Monday, September 9, 2013

Reply to the article: “The Revelation of the Triune God According to the Pure Word of the Bible” by Witness Lee




Reply to the article:

 “The Revelation of the Triune God According to the Pure Word of the Bible” by Witness Lee

 

Witness Lee is one of the favorite writers to me. I acknowledge that one of work “The Economy of God” was a brain storming one to me. Here I wish to give a analysis of Witness Lee’s ideas and it’s comparisons with my new theory on Godhead. Here is the point by point comparison of his article. Please have his article with you while reading this.

        I.            God is Uniquely ONE
This is the fundamental concept in Bible and I too believe in it. My theory is full in accordance with the truth of One and only unique God, only who can say אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה I am what/who I am.

      II.            God is Triune
He concluded “God is Triune” because of the following reasons. Among these some of the reasons my theory accepts but some I feel needs a comparison.
A] I is US:
He says God is used pleural pronouns for God. I am not fully in agreement with this. I will give the answer to this at the end of this article.

B]Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
He just mentioned the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are being mentioned in Bible but I gave a clear explanation how the One God is expressing Himself as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the scripture.

C]All Three are God:
    Witness Lee here states that the Father is God, Son is God and Holy Spirit is God. I accept this concept and considered in my speech as the second fundamental fact about God in Bible( the 1st fact I mentioned is the concept of ONE God)

D] All three are eternal:
1] Father is eternal: I agree with this. The one and only God who is the Father of all, is eternal.
                2] Son is eternal : I beg to differ on it. The God who is manifested as the Flesh/Son is eternal, not the Flesh is eternal. “Bible never teaches about an eternal Son, but calls Jesus as Eternal Father( Isaiah 9:6)” this is not my statement but a statement by Witness Lee in his book “The Economy of God”
Let us examine the supporting scriptures he gave,
a)       Hebrews 1:12 “Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”
This scripture is originally in Psalms 102 the whole Psalms is addressing YHWH, the LORD. Psalms is not telling about the Son but about YHWH, the Father!!!!
Then you may wonder how can I explain this scriptures! In the Psalms 102 the author was praising the God who is beyond perception and comprehension, that  “Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” And what Paul is telling about?? Paul is telling there, about the second coming of Jesus(When the firstborn is brought again). As per my theory the Son is the manifestation of God in the visible form(flesh) or all the fullness Godhead in the form of flesh(Col2:9) So when we see the visible form of God(Son/body) we are exactly seeing/perceiving God who is beyond all means of perception. So we can praise Him face to face that “Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” That is being prophesied  by Paul. So the Flesh is not eternal but the God who is revealing/manifesting Himself as the flesh is eternal. That’s the reason why Isaiah prophesied “the child who is born shall be called as the Everlasting Father” (9:6)
                                b) Hebrew 7:3 That verse is about Melchizedek. There is no clue that that is about the Son.
“I say only one thing. The one and only God is eternal and that eternal God manifesting or coming down to our perception as the the Word, Holy Spirit and The Flesh/Son. So the God whom we see and perceive in the form of flesh is eternal, but that form/ body is not eternal.”

                E]All three exists at the same time.
I accepts it and my theory clearly how it happens. During Jesus’s baptism the one and Only God who is unperceivable expressed Himself as the Word (the voice heard there, He is my son…, sound is a form of Energy) as the Holy Spirit(like a dove) and as the flesh/ Son. All the three manifestations of the unperceivable God the Father are in the same time!!! My theory explains how it could happen. When the Original Electromagnetic Wave of Discovery channel as the sound and visuals(light) we hear and see it(Perceive it). The original wave will be present everywhere unchanged even when it  is being manifested as the sound and light to you. In the same way , the God who is omnipresent and beyond perceptions will be everywhere even when He is manifesting to you as the Holy Sprit, the Word and the Flesh.

                F] All three are One
I agrees the fact that all three are one. And I affirm once again, the one and only God the Father, who is unperceivable & incomprehensible expressing Himself in the domain of Spirits as Holy Spirit, in the domain of physical world as the Word and in the domain of visible world as a Man/flesh/Son of God.

    III.            The Mystery
Now the 3rd section in this article is about the Mysteries. Ie, the scriptures that cannot be explained by any of the existing theological doctrines. Let us examine one by one and I will explain each through the new theory.

1.       John 1:1 says, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” By the clause, “the Word was with God,” we understand that the Word and God are two, for the Word was with God. But “the Word was God” indicates that the Word and God are one, for the Word was God. Are They one or two? They are both. This is a mystery.
Explanation:  My theory says, only the incomprehensible and unperceivable God the creator was there before the creation. When that God, manifested Himself in the form of tremendous energy/The Word/eternal power of God, it torn apart the vacuum into matter and antimatter. So in the beginning, means in the beginning of TIME or when the first particle created, there was Word/Eternal power of God as a perceivable form of God. So it is 100% true that “In the beginning there was Word”. But John knows that, there is an original form of God, which is unperceivable exists and the Word is one of the perceivable form of that unperceivable God. So John stated “the Word was with God” When we come to our TV channel example, the Original wave which is unperceivable, expresses itself in one of its perceivable form as the Sound. The Sound is always with the original wave, means sound doesn’t have any existence without the original wave. In the same way, when the God in unperceivable form, expresses himself in the form of Word, that Word is always with the original form of God. But in mean time for the creation, or for the physical world, the Word is one of the perceivable form of the unperceivable God, ie, the Word was God. The Word is the fullness of Godhead in the form of the Physical energy. So the Word is the perceivable form of God, the fullness of Godhead, to the physical World, So in the same time the Word is with God and the Word is God. (As if in the same time the Sound from TV is the perceivable form of the fullness of the discovery channel in the domain of audiability and the same sound is always with its original Wave of Discovery channel.)
2.       Second Corinthians 3:17 says that “the Lord is that Spirit.” Here the Lord and the Spirit are one, for the Lord is the Spirit. Then, in the same verse, it speaks of “the Spirit of the Lord.” This indicates that They are two. Are the Lord and the Spirit one or two? It is a mystery.

Explanation: As per my explanation, the God who is incomprehensible and unperceivable expressing in the domain of Spirits as Holy Spirit to interact to various spirits(Human Spirits, angels, evil spirits etc.) So the Holy Spirit is the fullness of Godhead in the form of Spirit, Holy Spirit is God Himself. Meantime as the Holy Spirit is the manifestation of God in the form of Spirit, it can be called as Spirit of God. Coming to the core example, the Original wave of Discovery channel manifests as Sound. So that sound can be called as Discovery channel. When we hear that sound, we say We heard discovery channel. In meantime, what we are hearing is the “Sound” of discovery channel. So in conclusion, that “Sound” is the Discovery channel as far as the hearing is concerned, mean time, it is audio of Discovery channel as far as the whole means of perception are concerned. That’s why Bible says, “God is Spirit” and “Spirit of God”

3.       Notice how, in Hebrews 1:8-9, the Son is addressed as God, then God is referred to as His God; “Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever…therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee….” How can you explain this? Can you say, “O God, Thy God”? This is also a mystery.

Explanation: To get an answer we need to read from verse 6. Verse 6 says “And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” Here God is saying all the angels to worship Jesus. But in the verses 7 and 8 are from the Psalms. Verse 7 is the worship to YHWH, the Father God, in Psalm 104:4 and verse 8 is from Psalms 45:6. There the sons of Korah was praising the King of Israel(Messianic concept) till verse 5. And in verse 6 they affirm that the God is ruling Israel. Again from verse 7 onwards they are Praising the King. And this verse is misinterpreted by Witness Lee. The Sons of Korah addressed YHWH as God and saying that God is anointing the King. Here in Hebrews Paul is bringing the same verse towards the Son, as per my previous explanation about the verses in Hebrews, in the second coming of Jesus, we are going to see the visible form of the unperceivable God and all the praises which were given to God will be given face to face. So during the second coming of Jesus, Paul’s prophesy that says the Son will be called as the God will be fulfilled, not just this prophesy, but also Isaiah 9:6 will be fulfilled on that day. Verse 9 says, “therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness” in Psalms 45:7 says “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
So when we compare both the scriptures it is clear that, it is about the king of Israel(Messianic) and God, can be read as this, you loved righteousness….. so the God, your God, has anointed……. Here just giving a stress to the term God. So read both the scriptures and you will be clear of concept.

4.       Finally, in Revelation 1:4; 4:5; and 5:6 we read that the one Spirit (Eph. 4:4) of God is called “the seven Spirits.” Here again is a mystery. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, we must learn to simply take the pure Word.
Explanation: No doctrines in theology could explain this till now. There is only One Holy Spirit, but bible says about 7 spirits of God. Here, the theory which I am forwarding has a clear explanation to this. As per my theory, the One original wave is expressing itself as sound and light. When I switch on the TV I can hear and watch Discovery channel. If my neighbour also switches on his TV in mean time, he can also hear and watch the same Discovery channel. This doesn’t mean that there are two Discovery channels. The God who is beyond all means of perception can express Himself in the visible form, ie, Jesus to many people in the same time. Say for example, if the God wishes to talk face to face to 100 people in the same time, He will manifest to them in the form of flesh or as Jesus. That doesn’t mean there are 100 Jesus(s). In the same manner God can express Himself as Holy Spirit to 100 people in the same time, that doesn’t mean there are 100 Holy Spirits. So in conclusion, the unperceivable God can express Himself as Holy Spirit to any number of men( human spirits) in the same time, that is expressed there in Bible as 7 Spirits of God as the 7 denotes “the fullness” related to God.  


Finally the last point which I told that I would explain in the end.
A] I is US: He says God is used pleural pronouns for God. I am not fully in agreement with this. Because none of the scriptures clearly mentioned the “Us” used there denotes the plurality of God or just denotes the congregation there with God. Let’s examine each scripture mentioned.
1.       Isaiah 6:8 “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” If you read the chapter 6 from the beginning in all the place God is singular and there are angels with God. Let’s ask some questions to the scripture there,
a) Who is sending? – I(God YHWH (Singular)
b)Who is sitting on the Throne? – YHWH God, Singular
c)Whom all Isaiah saw there – God and angels – Plural.
d)Who is speaking to Isaiah? – God YHWH – Singular

So when you read by keeping the concept that Isaiah was seeing a divine council where the One and only God as KING(Isaiah 6:5) and  plenty of angels present. So when God asks “ whom shall I send?” it is singular as it is the God, who is sending the messenger/prophet not the any of the angels. But when He asks “Who will go for us?”  He includes the whole council(Us) as the God is revealed to Isaiah as a King.
                    2. Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22 and 11:7.
                                In these scriptures pleural pronouns were used. When we analyze these scriptures there is a clear fact that when an action is denoted the pronouns or nouns used are singular. Eg: Gen 1:27 “God created man in His own image”; 1:26“God said” ; 3:22“LORD God said” ; 3:23“LORD God sent him out of Garden” ; LORD scattered them(All nouns and pronouns are singular). So all the actions are done by the God as Singular. Then what could be the pleural pronouns, we have to borrow the jewish concept of divine council. Jesus never denied that belief while he was here on earth,Remember, He even talked about the observation of Sabat. Also there is proof in Bible where the God came down on the earth with angels. In Gen 18, the LORD God 2 angels manifested to Abraham as 3 men. There also used the plural pronouns as the God was not alone there, but was accompanied by two angels, but there also whenever actions were denoted singular pronouns were used. Gen 18:10 “And he said, I will certainly return unto thee”; 18:14” I will return unto thee”; Gen 18:17  And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
Whenever the plural pronoun is used please keep in mind that the God and his angels.