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"I assign to you a Kingdom" Luke 22:29-30
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the "What Trinity?" series
Agreement
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
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"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that
they may all be one, JUST AS You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us,
so that the world may believe that You have sent Me." John 17:20-21
"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jewish leaders, Yeshua came and stood in their midst, and said to them, 'Shalom be with you.' When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Messiah...
JUST AS the Father has sent Me, I also send you.
' And when He had said this,
He breathed on them,
and said to them, "Receive the Spirit of YaHoVeH." John 20:19-22
Many are asking today - is Yeshua Divine? The simple answer is "Yes" - but, with a caveat. The divinity of Yeshua is upheld - it is the concept of divinity itself that is being questioned. What is interesting to note is that the English word "divinity" is nowhere to be found in scripture and the Greek word
theios
(translated as the English "divine" - click on highlighted words to view content) is only found in
two passages
in the Messianic Writings (NT) and one of those is actually translated as "Godhead" which we found in the
previous article
not to exist. One would think that a doctrine as intrinsic to Christianity as the divinity of Yeshua would be given more substance among these Hebrew authors. The one passage in
1Peter 1:3-4
that translates this Greek word properly speaks of the divine nature of YaHoVeH - not Yeshua. In the Tanakh (OT), the Hebrew word that is translated as the English "divine" is
qacam
and is associated with those who practice divination, soothsayers - those in the same league as
sorcerers and such.
Yeshua is One with the Father of Life. He is like the Father. Yeshua became One with the Father of Life because He kept the Words of His Father
(John 8:54-55).
The caveat is - so are any who embrace the manner, the example of Life Yeshua led while in the flesh among us, Yeshua became the
"firstborn among many brethren",
leading the Way and opening the portal to become Spirit for all who would follow after His Way. In John 17:20-21 above, Yeshua prays that all of those who believe in Him as the Promised Messiah sent to
restore the Kingdom of YaHoVeH,
be one in the Father
"just as"
(meaning in like fashion, in similar manner - just as) He, Yeshua, is one in YaHoVeH. Now, instead of there being "one in three", as Christianity has traditionally taught, we have "one in innumerable"
(Romans 8:29,
Acts 26:23,
Colossians 1:18,
see The Fulfillment for more explanation).
Does this mean that, in being one with the Father, Yeshua replaces YaHoVeH as the Only One True God of Israel? The scripture says - no. Throughout scripture, Yeshua is referred to as the "Son of YaHoVeH", formed in the image of YaHoVeH but not YaHoVeH Himself. He is the "right arm" of the Father, seated at the "right hand" with YaHoVeH, enjoying all the preeminence of the firstborn Son; while, at the same time, being "echad" (Hebrew for "One") in the shared image of the Father - but not replacing the Father. This is the mystery of echad, the shared image
(Isaiah 59:16,
Acts 2:33,
Revelation 19:10,
see the Inheritance
for more about the mystery of echad). As brethren, we are given the power to
become
children of YaHoVeH. The Hebrew word translated as "power" in that verse is
exousia
whidh means - power of choice.
"...then YaHoVeH formed Adam of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
the breath of life,
and Adam became a living creature." Genesis 2:7 (in most translations)
...and Genesis 2:7 from the
Hebrew Interlinear Literal Translation
"...and he is forming, YaHoVeh Elohim, the human soil from the ground and he is blowing in nostrils of him
breath of lives
and he is becoming the human to soul living."
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It is important to understand the meaning of the Hebrew word
ruach
translated into the English "spirit". This is from Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Old Testament Hebrew-English Lexicon)
- "wind; by resemblance breath, that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life." The Hebrew phrase nishmah chayim (translated "breath of lives" from the
literal Hebrew text
is curious.
Nishmah
(breath) is singular, giving an expectation of what is to follow as being complementary singular. But, what follows in this phrase,
chayim
(lives), is plural - containing both the feminine and masculine nouns.
Here, again contained in the choice of the original words used, we see consistency in the evidence of the singular Essence of YaHoVeH containing both male and female characteristics. What lies behind this phrase is the Hebrew perspective that YaHoVeH's 'breath of lives' is both unity and diversity at the same time. This is also the definition of echad (the Hebrew "one"), meaning unity in multiplicity - a "shared image". This is the DNA, the Blood that was breathed into Adam. This unity is what was corrupted by Adam when he disagreed with YaHoVeH's word - choosing his own way and falling out of unity
(see the One Covenant series for more discussion).
When the serpent offered to Eve the fruit of the knowledge that there was a difference between what is good (the current provision of the Father) and what is evil (a perceived lack of good), he told them that in the day that they partook of that knowledge they would become "as gods". He was not lying - they would become "as gods" with the ability to determine for themselves what was good and what was not. Yeshua spoke to this state of being in His referral to its mention in the Psalms, "...you are gods"
(Genesis 3:5,
John 10:34,
referring to Psalm 82:6).
What was not given along side that statement by the serpent, however, was that in partaking of the fruit of self-determination, Adam's pure blood would become corrupted by his disagreement to the Goodness of the Word
(John 1:1
see Who is the Word?).
As a consequence of that disagreement, he fell out of unity with the
Father of Light
- darkness enveloped his being. It is called "disagreement" because their actions were what determined what they believed
(Luke 18:18-20).
Of necessity, a separation had to be created to preserve the inherent integrity of the Pure Blood of the Father - to keep Adam from partaking of
the Tree of Life
in His current state "as a god" with corrupted blood and thereby polluting the Source of Life
(Genesis 3:22-24).
Yeshua was birthed by the Spirit to restore that Kingdom relationship through the preservation of His uncorrupted pure blood by His Obedience to His Father's Words. Because of His example of sacrifice, when we are born of that same Spirit, we have been given the same opportunity to enter into this Kingdom relationship - but, it still requires the same price. What is that price? It is the relinquishment of our will back into the Hands of the Father. How is that accomplished? It is accomplished in us the same Way it was accomplished in the Life Yeshua exampled before us - becoming obedient to
YaHoVeH's Words
regardless of circumstance
(Luke 9:23,
Hebrews 5:8,
Romans 5:1-5,
see the Need for Atonement).
Even in Greek, this concept that we are "gods" is continued. Set aside the theological overlay of capitalized words (i.e., "G"od - so as to have you think of them in a certain way) and look at the words just for what they mean.
Philippians 2:5-8
tells us that Yeshua was "in the
morphe
(form or image) of theos
(a god - it does not say He was the god)." Morphe means "external appearance" but carries with it the association that accompanies "children reflecting their parents", i.e., a son. Theos is the general description the Greeks gave to all their deities (remember, the Greeks had many "gods"). In this passage from Philippians, we are told to have this same mind in us as Yeshua. What was that mind? - that even though as a human son reflecting the image of the Father, He did not consider that equality, that image as "a god" (again - theos) a thing to be grasped, seized and wielded (self determination); but took "upon Himself" (choosing) the form of a servant (one who gives himself up to another's will) and became obedient to the Will of the Father (again, a choice). The mind we are to have, if we are to follow Yeshua's example of Life, is to relinquish the same equality we have as our own god to determine our own way and to become as a servant - becoming obedient to the Father of the family of Whom Yeshua was the firstborn Son. To become obedient to the Father means to choose to be in agreement with YaHoVeH's Words
(John 1:12,
Exodus 20:1-17 - with emphasis on verse one).
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"How can two walk together unless they be
agreed
?" Amos 3:3
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The Hebrew word for "agreed" is
ya`ad
and means "to meet at a fixed or appointed destination". What happened in gan edan that caused a
separation
from the Tree of Life was because of the
first Hebrew son's
disagreement with the Words of the Father of Light - to determine for himself his own destination. That Kingdom was restored by the agreement of the
last Adam
with the Words of His Father to become a servant to those words. In like manner, when we keep the Words of the Father, all of His Words (not picking and choosing which ones of them that only line up with the
preconceived theology
we agree with), we come into agreement with those Words - we become One with YaHoVeH. We are then given the authority to move in
His Name,
We become a
Witness
to His Name. The Kingdom restored among us today is the opportunity to enter into and partake of that same Kingdom through ruach ha kodesh (the holiness of spirit). This Hebrew phrase
ruach
ha
kodesh
(reading right to left is Hebrew for "the holiness of spirit") has been used inadvertently as a substitute for the English "Holy Spirit" appearing in their bibles. This is incorrect as there is no capitalization in Hebrew; thus, there is no personification, no third person
"Holy Spirit".
What is the holiness of spirit? Holiness is the Nature abiding in Spirit, Who is YHVH. The holiness of spirit is something that is
cultivated
within an individual by that individual. Once we have seen that the term "Holy Spirit" is a convoluted translation of the Hebrew perspective of there being only
One Spirit
spoken of throughout scripture, then, simply put from a scriptural basis, blasphemy is to proclaim that what YHVH says is good is really evil and what YHVH says is evil is really good. What had previously been reserved for the ethnic Hebrews has now become available through the infilling of the Breath of Life to all who would become part of His Family, Israel, through
agreement with His Words.
There are only two places where scripture tells us that Spirit breathed on men - in Genesis 2:7 (explored earlier) and in John 20:19-22 quoted at the beginning of this article. If what has now been restored to the rightful heirs,
the family of Israel,
by the sacrifice of the Kinsman Redeemer is the
Kingdom of YaHoVeH,
then why are we not able to see it? Could it be, perhaps, that those who are waiting for its appearing are unaware of its existence already among us today? Could it be they are looking for, as were those before the Resurrection, a physical Kingdom while the one Yeshua spoke of took on another form?
(Luke 17:20-21).
Could it be that the Kingdom
established within
is the same restored Kingdom we are commissioned to bring into this earthly realm
(Matthew 6:10).
The Kingdom that has been restored is the same one enjoyed in gan edan (the Garden of Eden) by the first son, Adam - the intimacy of the shared image, of being echad (Hebrew for "one") with the Father of Life; the opportunity to partake of the Tree of Life today.
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Agreement, a discussion
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"Blessed are those who
DO
His commandments that they may have the
right
(Greek eksousia meaning "power of choice") to the tree of life, and may enter
through the gates
(twelve tribes of the family of Israel described in
Revelation 21:12
) into the city."
Revelation 22:14
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the What Trinity? Series
Part One, the Godhead
Part Two, Agreement
Part Three, In Addition
Part Four, One Spirit...
Part Five, ...One Name
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???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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