Hi NWoH, before we discuss baptismal formulas, I've always been interested to know how/why the "Oneness" doctrine came to be. Unfortunately, the Scripture verses you posited for us above have left me no closer to understanding that. For instance, you wrote:
So to get started, please help me understand how these verses (John 5:43 and John 17:6) teach us that the "name of the Father" is actually "Jesus".
Thanks!
Yours and His,
David
Oh of course brother!
my apologies, as sometimes when explained instead of just a reference, it can be understood easier
So to begin with, the promise of the name Jesus came in (Isaiah 62:2) , and this was fulfilled in the scriptures in (Luke 1:31).
So knowing this, let's look at the name of Jesus. Jesus means "Jehovah-Salvation". Do you remember the old Testament names brother? "Jehovah-provider", "Jehovah-peace"? Jesus is the name "Jehovah-salvation". Notice in Isaiah 62:2 God is referring to a name He is going to give Himself, in Luke 1:31 this name is Jesus. So Jesus said in John 5:43, I come in my Father's name and ye receive me not. And after that if another came in their name you receive them.
So that is one reason why the name of Jesus came from God Himself, that the Son of God would not come in His own name, but in the Father's name. John 17:6 is Jesus about to go to the cross, and in prayer, and He says I have manifested "THY NAME", the name of Jesus which fulfils (Isaiah 62:2), saying that the name of Jesus is that name in (Luke 1:31). So Jesus is the name of the Father and of the Son. Now what is the name of the Holy Ghost? (John 14:26) says, "The Father will send Him in MY NAME" Meaning His name is Jesus too. And (Acts 3:20) states that "and He shall and Jesus Christ, which was preached unto you" because Jesus will manifest Himself to us according to (John 14:21).
That is why brother, Matthew 28:19 says to go baptize, IN THE NAME, of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Notice there is one name (Acts 4:12), not 3, but one, because (Mark 12:29) states that God is one Lord. So taking the name we discussed earlier, we see that name being Jesus. So in Acts 2:38, and all throughout the scriptures we see baptism only in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, which fulfills (Luke 24:47), which Jesus states that remission of sins should be preached of His name.
Now, who is Jesus? Jesus is God Himself come (Manifested) in the flesh. (John 1:1) states the Word was God, and (John 1:14) states the Word was made flesh, in other words, put them together, "GOD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US", hence the name (Matthew 1:23) Emmanuel, meaning...... "GOD WITH US".. (1 Timothy 3:16) states this same thing, God became flesh and dwelt among us. The Bible says everything was created by Jesus (Colossians 1:16-17), because Jesus is the name of the Father, who became flesh (John 1:14) and manifested Himself to us in the form of the Holy Spirit (John 14:21).
God, being Spirit, not flesh and Blood, (John 4:24) had no Blood to shed for the forgiveness of sins, so He robed Himself in flesh (Isaiah 59:17) states this. By doing this, He had a body of flesh and blood prepared for the sacrifice (Luke 9:22).. So while He came as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) He is coming back as the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5).. There had to be a sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 9:22) as the Jewish Levitical laws required so (Exodus 12:5) describes the Passover Lamb, which was a shadow of Jesus being the Lamb of the Passover as well (John 19:14).
The big issue is did God in the flesh exist before He was manifested into the world.. Yes and no, (1 Peter 1:20), but He didn't physically exist yet. Just like you were a thought in God's mind before you came to physically exist, meaning you existed before the foundations of the world, but hadn't been created yet.
If the Son of God existed physically though before the foundations of the world, why the prophecy (Psalms 2:7, Hebrews 5:5) saying, "TODAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE", Fulfilling the prophecy in (Matthew 3:16-17).. God Himself is Spirit, the Holy Spirit is also Spirit, and the 2 are one Spirit. The Holy Spirit is just God's Spirit taking action, if you'll notice how in the Bible there is always a very with it (Luke 1:35, Genesis 1:3) etc.. It is God's Spirit taking action.
God is Spirit (John 4:24) but manifested Himself into flesh (John 1:14) to become the body needed to shed Blood for the remission of sins. (Hebrews 9:22)..
Think of it this way, God manifested Himself in Exodus 13 into a cloud by day, and a pillar of Fire by night, the Holy Spirit doesn't really look like a dove, yet it decended in the form of a dove. God is able to manifest.
This is how God explained this to me, He made it so easy using Play-doh.
The trinity doctrine states that I have 3 tubs of Play-doh, and those three tubs are one tub..
The Apostolic doctrine states that I have 1 tub of Play-doh, and out of that one tub I can manifest it 3 different ways! No matter how many manifestations I have, I still only have 1 tub of Play-doh..
And so likewise there is only 1 God, manifested in the flesh, (John 1:14) and God can be everywhere at once. Not because He is a billion people, but because He can manifest His presence anywhere at any time. He is, like they say, omnipresent...
When Jesus says, (John 14:6-9) if you have seen Me you have seen the Father, what He means is this. God is an invisible Spirit right? (Colossians 1:15).. This is what the Bible means when it says no one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12), and we know scripture does not contradict scripture, because Jesus said if you have seen Me you have seen the Father, and I and the Father are one (John 14:6-9)..
So God is an invisible Spirit, so while man has never seen that Spirit, that Spirit decended upon Jesus in the form of..... A dove! (Matthew 3:16).. Not a Spirit. So if God is invisible, what is the image of that invisible God? Jesus! (Colossians 1:15)
In other words, you and I are spiritual beings, but we have a body of flesh and blood. If I look at you, I can't see your spirit, it is invisible to me. But I can look and see the IMAGE of your spirit! Your spirit is invisible to me, but the image of your spirit I can see, your body of flesh and Blood. Just as you are the image of your spirit, Christ is the image of God, the invisible Spirit (Colossians 1:15, 2 corinthians 4:4)
And just like you are and your spirit, are not 2 different people, Christ Jesus and God are one. The body of flesh and blood was just a vessel, just like we are vessels.
That is what God means in (Genesis 1:26-27) "Our image" refers to the image of Father and Son, flesh and spirit, it is the two-fold relationship between them. And indeed in (Genesis 1:27) it states, "IN HIS IMAGE DID HE CREATE THEM" Notice that the Word, "Image" is singular, not plural, as in, "Images". There is 1 image, (Colossians 1:15) tells us that is Jesus, who all the fullness of God dwells in Him (Colossians 2:9) because He is both Spirit and flesh, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15)
That is why in Matthew 28:19, when Jesus told to go baptize in the, "NAME, singular", that name was Jesus in Acts 2:38 and all throughout the Bible. In the New Testament did you ever read about someone casting out demons, healing, raising the dead, or doing anything saying, "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST"... No! It was in the name of..... Jesus Christ! Because that is the NAME of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Notice," NAME "not names.
I hope I explained this ok.. I'm kind of all over the place at times. Lol.. So I apologize for any confusion brother. You can email me at,"
Mike.Cpht@gmail.com" with any questions, you can also ask others about the one God revelation on my Facebook, I'm sure smarter people than I!
If you're wanting to look into the oneness doctrine, look up David K Bernard on YouTube, and he will pretty well put every single piece of the puzzle together, and ask me too!
