It's a very strange discussion where you ask questions while also telling me you don't want to know what I think. I am not able to teach you, and I certainly don't have all the answers. I will do my best to answer the questions you pose here, but you must decide what you believe or don't. The central question of the gospels is from Christ - who do you say that I am? This is for us to confess. This is what He wants from us.
To begin with, there are many opinions because there are many people. This is not a new phenomenon. St Vincent noted in the 400s that without a continuous teaching there are as many opinions of scripture as there are readers. Even in the time of Christ there was variance over who the Messiah would be and even whether or not there was resurrection of the dead (this is what divided the Sadducees from the Pharisees). St Paul tells us that there will be heresies, and this is so God may show who is approved. Much like Gamaliel in Acts 5:39 - the good proves out.
In Mark 10:18 Christ Jesus poses a question: why do you call me good? The obvious answer is: because you are Lord. He asks this over and over again: who do you say that I am? This is the same question. And the answer is the Christ, the son of the Living God, He who is coming into the world. All of these are in the scripture, in the gospels.
That Christ Jesus was tempted is not an argument against Him being God. It is an excellent argument that He was man, and the fact that He did not sin is a wonderful argument for Him being God.
Yes, Jesus was dead and rose again. Do you think this is an argument for His Humanity or Divinity?
Yes, God is from the beginning, and Jesus was born. In John's gospel He tells us - in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh.
Yes, Jesus has a mother - for this very reason we call Mary the Theotokos, the one who gives birth to God.
Jesus had "brothers," but not from Mary the Theotokos. This has been a unified Christian teaching up to and through the protestant Reformation.
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There are at least a thousand verses that do not allow Jesus and God as to be interchanged. I have read every verse in the Bible used to justify that God and Jesus Christ as interchangeable. Yet no one wants to deal with the thousands of verses that lead us to a different conclusion.
A thousand? Then by all means, lets do every one. Because nothing you have said is even remotely challenging, or novel. But let's be clear, the problem with your argument is you have an insufficient definition of God. What is God? Who is God? Are those questions one and the same thing? Or not?
Is there ever a time when God is without His Word? What is the Word of God? Or, shouldn't it be Who? What does it mean that God has breath, spirit, life? What is the Spirit of God, and how does He send it to His prophets? How can this Spirit also be a comforter, and advocate, a paraclete? And what's more,
another paraclete? Isn't this also a Who?
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Why would God just not tell us?
It is for us to declare Him. The whole world, all of creation, and His mighty acts cry out for us to worship, to proclaim. Everything He does in the prophets is done so that we might know that He Is. He knows; He wants us to say. This is the pivotal question. "Who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am?"
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Why is the term God the Son not in the Bible?
I'm a bit confused.
Psalm 2:7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, '
You are My Son, Today
I have begotten You."
Matthew 3:17 "and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, 'This is
My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.' "
Matthew 17:5 "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is
My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!' "
Mark 5:7 "and shouting with a loud voice, he said, 'What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!' "
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of
the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 5:19 "Truly, truly, I say to you,
the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things
the Son also does in like manner."
Acts 13:33 "that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, '
YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'"
Romans 1:4 "who was declared the
Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord"
1 Corinthians 15:28 "When all things are subjected to Him, then
the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all."
2 Peter 1:17 "For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, '
This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased'"
Hebrews 5:5 "So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, '
YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU' "
1 John 4:10 "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and
sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
1 John 5:9-10 "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that
He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the
Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in
the testimony that God has given concerning His Son."
They ask Jesus who is His witness. He says - "I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent me, also testifies about Me."
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Why when Eve bore Cain did she claim that she had received a man from the Lord? Apparently, Adam and Eve knew that they needed a redeemer and yet they did not claim to have received God or a baby God.
I am unclear what you're asking here. However we should note that Adam was made in the image (icon) of God, but Seth was made in the image of Adam. But then Colossians 1:15 says that the Son is the image (icon) of the invisible God. If Jesus is merely a man how can that be?
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Was baby Jesus born with all knowledge or did he learn?
The scripture says He learned.
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There are tons of confusion in Christianity on this topic and those of us that are honest enough to see that the emperor has no clothes need not be condescended to by those that claim to have all of the answers because you don't have all the answers on this topic. If you did have all of the answers then go ahead and clear up all of the confusion for me and the rest of mankind.
There is no confusion. People see and believe what they choose to.
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God communicates himself via his creation, his Word and his Son (the Word in the flesh). To understand the Word we must understand grammar. In grammar, if one part of a sentence is false along with a myriad of truths then the statement is false. To claim that Jesus and God are interchangeable then ALL POINTS must be resolved like Mark 10:18. No one has ever been able to do that and I doubt anyone ever will.
No, this is not true. That is not what the scriptures say. God did in the past communicate not only by His creation. However, His son, the Word of God, the davar YHWH, is utterly and completely NOT THE WRITTEN WORD. The Word of God is from the beginning, all things were created by and through the Word. Before creation existed, the Word was with God. Before grammar. He revealed Himself to us through the Son, in the flesh, in the person - not through the written word. This is what the first chapter of John teaches. This is what the first chapter of Hebrews teaches - "in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the ages."
Errors in understanding are not ontological. People can believe what they wish; reality persists. That a person has a personal limitation of wisdom, of understanding, of faith, does not invalidate the Truth. Jesus is the Truth, He said so Himself. Just like St Paul says, we don't come preaching with the wisdom of the world, because the truth is foolishness to them.
And, simply put: your understanding is at fault. No one in this thread, not once, have said that Jesus and God are interchangeable. Because they're not. Christ Jesus is the Son, the Firstborn, the Only Begotten, the Lord, the Christ, the Savior, the King, the Paraclete, the Word. God is God the Father. Anyone who says they are interchangeable is confused.
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We believe the scripture that we understand. We can't believe what we don't understand. Absolutely there are mysteries in the Bible but not illogic and not magic. Note: God does not contradict himself as God cannot lie.
This is also incorrect. The scriptures say "By faith we understand." (Hebrews 11:3). St Paul says we don't have a message of persuasive words or wisdom, but that our faith is in the wisdom of God, not of men. Not the wisdom of this age, but the mystery of God which none of the rulers of this age understand. And he says that the spiritual things of God are discerned spiritually, not by the natural mind.
I do not believe in magic. There is no such thing as magic. But paradox is not illogical.
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If people have predetermined that Jesus and God are the same then why even read the scriptures because you need to use a pen knife like Thomas Jefferson to cut out the scriptures that you don't believe and check your common sense at the door to prove your point.
I have not predetermined. Christianity has been teaching that Jesus is Lord. One of the oldest confessions is represented by the fish, the Ichthys, an acronym for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Savior." The doctrine of the Trinity flows from scripture, not the other way around. There is no omission necessary or desired. Quite the contrary, you seem to need to ignore a great deal of scripture to make your case.
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Jesus and God are not the same and they are not interchangeable. That is very clear. Praying to Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father is not the same as praying to the Father. Not to mention that there is not one single prayer to Jesus in the Bible.
Yes, Jesus and God are not interchangeable. That is, indeed, clear.
Jesus says if you ask anything of Me in my name I will do it. John 14:14.
The scriptures exhort us to pray to the Lord over and over again. The NT clearly identifies Jesus as the Lord, over and over again.
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If we are Christians then Jesus is our Lord and Jesus is our Savior yet God the Father is the author of salvation but to say that Jesus is interchangeable with God the Father is blasphemy and is what we are warned about in Galatians 1:8.
The scriptures say that Jesus is the author of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10) and the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2).
There is no Lord but God. There is no Savior but God. The scriptures tell us God is the Lord, the Lord is One. Jesus says I and the Father are One.
I hope this helps you understand. If not, I don't have any other way to explain.