DNB,
We all have tried to reason with you with scriptures, but you still refute them, deny them or distort them. I just went outside the box a little, approached it a different way - with conjecture. Listen we know in part and see blurry. There are mysteries that will be revealed to us - what we will be like and we will see Him face to face. My last ditch effort is to compile the scriptures in one nice gift for you to study. Refute them all, deny their literal meaning, that's up to you.
“In the beginning Elohim created heaven and earth”. Gen. 1:1 >> Elohim is a plural form suggesting more than one person.
“Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; …” Gen. 3:22 >> “ONE OF US? Who is God talking about, Him and the angels? Did God have to confer with them to expel Adam and Eve from the Garden?
“yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” 1 Cor. 8:6 >> So all things are from the Father and all things are by the Son. We exist for the Father and exist through the Son. Seems to me Jesus is equal to the Father. Col. 1;16-17 states that Jesus is the CREATOR – put that in your pipe and smoke it!
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” 2 Cor. 13:14 >> We are saved by Grace through faith … correct? Whose Grace? God’s grace. In this scripture, it does not deny that Grace is from God, it just states that it is from Jesus. Fellowship from the Holy Spirit indicates a relationship with a person.
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, “ Col. 2:9 >> This statement confirms Jesus is God, the fullness of God dwells in Him. If you deny or distort this, you have no discernment, and are profoundly stuck in a blind state. Heck you don’t need discernment here, take it literally.
Here is another verse that supports this concept: "The Word was God and God became flesh! 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.” John 1:14
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Is. 9:6 >> Here again, Jesus is called Mighty God, Eternal Father and Prince of Peace. This is deep, it is a statement describing the Triune God. Jesus is one with the Father, He is the Prince of Peace and the Holy Spirit is the Wonderful Counselor.
“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.” Is. 44:6 >> Who is the Redeemer, the King? Who is the first and the last? Jesus
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I l]"> was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” Rev. 1:12-18 >> Jesus is the first and the last, the Almighty God. He is the Word, which is the expression of God, everything in the Bible is the expression of God. Having all authority means He is Almighty God. “In Him all things consist (are held together)”. Jesus will return in Judgment against those who deny Him, against those who did not put their faith in Him. Think about that, if Jesus was not God, why does the Bible require us to put our faith in Jesus, if he was like Moses or any other prophet? He says, believe in Me and you will have life. He is the author of life. If He wasn’t, He could not demand us to focus on Him. The focus would only be on the Father, not Him and the Bible would be written quite differently.
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 >> The concept of the Trinity is that three persons are one God. Here we have two. All you have to do is search all scriptures pertaining to the Holy Spirit and you will find that He represents everything that God is and tells us everything that Jesus told us. A perfect unity.
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means "God with us". ”Matt. 1:23 >> Did you miss this one? Jesus name is called God with us.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” Matt. 28;19 >> 1, 2, 3 ... easy as do, re, mi … 1, 2, 3, a, b, c, that’s how easy LOVE can be. Maybe you should sing that song: “I want to know what Love is, I want you to show me.” Well, the Bible is trying to. Still having problems? Can’t count, this is first grade math.
“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’” Matt. 3:16-17 >> Trinity
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 >> The Triune God. Did the Father send the Spirit of Truth to you? Do you know Him?
“according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.” 1 Pet. 1:2 >> Trinity
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Col. 1:15-17 >> This states clearly that Jesus is the CREATOR, therefore, He is God. The last phrase is something to ponder. “hold together” or consist means that every atom in the universe is held together by His power!
“Have this attitude" in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. “ Phil. 2:5-8
>> People still struggle with the concept of Jesus being equal with God/ being God. He did not regard that as something that man would grasp. I know, you still don’t grasp it, but be careful how you struggle, and resist those scriptures in a way that is an act of rebellion, fighting with an obstinate pride, against Christians, calling them fools and saying it is a philosophy from Satan!