|
Hi,
Please help me answer this question, for I have been confused about it
my entire life. I am confused about whether Jesus and God are one and
the same, or if Jesus and God are separate. When Jesus was on the
cross he said, "Father, why hath Thou forsaken me?" If Jesus and God
are the same, but Jesus in a human form, why would Jesus say this to
Himself?
Please help.
Thanks
|
| Our Reply:
Hi,
the Bible teaches that there is one God who exists in three
persons - Father Son and Holy Spirit. Not an easy concept for us to
grasp! But rest assured that when Jesus said 'Father why have you
forsaken me?' He was not talking to Himself! And when God's voice was
heard from heaven saying 'This is my beloved Son, listen to Him', it
wasn't Jesus speaking about Himself. It is the same with the Holy
Spirit - Jesus spoke about the fact that when He went back into Heaven
the Father would send the comforter (the Spirit of truth) to be with
believers forever. The Spirit is separate to Jesus and Jesus is
separate to the Father. Yet each possess all the attributes of deity
and are completely unified in all things.
So it is not right
to say that the Son is the Father or the Son is the Holy Spirit. The
Bible does separate the roles and persons within the 'Godhead'. Yet it
is also wrong to say there are three Gods! The Bible declares that
there is one God who exists in three persons. I know... not easy to
grasp. thankfully, understanding it fully is not a test you have to
sit to get into Heaven!
People use different illustrations to
try help us understand 'the Godhead' but all fall down to some extent.
A common one if to think of ice, water and steam. Each is simply a
different state of the same elements. When the temperature is below
the freezing point it is ice. At normal temps it is water. At boiling
point it becomes steam. Each is water yet each exist in a different
state. The trinity is kind of like that.
Here are a few links
that go into the question in more detail:
http://www.gotquestions.org/Trinity-Bible.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/see-Trinity-heaven.html
http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=NTsqj4hXZcgC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=got+questions+trinity&source=bl&ots=sR-B-cHx6s&sig=OomGBu_FUl_tTHW9tSCZb9vrz3o&hl=en&ei=G55UTs7WAYPUiALL4fTrDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBA
Hope that helps a little!
All the best.
|