Articles
The Father and Son Are Not The Same Divine Being
The Bible teaches that there are three Divine Beings in the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There are three distinct personalities in the Godhead, yet there is but ONE God.
The Bible teaches that within the Godhead there is God the Father, "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 1:3). We also learn from I John 1:3 that God the Father is not the same person as God the Son, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, AND (emp LS) with his Son Jesus Christ."
Some religious folks teach that God the Father and God the Son are the same person from such passages as John 10:30 which says, "I and my Father are one." A careful study of the Word of God will show that the Father and Son ARE NOT the same person. The word "one", used in John 10:30, is the Greek word "hen" and is used many times in the New Testament. Notice this passage in which the same Greek word, "hen", is used: "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be ONE (emp LS), as we are" (John 17:11). Was Jesus Christ praying that His disciples be one person? NO! Another example is, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are ONE (emp LS): and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour" (I Corinthians 3:6, 8). Was Paul saying that he and Apollos was the same person? NO!
God the Father and God the Son are ONE in purpose, united together with the same goals. This is the ONENESS that Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17:11 and this was the ONENESS of Paul and Apollos in the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in I Corinthians 3:6, 8.
Jesus prayed that you and I would be ONE in Christ Jesus, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be ONE (emp LS); as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE (emp LS) in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17:20-21).
Now friend, was Jesus praying that you and I be ONE PERSON? NO! Jesus prayed that we all would be one in purpose, united together in Christ Jesus in peace, love, spirit and truth. The apostle Paul said it this way, "I Therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3). Again, Paul says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (I Corinthians 1:10).
Keep studying your Bible. We will have more to say about this topic next time.
