Progressive Revelation of God

The divine nature of God is truly a mystery. It is difficult to grasp at first the concept of how Jesus could be God at the same time. Ed Kessler put it best when he stated “When the Church persecuted Jews in an effort to convert them, Jewish indifference to Jesus turned to hostility.” It is indeed a sad truth of history that the followers of this Jesus have brought much suffering upon the Jewish people. For centuries it was very hard for any Jew even to think of Jesus without difficulty.

Up until recently, most Jews have chosen not to think of him at all. The concept they could not grasp was the oneness of God. As an Apostolic our belief is that there is one God, a singular divine Spirit, who manifests himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There are no distinctions between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

We believe that these three make one.

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This is indeed in major contrast to the doctrine of three distinct and eternal persons posited by the Trinitarian theology. Oneness believers like baptize in the name of Jesus Christ, rather than using the Trinitarian format. This indeed for good reason, for God promised in scripture that he would make himself known in the flesh one day. He would then come in the manifestation of Jesus Christ and would die for the remission of our sins, but everything has a beginning and in I will affirm to you our truth.

The term “progressive revelation” is defined as the idea and teaching that God had revealed various aspects of His will and overall plan for humanity over different periods of time. God affirms this in scripture. The Gospel according to Matthew 13:35 says 'so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.' The Gospel according to (John 5:39), 'You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.' To fully understand the concept that Jesus is God, we must first realize that God is a spirit. Spirit is defined as a supernatural, incorporeal, rational being invisible to human beings, but having the power to become visible at any given time. In the beginning of time it proves God is a spirit. Genesis 1:2 (KJV) says “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (John 4:24) (KJV) says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Now to fully dive deep into this mystery of God, we must also bare record that he is invisible. The bible confirms that God is invisible! I Timothy 6:16 (KJV) says “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”

To “reveal” himself he would use anthropomorphism which is defined as “the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.” An example of this is the story of Moses and the burning bush. While tending his father-in-law Jethro's sheep in the land of Midian, Moses saw a baffling sight on Mount Horeb. A bush was on fire, but it did not burn up. Moses went over to the burning bush to investigate, and the voice of God called to him. (Exodus 3:14-15) (NIV) says “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'' God also said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.' (Exodus 3:14-15, NIV)

So, I know you may ask “how does this prove God was present through the use of the burning bush.” Realize God is Omnipresent meaning he can be “anywhere at any time”. The bible says in Revelation 20:1-3 (KJV) “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” From this passage we see that God came in the form of an angel to bound Satan for a thousand years! What comfort in knowing Satan can’t touch us! Moving forward, realize God is Omniscient meaning he is “all knowing”. (Job 42:2) says “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” (Psalms 139:1-3) also confirms this “O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Lastly, realize God is Omnipotent meaning he is “all powerful”. Genesis 17:1 (KJV) confirms this by stating “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” The term “almighty” means having all power! Remember, God is a spirit. Note, the term Holy Spirit means “One God” and terms “he” and “him” mean Spirit!

So, I know you asked yourself “why does God call himself different aliases”? For this question we must now dive deep into the different Names/Titles God possesses. Understand that God used names as a means of progressive self-revelation. This is evident in the book of (Exodus 6:3) which thus says “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” By definition “Jehovah” means “The Existing One” or “Lord.” The chief meaning of Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word “Havah” meaning “to be” or “to exist.” It also suggests “to become” or specifically “to become known”. (Exodus 6:3) is indeed a promise that God would reveal himself in a new way.

For this cause, God had a plethora of names. Three that standout are “YHWH” or (Yahweh), JEHOVAH (same as YHWH). And LORD. YHWH or (Yahweh) means “he is” and is translated in English as “GOD”. It is also a redemptive name of God found in Exodus 6:3-8. YHWH means “he is” in our human understanding, however for God it means “I AM”. LORD IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IN HEBREW IT MEANS YHHW OR YH, THUS BEING USED BY JESUS IN (MATTHEW 3:3.)

Jehovah is used in compounds to describe God and reveal his endless attributes. For example Jehovah-Rapha (found in Exodus 15:26) means “God is a healer” and Jehovah Nissi (found in Exodus 17:15) means “God reigns in victory”. Now indeed people longed to see God in the flesh. An example being Prophet Agur in the book of (Proverbs 30:4) (KJV) which says “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?” Zechariah prophesied that a time would come would come when the Lord would be King over the youth in the book of (Zechariah 14:9) when he said “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.”

We have now reached the part of this essay where we talk about the savior of the world Jesus. As per mentioned, people were longing for a savior, they were longing to know who was doing these signs and wonders and needed a person they could see! Jesus was born of a Virgin Mary by the spirit of God who would save the world as per promised by an angel of the Lord in (Matthew 1:21) which says “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Which fulfills the promise Zechariah proclaimed in Zechariah 14:9, for Jesus in Hebrew means “Jehovah-Savior; Jehovah our Salvation, or Jehovah is our Salvation.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what proves that Jesus is God. The following are examples that indeed Jesus is God:

Isaiah’s Prophecy (1): (Isaiah 35:4-6) says “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” This prophecy was proven by the works of Jesus and his parable to the saints in the gospel of (Luke 7:22) which says “Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

Isaiah’s Prophecy (2): (Isaiah 7:14) says “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” That sign was revealed in (Matthew 1:22-23) which says thus “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Emmanuel and Immanuel mean the same thing.

Timothy’s parable: (I Timothy 3:16) says “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

(Genesis 1:1) states “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (John 1:1) also states “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Bibleref.com most accurately depicts this verse by stating “Jesus is referred to as 'The Word,' from the Greek word logos. Christ is the Logos, the definition, the meaning, the 'Word' of God. This is the first of John's seven names for Jesus: 'The Word.' The rest of the gospel is John's attempt to prove this through various forms of evidence, in particular Jesus' miracles.

(Acts 20:28) says “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” When Jesus died on the cross, he died for the remission of sins. With his blood the church was purchased! So when it is stated “Jesus died on the cross” we mean his FLESH died on the cross. When it is said “Jesus lives within our hearts” we mean his Spirit is with thee.

Being that God is a spirit, he could not sin. When manifested as Jesus he did not sin as well. (Hebrews 4:15) states “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (1 Peter 2:22) also proves he was without sin “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:” When Jesus arrived he came not to do human will, as per proved in the gospel of John 6:38 which Jesus states “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Which once again fulfills the need Prophet Agur was searching for in Proverbs 30:4 that says “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Before Jesus was manifested, it was prophesied the Messiah would declare the name of the Lord. (Psalms 22:22) says “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” (Hebrews 2:12) states “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” Jesus obtained his Father’s name, this is found in (Hebrews 1:4) “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Lastly, John 8:24 Jesus says “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” This is the ultimate proof that Jesus is the great “I AM” for it fulfills the prophecy God made unto Moses that he would reveal himself someday (Exodus 3:14). Author Matthew Henry accurately depicts the gospel of John 8:24 by stating “Those that live in unbelief, are forever undone, if they die in unbelief. The Jews belonged to this present evil world, but Jesus was of a heavenly and divine nature, so that his doctrine, kingdom, and blessings, would not suit their taste. But the curse of the law is done away to all that submit to the grace of the gospel.”