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Biblical OnenessWhy the Distinction Between God & Christ Mattersby Phil Maxwell 11/25/02There are a lot of reasons why one can and should address the one true God and Yahshua whom He sent in the same context. Same context, however, does not equal same identity, which the Scriptures plainly exclude from possibility. The issue goes to the Biblical concept of "oneness" as described between the Father, Yahshua, and His disciples. It is not a diminishment of identity or personhood, but the union of will, intent, and purposes...all bound together by the Spirit of God in the common cause of love and mutual benefit. It is what the original man and woman had with each other and God when they were one man bearing the same name, before sin spawned in conjunction with their independent wills, defining them as separate individuals. Before that, to address either the woman or the man was to address the man Adam. Biblical oneness is neither solitude nor plurality. It is a spiritual union between two or more living beings that transcends anything possible in the flesh. It is the perfect resolution to aloneness, as the woman was to the first Adam. It neither eliminates individual identity, nor is it accomplished by the mere presence of more than one being. I characterize it as distinct, but inseparably joined. The first man and woman were so joined together and with God, but because they were corruptible, they were not inseparable. The second man will likewise be plural in essence and identity, but one in Spirit, though having been raised incorruptible, they will also be inseparable, as Yahshua is with the Father. It is important to note the distinction between Yahshua and the Father because we are His brethren and should be reaching for the same relationship with the Father that He had and has. To say He is God effectively blocks that from view. Consider the righteous overcomers addressed in the letter to the Philadelphians in Rev. 3. It says their enemies will come to worship at their feet and know that Yahshua and the Father have loved them. There is no thought that they will be worshipped AS God, but their oneness with both the Father and Yahshua is evident. So complete will the union be that they will even bear the name of God, the city of God, and Yahshua's new name. Yahshua's mission is not to be our God, but to lead us to oneness with His Father and our Father, who is His God and our God. As long as He is thought to be God Himself, there can be no vision nor pursuit of this ultimate goal. You can do what you want with what you call "Jesus is not God theologies", but I hope you can see that the aim is to be made perfect in one by virtue of God in Christ in us, not Christ as God in us. Yahshua would have us look beyond Him to see and reach for the Father in Him. |
