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Who is Christ?
by Phil Maxwell, July 1997
| When Yahshua came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom
do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say thou art John the
Baptist; some, Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter
answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Yahshua answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father
which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Mt. 16:13-18)
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Here the Lord Yahshua distinguishes between what the multitudes THINK and what His
chosen disciples KNOW. Yahshua began building His Church on this very TRUTH shortly
thereafter. The "ROCK" was perfect, complete, and ready to be built upon. It
could not, would not, and has not been changed!
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (He.13:8)
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ. (2Co.11:3)
Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How
long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered
them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Fathers
name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I
said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:24-27)
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His Sheep know WHO He is...and He is still, simply, the Christ, the Son
of the Living God.
There is considerable debate between Trinity and Oneness theology centered on HOW,
according to their respective views, Christ is God. However, since these two camps
represent the overwhelming majority of Bible-based religion today, there isn't much room
for discussion regarding WHAT the Scriptures say Christ is.
This is strange given that the Scriptures are not straightforward in declaring Christ
to be God. The very existence and substance of the Trinity and Oneness doctrines with all
their differences, explanations, and mysteries declare this to be true. Even so, the
inherent "problems" with the conclusion that Christ is God are numerous,
regardless of the theological inattention rendered to the issue.
Even though modern theology may seem complicated, the TRUTH is SIMPLE:
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus; 1Ti.2:5
God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or
hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Nu.23:19
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It says that Christ is the Mediator BETWEEN God and men. It says that
God is NOT a man, and it says that Christ IS a man, NOT that Christ is God!
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God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Jn.4:24
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me,
and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Lu.24:39
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