Knowing God According To His Terms

Many Still Don't Know God, Though They Claim To

No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us—eternal life. 

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him. 

- 1 John 2: 23-27

What is the big deal about acknowledging the Son?

Very simply; the Son is the manner God revealed His heart and His very Self to all mankind.

It is very difficult to make negative claims against Yeshua's testimony as expressed in the Gospel.

To argue against Yeshua's message (love, peace and blessings to all mankind) could be seen as a hostile and futile effort.

How can someone argue against love?

How can someone not like the idea of peace between people?

Surprisingly, enough earthly minds and hearts justify their reasons to oppose Christ by weaving together an argument formulated according to human logic.

Very interesting how a human's logic can promote love while also justify murder.

Such arguments can be made and explained in a logical, rational and reasonable manner and many people are convinced by such hypocrisy.

Yet, such arguments are based on earthly reasoning, not heavenly wisdom.

Why do people have a difficult time in accepting what is believed about Yeshua?

Most reasonable people can at least accept Yeshua's positive and noble message, so why not Him?

The short answer; faith.

Faith is a gift, not something attained by effort like one pursues a degree or license.

Faith is not “oh, I cannot explain it, I simply 'believe it' and don't think much about it”.

That is a kind of polemic from an atheist perspective against a believer.

However, sometimes that polemic is correct in addressing ignorance on the part of the believer.

Does such ignorance mean the believer is incorrect or wrong in their belief of who the Son is?

Many scientific theories were proven after they were initially theorized, while some theories are still being developed and expanded upon, but are still theories (unproven ideas).

The placebo effect shows how faith causes the body to cure itself of disease, yet not all who say they believe are healed.

Paradox.

Can faith in the unseen be rationalized as an argument to others when a believer has seen and heard things that a doubter has not, yet cannot reproduce such experiences?

People who in the past dove to great depths in the oceans, prior to the invention of cameras or video, shared their experiences with others.

Such experiences were sometimes believed simply because the divers had no reason to be making anything up.

But some hearers doubted, of course, just as some divers elaborated their stories.

Maybe there was a time people believed that diving deep enough into the oceans would allow passage to the other side of the world.

Such a thought seemed reasonable enough because the ocean floors had yet to be realized, tracked and surveyed.

Digging into the earth on both land and in the ocean has revealed that the journey isn't only water from one side of the earth to the other, but solid mass and specific layers, even below the ocean's floor.

The defining and dividing factor that distinguishes between science and faith is this: science measures what can be reproduced and caused to be repeated...experiments being predictable and consistent.

The things of faith, once again, are gifted by an allowance of faith and cannot be reproduced or induced by man's will.

This includes understanding something that is not understood by science.

Imagine two people of equal wisdom and schooling, yet only one has this gift of faith.

The one with faith understands, although holding equal wisdom and schooling, the world according to God, while the other understands the world according to the world.

The things of faith are not dependent on the material world, but occur independent of material limitations.

The matters of science have largely been made of the measurable material world, and science is getting closer to understanding what has long been understood by the faithful regarding the invisible and unmeasurable world.

I was discussing with a new friend recently about the dark arts that some people unfortunately participate in.

He mentioned briefly dating a woman who talked about witchcraft, black magic, and so on.

He said he doesn't believe in such things and neither does he believe there is One Above.

I told him plainly and clearly that not only is there One Above, but the sinister things of darkness do occur here on the earth below.

I shared with him that such realities are not dependent on people's belief that they exist.

Why?

I shared with him that I have personally experienced spiritual realities from both the light and the dark.

I can tell by the look on his face he had a difficult time in taking my words seriously.

What am I selling that I need to convince him or anyone else about my faith or my experiences?

The deep sea diver doesn't need to prove themselves unless they are trying to gain financial support for more deep sea explorations, or to sell a book, or to gain notoriety of some kind.

What of the diver who simply has a passion for exploration of what is deep?

Or perhaps the diver would like to share his findings with others, so they may better understand not only themselves, but the world in which they live.

I personally know people who have seen and heard the supernatural, even beautiful visions of His glory, and still doubt after having such experiences!

Paradox, again.

The diver knows very well what they experienced...and it wasn't so much 'blind faith'.

Such has occurred with this man (me).

I told my new friend that I hope he never sees anything from the side of darkness / evil.

I pray from my heart that instead, he sees things of the light, enough so, that my friend would be fully convinced that He is good and allows certain things to happen for specific reasons, always to bring forth good to those gifted with His faith.

Much good came out of my journey into the depths of darkness, and the bearing of such fruit was not from my personal effort of diving too deep into such darkness.

I personally was not participating in the dark arts, but had unfortunately and unwittingly been associated with someone similar to who my new friend was acquainted with.

Sometimes, our journey into the depths of this world, or the vast parched deserts beyond perceived safety, are part of the journey that brings forth great fruit for ourselves personally.

One should not attempt certain journeys in order to dark or parched places to hopefully bear fruit.

This is not the message.

The message is; when you find yourself having traversed such places, for sadly we find ourselves there after the fact, and if you have the faith, then you will surely realize the fruit after a time of drought.

Such experience is seed for those who would 'hear' us, not by fleshly ears, but spiritual ears opened according to His gift of faith.

May this new friend, his past acquaintance, and even my past acquaintance, find and keep such a life saving gift of faith...to the praise and glory of He who has always been enthroned Above, even when He momentarily traversed the earth in the flesh for our sake.

So what, then, is the big deal about the Son?

Well, the Father calls the Son “God”:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the Name He has inherited is superior to theirs. 

For to which of the angels did God ever say, 

   “You are My Son; 

      today I have become your Father”? 

Or again,  

   “I will be His Father, 

      and He will be My Son”? 

And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says,  

   “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” 

In speaking of the angels He says,  

   “He makes His angels spirits, 

     and His servants flames of fire.”  

But about the Son He says 

   “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; 

      a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 

   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; 

      therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions 

   by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 

- Hebrews 1: 1-9

Is the Father talking about another god or an associate with Himself?

No.

The Lord our God is One.

Read the Hebrew passage again (and again if need be), and may God grant your heart wisdom regarding how God describes Himself.

Notice how God defines Himself apart from the angels, and explains Himself as proclaimed through the Son.

The Son is how God has allowed mankind to perceive Himself, according to His gift of faith, since God's message is Spirit and speaks in spiritual terms, not in material or measured terms (the language of science).

God has always spoken about Himself in the first-person, second-person and third-person.

Has God changed the manner He speaks of Himself?

No.

He hasn't diminished His message, but has enhanced the message in such a way, that it confounds the wisdom of the faithless while granting understanding to the simple who have been gifted His faith.

He has done this for His personal and eternal glory!