this is Jesus speaking...
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8).
Saying someone is Alpha and Omega, does mean something- He is the beginning of the new covenant. The end of Adam's sins having to end in our eternal death. "Alpha" means "beginning" and "omega" means end. We all know that GOD has NO beginning or end, so Jesus is again being honest with us. God said he had no beginning and no end. Jesus said he does. So that makes Jesus and God different in a very fundamental way.
He is also saying, "Saith the Lord"- and remember, Jesus is a mere vessel- He became the KING, and therefore the Lord, but that (being the new leader- the king, the Lord) does not make him God, either.
also, why were we commissioned to Baptize?
Matthew 28
The Great Commission
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This is part of the new covenant. Jesus is the new leader- not the new God, just the son of God, and appointed by him to be the Shepard for us. He says, honestly, "all authority... has been GIVEN to me" - this means he gets to be the leader now. This does not need to be deciphered. =)
This refers to the Word, not Jesus.. The WORD is God. Not Jesus. This is said literally. I love John the baptist because he gave it to us straight- more straight than any of the other disciples did. He gave us MORE information than the other disciples did.
This is still talking literally about God. The word is God. Thats what it says. Literally.
Right, but see, I don't think that this is literally saying that God became Jesus, only that God created a son in his likeness. A new King! That the word became flesh is not literally saying that God became Jesus.. but that God made the Divine Word available through his own offspring.
This is one thing that I find confusing here.. Why would it say "God.. Who is at the fathers side"- I have to think this is not literal, God being "at the right hand side of the father" - instead, I think it just means that God, being our Father, let Jesus be known to us, by working miracles through him.
Yes- Jesus was the new Lord- the new leader, is all. Plenty of leaders were called "Lord" in those days, not just God. And Jesus himself also denied being God. In many verses. I will list these in a follow up post, hopefully before dinner. (I am responding on a Sunday morning).
Right, because literally, Jesus was the son of God, the conveyer of the new covenant, and our spiritual leader.
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Jesus the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
I do see how this part about "he was before me" can be confusing to so many people. I just do not see how it could be impossible for Jesus to have "been" a spiritual man beside God (at the right hand side of God, as the book says) even during the creation period. However, I think that Jesus was one of the most blessed people to ever walk the planet. Considering the circumstances surrounding his presence, to be a savior, and who his real dad is, I just have to think that Jesus was either with his dad when Dad was creating everything, and, like, shadowing him, to learn, or that this verse is just saying that he has knowledge of everything that was before John, from God, so he has surpassed him in that sense, also.
32Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
LOL Well I think that this is another hokey little way of John and Jesus just trying to talk people into accepting Jesus into their society. I think John was a brilliant man, as was Jesus.. so giving them something they can see and touch, helps them to get there and believe in what they see, instead of remaining cynics. Also, John is not saying that the Dove is the Son of God- but that he who the dove lands on is the Son of God.
Also, it should be noted, this verse itself says that Jesus is, in fact, the "Son of God", not God himself.
Thank you for responding, Care4all. I have never believed in a trinity.. Never even heard of any such thing until about 3 or 4 years ago, and have tried to do substantial studies to ensure that my beliefs are correct. Jesus himself says "my words are not my own, but he who sent me." He prays to God many times, also. Why would God pray to himself? Some of it (this trinity stuff) makes no sense at all. There isn't even a word in the bible that says "trinity". You would also think that, as well as Jesus spelled things out to us, that he would specifically say "I AM God. God IS me." instead he said "God is in me and I am in him, and he is in you"- which tells me there is no trinity, that my original beliefs were true. =)
JD, there are many wonderful sites out there if you google Trinity Doctrine that do give a very good reason, Biblical reason of why the Trinity is believed...
I grew up the opposite of you...I had no idea that there were Christians who did not believe in the Triune God until just a few years ago.... and trust me, I am nearing decades older than you...so I have gone a very long time in this state of cluelessness!
I think the Bible gives us many examples, and Jesus himself gave us many examples in the New Testament that SHOWS that Jesus was not equal to Abraham or Issac or Moses or Jeremiah or others that God said he knew before they were born and put here, for us. He was the Messiah, the Christ...the Messiah the old testament prophesied...who was God to come.... both the old and the new testament speak of this Messiah....not Prophet and not Saint, but Messiah/Christ.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word was made FLESH....
I don't think you can get around that with your beliefs....I can understand how it is hard to comprehend 3 manifestations of one God, this is where the Mysteries of Faith come in to play....
The father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God,
but the Son is not the Father and the holy spirit is not the father, and the son is not the holy spirit or visa versa....
Also, Jesus commanding to Baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit shows them, as being the same...He would NEVER EVER put them on the same LEVEL with God, if these 2 entities were not God....that would be BLASPHEMY for certain, and ALL of his followers knew such...
Care