Jesus Is Not The Father

Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Our text passage of Scripture clearly shows the distinction between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus was getting water baptized by John the Baptist. He sees the Holy Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. He hears the voice of the faithful Father from Heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Here we see all three members of the Godhead, separate one from the other. Yet, we know from Scriptures such as Deuteronomy 6:4b that “The LORD our God is one LORD.” 

There is a demonic heresy that is becoming increasingly popular on the internet called “Modalism,” which denies the Trinity. This cult teaches that God takes on different 'MODES' (i.e, wearing different hats so-to-speak). Modalists claim that God only exists physically in one body in Heaven. Modalists believe that when a Christian dies, you will only see God the Father in bodily form on His throne in Heaven. They don't believe that Jesus has His own body. I can easily refute this heresy with the Bible. What saith the Scripture? 

Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”  

Ephesians 1:20, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,” 

Hebrews 1:3, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” 

Hebrews 1:13, “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

Clearly we learn that Jesus is sitting in Heaven on the Magestic Father's RIGHT HAND, upon His own separate throne. It is hard to accept that some religious people actually think Jesus is not His own person, having His own physical body. We read in 1st Corinthians 15:6 that when Jesus PHYSICALLY resurrected from the dead, He was seen PHYSICALLY by at least 513 people. Paul, the Twelve Apostles, and then 500 Brethren all at once! In Acts 1:9-11 we read of Christ's PHYSICAL ASCENSION into Heaven, and we are told by the angels that Jesus will RETURN IN LIKE PHYSICAL FASHION as He departed. 

We see the future fulfillment of this promise in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Carefully notice that “EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM.” This is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, not the Pretribulation Rapture (which will happen seven years earlier). Clearly, we see that Jesus is NOT the Father!!! Here is a very helpful image to express correct Bible doctrine concerning the Trinity...

I found the following helpful quote today by Dr. John R. Rice, from page 59 of his 1973 excellent book (arranged by Miss Viola Walden) called, “Dr. Rice, Here Are More Questions...”:

Does God Actually Exist in Three Persons? 

Yes, He does. This historic Christian position, held by nearly all Christians through the ages, is based on the Bible; and only those who have been in touch with some false cult, I think, would doubt or deny it. 

It is easy to see from the Bible that there are three persons in the GODHEAD. in John 14:16, Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” Jesus, one Person, prays to the Father, another Person, and the Father sends the Comforter, another Person. Yet all three are of one mind and of one principle and are not to be separated as if one were without the other or against the others. 

Again, in Acts 10:38, Peter says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” God the Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost. Here the Bible speaks distinctly of three personalities. 

When Jesus was baptized, God spoke aloud from Heaven and said, “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). So God the Father and Jesus were separate, distinct personalities, in this case, surely. And there are many, many Scriptures to show that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are One and yet separate and distinct Persons, but John 14:16 is sufficient for this proof. 

SOURCE: Dr. John R. Rice; “Dr. Rice, Here Are More Questions...,” chapter 11, “Bible Doctrine,” p. 59; Sword of the Lord Publishers,©1973.

Jesus has His own body, which is up in Heaven today, seated on the right-hand of the Father. Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” And yet Jesus lives inside of the body of every believer in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which evidences that the Godhead is One. John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Notice that Jesus refers to Himself and the Father with the plural pronouns “we” and “our.” So here we see that God the Father, and God the Son, live inside every believer as God the Holy Spirit. The fact that Jesus uses a first person plural subjective case pronoun, “we,” evidences that the Godhead is comprised of three distinct Persons. Jesus didn't say “I”; but rather, He said “we” (which means more than one). If God were only one Person, then the Lord wouldn't have used the first person plural pronoun “we.” John 14:23b, “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

And please notice also, in John 14:23b above, the first person plural possessive case pronoun “our” (which again means more than just one). There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4); but that one God exists and manifests Himself to mankind in the three individual Persons of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is the Godhead, or Trinity. As Dr. Wendell Evans taught us at Hyles-Anderson College in chapel, “The Trinity may not make good math, but it makes good Bible!”

“If you will give God your heart He will 'comb the kinks out of your head.'” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Things I Have Learned: Chapel Talks,” page 47; Bob Jones University Press, ©1945