to do, that does not take away the responsibility of man, to come to repentance and faith in Jesus. Man is very much accountable for rejecting Jesus Christ. God has given His revealed will, which is the Bible, and God commands in the book of Acts 17:30b LITV, now strictly commands all men everywhere to repent, and a person is very much accountable for willfully rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, and will face an eternity in hell for their rebellion, if they die without Christ Jesus.

If you do not know Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, trust in Him to save you by what He has done, by His death, burial, and resurrection, and the Bible says you shall be saved, which is all by the grace of God. The Bible says in Romans 10:13 LITV, For everyone, "whoever may call on the name of the Lord will be saved." There is only one way for salvation and His Name is Jesus. John 14:6 LITV, Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Amen. 

True Joy and Peace in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:6, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice!

There is a difference between happiness and joy. This generation is seeking happiness. We live in a generation in search of happiness, but we know, plain and simple, your are not happy all of the time. Happiness depends on circumstances, and if you put your trust in happiness, you are going to be a casualty to circumstances, because happiness will not stay the same, and there will be times when you are happy, and times when that happiness will disappear.

But we know as true believers in the Lord, our Lord is unchanging, He is the unchanging God, and the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8 LITV, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. The Word of God, here in Philippians 4, does not tell us to rejoice in our circumstances but in Christ, for it says in Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice! The Lord never changes, never, and the Word of God says, Rejoice in Him always. 

Now, there is nothing wrong with happiness, or being happy, but happiness functions best when happiness originates from the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord does not depend on happiness, but depends on the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

There will be times of sorrow, times when you are not expected to smile. There were times when the Lord Jesus wept, and the Bible tells in Luke 19:38 LITV, And as He drew near, seeing the city, He wept over it. And in John 11:32 LITV, Jesus wept. 

There is a difference between happiness and joy. Tragedy, sorrow, heartache and pain, they come, and as Christians, we are not immune to them, but there is something Christians can have through these times, which them without Christ Jesus can not know, and can never know without Him, and that is true joy and true peace in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We can know true joy and true peace when we face and go through tragedy, sorrow, heartache and pain.

We can experience joy and peace in Him, as we go through tragedy, sorrow, heartache and alike, in the One who loved us and gave Himself for us, and made us His own, and He is with us by His Spirit, and we can look to Him and lean upon, and we can come to Him, and stand on His Word and trust Him, for the Lord has said in His Word, in Romans 8:28 LITV, But we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose. We can have peace and joy in Him, no matter what we face. Psalm 46:1b LITV, God is our refuge and strength, very much found to be a help in distresses.

In Acts 16, we see Paul the apostle commanded a demonic spirit to come out of a certain slave girl in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in v. 18 LITV, And she did this over many days. But becoming distressed, and turning to the demonic spirit, Paul said, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out from her! And it came out in that same hour. Notice Paul was distressed or annoyed by what was going on with this slave girl who had a demonic spirit in her, who kept following after Paul and them with him, and saying, These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are announcing to us a way of salvation (v. 17). Paul was distressed and he turned and commanded the evil spirit to be gone from her. Now when Paul had commanded the spirit to leave her, her owners saw their hope of making a profit from her, like they did before the evil spirit left her, had vanished, which caused them to make trouble for Paul and Silas, and in v.19-23, Paul and Silas were dragged, beaten, and thrown into prison. 

Then in v. 23, the Bible says, And laying on them many stripes, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely. Now, do you think at this time, Paul and Silas had a big smile on their face, happy these evil men were doing these wicked things towards them, no, of course not, they would not have been happy one bit about the evil things that they were doing to them, and no where in the Bible says we are to be. Yes, the Bible says we are blessed to be persecuted for Christ’s sake, and indeed they would have been blessed to be persecuted for Christ’s sake, but that is not the same as being happy about sin, and happy about evil men doing evil things. 

For example, If we went out somewhere and when we got back, our house had been robbed, all our things have been taken, and the place had been completely wrecked, do you think the Bible teaches that we are to be happy about that evil, that we are to say, I am so happy that my house has been robbed. No, absolutely not, you would be very unhappy about that, and the evil that had taken place, and rightly so, but this is important, even though someone has robbed our things, there is one thing they cannot steal from us, and that is the joy and peace we have received from the Lord in Christ. Our joy is in Him, and no one can take Him away, Christ remains always, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and our joy and peace are in Him, and not in our circumstances. When our circumstances change, Christ does not, and He remains the same, where our joy and peace is to be found. Whatever we go through we can have true peace and joy in Him.

When we carry on with Paul and Silas, we see v. 25, having been thrown in prison, the Bible says, And having prayed, toward midnight Paul and Silas praised God in a hymn. And the prisoners listened to them. Even though they had been dragged in the streets, and beaten with many stripes, and thrown into prison, they rejoiced in the Lord. They had true joy in Him. They prayed to God and sang a hymn. They had peace in Him. Then in v. 25, and the prisoners listened to them. What a witness. They were different to the other prisoners, and the jailer. We see in this true story, the jailer got saved, and not him only but his family too believed. The Lord was with Paul and Silas, and He never left them nor forsook, and God will never leave us nor forsake us neither, no matter what we go through. Amen. 

So may we always remember, there will be times when we will not be happy, legitimately not happy, but we are to rejoice in the Lord, and have joy and peace in Him, In Him who we belong to, In Him whom we have been justified before a holy God, who loved us and laid down His life for us, raised for our justification, and represents us in Heaven, and is coming again for us. We can have confidence in His Word and can stand on His Word, for His promises in Christ are Yes and Amen. Our God is the God of truth, and His Word is truth. The God who has saved us in our Lord Jesus, is the God who will keep us in our Lord Jesus. We are sealed unto the Day of Redemption by the Holy Spirit of promise in our Lord Jesus. God can be fully trusted, and we can stand on His Word, whether in life or in death. When the lights are on, or when the lights go out. Know that joy and peace that has been given to us in Christ Jesus, and know we are in His hands, and He will never let us go. Amen.

The Holy One

Revelation 3:7-8 LITV, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: These things says the Holy One, the True One, the One having "the key of David," "the One opening, and no one shuts; and shuts, and no one opens:" I know your works. Behold, I have given a door being opened before you, and no one is able to shut it, for you have a little power and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Notice the words 'the Holy One' in v. 7. The Lord Jesus Christ calls Himself 'the Holy One'. This title is a title for God alone. Jesus is the Holy One. The Holy One refers primarliy to His uniqueness, and being set apart from His creation. The Lord Jesus is inherently Holy. The very reason why people do not want the Lord Jesus, but rather push Jesus away, not love Him but hate Him, is because He is the Holy One. People feel uncomfortable and exposed by the Lord Jesus, a feeling they do not like because He is Holy, and they are sinful. They have pleasure in unrighteousness and not in the truth, and they do not want the Holy One, who is righteous to be near them.

For us who believe, before we got saved by the Lord, we did the same and pushed Jesus away, for we had pleasure in unrighteousness and not in the truth, but that all changed for us when God interrupted our lives and saved us in Christ Jesus. God gave us a new heart, took out the heart of stone and gave us a heart of flesh, for us to be able to hear the voice of our Shepherd, and to stop pushing Him away, but to embrace Him and come to Him, our Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved. The Bible says in John 3:3 LITV, Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, if one does not receive birth from above, he is not able to see the kingdom of God. The Bible says in John 3:8 ESV, The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. God changed us from a God hater to a God lover, a lover of the truth and no longer a lover of unrighteousness. 

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, how we are to be thankful to God for saving us, for interrupting our lives and saving us, for without God and His grace, we would still be willfully pushing Jesus away, like many do each day, having pleasure in unrighteousness and not in the truth. Amen.

Truth and Emotions

Genesis 50 v. 24 LITV, And Joseph said to his brothers, and I am dying, and God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. V. 25 LITV, And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you will bring up my bones from here.

We see in this portion of scripture, Joseph’s faith is not shaken by his emotions. Even when he was facing death, and the children of Israel were in Egypt, Joseph stood on the promise of God.  When it comes to the Word of God, emotions do not determine whether it is true or not. When we read the Word here, nowhere does it talk about the emotions of Joseph. I cannot tell you what Joseph was feeling at this precise time, but they did not determine whether the Word of God was true or not true, but he trusted in the God of truth who cannot lie, and stood on what He had promised. 

The Bible is the infallible and inerrant perfect Word of God, which can always be trusted. Never allow our emotions to decide whether a promise of God is true, but we are to stand on His Word. 

When it comes to truth, emotions do not define God’s truth, The Bible defines truth, and we are to put our confidence in the unshakable promises and power of God. We are not to put our confidence in our emotions, but in the Word of God. It is the Word of God which gives us assurance of what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, not how we feel. Our emotions can be up and down, and all over the place, but God's promises are steadfast and sure.

God is God, and our emotions do not define truth. God’s Word defines truth. Our emotions are to be determined by God’s truth, not God’s truth to be determined by our emotions. 

This was seen with Joseph, here, in Genesis 50. He was dying and in Egypt, but stood firm on the promises of God. He believed God promise that they would be leaving, which determined his emotions, not the other way around. We are not to follow our emotions, but we are to follow Christ our Lord, and His truth, and when we do, our emotions will be controlled and used rightly, and be not out of control, and our emotions will echo and respond according to the Bible, His truth, and glorify God. There is nothing wrong with emotions, God gave us emotions, but they need to be controlled by God's truth, and not God's truth controlled by our emotions. Amen. 

Christ keeps His Elect Forever

Paul wrote in Romans 8 v. 33 LITV, Who can bring any charge against God’s elect? God is the One justifying! There is no one who can accuse or condemn the elected people of God to cause their condemnation. Absolutely no one. God has justified us in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His justice has been satisified in Him. The sin debt has been paid in full by Jesus for His chosen people. It would be absurd to suppose that God would both justify a person, and then condemn them. A true Christian is therefore secure in the Lord Jesus Christ forever.

Paul wrote in Romans 8 v. 34 LITV, Who is he condemning? It is Christ who has died, but rather also is raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. One commentary says, The office of passing sentence of condemnation of men shall pertain to Christ, the Judge of living and the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ will not condemn His own people, whom He died for and rose again for their salvation, and to be justified before a Holy God. 

Notice Jesus is at the right-hand of the Father, but not only is He at the right hand of the Father, but the Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus sits at the right-hand of the Father. The Lord Jesus said in Luke 22:69 LITV, From now on the Son of man will be sitting at the right of the power of God. Even in the book of Psalms, this was prophecied by David, when he wrote in Psalm 110:1 LITV, A Psalm of David. A statement of Jehovah (I say Yahweh instead of Jehovah) to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool. What does it mean in Luke 22:69, and Psalm 110:1, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father? It means He has completed His work for the salvation of His people, and the Father is satisfied, and Jesus is exalted above all, power is given to Him, and as Ephesians 1:22 LITV says, And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His body: the fullness of Him filling all things in all. The One who is over all things, condemns us not, but represents us.

Jesus intercedes for His people, not on bended knees, but presents Himself to the Father as Who is He and what He has done for His people, the completeness of His perfect sacrifice for the Elect, and the Father’s satisfaction, which the Father planned before the foundation of the world. Christ has already won the victory in His death, burial and resurrection, and His work for the salvation of His people is complete, which means His intercessory work is perfect, and it can not fail and will not fail. The Lord Jesus will see His people to the end. They will endure. We have complete salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ.

What does Paul say in Romans 8 v.35-37 LITV, Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Even as it has been written, For Your sake, we are killed the all the day; we are counted as sheep of slaughter. But in all these things we more than conquer through Him loving us.

Then Paul wrote in v.38-39, For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor powers, nor things present, not things to come, nor heigth, nor depth, not any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

May this be an encouragment to glorify the One who represents us at the right hand of the Father, the One who laid down His life for us, and may we not dishonour His name, the One who bears our names in Heaven. Amen.

The Joy of the Lord

We see that Paul wrote about rejoicing in the Book of Philippians 4:4 LITV, when he wrote, Always rejoice, I say again, Rejoice. This is the joy of the Lord. This is the joy God has given to every believer in the Lord Jesus. 

Understand, this is not the joy the world experiences, but a joy found only in the Lord Jesus, and is always available for every believer to experience. This joy is available not only in prosperity but in adversity. The joy that believers have in the Lord is not based on circumstances, but in Christ, not in a situation but in our Saviour. The source of the believers' joy is not something or someone who will fade away, or change, or perish, or waver, but the joy we have is in the Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Understand too, The Bible never promises that believers will go without problems, but what the Bible does say is the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. Never. A true Christian can know the joy of the Lord in Him, the One who calls us His own, who loved us and gave Himself for us, and saved us, who has given to His people a home in heaven with Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ will remain faithful and true to His Word, and lead us to be where He is. We can fully trust in the Lord. 

Understand too, the more we grow in the Word of God (the Bible), as followers of Christ, and learn how we should live as a Christian, and practiced (made practical), the easier it should be to rejoice in the joy of the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit through whatever may come as we serve our God. Amen.