In our previous Trivia-Religion post, we learned that the Apostolic Fathers did not believe that Christ is God except Ignatius. But why is it that it is said to be with the exception of Ignatius?

Did you know that according to the book, “Systematic Theology” by Augustus Hopkins, it was Ignatius who taught for the first time that Christ is God? This is what is written on page 305)

“The earliest time known at which Jesus was deified was, after the New Testament writers, in the letters of Ignatius, at the beginning of the Second century …”

We all know that majority of the Christians today believe on the deity of Jesus Christ, and they are categorized into two: The Trinitarian or those who believe on the Trinity; and those who believe on the Oneness of God.

But, did you know that the Apostolic Fathers didn’t believe on the deity of Christ (that Christ is God)?

- Except Ignatius, the Apostolic Fathers believe that Christ is the divine revealer of the knowledge of the true God:

“Common Christianity … Profoundly loyal to Christ, it conceived of Him primarily as the divine revealer of the knowledge of the true God, and the proclaimer of a ‘new law’ of simple, lofty, and strenuous morality. This is the attitude of the so-called ‘Apostolic Fathers’, with the exception of Ignatius …” (Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, New York: Charles Scribner’s Son, 1970, Third Edition, p 37)

- There was no belief on Trinity up to the end of the period of the Apostolic Fathers:

“… there is the Old Roman or the so-called Apostles’ Creed (ca. 100) which follows the language of Matthew and Luke and makes no mention of the preexistent Christ. This creed reads: ‘I believe in God … and in Christ Jesus, His only Son… who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.’ According to this creed, then, before the birth of Jesus there were only God and the Holy Spirit, and ‘Jesus,’ as it says, ‘was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. ‘No mention is made of a preexistent Christ…

“And so by the end of the periods of the Apostolic Fathers there was no belief in a preexistent Trinity.” (Harry Austryn Wolfson, The Philosophy of the church Fathers, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1964. vol 1, Second Edition, pp 190-191)

- Even the Didache contains no formal profession of faith in the divinity of Jesus Christ:

“… even the Didache, or ‘Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, ‘ the oldest literary monument of Christian antiquity outside of the New Testament canon … contains no formal profession of faith in the divinity of Jesus Christ.” (Joseph Pohle, The Divine Trinity, A Dogmatic Treatise, USA: B Herder Book Co, 1950, p 150)

I was once upheld the belief that Christ and the Father are one God. That was when I was still a member of the Roman Catholic Church. However, when I was exposed to the truth written on the Bible, I realized that this belief is not based on the Bible and contradicts the truth recorded on the Bible.

To let you know, nowhere on the Bible that you can read “Christ and the Father are one God”, nor Christ said, the He and His Father are one God.
What was written on the Bible is the truth that Christ and the Father are one, as written on John 10:3:

30 I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30, NKJV)

What was written is “I and My Father are one”. Now to understand what Christ said, let us ask some questions and we’ll try the Bible to answer them.

1. Does it mean, Christ and the Father are one in number? If we’ll count them, Christ and the Father are numbered one? The Bible teaches that Christ and the Father are not one in number. This is what Christ testified:
   

   16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. (John 8:16-17, NKJV)

   Christ said, He was not alone but He is with His Father who sent Him. He even justified that in the law of Jews, the testimony of two men is true, which clearly means, Christ and the Father is not one in number but two.

2. Is Christ and the Father one God? No. It is Christ Himself said that the only true God is the Father.
   

   1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,…3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.(John 17:1,3)

Actually, I was wondering where did they get this teaching (Christ and the Father are one God) when in fact this is not recorded on the Bible.

Trinity believers thought that Christ is a different person and so is the Father, but then they are one God. Is it really true based on the truth written on the Bible?
We have already discussed on my previous post (see Christ is not the Father and the Father is not Christ) that Christ is not the Father and the Father is not Christ. It is true that Christ is different person and so as the Father too (see The Difference: God and Christ). However, to say that Christ and the Father are one God, that’s a big lie because this is not written on the Bible.

Bet you… nowhere on the righteously translated copy of the Holy Bible that you can read, “The Father and Christ are one God.”

Remember what Christ said during His prayer to God.

1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:1,2, NIV)

According to Him, it’s the Father who should be known as the ONLY TRUE GOD. And saying only true God means there is no God besides the true God (see Christ not the True God). And since the only true God is the Father, it is clear that the Son of the Father is not already the true God.

It is Christ who said this. Should you not believe Him? The true disciples of Christ believed Him,

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. (John 8:31, NKJV)

because they know that what Christ said is TRUTH, that He heard from the Father.

40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. (John 8:40, ibid)

People are confused when the Bible say, “One Lord”. There are times that the Bible refer it to our Lord God and sometimes it refers to our Lord Jesus Christ. But it is one of the reason why people thought that Christ is God because He is called Lord.

Is it really true that there is only one Lord and who is it? Apostle Paul answered it with a YES when he said, there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ.

6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (I Corinthians 8:6, NIV)

It’s because Christ is the only one who was made Lord by our Lord God.

36″Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36, ibid)

To make it clear, there are actually two Lords that exist, just like what David saw:

43He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44″ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.” ‘[a] 45If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”(Matthew 22:43-45, ibid)

The Lord who said “Sit at my right hand…” is the Lord God and the Lord told to sit is the Lord Jesus Christ:

1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1, ibid)

However, let us not forget that there is only one Lord God and one Lord Jesus Christ. Although they are both Lord but their Lordship is different.

The Lordship of God is native of Him. There is no beginning and there will be no end.

2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalms 90:2, ibid)

But the Lordship of Christ is just given by our Lord God.

36″Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36, ibid)

I came here for my internet activities late because, my cousins wanted me to be convinced that Father and Christ are one. For them, Christ is the Father and the Father is Christ.

I told them: “if Christ is the Father and the Father is Christ then why is it that Christ prayed to the Father in John 17:1-3?”

1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:1-3, NIV)

Do you think Christ will looked towards heaven if the Father whom Christ was praying is not in Heaven? Christ lifted up His eyes to Heaven when praying to the Father because the Father is really in heaven according to Christ.

9″This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, (Matthew 6:9, ibid)

If Christ is the Father, then why should he looked up his eyes towards the heaven, and asked the Father to glorify Him? It is already clear that the Father is not Christ because the Father is the one whom Christ prayed and would glorify Him.
If Christ is the Father and the Father is Christ, it means that they are really one in number.
Is the Father and Christ one in number? I mean if we count Christ and the Father, can we count them as one only not two? Christ Himself anwered this question. And He said, He was not alone. He was with the Father.

16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. (John 8:16-17, NKJV)

He even quote what was written in the law that the testimony of two men is true. In other words Christ wanted to tell them that He and His Father in not one in number but they are two.

If Christ and the Father are counted as two beings, then it is not true that Christ is the Father and the Father is Christ.

Did you know that Christ is really different from God?

I want to share you six great differences between Christ and God.

First. The Father who is the only true God,

1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:1,3, NIV)

recognized no other god.

39 “See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39, ibid)

On the other hand, Christ called for His God.

34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34, ibid)

Second: God raised Jesus from the dead.

32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. (Acts 2:32, ibid)

And it is Christ who was raised by God from the dead.

10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. (Acts 4:10, ibid)

Third: God put everything under Christ feet, but Christ is subject to God.

27For he “has put everything under his feet.”[a] Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:27-28, ibid)

Fourth: God is immortal,

17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (I Timothy 1:17, ibid)

but Christ died.

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (I Corinthians 15:3, ibid)

Fifth: God is almighty,

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1, ibid)

Christ only received authority.

18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.(Matthew 28:18, ibid)

Sixth: God can do everything,

11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned, that will I do. (Isaiah 46:11, ibid)

But Christ can do nothing by Himself.

30By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (Jon 5:30, ibid)

Did you know that like us, Christ has three component as a being?

Man is composed of three components: Body, Soul and Spirit according to Apostle Paul.

23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thesalonians 5:23, NIV)

And because Christ is truly a man, he has these too. Christ has body.

52Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. (Luke 23:52-53, ibid)

He has spirit too.

46Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46, ibid)

And lastly, he has soul too.

27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. (john 12:27, NKJV)

I just want to make it clear that the spirit that Christ surrendered to the Father is not the spirit that most of us are thinking. This is because there are people, especially those who are Catholics believe that the spirit surrendered by Christ to the Father is the so-called-by-catholic SOUL. Soul is different from Spirit and Spirit is not the Soul (see When Man Dies What Happens?)
Why did Christ surrendered his spirit to the Father? The answer is, because Christ is truly man. Man when dies, the spirit will return to God, because it is God who gave it.

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7, ibid)

Did you know that Christ is introduced by the Bible as Man not God? You know I have many proofs on these, but I will show you some.

Firstly, I want to let you know that Christ Himself introduced His own as the Man who was telling the truth.

40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.(John 8:40, NKJV)

From that verse alone, it is already clear that Christ is a man. When Christ said He is a man, then that is the truth which He heard from God.

40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.(John 8:40, NKJV)

In other words, that truth that Christ is a man is also according to God. And we should also take note, that it was distinguished that Christ is different from God, Christ is not God and God is not Christ, because Christ is the one who heard God and God is the one whom Christ heard.
If God and Christ have the same testimony to Christ Himself that He is a man, how do the Apostles testified about Christ?

Apostle Peter has the same testimony and declared the same as of that of Christ. According to him, Christ is a Man attested by God.

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—(Acts 2:22, ibid.)

Christ is not God because it is God who attested Christ and Christ is the one being attested by God.

Apostle Paul also taught that Christ is a man who is the mediator between God and Men.

5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, (I Timothy 2:5, ibid.)

We should also take note that Christ who is a man, is the mediator between God and men. In other words, God is not Christ because Christ is the one mediating God and men. And Christ is not God because God is the one being mediated by Christ to men.

After reading my post, “Christ, Not The True God“, they’re starting to ask who the Father is. According to them, other religion teach that Christ is also the Father because in one instance God is the Father, then the time comes that God came to earth as the Son (Christ) and return to heaven as the Holy Spirit. God is one but revealed in three instances, in three different persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Anyway, I will not answer this question, but I will try the Bible to answer it.

From the book of John 17:1,3, it was revealed that the Father is the one Christ prayed to:

1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: 3Now this is eternal life: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you 3that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:1,3, NIV)

He is in Heaven:

9″This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, (Matthew 6:9, NIV)

That’s the reason why Christ lifted up His eyes when praying to the Father.

1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: 3Now this is eternal life: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you (John 17:1, NIV)

The Father is the one who dwells in Christ:

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. (John 14,10, NKJV)

The Father is Christ’s God:

17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17, ibid)

and the one Christ said who forsake Him:

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46, ibid)

The Father is greater than Christ.

28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. (John 14:28, ibid)

The Father is the only one who knows when will be the Christ’s return.

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. (Matthew 24:36, ibid)

And the one who raised Christ from the dead.

10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. (Acts 4:10, ibid)

In other words, the Father is not Christ and is different from Christ. It is clear from the given description of the Father that He is not the one who became Christ, because during the existence of Christ, the Father is there too.