Biblical Truths About God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
WHO IS GOD?
-Jesus himself referred to his “Father” as “the ONLY true God” (John 17:1,3).
“There is . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ONE GOD AND FATHER”—Ephesians 4:4-6 LSB
“For us there is ONLY one God, the Father”—1 Corinthians 8:6 NASB
WHO IS JESUS?
“The true God” has “his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:20).
“Yahweh” “God Almighty” “has glorified His servant Jesus” (Exodus 3:15; 6:2,3; Acts 3:13 LSB).
WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
“‘In the last days,’? God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit'” (Acts 2:17 NAB), and,
“has given us a share in his Spirit” (1 John 4:13 NJB).
“a portion of” and “a share in” do not describe a person.
2 thoughts on “Biblical Truths About God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit”
Who is God? God is 1) the hypothetical, unique, supernatural, self-sufficient, free, spiritual, normally invisible person, conscious intelligent agent, or sentient entity (primary traits). He* is maximally enduring, perceiving, intelligent, rational, knowing, creative, powerful, and resilient (primary traits). He wants, but does not need, loving relationships with other persons (primary trait). He is also maximally loving, compassionate, cooperative, authoritative, and moral with respect to other persons (secondary traits). He is the designer and creator of everything other than himself, including our universe and any other universe which might exist (secondary trait). He also at least occasionally intervenes in our universe and enables and manages afterlives for some persons, deciding the favorable or unfavorable dispositions of human persons after they die (secondary traits). And finally he is the only deity which exists; he is exclusive of all other deities (secondary trait). or 2) the Greatest Imaginable Possible Person (the “GIPPer”) or ideal person who, if he existed, would possess all desirable traits to the highest degrees and no undesirable traits, and who would be worthy of our greatest respect, admiration, and worship. (*God would not have a sex or gender, but I shall use male pronouns to refer to God to be consistent with tradition.) (30A, 201w)
We now know and have proven that God does not exist.
Who was Jesus? Jesus of Nazareth was a real man who lived for approximately 30 years in ancient Palestine in the early first century CE. He was an itinerant Jewish rabbi who spoke new ideas, especially regarding forgiveness, passive resistance, and apocalypse, which were attractive to many people but also controversial. He was crucified by the Romans and probably died as a result. It was alleged that God brought him back to life, and this belief is one cornerstone of the Christian religion. There is no good evidence that he was divine, had supernatural powers, or came back to life.
So, although Jesus did exist, God never did. If God did exist, he would not use offspring, messengers, or delegates to do his work. He would always do his own work.
GW— God is 1) the hypothetical, unique, supernatural, self-sufficient, free, spiritual, normally invisible person, conscious intelligent agent, or sentient entity (primary traits). He* is maximally enduring, perceiving, intelligent, rational, knowing, creative, powerful, and resilient (primary traits).
BA—God is not “hypothetical”.
“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20 NLT).
GW—We now know and have proven that God does not exist.
Who was Jesus? Jesus of Nazareth was a real man who lived for approximately 30 years in ancient Palestine in the early first century CE. He was an itinerant Jewish rabbi who spoke new ideas, especially regarding forgiveness, passive resistance, and apocalypse, which were attractive to many people but also controversial. He was crucified by the Romans and probably died as a result. It was alleged that God brought him back to life, and this belief is one cornerstone of the Christian religion. There is no good evidence that he was divine, had supernatural powers, or came back to life.
So, although Jesus did exist, God never did. If God did exist, he would not use offspring, messengers, or delegates to do his work. He would always do his own work.
BA—“Nonsense” (3 John 10 NIV).