John 17, 3: And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.
Before his arrest Jesus said: These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the son may glorify thee: even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. (John 17, 1-3)
I want to present biblical evidence that the first to be worshipped is God the Father and that Lord Jesus in all his teaching consistently and continually elevated and God the Father referred to Him. He taught that: ... „For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3, 16). God the Father is the only true God who sent his beloved Son to save the world. Who studies Jesus’ teaching in its entirety cannot doubt that God the Father has been the real Father and God of Lord Jesus Christ. However, many people are taught that the Supreme God gave Himself to redeem the world. This seemingly unimportant inaccuracy has started a big confusion about what Lord Jesus Christ has been doing for mankind and what has been the doing of God the Father Himself. And not only that. The truth conveyed in the Bible about the identity of God the Father and the identity of God’s Son, Lord Jesus Christ, has been distorted. Lord Jesus warned that it is necessary to stay in his teachings, saying: "Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8, 31-32)
We can became free only if we stay in Jesus’ word. To stay in the word of Lord Jesus Christ is to do and believe whatever Jesus taught; not to add, remove or ignore anything.
Also apostle John wrote about the necessity to continue in the teaching of Christ in his second letter (2 John 1, 9): „Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son.“ Whoever teaches that Lord Jesus is the Supreme God doesn’t stay in the teaching of Christ. Neither Lord Jesus nor his apostles taught that Lord Jesus is the Almighty God.
If any additions to or removals from the teaching of Christ and the biblical teaching in general are made (even in good faith), the consequences are really serious. Such faith is no longer true so it is not able to set anybody really free. On the contrary, it makes a confusion and leads you into a maze of half-truths and lies so that you are even more enslaved. Lord Jesus Christ promised to those who had already believed in him, that if they stayed in his word, they would know the truth and, thanks to this knowledge, remain free. The precondition of acquiring true freedom is: „If ye abide in my word...“ Therefore it is necessary for each of us to know what exactly Lord Jesus taught. It is necessary to take our own copy of the Bible and read systematically all what Jesus taught.
Not one of the apostles and those who wrote a part of the so called New Testament put God the Father at the same level as Lord Jesus Christ. All of them always honoured and praised Lord Jesus with appreciation that everything comes from God the Father in the first place. They also knew that nobody had ever seen the Almighty God and cannot see Him in the present state.
1 Timothy 6, 15-16: ... which in its own times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen..
John 1, 18: No man hath seen God at any time; (1) the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
1 John 4, 12: No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:
John 6, 46: Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father.
Nobody has ever seen God the Father, however, ten thousands of people have seen Lord Jesus Christ. It is promised that, at his second coming, every eye will see him.
Revelation 1, 7: Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen..
Acts 1, 11: who also said (angels), Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.
The Scriptures teach us that the Supreme God is God the Father.
1 Corinthians 8, 6: yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.
John 10, 29: „My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.“
John 14, 28: „....for the Father is greater than I...“
Ephesians 4, 6: one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all...
The apostles knew and taught consistently that there is no other way to God the Father, and consequently, to life itself, than to accept and fully respect Lord Jesus Christ as the Deliverer, Saviour, Redeemer and the God-ordained King. However, none of them believed that Lord Jesus is the Almighty Supreme God as it is taught in many denominations nowadays. Often it is only Lord Jesus Christ who is elevated and celebrated while God the Father is consistently ignored. Lord Jesus being wrongly and in contrary to the Bible attributed with the status of the Supreme, Almighty God distorts the truth about God the Father and His unique and beloved Son, Lord Jesus Christ, as well as their mutual love and voluntary co-operation.
Eliška
