Today we are going to pick up where we left off from the last article you can read it here. Earlier we examined Genesis 15:1-2 to see that the Word of the Lord is God. We also connected these verses with John 1:1-18 to see that the Word is Jesus. Today we are going to look at Genesis 15:3-7 which will reinforce our previous assertion that the Word of the Lord is God, Jesus is the Word, and Jesus is God. [The text in the brackets is mine.] The blue text indicates who is doing the action and the red is what is being done.
Genesis 15:3-7 (NASB) 3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
[If you notice, the person doing the talking is identified as “the word of the Lord.” You can tell he is a person because he is, “saying.” The word of the Lord is speaking to Abram.]
“This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And Hetook him outside and said,
[Notice the Word is referred to as, “He.” What did He do? He, “took him outside and said…” How can anyone look at these verses and not come to the conclusion that the Word of the Lord is God, and how can they, in light of John 1:1-18 not see that Jesus is the Word and He is God?]
“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And Hesaid to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and Hereckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And Hesaid to him, “I am the Lordwho brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this landto possess it.”
If this isn’t enough, I’ll post some more later on. Study the word, to know the Word, and His intent. Knowing Him is knowing God. To know God, and be known by Him, to be His adopted child and heir, is to be saved by this Triune God’s grace according to His sovereign will, regenerating and indwelling by His Spirit, and the justifying work on the cross of His Son.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the same accusation from Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons (LDS), and Muslims. They claim that Jesus is not God, but a god, good man, prophet, teacher, and so on. I think it is great that we can always go to the word of God to let it make the defense. Charles Spurgeon was quoted as saying, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.” I agree with him.
With that being said let’s take a look at Genesis 15:1-2, and John 1:1-18.
In Genesis 15:1-2 we see that the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. Now, you don’t hear a vision. You see it. Some people would insist that this is just Abram hearing God speak to him, but this is actually the preincarnate Christ appearing to Abram in a vision, and speaking to him. Abram said, “…O LORD God…” or אֲדֹנָי ’ăḏônây; an emphatic form of âḏôn; or (shortened) אָדֹן ’adon; from an unused root (meaning to rule); sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine): — lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-”.; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only): — (my) Lord. In this section of God’s word ăḏônây is used in conjunction with יְהוָֹה yhwh; (the) self-being aseity or Eternal; name of God: — the Lord. So essentially he is saying, Adonai YHWH or Sovereign eternal self-being, was being, is being, always is, one and only true God. It is obvious that Abram believed the word of the LORD to be the one true, eternal, and self-being God.
We can look at John 1:1-18 and see who John said the Word of God is. Again, it is obvious that Jesus is the Word.
John 1:1-18 (NASB) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Witness John 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. The Word Made Flesh 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. 15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Jesus is not a god like the Mormons say. He was not Michael the angel transfigured like the Jehovah’s Witnesses would tell you. He was not just a prophet like Muslims claim. If there is any doubt now that Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God, it is not due to lack of evidence. It is due to disbelief. May God grant you true and saving faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord and God.
There are no other true gods anywhere. There are none in other solar systems. There are none on any other planets. There is no true God except for the God of the Bible, and He is triune.
If you deny these truths, you are not Christian, but an idolator! You have made up a god to believe in, and you are in a very, very, very bad sin. Believing in the wrong god will not save you. It will damn you to Hell!
Please repent of your Mormon beliefs! I love my LDS friends, and desperately don’t want you to go to Hell. Some of you, who I maintain ties with, are exceedingly nice people. I’d love for you to become true brothers in Christ.
What Mormonism Teaches
Mormonism teaches that there are potentially an infinite number of gods, and currently there are countless ones ruling countless solar systems/planets. Mormonism teaches that the only eternal things are matter and intellect. It claims that its people worship only the god of this world/solar system.
The Bible says the god of this world is Satan. The Bible is clear that there is only one true God. He created everything. That includes all solar systems and worlds. Logic dictates that there would have to be one original originator—uncaused causation. If there were many gods, there would be no true god among them. God cannot share His power with other gods, nor can He be known as many gods. He is one God in trinity.
To Jehovah’s Witnesses and Assemblies of Yahweh
For the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Assemblies of Yahweh cult members, repent of your Aryanism! You and the Mormons share this in common. You believe that Christ is not the incarnate second person of the Trinity, the Son, but rather a created being, and brother to Satan.
You believe that both are the true children of a father god, and mother god, who copulated to produce them as spirit children. They are only two of millions upon millions. You believe in a lie. You must repent!
Read the Old Testament, keeping an eye out for the Christophanies. If you do that, you will see Christ from the beginning. Read John 1:1-14. How can you study the Bible and believe such lies about Christ our God, Saviour, Lord/Master κῦρος, Prophet, Priest, Prince, and King?
The Word of the Lord
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'”
Joseph Smith’s “First Vision”
The Mormons believe in Joseph Smith’s lie called, “The First Vision.” In this supposed revelation from god, he claims that god the father and Jesus both appeared to him at the same time, and that they both appeared in flesh and bone.
The Bible says otherwise:
“21 Jesus *said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ 25 The woman *said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us.’ 26 Jesus *said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” — John 4:21-26 (LSB)
On the LDS site, they hide this now problematic information, and only show people the 1838 account of it, but at last count there were over 27 different accounts of the first vision. Joseph Smith wasn’t even consistent within himself.
Nonetheless, if you look at their Doctrines and Covenants, the same information is laid out, and has not been scrubbed yet.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 (Recorded in 1843)
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”
Why Mormonism Is Not Christian
This are just a few of the reasons Mormonism is a cult, and not Christian. There are so many glaring, and obvious, deceptions, it is amazing to me that people call them Christian.
The only way this can happen is that people are so egregiously biblically ignorant, and have absolutely no relationship with God as their Savior, Father, & King, they easily believe lies, and are themselves deceived.
Proof-texting is the practice of quoting a verse, or verses from the text of the Bible, to support, or refute a doctrine. This practice has been used by the orthodox and the heretic. The dangers of proof-texting are varied and manifold. With proper presuppositions proof-texting can be a valuable tool for supporting orthodox doctrines.
First, we will go over the problems with proof-texting. The biggest problem is when a person or group starts with a false presupposition. For example, a Mormon starts with the presupposition that Jesus is a created being. They hold this false presupposition because they believe the words of a false prophet, and teacher in authority over God’s very own word. The Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Muslims, do the same thing.
With this presupposition when they run into texts like John 3:16 “…For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life…” They wrongly understand the word, “begotten” to mean that Jesus was the progeny of the Father. They then, in turn use this as a proof-text for their false doctrine that deny the eternal deity of Jesus, in stark disregard for His proclamation of being the, “I Am.” This, in turn requires more eisegesis, and proof-texting, in an attempt to refute the true doctrines, in conflict with their false ones. When apologetically engaged with a heretic or cult member they are usually more than thrilled to proof-text ad nauseum. This can quickly become counterproductive. If this is done in a public forum it can be disastrous. The onlookers could be convinced of the heretical doctrines.
Our apologetics should be from a capable well rounded understanding of the entire Bible in its own context. It should be founded on the presupposition that the Bible is the truth, and the authority, on What God has to say to man. When we start with a true presupposition, and are exegetical in our reading of the Bible, we can proof-text like Paul to the Jews in Hebrews. When proof-texting is done correctly it can win people’s minds to the truths of the Bible. There is nothing like a good section of scripture quoted in context at the right time to hammer home sound doctrine. God’s word is authoritative and when we speak truthfully with the authority of scripture it is a powerful thing to witness.
Snyder's Soapbox 