1GOD and John 1 The "WORD" is not a Person

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

and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. 

All came to be through him, and without him nothing made had being.
In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it.
-from the Complete Jewish Bible

1God John 1

-rory moore

As I was coming into the Son of God revelation, John chapter 1 was a big question mark and one of my  "WHAT ABOUT!??"  passages. We should include Colossians 1 and I will quote that below.

Like you, I had been taught "the WORD" was a person, Jesus Christ".

Then I realized words were also what God spoke "in the beginning" in Genesis. ....
and as God SAID  <i.e. spoke, expressed thought, the action of saying with power...
... He said ”let there be.."

The phrase "and GOD SAID" is used 10 times in Genesis 1.
Was that Jesus speaking with God or was that God Himself speaking?

4,000 years later Jesus said he spoke what he heard from God,
and that "the WORDS that I speak, they are SPIRIT and they are LIFE".

 God's Word thus being life, Spirit, and a living word as it comes forth from Him.

 The words are what God said, and the word is what conceived Christ and lived in Christ. "and the word became flesh.."

a. So now we look at 1Jn 1:1
👉That which was from the beginning (i.e. God's Word),  ("and the word became flesh..")  which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, the Word of life;       “OF”  <means: of-from-by>   

b. The "beginning" of a new creation through Christ, the "last Adam", (1 Cor 15) is also a second "beginning", beginning with the ministry of Jesus Christ, a man, and..

(2 For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and to show you that eternal life, <the word> which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;

Thus "God was in Christ" as the living WORDS as Christ spoke the words the Father gave him to speak. 
John 8:40 But now ye seek to kill Me, a Man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard from God
John 6:63 It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Because Jesus said he spoke what He heard from God.
again in John 14:10
Believe not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwells in Me, 

Again, John 6:35
It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’
Every man therefore that has heard and has learned from the Father comes to Me.

I am open to correction but that is how I now understand and see John 1.
And there is nothing there with a plain statement "Jesus is God", or "God became a man".
-which is what people read into it when they look through the lens of traditional church thought.

John 1 is speaking from his knowledge of the new creation, not the one back in Genesis.
 John never wrote an explicit statement to believe  "Jesus is God", nor is it written anywhere in the Bible!

again, Jesus the through whom we are recreated,  Galatians 6:15 For neither being circumcised nor being uncircumcised matters; what matters is being a new creation.

Again, "all were created by Him and for Him'.
ALL is His people, we are created for Christ, the HEAD of the Body, whose head is GOD.

The NEW creation was "in the beginning", in John 1,
and began with Jesus Christ, the MAN born in Bethlehem.
The old Covenant creation (a nation)  passed away as Jesus is the author and finisher of the NEW creation.

"GOD" was not incarnated, born, died, resurrected, only to become GOD again.
We know because the man still calls God "MY GOD" in Revelation 40 years after GOD raised the man from the dead.

The overlooked salutation is in conflict with the trinity-oneness error, but when correctly understood, is in harmony with what I have pointed out in the context.

In another essay, I show the truth about Colossians 1 and "by Him were all things created".

THE WORD WAS WHAT GOD SAID, and not a person. 
  The WORD WAS prophetically a man through the foreknowledge of God, that which conceived and begat the man, Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary.

God did not "incarnate" or become a man, His words became a man.
May we bless God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ forever and ever.

Part 2
Understanding the words...................

That Bible Word "logos" we all heard in John 1 as "The WORD", translates as "in the beginning was the *word*.

The *word* was with GOD, and the *word* was God".

This short post will demonstrate why "THE WORD" was NOT a person, but was the means by which the person, Christ" was begotten. Words are used to communicate, God used them to create. The power of God to create was with the sound of His voice speaking... words.

In the fullness of time, GOD sent Gabriel to Mary with a message contained and expressed through *words*. (Greek: logos). Logos. Did the angel Gabriel speak WORDS to Mary? Luke 1:29 But she was very perplexed at 👉 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩👈, <logos> and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. "statement" in the original NT Greek is "LOGOS". The LOGOS came by the angel from GOD. YHVH, the same GOD that created all creation "in the beginning" when GOD 👉SAID👈 "LET THERE BE....".

Again, "THE LORD *said* to my Lord, sit thou here till *I* make *your* enemies *your* footstool. Acts 2:35 Let's take our eyes off the wisdom of this world, the scholars and church leaders, and look to what The Author *𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙*. The apostles delivered God's WORDS (logos) that they received through Jesus Christ.

......................

Logos "word" defined and used, according to the Lexicon.

Logos  Noun Masculine

1. of speech
   
   1. a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea
      
   2. what someone has said
      
      1. a word
         
      2. the sayings of God
         
      3. decree, mandate or order
         
      4. of the moral precepts given by God
         
      5. Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets
         
      6. what is declared, a thought, declaration, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim
         
   3. discourse
      
      1. the act of speaking, speech
         
      2. the faculty of speech, skill and practice in speaking
         
      3. a kind or style of speaking
         
      4. a continuous speaking discourse - instruction
         
   4. doctrine, teaching
      
   5. anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative
      
   6. matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law
      
   7. the thing spoken of or talked about; event, dee

PART 3.

​Paul wrote "prove all things",  a  charge we have often neglected as we accepted what others said.

And so...  Question,

Is John 1:1-3 "the word", a person?

We read the capitalized "Word" in John and since that was re-enforced by most teachers, we thought so. 

But have we heard the wrong interpretation much-repeated from what other theologians said that the words mean, and why did the Bible translators capitalize "the Word" in John 1 only?

We look at our Bible and see a capitalized word in John 1: in the beginning was the Word,
 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same <i.e. the word>  was in the beginning with God.

3 All *things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

(FYI, *things" is not in the original text, "things" is not a Greek word and every use of it is an insertion into the text.

"Him" is also translated as "it" in some translations, and read as "all were made by it")

These are for you dear reader to note how these illustrations of use for the exact same "the Word":

(in the original language, the "word" is "logos", so I looked at it's definition and usages in a Lexicon)

Here are some examples of the word:  "word":

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him <to John> to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to 𝒕𝒉𝒆 w𝒐𝒓𝒅 of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to all that he saw.

Mark 7:13 thus making 👉𝒕𝒉𝒆 w𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 of God of no effect 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, which you have delivered.

Matthew 13:22 He also that received the seed among the thorns is 👉he that hears the word;

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this 👉 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 word 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅. John 15:3 Now you are 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 👉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 word 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏.

Acts 13:7 He was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired 👉𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 word 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅.👈

I could go on, because 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 332 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 "the word" 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 time 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧 translators assigned 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 logos 𝐢𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏:𝟏-𝟑.

And NOT ONE of the preachers in Acts used "the Word" as a synonym for a person as they told people who Jesus is.

Here is a hidden parable truth that was veiled to the Old Testament Jews.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 "𝗨𝗡-𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱" 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁, that included 𝗮 far-reaching command to "𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀" 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿/ 𝗨𝗡-𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱. 

Since we are now "the house" of the Lord, both individually and corporately, when we find "leaven" we repent and thus put the leaven of corrupted Christianity OUT of our thinking. Just because we were called out of the church-buildings, a substitute false temple, does not mean we were then free of the "leaven of the Pharisees", i.e. the teachings of institutional Christianity.

John 1:3

All were made by it, and without it was made nothing that was made.

All <things> were created by him, and without him was nothing made that was made".

Let's offer you, dear reader, these views.

1. Because the word used as the "word" is "logos", is not once used as either a capitalized substitute for a person in any of the 332 places it was used in the New Testament! source: https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/logos.html

That is a stunning fact.

So what is "logos" if it is not a person, i.e. Christ? The link to the Greek Lexicon above gives this:

Etymology and meaning:

The "𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃", i.e. "logos", is the 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 thought, plan, teaching, doctrine, reason, discourse.

God spoke through words from the Genesis beginning. Think on that.

"and GOD ***said***..." 

God spoke words of course, but "said" is not capitalized. Nor is "word" capitalized anywhere and here is a prime example from the OT.:

Isa 9:8   The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

Ps 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Isa 55:11 So shall my word that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Jer. 29:19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.

Because satan from the beginning added to and manipulated God's words to deceive Eve, why should we overlook the misuse of words in our time?

Today Christianity is awash in unscriptural word-isms, terms, phrases, and doctrines that are not direct from the mouth of God. But Jesus said "man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God".

But an error is like leaven the woman in the parable who adds hidden substitutes for the words for the "bread of life" by changing the "flavor" of a word or phrase.

2. "in the beginning was the word" can be shown to NOT be a person but according to the Greek definition of "logos" and use above, and this is addressed as to why, below. 

The phrase In the beginning triggers the question -'Which one?"   

Was it the Genesis beginning or the new creation through Christ?

 *see addendum below.

I hope this has helped point out some of that leaven in order to get the mis-interpretation of John 1 out of our minds.

That is further underscored by the absence of the use of "the Word" as a person, i.e. Christ, from whom and through the Word of God came, when Jesus' own Spirit-filled witnesses went forth to preach the gospel and exactly WHO JESUS IS.

Thus, the FACTS are in ACTS where I found that none of the gospel preachers declared "Jesus is God" or Jesus is Logos to any people, city, or audience they preached to is either a glaring omission of a critical tenet of the faith, or the apostles knew better than our explanations.. 

- In fact, John wrote at the end of his book, "𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, and that believing, you might have life through his name.

SO with all my heart I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. For there is ONE God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

ADDENDUM:

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

(2. The same was in the beginning with God.

#3.  All were made by Him, and without Him was not any made that was made.

(Remember, *things" was not in the original text, things" and not a Greek word, Every use of "thing" is an insertion into the text which can mis-lead.)

Let's take this to a bit deeper level.

Vs, 1, "the beginning" here was not necessarily the creation in Genesis!  

Let's take notice of how the apostles referred to another beginning and

point to the beginning of the gospel.  Their beginning of New Testament redemption was when Jesus became the 'the beginning, the firstborn from the dead". 

Mark agrees from his beginning..

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

and so does Luke. 1:2 even as they were delivered to us by those <the first apostles> who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word..

and John quotes Jesus:

John 15:27 And you also shall bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

And Colossians 1:18  And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all He might have the preeminence.

So through Jesus Christ, there is another NEW creation in him, also referred to as "the beginning". 

2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation

But in the Genesis beginning, God said WORDS, and the words were not another God-person, and God made creation

by and through His WORDS, -not a secondary God-being. Jesus affirms that in Mark 10:6

  ’But from the beginning of the creation, male and female made *HE* them.

Now give this a pause to consider, “in the beginning God said LET THERE BE..”,  which are words He said, but ‘said‘ is not capitalized, nor is what He said even remotely alluded to as a person.

In all, TEN times the phrase "and GOD SAID" are used in the creation account in Genesis. Isaiah the prophet quotes GOD saying that "I stretched forth the heavens ALONE, and spread abroad the earth BY MYSELF". 

How then is the words God said in the Genesis beginning another person?

( in another post, I address the "let US make man in our image".  That link is Here:

Jesus agrees on who was the Creator in the Genesis "beginning":

Mark 13:19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created

Jesus does not ever take credit for creation, ever. He did affirm God the Father as the sole creator of the creation.

Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Mat. 19:4  And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.

The creation must have a Creator. Note: Rev. 3:14

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

It is abundantly clear from both Testaments that God the Father is the sole Creator, not Jesus Christ who was the man born in Bethlehem, although He "pre-existed" (as some say), from the Genesis beginning in God's "FOREKNOWLEDGE", as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

If you do not understand how Christ "pre-existed" in God's "foreknowledge", and not as a separate God-person, here is a short post of the scriptures

where it is stated. LINK to "foreknowledge", a 3 minute read.

If you are able to receive the truth of the John 1 scripture here, rejoice and be thankful you are partaking of the wonderful "hidden manna" of Jesus Christ and a fresh understanding of scripture. 

Revelation 3:12

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My NEW NAME.

​

1God: FOREKNOWLEDGE In What form and how Christ "pre-existed" Bethlehem?

 

1God Series © FOREKNOWLEDGE:

In what form Christ "pre-existed" Bethlehem.
-by rory moore 

The Scriptures state Christ had glory before the the foundation of the world so that leads us to ask...

Was Christ a person, a Spirit being pre-existing with His heavenly Father before coming into the world as "God incarnate"? 
The Trinitarian thinks so, but a Onenness-Modalist believes GOD the Father "incarnated" Himself into a man leaving the throne vacant while He was on earth.
Was he an angel? A Spirit-being? 

-since those in scripture who saw heaven did not tell us of a multiplicity of God-persons, (see their words here), how can we reconcile passages such as:

John 17:5 
And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.

Let's look at how Christ could be "with" the Father before Bethlehem to answer how he was with the Father literally. 
And along with this thought, compare how that GOD also "knew" Jeremiah before he was born.

Jeremiah 1: 4-5 Now the word of the LORD (GOD) came to me saying,  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”. Was Jeremiah also foreknown as a literal person prior to his birth or was it  foreknowledge?

Foreknowledge, along with every Divine attribute was "with" GOD from eternity. God is eternal, infinite, all-knowing from before creation to the very end of time.

 The prophets who saw the throne and saw God, (see the link to visions of the prophets):

They are Macaiah, Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel. Moses and the elders also saw into heaven in Exodus 24:12, and John in Revelation 4-5. Stephen also saw the heavens opened and the "SON OF MAN".
Ezekiel 1:26-28 is most detailed vision and agrees with what others saw.
Since there is One God with a "form" and "likeness of a man" who was seen, and because Christ is "the Son of man", how could Christ have glory "before the world was"? 

The answer that resolves this enigma so beautifully is that Jesus was glorified before he was born, not literally as a co-existing or pre-birthed man, but that Jesus did exist in God's foreknowledge
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you”. 
Here are numerous passages affirming the eternal nature of God's infinite knowledge.

Foreknowledge:
Dan. 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven,  there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion  and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;

Foreknowledge:
Acts 2: 22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, 

23  𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

Foreknowledge:
John 17:24: that they may behold my glory, which You have given me: for You loved me before the foundation of the world. 

Foreknowledge:
1Peter 1: 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit,

Foreknowledge:
1 Peter 1:20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you

Foreknowledge:
Romans 8:29   For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Foreknowledge:
Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
5 having predestined us to be His own adopted children by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
11 In Christ also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will

Foreknowledge:
2 Timothy 1:8-9
 but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God,
9 who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but in accordance with His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Foreknowledge.
Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Foreknowledge:
Acts 15:18 Known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world

Foreknowledge:
Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Foreknowledge: the Lamb slain *before the foundation of the world*.
Rev. 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world

SUMMARY:
How then was Christ sharing glory with God before the world existed?
If he was not seen as a literal person, an angel, or a collateral second God-person, how might we reconcile?

I believe it was evidenced by the Father's eternal "foreknowledge" and that answers the many verses that seem to put the man, Christ Jesus as a pre-existing person.

If there is a shred of doubt, look again at the resurrection gospel preached by Peter at the beginning of the Spirit-filled church in Acts 2:

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know

 23 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

I hope this encourages you to seek and know Christ better.

1God WHO raised Jesus from the dead?

 How was Jesus raised from the dead?
compiled by rory moore

John 2:18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 

20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

This will clear up the misconception whether Jesus as God raised his dead body from the grave, or Jesus as a man was raised by God the Father.

Is Jesus GOD and raised Himself from the dead?
It does sound like he did from his words in John 2.

But like other topics, a closer look at God's Word reveals the truth.

We find more in John 10:17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. 

This commandment I received from My Father.” (NASB95)

Let's compare it in the Complete Jewish Bible:

No one takes it away from me; on the contrary, I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”

In the Names of God version: 
No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is what my Father ordered me to do.”

No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” from the NLT.

How did Jesus raise himself according to this passage? As in all He did, it was in obedience to a command and at the direction of The Father.

Now to solidify this truth, we have the following list of scriptures that all say the same thing in giving God the Father the glory for raising Jesus Christ, and knowing He did so by giving that command to Jesus to speak prophetically over his death and resurrection. As it is written:

John 12:49 For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

Now that we know how it came about for Christ to say he would raise himself from the dead, I will leave you with  20 verses stating GOD raised Christ from the dead:

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 

Acts 3:15 and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

Acts 4:10 be it known to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him does this man stand here before you whole.

Acts 13:30 But God raised him from the dead:

Acts 13:34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken on this wise, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.

Acts 17:31 inasmuch as he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness ***by the man whom HE has ordained***; whereof HE has given assurance to all men, in that HE has raised him <Christ> from the dead.

Romans 4:24 for our sake also, who believe on Him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death no more has dominion over him.

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ; that ye should be joined to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit to God.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead lives in you, HE that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that lives in you.

Romans 8:34 who is he that condemns? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Romans 10:9 because if you shall confess with the mouth Jesus as Lord, and shall believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved:

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

1 Corinthians 15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.

 Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead),

Ephesians 1:20 which he wrought in Christ, when HE raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom HE raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Peter 1:21 who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.

"My Lord and My God"

Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God.

People often point to that verse as a "Jesus is God" proof,
 but ignore two other passages in the same chapter that do not agree with what they think Thomas meant. 

Let’s examine in context three key verses in the same chapter.

20:17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them:
‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’

20:28 And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God.

20:31  <John>  but these have been written  that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

These are FOUR possible meanings.

1.  Thomas calling Jesus Lord ( a master, of authority) and God , <theos/ eloheim.  A word also applied to men, judges and kings) 

2.  As an exclamation, MY LORD AND MY GOD! -as an expression of shock and surprise to GOD above, as people do.

3. Calling him LORD (Yhwh)  and GOD (The Almighty).

4. Jesus responded to Thomas: John 20:29  Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Jesus asked Thomas about his belief.
Thomas believed what? That he was God? 
Thomas had expressed disbelief over Jesus being ALIVE.
"“We have seen the Lord.” But he said , “Unless I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

-Believe what?
-that God raised him from the dead or that Jesus was God?
The context of the conversation is the resurrection of Christ, and not deity

There's only one answer and it was the fact that God raised him from the dead.
Reading a few verses prior should help us understand the best choice.

John 20:17 (NASB) Jesus *said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say, 

'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"

Because the word “God” or “theos” are not exclusive terms for the Almighty. 

It may refer to anything likened unto God, Gods Representative, or one entrusted with the word of God, a judge, a ruler, or king. All of which apply to Jesus.

Jesus said the Father is the ONLY true God and he said the Father is "MY God".
John said exactly why he wrote in John 20:31(NASB)

but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; 
and that believing you may have life in His name.

Summary:
How many times did anyone say or preach  “Jesus IS GOD”?  -0.
How many times did anyone say or preach Jesus is the “SON of God?  42 Times (NASB)
How many tome did they call Jesus "GOD THE SON"?     -0-.
What are we to believe?
-that "Jesus is God" or "Jesus is the CHRIST, the SON of GOD"?
-and that God raised him from the dead, which is what Thomas came to believe in the context.

..................................................

Does Thomas' exclamation  PROVE JESUS is GOD?

While GOD Almighty was still on the throne?

Did Thomas know that Jesus had just said "....I ascend TO MY GOD AND YOUR GOD" and somehow think Jesus was God?

DID JOHN knowingly write that Jesus was ascending "TO MY GOD AND YOU GOD"

and yet John still finished his gospel with "these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the CHRIST, the SON OF THE LIVING GOD"?

And WHY did NONE of the Spirit filled diciples in Acts say "Jesus is our GOD" or a simple "JESUS IS GOD"

***IF*** it was so?

These are clear reasons to think about and stop trying to prove what no scripture says:
 i.e. "Jesus is God".
John wrote in one of his letters to the saints:

"He that overcomes is he that believes Jesus **IS** the Christ, the Son of God".

-which was repeatedly preached and stated in contrast to zero times where the apostles said "Jesus is God".  And THAT is why we repented from what is said and taught around the church world.