Only one way to the Father through Jesus

none ^ | none | none

[guitarplayer1953]

"For there is one God
and one Mediator
between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus."

1 Timothy 2:5, NKJV


Christ is the Mediator between God and men. A mediator is one who brings two parties together who have a disagreement. Our disagreement with God is sin. As sinners, we are in rebellion against the the word and will of God. God is holy. He cannot condone sin. Our sin must be punished by a holy God.


OUR MEDIATOR AT THE CROSS

In Scripture, we see Christ as our Mediator at the cross. Not only is God holy, but He is love and He is merciful. His holy judgment and wrath are seen at the cross, as well as His love, mercy and grace. God hates sin, but He loves sinners. These attributes of God meet at the cross of Jesus.

Jesus, the Mediator for sinners at the cross, prayed for the people who demanded His death, mocked and reviled Him. His prayer was "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Such mercy is beyond our comprehension, but love triumphs over sin at the cross.


OUR MEDIATOR IN HEAVEN

Christ is our mediator in heaven, pleading our cause before the Father, based on His perfect sacrifice for our sins. "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation (sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world," 1 John 2:1-2. An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another. Jesus is in heaven, speaking before the Father. This depicts a courtroom scene. An attorney is an advocate for one who is accused of wrongdoing. He pleads his client's cause before the judge. The outcome is dependent on the effectiveness of the attorney with the judge. In heaven's courtroom, our Advocate has never lost a case. He pleads His blood of the cross as full payment for the sins of every believer.


CHRIST, THE ONLY MEDIATOR

Our text makes it clear that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men. No wonder Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6. The world says, "That is too narrow. It's religious bigotry. All religions lead to the same place." If they are right, Jesus died in vain. If they are right, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has little meaning. If what Jesus said is right, there is only one way, because there is only one Mediator between God and men. I choose Christ as my Mediator with God the Father. What about you? Jesus is the only man in human history who claimed that He would die for the sins of the world and rise from the dead. According to the testimony of Holy Scripture and the Holy Spirit, He indeed offered the sacrifice for our sins and is risen as our Mediator.

[ovrtaxt]

Exodus 19 isn’t it? One of the most vivid examples of human nature in the Bible. That story crops up over and over in life.

[DouglasKC]

The only way to God is through Jesus

Exactly right because Jesus is God. Those who who know him know God. Those who know him have him abiding in them. Those who know him let him live his live through them. And he WILL NOT lead us into sin.

[SkyDancer]

The Jewish definition of sin is: Having the opportunity to glorify God and you didn’t .... basically it means that if you did something to hurt your fellow man such as lying or stealing, etc ..... you’ve not glorified God because if you consider yourself a child of God, why would you disrespect God????

[count-your-change]

Torah is not Jewish enough?

[SkyDancer]

We have Torah and ... the prophets ... Isaiah to begin with .... but - as a Messianic Jew I don’t need the Law - Jesus fulfilled the Law on the cross .... I am now under Grace.

[count-your-change]

Ahh.. thank you, that was not clear to me at the beginning.
Sins of omission are within the broad meaning of both Hebrew and Greek words. Cheers!

[SkyDancer]

Thanks and may God be with you too ....

To me anything that does not glorify God is sin - not doing for our fellow man is sin ... as Paul said: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless .... but then, there are those people who take advantage of Christian goodwill ... I pity them as those who take money in God’s name ...

[navygal]

Thanks for posting this.

[Ancient Drive]

“For there is one God
and one Mediator
between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus.”

Amen.

[Bobsvainbabblings]

I heard a saying years ago that I let guide me when I read scripture. Sorry I do not know who to attribute it to.

 

"When the plain sense of scripture make common sense, seek no other sense".. The scripture being discussed here is a prime example.

 

"For there is only one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

 

Only thru the distorted lens of the doctrine of the Trinity can you read this and contend that Jesus and God are one and the same. Jesus is either a mediator or he is God. He can not be both unless you think God is suffering from multiple personality disorder and talks to himself.  

 

"the man Christ Jesus". Again, he is either a man or he is God. Christ means anointed of God. He is either God or the anointed one of God. Most people call Him Jesus Christ making his title the equivalent of a last name obscuring who He is. When we are in Christ, we are not in Jesus but in the same anointing he has from His Father. 

 

Sky Dancer, that is a nice story but it is clouded by that same lens. How about this scenario?

 

A lady comes into court. She is asked to step up to the defendant's table. She looks at the judge, God the Father, and sees Jesus standing at His right hand. He is dressed in a spotless white robe. The charges are read. She pleads guilty and says she is sorry and asks; "Please have mercy on me" 

 

The Judge looks to Jesus and nods His head up and down. Jesus walks to where she is standing and removes the robe and wraps it around her. With the robe removed, she can see all the scars from the wounds he received for her and mankind. He than returns to His place at the right hand of the Father who gives Him a new robe for the next defendant which could be you or I.  

 

The judge looks back to her and says; "I see no reason for you to be in this court. You are free to leave and become an adopted member of my family"  

 

God did not die for you, His Son did.

 

Our text makes it clear that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men. No wonder Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6.

 

Once again, Jesus distinguishes Himself from the Father. He is they way to the Father, not the Father. It is no different then the street in front of your house. It is the way to your house but not your house.

 

The main point of this scripture is even more important and lost to most. The Father is supposed to be our goal. Not Jesus. To many people have lost site of that by making Jesus God. If you worship one you worship the other. 

  

Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version)

 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^[a] 38This is the first and greatest commandment.

 

You can probably say you have done that with Jesus but when was the last time you specifically worshipped God the Father as Jesus commands?
 

[guitarplayer1953]

Have you ever read Union and Communion by A.W. Pink?

[Bobsvainbabblings]

guitarplayer1953, Sorry I didn’t get back sooner. I did a search and found Union and Communion by A W Pink. I read most of it.

Why do you ask? BVB

[guitarplayer1953]

Because of your statement of the God head. Stating that God is not a multiple personality. In the C&U Pink goes into great detail on the communion between the Three yet One aspect of the God Head.

[Bobsvainbabblings]

When you make Jesus God you make that impossible. If we are to be one with them in that relation we would have to be God as well.

 

God says He is His Son. Jesus says he is the Son. The Spirit of God says he is the Son. Only man says He God.

 

We are to judge things by their fruits. Muhammad used the doctrine of the Trinity to claim the Christians worshipped a triune god. His god Allah is the only true monotheistic god.

 

“ They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity, for there is no god except One Allah.” (Qur'an 5:73).

 

If you believe the Holy Spirit led the men who gave us this doctrine you will then have to agree God wanted all these people doomed to hell because they do not accept Jesus. God sees the future so he would have to know this would happen.  

 

That is not the God I worship. BVB

[guitarplayer1953]

John 00633 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

God did not give Muhammad squat.

God can not violate any of His laws and one of His laws is that there must be a witness of two or more. There are three manifestation of the God Head God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit.
Each bearing wittiness of the other.

[Bobsvainbabblings]

You are saying the same thing that Muhammad used to claim the Catholic Church has a triune god when you claim your God has three manifestations.

You say that God did not give Muhammad squat. I did not say He did. I said that if you believe, as the Catholic Church does, that their Church Fathers were led by the Holy Spirit in truth when they come up with this doctrine 300+ years after Jesus and the apostles, you have to believe it is God’s will.

God knows the future. He would know how Muhammad would use this. It would be God’s will for all these people to parish not to mention all the suffering from all the wars and occupations going on to this day.

Not the God I know or would want to know.

Is late, have a good night, BVN

[guitarplayer1953]

To begin with I have no idea what the Catholic Church teaches. I’m not Catholic. God has not condemned anyone He has sent His Holy Spirit to cause conviction of sin. Satan the snake took what God said and twisted it in the garden. Just as many through history have taken what God has said in His word and twisted it to turn men from God.

[Bobsvainbabblings]

Through the years the Catholic Church produced Creeds defining what the Church believes/believed. The first was the Apostles Creed. This is how it describes the Christ,

 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

 

This is believed to be written in the early 2nd century. Christ was the Son of God and Mary was the mother of the Son of God.

 

Next was the Nicene Creed

 

The Nicene Creed was developed by the early Church largely in response to the teachings of Arius. Arianism taught that Jesus was not truly divine and of a different "substance" than God, which challenged the developing doctrine of the Trinity in the early church. The emperor Constantine, newly converted to Christianity, called a Church Council at Nicæa in AD 325 to bring some unity to the church amid developing controversies and false teachings. The Council at Nicæa adopted an early form of the creed, although the basic present form emerged from the Council of Constantinople in AD 381. It was officially adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451

 

This is how it describes the Christ; 

 

We believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being [substance] with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

 

Jesus is now God and Mary is the mother of God. She can now be a perpetual virgin without sin born herself from an immaculate conception. She ascended into heaven not having to endure death where she is queen. She is able to hear our prayers and be a mediator for us to her Son. Some call her a co-redeemer.

 

The Athanasian Creed was adopted in 451

 

While the Athanasian Creed is one of the three most important Creeds of the early Church, its author and origin remains a mystery.  It is named after the well known fourth-century apologist and theologian Anathasius who played an important role in defining and defending the orthodox doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ, which are central features of this creed. However, Anathasius died in AD 373 and the Athanasian Creed closely reflects wording of the Nicene Creed adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, suggesting that it was written sometime after that. It is not mentioned in historical documents until the later seventh century, and was likely written in the Western Church sometime in the sixth or early seventh century.  However, since the first work on the Nicene Creed began at the Council of Nicæa in AD 325, it is likely that Anathasius helped shape much of the Trinitarian language that the fourth and fifth century church used in both creeds. -Dennis Bratcher, ed.

Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian Faith. Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever.

Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.

In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made not created, nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.

It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation truly to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh. Now this is the true Christian faith: We believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and Man. He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh, equal to the Father, as to his deity, less than the Father, as to his humanity; and though he is both God and Man, Christ is not two persons but one, one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God; one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person.

For just as the reasonable soul and flesh are one human being, so God and man are one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people will rise again with their own bodies to answer for their personal deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, but those who have done evil will go into everlasting fire.

This is the true Christian Faith. Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.

With this creed we are told that to be saved we must subscribe to the doctrine of the trinity. I find that no where in scripture and nor can you.

It flies in the face of the most repeated scripture from the New Testament, John 3:16; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

My God is not a God of confusion. He told me he sent His Son. He did not say He came as one of His multiple personalities.

I believe Satan is the father of confusion. How many times have you read or been told the doctrine of the trinity is confusing and hard to understand without help?

Thanks but no thanks. I see no reason to understand something which has no bearing on my salvation and the fruits have done so much damage. 

Satan the snake took what God said and twisted it in the garden. Just as many through history have taken what God has said in His word and twisted it to turn men from God.

 

I agree, that is why I still maintain my God would not advocate something which has had such injurious results. If you believe He is able to sees the future you would have to agree He would see the results both good and bad. I see far more bad than good, if any.

 

God has not condemned anyone. He has condemned all who do not accept His Son which is all the followers of Islam.

 

If God is the author of the Doctrine of the Trinity and can see the future, He is knowingly responsible for all these lost souls. My God says He wants all to come to Him thru His Son. If He is knowingly responsible for all these lost souls, He is a liar and can not be a Holy God.  BVB

[guitarplayer1953]

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The bible says that God is the Word and Jesus in the Word. So Jesus is God just as the Father and Holy Spirit is God. The only doctrine for salvation is in Romans 10
10:9 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

No where here does it say that one must believe in the Trinity. Although the Trinity is a fact. The bible says that men twist the word of God to become of no effect. If one adds a doctrine to the Word where there is not doctrine of salvation like in the Trinity then they have created a stumbling block and as teachers they will have a grater weight of judgment on them the weight of a millstone.

I would have to say I am in more of a line with the Athanasian Creed except for having to believe in the Trinity to be saved. The bible does not say that.