Program 282
Knowing the Father & the Son

It is impossible to truly love anyone unless you know him. To love Yahuwah and Yahushua, it is important to know them.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of WLC Radio Ministry, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Scripture reveals that there is only one true and living God and that’s Yahuwah. He’s our Creator. And … He has a son: Yahushua who died for the sins of the world. Yahushua is the son of God, but he is not “God the Son.” A careful study of Scripture reveals that nowhere is a triune godhead taught. Nowhere in Scripture is Yahushua ever referred to as divine or as God the Son. That whole theology was adopted from the pagans.

But if you haven’t joined us before, hello, my name is Miles Robey and you’re listening to World’s Last Chance Radio where we cover a variety of topics related to Scripture, prophecy, practical piety, Biblical beliefs, and living in constant readiness for the Savior’s unexpected return.

Today, Dave Wright will be sharing with us, directly from Scripture, the evidence that proves Yahuwah is God; Yahushua is not, and the Holy Spirit … well, Scripture simply refers to that as Yahuwah’s breath, nothing more. Later, Jane Lamb has a special promise for anyone who’s ever struggled with feeling alone. Yahuwah knows all about you. He knows every detail, and He still loves you. You are not alone. I know you’ll want to stay tuned for that.

Dave? The time is yours.

Dave Wright: Thank you, Miles!

Let me ask you: do you believe in “love at first sight”?

Miles: Uh, no.

Dave: That’s it? Just “no”? Not even your wife?

Miles: Well, there was lust at first sight! I was certainly attracted to her right away. But the deep, enduring love that has kept us together all these years? No. How can you feel that when you’ve just met a person? You don’t even know them!

Dave: So you’re saying that in order to truly love someone, you have to know them?

Miles: Well, yeah! Do you disagree?

Dave: No. No. I agree with you. In fact, I think “falling in love” is something of a misnomer. I think it’s probably more “falling into lust,” as you put it, while true love requires growth. You can fall into lust, but you grow into love as you get to know the other person on an ever-deeper level.

That’s what I want to do in today’s program. When we accept and love Yahuwah for the being He is, the one and only divine being Scripture presents Him as being rather than who we’ve assumed Him to be, then we will have deep and enduring love for Him. When we accept and love Yahushua for the fully human being he is rather than the god-man we’ve assumed him to be, then—again—we will love him for who he truly is and our love and faith will be strong and enduring.

Miles: They are lovable … worthy of love … just as they are, aren’t they?

Dave: That’s right. We don’t need to try and embellish who they are. They both deserve our love and adoration just as they are.

There are some fundamental problems with the doctrine of a triune godhead that, if you’ve been raised your whole life to believe that “God” is “three-in-one,” you’re not going to notice. The first is that the word “trinity” does not actually appear at all in Scripture.

Miles: Anywhere.

Dave: Anywhere. Now, that alone doesn’t disprove a trinity, but it does lend weight to the idea that the source of this doctrine is somewhere other than Scripture.

Miles: And even among trinitarians, aren’t there differences of opinion in just how to define the trinity? I was raised to believe that Yahushua was both fully God and fully man even after being incarnated into human flesh, while you …?

Dave: I was taught that he “set aside” his divinity when he became incarnate. So, yes. There are also differences of opinion on how the Holy Spirit relates to the Father and the Son and yet, everyone claims their beliefs come from Scripture.

However, if you go back and study the doctrines believed by the early Christians, you can definitely see this doctrine underwent a process of development.

Take the Nicene Creed. It was agreed upon at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE. They tweaked it a bit later, but there—three hundred years after Christ—they were claiming Yahushua was “true God” and “eternally begotten.” It was there that they said the Holy Spirit is also “Lord.”

Miles: That’s a good point. Because you go back to the earliest forms of the Apostles’ Creed—which, if I’m remembering correctly, was written prior to the Nicene Creed—and there’s absolutely nothing there about a triune godhead or a dual-natured Yahushua.

Dave: That’s correct. But even the Nicene Creed doesn’t develop this doctrine to the degree we have it today. It’s not until the late fifth, early sixth centuries with the development of the Athanasian Creed that you get an explicit statement, defining this doctrine.

Miles: Isn’t that the creed that damns anyone who doesn’t believe it?

Dave: It’s the first creed that says believing in a triune godhead is necessary for salvation and that you can’t be saved without, quote, “believing it firmly and faithfully.”

But Scripture tells us that Yahuwah is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Malachi 3:6: “I, Yahuwah, do not change.”

If this doctrine were an essential part of salvation, if you can’t be saved unless you believe in it, why didn’t Peter include this doctrine in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost? And yet, Acts 2 verse 41 says that about 3,000 souls were saved that day after listening to Peter preach. How could Luke say these people were saved if they hadn’t accepted Yahushua as God? And they hadn’t. Peter hadn’t preached it to them, and as Jews, they were all strict monotheists.

Miles: Yeah, you’d think if this were such a foundational doctrine like Christians today claim, you’d be able to find it in Scripture. You’d certainly find it much earlier than 300 years after Christ!

Dave: And where is this concept in the Old Testament? We say the Bible is the “Word of God.” Okay. So Yahuwah gave His Word to the Jewish people. He is the cornerstone of their ancient religion. And yet nowhere in the Old Testament do you find any mention of a triune godhead. How is a doctrine that’s supposedly sooo essential to salvation just … not there?

Remember, Yahuwah gave us language. He had the ability to communicate the idea of a three-in-one godhead if He wanted to. But He didn’t.

Miles: Just the opposite! The Jews have always been such staunch monotheists! To them, anyone—including Yahushua—claiming to be divine was pure blasphemy.

Dave: This truth is based on the Shema. It’s a prayer—well, really it’s a Bible passage that they’ve turned into a prayer. It’s their most sacred prayer. Let’s read it: Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 and 5. Would you read that for us, please?

Miles: Sure! Uh … “Hear, O Israel: Yahuwah our God, Yahuwah is one. Love Yahuwah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Dave: The marginal reading there is very revealing. It says: “Hear, O Israel: Yahuwah our God, Yahuwah alone.” And we know this was the Savior’s belief, too, because he quoted it! Yahushua pointed to this passage as the most important, doctrinally, in all of Scripture.

Read Mark 12 verses 28 through 31.

Miles:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Yahushua had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Yahushua, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: Yahuwah our God, the Lord is one. Love Yahuwah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Dave: I want you to catch the significance of this. Yahushua is stating that the greatest commandment of all is the one that states there is only one God and that it’s Yahuwah.

If Yahushua were part of what constitutes “God” then this would have been the perfect place to say so. But he didn’t. Instead, he reinforced what this Jewish scholar already believed: There’s only one God and that is Yahuwah.

This brings me to an interesting point. If the promise made to patriarchs and prophets was that God would be incarnate in human flesh, the prophecies would have said so. But they don’t. Instead, the prophecies all predict that the coming Savior would be … wait for it … a human being.

Miles: Really? They actually said that?

Dave: They did. You’ve read it, you just weren’t paying attention to this point. I wasn’t either, so let’s look at it now. I’ve printed off a number of references here to save time, so we’ll just read through those.

The first time a human messiah was foretold was actually back in Eden. Read that first text there. It’s Genesis 3:15.

Miles: “I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Dave: The Messiah would be a descendant, an offspring, of Eve. What’s next?

Miles: Genesis 12:3. It says:

“I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

Dave: This is Yah’s promise to Abraham, saying the Messiah would come from his—human—lineage.

Miles: Genesis 49:10: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

Dave: This is Jacob’s death-bed prophecy and he’s stating that the Messiah would be born among his descendants.

What’s next?

Miles: Um, Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”

Dave: This is obviously a reference to King David who was the son of Jesse. A “branch” growing out of his roots is a poetical way to refer to his descendants.

But there are other passages, too, that describe the Messiah in ways that could not be used to describe a Messiah that was part of a trinity. Turn to Psalm 110 and read the first verse.

Miles: Uhh …

Yahuwah says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”

Dave: If Yahushua were “God” in the trinitarian sense, he wouldn’t need “God” to make his enemies a footstool. This is describing a king that is ruling under Yahuwah’s authority.

Next is Jeremiah 30 verse 21.

Miles:

‘Their leader will be one of their own;
their ruler will arise from among them.
I will bring him near and he will come close to me—
for who is he who will devote himself
to be close to me?’
declares Yahuwah.

Dave: This is a prophecy of the Messiah. If the Messiah were to be God incarnate, that would be an important point to make, don’t you think? But instead, he says, “Their leader will be one of their own.”

Miles: Big difference! This really explains why the Jews were expecting a human Messiah.

Dave: The idea of gods appearing as just another human and walking among humans was not unknown in the ancient world. This was something the Greek gods did.

But the Jews weren’t looking for a divine Messiah. Even Mary, Yahushua’s own mother, wasn’t expecting to give birth to God! She was confused by how she could get pregnant since she was a virgin, but she herself expected a fully human Messiah.

Miles: What about those Old Testament passages that seem to indicate Yahushua is divine, though? How would you address that? For example—give me just a second to find it here—we have … here we go. Micah 5:2. It says:

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.

Dave: That’s a great question. I’ve got a lot more material I wish to cover in today’s discussion, so I don’t have time to get into this in depth, but I will say interpreting this as proof that the Messiah shared some eternal pre-existence with Yahuwah, both of them being God, is a trinitarian interpretation that has been imposed onto the text. The Jews were strict monotheists. They were “unitarians” who believed that only Yahuwah was God. As such, this can also be translated and interpreted in a way consistent with Unitarianism. You don’t have to be a trinitarian for this to make sense.

Let’s circle back for just a minute to Psalm 110. Here’s a prime example of how the translators imposing titles in place of the sacred name has confused things. Most Bibles translate it as “The LORD said unto my lord.” The first “lord” is capitalized indicating that, in the original, the sacred name is being used. So, then we’ve got, “Yahuwah said unto my lord.”

Miles: What would that be in the original? “Yahuwah said unto Adonai”?

Dave: Well, a lot of trinitarians will try to claim that. “Adonai” is another title for Yahuwah, so a trinitarian would claim this is God the Father speaking to God the Son. But the original Hebrew doesn’t support that. The word in the original isn’t Adonai but adoni.

Miles: Really?? Well, that’s interesting. Adoni is never used to refer to Yahuwah. It’s used for husbands, or human lords and masters, but never Yah.

Dave: Same root, but different words. The fact that the original Hebrew uses adoni for the second “lord” is a solid argument that the Messiah the Jews were expecting to rule like other kings under Yah’s authority was fully human.

The New Testament, like the Old, also presents a fully human Messiah.

Miles: Even Yahushua himself said he was human. His favorite way of referring to himself was “son of man” which, in the Greek, is the same word used for human being.

Dave: Yahushua was consistent in asserting his human nature. In John 8:40, he says, “You are looking for a way to kill me, a … man … who has told you the truth that I heard from … God.”

So, what? Was he being dishonest? Disingenuous?

Miles: No.

Dave: No, he was making a statement of fact about his very nature.

Same with the apostles. You never find them teaching that Yahushua was divine, which begs the question of why not? If you have to believe Yahushua’s divine in order to be saved, why didn’t the apostles teach it? Instead, they repeatedly emphasized that he was a man. Certainly a man set apart for a special work by Yah, but a man nonetheless. What does Peter say in Acts 2:22 to 24[a]?

Miles: Uh …

Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Yahushua of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead.”

Dave: Peter did not use Yahuwah’s personal name here. He was speaking to the Jews, so he used a title since they considered the sacred name too holy to be spoken. But this lets us see how he’s making an important distinction between Yahushua—whom he refers to as “a man”—and Yahuwah, or “God.” Yahushua can’t be God because he’s “this man” whom “God raised … from the dead.”

Paul presented Yahushua the same way. And remember! Paul learned his theology directly from Christ himself. And yet how did he present Christ? Read Acts 17:31.

Miles: “For He [Yahuwah] has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Dave: This is from Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill. He was speaking to pagans who were polytheistic. This would have been the perfect opportunity to lay a foundation of similar beliefs that they could grasp. The Greeks believed gods took on human form and even had children with human women. But Paul stays utterly silent about Yahushua being any sort of deity. Instead, he simply says he was a man appointed by God.

Miles: That’s interesting. I’ve never thought of that before but you’re right: the Greeks probably would have been more open to listening to Paul if he’d capitalized on Yahushua being divine or even a demi-god, born to a human woman.

Dave: What did Paul tell the believers in Rome? Romans 5:15.

Miles: Let’s see … “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Yahushua Christ abounded for many.”

Dave: Many Christians believe that only God could pay the debt for sinners. On the contrary, Scripture teaches that a human had to do it.

Miles: Well, yeah. Because, by definition, divinity cannot die.

Dave: I like 1 Timothy 2:5. This passage states more clearly than any other I know, the differences between Yahuwah and Yahushua. One is clearly God, while the other is clearly man.

Would you read that for us, please? 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5.

Miles: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Yahushua.”

Dave: Again, the use of titles here to refer exclusively to Yahuwah is very revealing: there is one God … and it’s not Yahushua!

Now, some trinitarians will try to skirt around the obvious contradictions by saying that Yahushua was fully God and fully man at the same time. One of the biggest problems with that, though, is that there is not a single verse anywhere in all of Scripture that says that. You have to cherry pick from many different verses to try and prove this doctrine from Scripture. And scholars themselves admit there’s only about 8 verses in the entire New Testament that can be construed to mean that Yahushua is God. But that interpretation flies in the face of how the disciples, as monotheists, would have interpreted those passages. They can also be interpreted in a way that’s consistent with Unitarianism, or from the context, another interpretation can be drawn.

Miles: Well, I get back to the question of, why wouldn’t Peter and Paul, in such important sermons, have taught that Yahushua is divine if he were, indeed, divine? It doesn’t make sense that they’d stay silent on such an important theological point if it were indeed true.

Dave: You’re absolutely right. Hebrews is very clear on this point. Would you please read Hebrews 2 verse 17 for us?

Miles: Sure. Uh. It’s talking about Christ here. It says: “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

Dave: This verse precludes any possibility of Yahushua being fully human and fully divine at the same time. If he had been, he couldn’t be like us: “fully human in every way.”

Scripture is clear that the Savior was like us. We’re not fully human and fully divine. Therefore, in order to actually be like us, he couldn’t have been, either. He was what Scripture says he was: fully human and not at all divine.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: Not only does the New Testament declare that the Savior is human—and needed to be—but it also teaches that Yahushua had to be like Adam. And we know why: it was through the first Adam that sin, and death, entered the world.

In 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul refers to Christ as the “last” Adam. It’s rather obvious that this comparison would be a moot point unless Yahushua were fully human just as Adam was.

Miles: Isn’t there someplace that Adam is referred to as a “type” of Christ?

Dave: Uhhh … are you thinking of Romans 5:14?

Miles: Let me see …

Yeah! Yeah, listen to this. It says: “Death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.”

This version says Adam was a pattern of Christ; other translations say “type.”

Dave: Okay. A type is a pattern. It’s a model of something else. An illustration of it. It comes from the Greek word, tupos. So how was Adam the first a type of Adam the second?

Well, number 1: he was fully human. Secondly, he started out perfectly sinless. In order to be the antitype that culminated what the first Adam symbolized, Christ also had to be both fully human and perfectly sinless. He had to be in order to redeem the world where the first Adam fell.

If Yahushua were wholly divine and wholly human, Adam could not have been a type of Christ, because Adam was only wholly human. He wasn’t divine at all. He couldn’t have been a type of Christ like this verse says.

Miles: You’re saying Christ couldn’t have had a divine nature because Adam did not have a divine nature.

Dave: That’s correct. How could he have redeemed the race where Adam fell if he had anything the first Adam didn’t? I do believe Christ had the nature of Adam before the fall, but even before the fall, Adam was completely human.

Another point a lot of trinitarians get confused on is just who the Creator is. Many trinitarians assume that Yahuwah worked through Yahushua in the creation of the world, but that it was Yahushua saying, “Let there be light,” et cetera.

But that’s not what Scripture says. Yahushua is part of Yahuwah’s creation.

Miles: Where does it say that?

Dave: Colossians 1:15. Why don’t you read that for us?

Now, full disclosure: a number of Bible scholars disagree on this verse, but that’s because they’re trying to apply a trinitarian interpretation to a very clear text. Go ahead: Colossians 1 verse 15.

Miles: “The son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Dave: Again, a very interesting use of a title being applied to Yahuwah. If the son were God, this verse would be ridiculously redundant. It wouldn’t make sense. And that’s the problem of reading simple, clear, straightforward truths through the lens of error. Truth gets obscured.

Miles: Yeah, obviously if Yahushua is God the Son and is eternal in his own right, he couldn’t be the “firstborn of all creation” because that phrase makes him a part of Creation.

Dave: I looked up the word “creation” in the BDAG Greek-English Lexicon.

Miles: BDAG?

Dave: It’s an English language version of the German original work by Walter Bauer. Anyway, under “creation,” it explains that this comes from a Greek word meaning “that which is created…of individual things or beings created, creature.”

Miles: Interesting. Could you also say that Yahushua is the first born of Creation because his resurrection makes possible every other resurrection?

Dave: Absolutely. And that same point is made in Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5.

And this brings me to my next point. Yahushua had a definite beginning. He’s not eternal. To be eternal like God, you have to have always existed, but Yahushua hasn’t. We find that in the very word used to describe him: begotten. Christ is frequently referred to as the only begotten son of God. He’s never once called God the Son. Never.

Miles: You think about it, the very fact that he’s called “son of God” shows that he had a beginning. Sons don’t predate their fathers.

Dave: And yet, trinitarians come up with wild and ridiculous ways to work around this fact. There’s the term “eternally begotten.” Have you heard it?

Miles: Yeah! And it’s not in the Bible, either.

Dave: Of course not. Because it doesn’t mean anything. How is anyone eternally begotten? That’s foolishness trying to explain the illogical chaos of error. Something that’s eternal has no beginning and no end and yet, by its very definition, “begotten” means something that had a starting point.

How are we supposed to come and “reason” with Yahuwah when we have to come up with our own nonsensical phrases to try and prove nonsensical ideas?

Yahushua’s existence started when Yahuwah fathered him in the womb of Mary. Sure, he was always in Yah’s plans from eternity past, but he was not in existence then, and his life started when he was born.

Miles: Give me just a second to look up Matthew 1. There’s a verse here that’s very interesting in talking about the Savior’s beginning.

Here we go. It’s verse 18. It says: “This is how the birth of Yahushua the Messiah came about.” But the marginal reading here is very revealing. It says: “The origin of Yahushua the Messiah was like this.”

Dave: Oh, that is very interesting. Thanks for sharing that. It’s important to pay attention to these things because Scripture presents Yahuwah and Yahushua as two separate and distinct beings. This is very different from the Nicene creed that claims Christ is “very God of very God” and “consubstantial with the Father.”

This emphasis on their separateness happens so many times in Scripture, we’ll only look at a handful of examples, but these will suffice to prove the point. What does Mark 10:18 say? This is from Christ’s conversation with the rich young ruler.

Miles: “‘Why do you call me good?’ Yahushua answered. ‘No one is good—except God alone.’”

Dave: By referring to Yahuwah by the title, “God,” Yahushua was excluding himself from that statement. If he were still wholly God while being wholly man, this statement would have been a lie. Let’s look now at what John said. John 8 verse 40.

Miles: “You are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.”

Dave: A man … who’s told you the truth I head from … God.

John 14:1?

Miles: Ummm, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”

Dave: Believe—also—in me. If Yahushua were God, he wouldn’t have phrased it like that.

Another interesting passage that emphasizes their distinct separateness is found in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 3. Let’s see what that says.

Miles: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Yahushua Christ.”

Dave: Grace and peace come to us from …?

Miles: “God the Father.”

Dave: And?

Miles: “The Lord Yahushua Christ.”

Dave: Two separate sources linked by the coordinating conjunction, and.

And this doesn’t change! Turn to Revelation 22. This is literally the last chapter in the Bible. What do verses 1 and 3 say?

Miles: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb … No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him.”

Dave: If the Lamb were “God,” then all John needed to do was refer to the “throne of God.” But he doesn’t. Instead, he refers to the “throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Miles: Okay, but I’ve heard trinitarians say that when this phrase appears, it’s Yahushua’s way of referring to himself and the Father.

Dave: The problem is though, Miles, Scripture never says that. That’s another example of how this ridiculous doctrine leads believers to impose meaning on the text. But a straightforward reading of the text, knowing that the apostles were all strict unitarian monotheists, is that it is referring to two separate and distinct beings.

Another thing that Scripture is very clear on is that the Father and the son have separate wills. Now this is an important point we mustn’t overlook. Trinitarians insist that they’re still monotheists because Father, Son and Holy Spirit are united in purpose and in will. But Yahushua said his will was different from his Father’s. In fact, his individual will had to be surrendered in order for him to be sinless.

Miles: Yeah, I remember in Gethsemane he prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

Dave: And that’s not the only place. What does John 5 verse 30 say?

Miles: Um … “By 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.” Unquote.

I’d say that’s pretty clear! But, going back to Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane, could he have been speaking of his human will while his divine will was united with the Father’s will?

Dave: No. That’s another invented explanation. It would mean that, within himself, his divine will and his human will were at war. Yahushua himself said that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. So, to say that Christ’s wills were separate and at war with each other makes no sense. Besides, Scripture never says that.

We’ve run into another problem in passages that speak of Yahushua being Yah’s heir. Hebrews 1 verse 2 tells us that Yahuwah has appointed Yahushua to be heir of all things. Paul takes it further. What does Romans 8 verse 17 say?

Miles: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Dave: Believers are heirs of … God. We’re co-heirs with Christ, but we’re heirs of God. Christ can’t be both God and an heir of God.

Miles: Yeah, it doesn’t work that way!

Dave: Once you start looking for the ways Scripture draws a distinction between Yahuwah and Yahushua, you find it everywhere. Read Colossians 1 verse 14, please. Let’s see what Paul says.

Miles: “The son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Dave: You can only be an image of something if you aren’t also the original. For example, you aren’t the image of Miles. You are Miles!

This same phrase reappears in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4. Would you turn there, please?

Miles: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Dave: Yahushua could tell Philip “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father,” not because they were both God, but because the son was the image of the Father. This separation and marked distinction even appears in Ephesians 4 verses 4 to 6.

Miles: Why do you say “even”?

Dave: Well, this is a passage that many Christians—myself included—see as extremely significant because it covers seven of the most essential doctrines of our faith. Go ahead and read it for us. I see you’ve turned there.

Miles: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Dave: This isn’t teaching a triune godhead. By contrast, it flat-out states that there is one God and Father of all. Clearly, that’s a reference to Yahuwah. There is also one “Lord.” Lord is repeatedly how Yahushua is referred to in Scripture. It’s a title of respect, not divinity.

This verse is important because it lets us see how the Jews interpreted what would later be thought of as a triune godhead. Paul’s saying there is one Lord—that’s Yahushua. One God—that’s Yahuwah. And one Spirit. And we know from other passages, that’s simply Yahuwah’s breath: the active agent that accomplishes what He declares.

These are three separate and distinct entities, not a three-in-one godhead.

Miles: Even the word “godhead” implies there is more than one. Otherwise, you’d just say “God.”

Dave: Good point.

Once you start reading Scripture, just as it reads, you find a unitarian, not trinitarian, theme running throughout. 1 Corinthians 8 verse 6 starts with the words, “For us there is but one God.” And then he immediately identifies just who he’s talking about: “the Father.” Then he inserts a description of the Father: “from whom all things came and for whom we live … and”—there’s that coordinating conjunction again—"and there is but one Lord.” And again, he immediately identifies who he’s talking about: “Yahushua Christ.”

Now if “God” were a triune entity, we could expect the verse to go in a completely different direction. We could expect it to say something like, “For us there is but one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” But that’s not what he says. Instead, he draws a distinction between the one God, Yahuwah, and the one Lord, Yahushua.

Miles: Hm. You’re right. I never realized how many passages there were like this.

Dave: There are dozens that emphasize the differences between the Father and the son. For example, Yahushua taught that he was less than the Father. He’s lower in status. And this wasn’t play-acting. It was real. He was stating facts.

What does John 14:28 say? Just the last sentence.

Miles: “If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

Dave: This contradicts the trinitarian doctrine that teaches Father and Son are co-equal, co-eternal, and of the same substance. Soooo … what? Are we to just ignore Christ’s very clear statement that he is less than the Father? I don’t feel comfortable doing that!

Then, we’ve got Paul’s hierarchy that, once again, places the Savior below the Father. Read 1 Corinthians 11 verse 3, please.

Miles: “But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”

Dave: It doesn’t work to say that Yahuwah was the head of Christ only when he was on earth. I know many trinitarians try to claim that, but the Bible doesn’t say that. In fact, if you turn over to Revelation, we’ll see that Yahuwah is still the head of Yahushua even after he’s been seated at the right hand of Yah on his very throne! Read Revelation 1:1.

Miles: “The revelation from Yahushua Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.”

Dave: So God—Yahuwah—gave this revelation to Yahushua. Yahushua is clearly still subservient to Yahuwah.

This is consistent with how Yahushua presented his relationship with the Father. As Christians, we accept Yahushua as our Lord and Master. That is not the same thing as accepting him as “God.” The word, lord, comes from the Greek word kurios. This was simply a masculine title used for nobility and others to whom you wanted to show respect.

Miles: Same as it’s used today.

Dave: Exactly. Husbands were called lord. Property owners, heads of households, even a son could call his father “lord” as a sign of respect. Acts 25:26 refers to the Roman Emperor using this word. Some translations say “His Majesty” while others say “my lord,” but they all come from the same Greek word, kurios.

Now, what I find interesting, is that in Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, he states that Yahuwah made Christ to be lord.

Miles: That’s interesting. Because only the greater can elevate the lesser.

Dave: Exactly. Why don’t you read it for us? Acts 2 verse 36.

Miles: Okay, uh … “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Yahushua, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Dave: Yahushua is our Lord. He’s our Redeemer, our Savior. Our master. He is not our God.

I want to expand now a bit on your point about the greater elevating the lesser. That’s an important point. Turn to John 10:36. This verse lists two actions of the Father.

Miles: “Do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

Dave: So Yahushua was … sent by … the Father, and sanctified. These are things only the greater can do to and for the lesser.

Another area in which Yahushua’s subservience to the Father is seen is in his many statements that he learned from the Father what he was to do and teach. Christ was very clear on this point. Turn to John 5. What does verse 19 say?

Miles:

Yahushua gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the son also does.”

Dave: And verse 30?

Miles: “By 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.”

Dave: And John 7:16?

Miles: “Yahushua answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.’”

Dave: So, here’s another witness that Yahuwah sent Yahushua. And He gave the Savior what he was to teach.

Next chapter: John 8:28?

Miles: “So Yahushua said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.’”

Dave: One more: John 12:49.

Miles: “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

Dave: With such an overwhelming cloud of witnesses, how could we have ever believed that Yahushua was equal to the Father? He repeatedly stated that he wasn’t! If they were co-equally “God,” he wouldn’t have needed all this help and direction.

Look: we have got to quit imposing on Scripture our own preconceived ideas and the errors that have been passed down for generations.

Miles: Yeah, but … I mean, when these are beliefs that have been passed down for so long, how can you know what’s truth and what’s error?

Dave: Go to Scripture for yourself. Accept it just as it reads. Compare Scripture with Scripture. And the spirit of Yah will lead you into all truth.

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What happened to Yahushua when he died? Many Christians believe he went to hell and preached to the souls there. But the doctrine of an eternally burning hell cannot be found in Scripture. It was developed in the second to fifth centuries after Christ. So, what really happened when he died? 1 Peter 3 speaks of Yahushua preaching to the spirits in prison. What does that mean and how do we reconcile this with the clear biblical teaching that there is no consciousness after death?

To find out, look for Program 166 called “Yahushua and the Spirits in Prison.” While there are some passages of Scripture that are harder to understand than others, truth will never contradict itself. Listen to Program 166, “Yahushua and the Spirits in Prison,” to learn the truth. You can find it on WorldsLastChance.com.

* * ** * *Daily Promise:

Hello! This is Jane Lamb with your daily promise from Yah’s word.

Douglas Cooper grew up on a farm. The work was hard and constant, but little Doug enjoyed spending time with his Daddy. One morning, just as the sun was coming up, Douglas and his father headed to the barn for the morning milking. Douglas discovered, to his delight, that the mud puddles had frozen during the night. He enjoyed tromping through them. As he stomped down, the ice would crunch and shatter like glass, the muddy water splashing up over his rubber boots.

Just outside the barn, under the eaves, was a large barrel for catching rainwater. Mr. Cooper paused, broke the ice with his fist, and pulled out a large sheet of ice, as clear as a windowpane.

“Here, son,” he handed it to Douglas. “Have fun with this while I get things set up for milking.”

Douglas peered through the ice, fascinated with the only slightly distorted images he could see through it. It wasn’t long, though, before it broke, and he decided he wanted to get another piece. Leaning down over the edge of the barrel, all of a sudden, Douglas slipped. Before he could yell for his daddy, he plunged headfirst into the icy water. With his feet in the air, there was no way for Douglas to get himself back out.

Mr. Rice was a delivery driver. He drove a large tank truck to the local farms, collecting the milk the farmers gathered, and delivering it to the company that bottled the milk for sale. He didn’t have any set schedule. Some days he was earlier than others. Now it just so happened that on this particular morning, he arrived at the Cooper farm unexpectedly early. He parked near the barn, climbed down from the cab, and started inside. He glanced to the side and froze when he saw a small pair of rubber boots sticking out of the rain barrel under the eaves. Mr. Rice raced to the barrel, yelling for Mr. Cooper. He pulled Doug up and out of the water. The little boy’s face was white, and he wasn’t breathing.

The men started chest compressions, praying, praying that they weren’t too late. Suddenly, Doug vomited up the dirty water he’d swallowed. Choking and gagging, he burst into tears. Mr. Cooper took off his own coat. Wrapping it around his little boy, he hurried home with him where his wife made up a little bed for Doug by the wood stove.

So many things could have happened that day that would have ended in tragedy. If Mr. Rice had taken just a few more minutes over breakfast; if he’d stopped at another farm before heading to the Cooper’s; if he’d had a flat tire or gotten a speeding ticket; if the traffic light in town had been red rather than green, he would have been too late to save Doug’s life. But none of that happened. Instead, Mr. Rice got there just in time to save the little boy’s life.

That was a fact Douglas never forgot. He grew up to become a minister. Today, when he preaches about Yahuwah’s loving watch care over His children, he likes to tell of his own experience as a child. It could have ended in tragedy, but it didn’t. Only in eternity will we know how many angels it took to clear the way that day so that Mr. Rice could get there in time to save Douglas’s life.

Psalm 32, verses 6 and 7 says:

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

We have been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: At the start of our program, I asked if it were really possible to love someone and not know them. The answer, of course, was no. You may love what you think they are. You may love the assumptions about them you’ve built up in your mind. But to truly love someone for who they are, you have to know them.

What’s he like? Does she have a sense of humor? Is he loyal? Can you trust her? Is he kind? It’s only when you know who a person really is that you can then love them for who they truly are. And this holds true for our Creator as well.

Who is Yahuwah? Well, He’s not only our Creator, but the Creator of the universe. He’s the one that came up with the plan of salvation should the human race ever fall.

Miles: Jeremiah 31:3: “Yahuwah hath appeared of old unto me, saying, ‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.’”

Dave: I love that verse. Yes! He’s loving. He’s kind. He’s patient. He’s loyal. All of these characteristics can be seen in the plan of salvation. He’s also the one and only true God. To say that He shares that position with two other beings, diminishes Him. It diminishes what He has done, all by Himself.

It also diminishes Yahushua and what he has done as our Redeemer.

Miles: In what way? I’d think it would elevate him. Wrongly and blasphemously, but still elevate him.

Dave: Well, as we covered in Program 281, if you believe that Yahushua’s miracles are proof of his divinity—but no one else who ever performed miracles of Yah are divine, only Christ’s—then part of what helped him over come was his divinity.

That diminishes the very real courage and compassion and love and loyalty that gave him the tenacity to persevere against overwhelming odds. Yahushua experienced life just as you and I experience it: there were times he was hot and sweaty; times he was exhausted and hungry. I’m sure there were times he was tempted to get impatient with the disciples – particularly Peter!

Miles: Or his cousins, James and John. He did call them “sons of thunder.”

Dave: Right. We know that he was tempted in all points like as we are and yet he didn’t sin. To insist that he was God is to diminish his role as the second Adam, overcoming where the first Adam fell.

Miles: Not to mention it calls him a liar when he says, “My Father is great than I.”

Dave: Or what about when he addressed Yahuwah as “the only true God”? When we try to force Yahushua into the role of coequal, co-divine partners with Yahuwah, it diminishes them both.

And besides, how can we ever strive to be like Yahushua if he’s some impossible admixture of divinity and humanity that we can never be?

Miles: That’s true. Either we can trust him and Yahuwah to be who and what they say they are, or we can’t. And if we can’t trust them to be honest about something as basic as their very nature, can we trust them at all?

Dave: Exactly. We have no business projecting onto them qualities they never claimed. Who they are, what they are—the only divine Creator God and His fully human son—is enough. And when we accept the truth, when we get to know both the Father and the son for who they really are, then we can love them for who they truly are, as well.

Miles: I want that. I want to know them and love them for who they really are, not who I’ve assumed them to be. And then our faith will be stronger, too!

Thanks for joining us for today’s program called “Knowing the Father and the Son.” If you were blessed by the thoughts shared and would like to share it with others, just look for Program 282, “Knowing the Father and the Son” on our website at WorldsLastChance.com.

We hope you can join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.