Handling Words

The only way to undo the 1,600 years of theological error surrounding the nature of God, and the confusion over who the One God is, is to return to the Bible. If we do, then we will give zero focus to the word ousia (which is not used to describe anyone's nature in the Bible). As we have already seen, it's only used in one passage of the Bible, and there it's used to describe the estate or substance of a man's house--his furniture, his wardrobe, his pantry items. The word ousia (substance) is completely inadequate for describing God's nature. It's not appropriate to say that God has a substance.

And if we go back to the Bible, we'll do well to recognize that hypostasis is a very useful word. It is great for describing what Jesus is a representation of--God's essence or being (as it says in Hebrews 1:3). In fact, Jesus is the exact representation of God's person, being the Son of God.

Hypostasis is a Biblical word, and gives us magnificent insight into Christ's relationship to his Father. That relationship is a Father-Son relationship in which Jesus, as the Son, is a reflection of the One who fathered him--the One who begat him. Jesus is the spitting image of God's person (hypostasis), as the Bible says.

Introduction to the Biblical Word Nature

If we continue searching the Bible for excellent words that will help us to understand the nature of God, we find a jewel in 2 Peter. It's the word physeōs and it’s only used twice in the New Testament. It means nature, as in the human nature or the divine nature.

We first find that Paul uses physeōs in his Epistle to the Romans where it’s translated either physically or by nature [ek physeōs]. Here is the word in context:

... he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having... circumcision are a violator of the Law (Romans 2:27)?

Partakers of the Divine Nature

More importantly, physeōs is used in a verse which talks about you and me--specifically, how we become sharers in the divine nature. This verse is critical for understanding what a resurrection will do to us. It's a vital Bible verse. It describes what will happen to us when we are resurrected: We will become partakers of the divine nature!

… he [God] has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Here the word physeōs means nature and it describes the physical-spiritual change we’ll undergo when we are transformed in the Resurrection. This one verse does more to reveal what God gave Jesus in the Resurrection than any other verse. Can you see why? It's because if God will give his divine nature to you and me, he must have already done so in Christ. Surely, what God has done in Christ, he will duplicate in those who follow Christ. Our Lord Jesus is, after all, the firstfruits of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23). Our resurrection comes after his.

The word nature here is accompanied by another important word theion which means divine. We'll look more closely at the Greek word for divine in another lesson. For now, it suffices to say that here in 2 Peter 1:4 we find a precious word combo for divine nature, and there are no excuses for the Trinitarian theologians who made the bold claim that they came to a new understanding of the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit without addressing this passage. Their negligence is inexcusable.

Reclaiming What Theologians Stole

Since the term ousia is of vague interpretation and is scarcely used in the Bible, it was easily manipulated to become overly-charged with theological meanings that only scholars could comprehend or use. That's exactly what happened when the doctrine of the Trinity was established in the fourth century AD. Men took the word ousia, and made God's supposed substance the centerpiece of the new theology, a word which the everyday Christians of their time were completely unfamiliar.

Redefining a Biblical word (ousia, substance) so that the everyday Christian believers became disenfranchised was the way that the fourth century theologians took for themselves exclusive rights to the Truth. They stole those rights from the common man. Let's take them back. We cannot allow intellectual snobs to rule over us.

The style of defining God which first gained traction in 451 AD at the Council of Chalcedon gave more emphasis on philosophical terms than to the Scriptures, and eclipsed the simple Biblical concept of One God and Father. Theologians stole simple Truth. Our job is to take it back. The simple truth is that 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. It does not equal 1. The simple truth is that there is One God, the Father.

The new theology of the Council of Chalcedon would pave the road for the Athanasian Creed (circa 500 AD) which became the benchmark for Trinitarian doctrine during much of the Middle Ages, as muddled as it was. The doctrine of the Trinity still keeps people under a shround of confusion to this day.

Athanasius' Confusion-Confession

Consider the Athanasian Creed yourself and see if it’s not confusing:

… we worship One God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one.

Feel confused? When things are not true, they are confusing. The Athanasian definition of God proves that the simplicity of the Biblical statement "One God and Father" is necessary, and that it cannot be forfeited. We can't exchange it for theological acrobatics and fancy words.

Reclaiming What is Ours

Since the Truth of One God was lost when theologians hijacked the discussion of who God is in the fourth century AD, let’s reclaim the discussion. Let’s not treat Christian history as if some men solved the mystery of who God is back 1600 years ago. They certainly didn't. There was never a mystery in the first place. God has always been One. He has never been Three.

If we understand what really happened after Nicaea, we'll treat the knowledge of God like it was never a mystery in the first place. The Bible tells us exactly who the One God is. The One God is the Father. From that Truth, we are able to fan out and explain every other great Truth. After all, everything came into being from him. He is the Source of all life.