The Nature of God and Christ - Members Site - United Church of God

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THE NATURE OF GOD AND CHRISTDoctrinal Study PaperThese are some of the scriptures most often used to deny the preexistence and divinity ofJesus Christ. Unitarians place themselves in a logical contradiction, on the one hand they denythe preexistence of Christ in eternity, but on the other hand they try to make Jesus into God afterHis human conception and birth. Thus they try to have it both ways. If the resurrected JesusChrist exists on the God plane, then there are two beings in the Godhead. Jesus states that Heexists as the I AM and that He is seated at the right hand of God: “Jesus said, ‘I am. And you willsee the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven”(Mark 14:62). “Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God” (Luke22:69). “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, andJesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).To properly divide the word of truth and understand the Scriptures, we must weigh all theevidence—line upon line and precept upon precept. And when this is done, we reach theirrefutable conclusion that Jesus is God and a member of the Godhead. He preexisted His humanbirth with the glory He shared with the Father before the world began, which was restored afterHis resurrection. He is our Savior and soon coming King. We were purchased with His blood,the blood of the Messiah—God in the flesh!Page 66September 2005© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association
THE NATURE OF GOD AND CHRISTDoctrinal Study PaperAppendix GGenesis 19:24 and PluralityIn Genesis 19:24 YHWH number one rained brimstone and fire from a second YHWH outof heaven. The first YHWH is on earth; He is the one who had been speaking previously toAbraham. YHWH had appeared to him at the oaks of Mamre and had warned him about thecoming destruction of Sodom. That YHWH who was on earth, YHWH number one, was nowraining fire and brimstone from another YHWH who is in heaven. Thus the term YHWH is usedhere of two different beings.Although some scholars see this as a simple effort to show emphasis—repeating YHWHto emphasize that this is judgment from God—not all commentators see it this way. AdamClarke states:The Lord rained brimstone and fire from the Lord. As all judgment is committed to theSon of God, many of the primitive fathers and several modern divines have supposed thatthe words … (vaihovah) and … (meeth Yehovah) imply, Jehovah the Son rainingbrimstone and fire from Jehovah the Father; and that this place affords no mean proof ofthe proper Divinity of our blessed Redeemer. 69Adam Clarke goes on to state that he doesn’t consider this as definitive proof of thedivinity and preexistence of Christ, but he states it as a curiosity that such a reference wouldappear in the context of a discussion between Abraham and YHWH.It may be so; but though the point is sufficiently established elsewhere, it does not appearto me to be plainly indicated here. And it is always better on a subject of this kind not tohave recourse to proofs, which require proofs to confirm them. It must however begranted that two persons mentioned as Jehovah in one verse, is both a strange and curiouscircumstance; and it will appear more remarkable when we consider that the personcalled Jehovah, who conversed with Abraham, (see chap. xviii.,) and sent those twoangels to bring Lot and his family out of this devoted place, and seems himself after heleft off talking with Abraham to have ascended to heaven, Genesis 19:33, does not anymore appear on this occasion till we hear that JEHOVAH rained upon Sodom andGomorrah brimstone and fire from JEHOVAH out of heaven. This certainly gives muchcountenance to the opinion referred to above, though still it may fall short of positiveproof. 70Matthew Henry adds a similar statement about this incident:Concerning this destruction observe, 1. God was the immediate author of it. It wasdestruction from the Almighty: The Lord rained—from the Lord (v. 24), that is, God fromhimself, by his own immediate power, and not in the common course of nature. Or, God69 Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, Crosswalk.com, 1995-2004.70 Ibid.Page 67September 2005© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association
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The Nature of God and Christ - Members Site - United Church of God

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