Clip "The Mystery of Godliness: The Sequel" (6) - Is the Lord Jesus the Son of God or God Himself?

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Concerning the incarnate Christ, is He really God Himself or the Son of God?
So which of these statements is correct?
Now think for a moment:
Does God say anywhere in Genesis that He has a beloved son?
No. (Not!)
Now think of Jehovah God during the Age of Law,
did He ever say that He had a son?
No. (He did not!)
This just proves our point:
There's only one God and no Father-Son relationship to speak of.
Right!
Now some people may be wondering:
If this was true,
during the Age of Grace, why did the Lord Jesus say He was God's Son?
Yes, why?
That Brother Chen from two days ago sure had some misconceptions.
It's amazing that he would accept!
Yeah!
But that Elder Sun, his humanity …
needs work.
Brother Li, what's going on with Elder Sun now?
I was just going to tell you about it.
I heard there was trouble at Lizhuang Church.
Some believers wanted to study the true way.
Elder Sun desperately held them back and even condemned God.
They continued to insist on those studies and started to argue with him.
If we try to go back to their church,
I'm worried that Elder Sun might call the police on us,
and that could mean trouble. (True!)
Yeah, you're right.
We're also—
That doesn't sound like a normal knock!
I'm going to check on it.
Okay, take a look.
Let's get our things ready.
What do you want?
Tell us where the preachers are.
Preachers? I don't know about any preachers!
You don't know? You don't know?
Back off!
Out of my way! Move!
Let go. Mind your business.
You can't just force your way into my house! You can't come in here!
Stop!
What do you think you're doing?!
Do you have a search warrant?
This is against the law!
The law?
You're telling me the law?
Listen up!
In this part of town, I'm the law!
Captain, the room's clear.
Captain, there's no one else here.
Impossible! Are you sure? (What now?)
Out of my way!
Captain, they escaped.
Captain, what should we do?
Damn it! We let them escape!
They haven't gone far. Go! (Let's go!)
Right!
Quick!
Don't let them get away!
There!
Go! Go! Go!
They're up ahead! Hurry!
Hurry up!
Wait, Brother Lin! Here!
Quick!
They were just here. Where could they have gone?
Look! Something up ahead! (Go!)
Someone's here.
Thanks be to God!
Who's there?
Is that you, Brother Zhao?
Brother Lin, Brother Liu! (Yes.)
Come right in!
Thanks be to God!
Come on in!
Hi, everybody!
Hi!
Their fellowship is amazing!
You're early!
Hey! Let's have a seat.
Everyone's here.
Okay.
Well, praise the Lord!
Brother Lin, Brother Liu, these past few days,
after hearing your fellowship,
we've learned so much about the truth of the incarnation.
Right!
Thanks be to God!
But now, Brother Lin, there's a question we're still not very clear about.
What's your question? Go ahead!
The Bible says clearly that the Lord Jesus is Christ, the Son of God.
We believers all acknowledge the Lord Jesus is Christ, the Son of God.
Right! That's right.
Yet you've testified
that the incarnate Christ is the appearance of God, God Himself,
that the Lord Jesus is God Himself, Almighty God is also God Himself.
This is all very mysterious to us,
and compared to what we know, it's a little different.
That's right. Right!
So concerning the incarnate Christ,
is He really God Himself or the Son of God?
Both situations seem reasonable to us and they match the Bible.
Right! That's right!
So which of these statements is correct?
Please, Brother Lin, if you wouldn't mind, we'd love for you to explain it!
Yes, explain it! Please commune with us! Please!
The Bible clearly states that the Lord Jesus is in fact Christ, the Son of God.
That's right.
And so, for two thousand years,
the faithful have thought that this was the truth,
and have so believed.
Right? (Yes!)
Could this possibly be wrong? (No way.)
The Bible states that when the Lord Jesus was baptized, heaven opened,
and just like a dove, the Holy Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus,
and a voice said,
Amen!
So, you see, it's stated very clearly in the Bible. (Yes!)
And since the Holy Spirit said the Lord Jesus is God's Son,
it serves as proof the Lord Jesus is clearly God's Son!
How could there be any doubt?
So since the Bible proves it,
then tell me, how can you still deny it?
The question that you wanted to ask us
is the exact question most believers have trouble understanding.
When the incarnate Lord Jesus came to do the work of redeeming man,
God became the Son of man appearing and performing His work amongst mankind.
He not only began the Age of Grace,
but started a new age where God came to the human world
and lived alongside man.
With great adoration,
man called the Lord Jesus "Christ," "the Son of God."
Yes!
The Holy Spirit witnessed the Lord Jesus is God's beloved Son.
After that, the Lord Jesus called God in heaven Father.
Because of that, man thought the Lord Jesus was God's Son.
This is how the whole Father-Son conception is formed.
Oh …
Oh, now I see!
Now think for a moment:
Does God say anywhere in Genesis that He has a beloved son?
No!
Not!
Now think of Jehovah God during the Age of Law,
did He ever say that He had a son? (No.)
He did not!
This just proves our point:
There's only one God and no Father-Son relationship to speak of.
Right!
Now some people may be wondering:
If this was true,
during the Age of Grace, why did the Lord Jesus say He was God's Son?
Yes, why?
Was the Lord Jesus Christ God's Son or actually God Himself?
You could say this is a question
that we believers have debated through the ages.
People can sense the contradiction in this issue,
but they don't know how to explain it.
The Lord Jesus is God and He is God's Son,
so is there really God the Father?
People have a hard time explaining it.
That's right, we don't know how to explain it. (That's right.)
Over the past two millennia,
there are very few who could recognize
that the Lord Jesus is God Himself, He is the appearance of God.
Yes.
Actually, there's a record of this. It's very clear in the Bible.
If you'll turn to John 14:8,
we see Philip asked of the Lord Jesus,
Then after that, (I remember this!)
how did the Lord Jesus respond to Philip?
Does anyone remember?
The Lord Jesus said to Philip,
Amen!
It is here that the Lord Jesus said very clearly
You see, the Lord Jesus is the appearance of God Himself.
Oh …
The Lord Jesus didn't say that He and God have a Father-Son relationship.
He just said,
Amen!
Now, based on the words of Lord Jesus,
are we able to confirm that the Lord Jesus is God Himself, there's only one God,
and there's no Father-Son relationship to speak of?
So right. How could I not have seen this? Yes! I see!
So are you sure now?
Yes, now I finally understand.
The Lord Jesus clearly said,
The Lord Jesus is God Himself,
and the Father-Son idea doesn't really exist! (Right!)
I've often read this part of the Lord Jesus' word.
Why didn't I see it before?
It seems if we want to get the Lord's word,
we need to commune with someone who understands the truth.
That's right! Indeed.
Yes! We'll never understand it if we read on our own. (Yes.)
Brother Lin, Brother Liu,
there's one question that I'm still not clear on.
If the Lord Jesus is God Himself,
then why is it that when He prays, He prays to God the Father?
Yes! Why is that?
There is a certain mystery here to unfold.
Yes, this is a mystery!
If you can, could you please explain it for us?
Yes, please commune with us. Please!
Alright!
Go ahead!
The question that Brother Yang brings up is a very good one.
It's a mystery why the Lord Jesus would call the God in heaven Father
during His prayers since He's God Himself.
When God's incarnated, His Spirit is hidden deep within the flesh
who doesn't feel the Spirit's presence.
Just like how we cannot feel our own spirit within our own body.
Also, God's Spirit doesn't do anything supernatural in His own flesh.
And so, although the Lord Jesus was God become flesh,
if God's Spirit had not spoken and testified to God Himself,
the Lord Jesus could not have known that He was really God's incarnation.
So then in the Bible, it said the Son doesn't know, only the Father knows.
Oh, I see. I get it.
Before the Lord Jesus performed His ministry, He lived in normal humanity.
At first, He didn't know that He was the incarnation of God,
because His Spirit did not work in flesh supernaturally, He worked normally,
just like how man does things normally.
So the Lord Jesus would pray to the heavenly Father,
that is, the Lord Jesus in His normal humanity would pray to God's Spirit.
This should make complete sense.
Now I understand!
Praise God!
When the Lord formally performed His ministry,
the Holy Spirit uttered His voice,
speaking to witness that He was the incarnate God.
And then the Lord Jesus realized His true identity,
that He'd come here to do the work of redemption.
But when He was to be nailed to the cross,
He still prayed to the Father.
This shows us that Christ's substance is fully obedient to God.
Amen!
We should read from Almighty God's word
to help us understand this issue further. (Alright!)
Amen! Thanks be to God. Praise God.
Let's turn to page 1029. (Good!)
Brother Liu, I'll read this one. (Sure. Okay!)
Amen!
Let's end our reading here.
Thanks be to God!
Hearing Almighty God's word helped me understand it.
The Lord Jesus prayed to the Father,
because God's Spirit did work within Him in a natural way,
not a supernatural way.
So, the Lord Jesus was actually praying to God's Spirit,
calling God "Father" from the perspective of His flesh. (Yes!)
That's right!
If Almighty God hadn't revealed this mystery to us,
we never would have understood just from the Bible.
We truly have Almighty God to thank for revealing this truth. (Yes!)
Thanks be to God!
Thanks be to God!
Almighty God has explained things so clearly.
When the Lord Jesus worked among men,
it was actually God's Spirit clothed in the flesh as a man
to work and appear to mankind.
No matter how the Lord Jesus had expressed His words
or prayed to God the Father,
the substance of the Lord was divinity, not humanity.
God is Spirit, invisible to man.
When God becomes flesh,
then man only perceives the flesh and not God's Spirit. (Yes.)
If the Holy Spirit had directly witnessed that the incarnate Lord Jesus was God,
man would have rejected it. (True. That's right!)
Because at the time,
no one knew what it meant for God to be incarnated in the flesh.
They were just in contact with God's incarnation with little understanding.
Yes.
They didn't have the slightest clue
that this regular Son of man was the embodiment of God's Spirit,
the appearance of God in the flesh.
Though the Lord Jesus expressed many words throughout the course of His work,
taught man the way "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,"
and performed so many wondrous miracles,
fully revealing God's authority and power, (Yes.)
sadly man failed to recognize from the word and work of the Lord Jesus
that the Lord Jesus was God Himself, the appearance of God.
So what kind of understanding did man have of the Lord Jesus at that time?
Some people said that He must be John the Baptist,
others said that He was Elijah. (Yes.)
Others even called Him Master. (That's right!)
Yes! Man failed to recognize that the Lord Jesus was God. (Yes!)
So God worked according to man's stature, He didn't make it hard.
The Holy Spirit spoke in a way man could understand,
so He testified the Lord Jesus is God's beloved Son,
temporarily allowing man to think of the Lord Jesus as God's Son.
This idea fit in with man's conceptions and was easier to accept,
because back then the Lord Jesus was only bringing redemption.
No matter what man called the Lord Jesus,
they only needed to accept the Lord Jesus as the Savior
to get their sins forgiven,
and then they were qualified to receive God's grace.
So God's Spirit testified to the Lord Jesus this way
because that's what man could reach.
Amen! Thanks be to God!
This completely fulfills the word of Lord Jesus,
Amen!
It's honestly true.
We can't see God's Spirit when He becomes clothed in flesh.
But God's disposition, what God has and is, His almightiness, and wisdom
are fully expressed through His flesh.
From the words and work of Jesus Christ
and the disposition which He expressed through His flesh,
we can be very sure that the Lord Jesus is God Himself.
Amen!
The word and work of Lord Jesus hold God's authority and power.
What He demands is soon realized.
Once He speaks, it becomes reality.
Amen!
Just as one word from the Lord Jesus could forgive man's sins
and bring the dead to life,
one word calmed the wind and sea and more!
From the word and work of Lord Jesus,
we see God's authority which rules over all things in His creation!
Yes!
Haven't we all seen God's almightiness, wisdom and wondrous works?
Yes, we have!
The Lord Jesus preached the kingdom of heaven is near,
brought the way of repentance.
He began the Age of Grace, concluded the Age of Law.
He expressed God's merciful loving disposition
and completed the work of man's redemption. (Amen!)
So I ask you, did the Lord Jesus perform the work of God Himself?
Yes! Absolutely!
The Lord Jesus did the work of God Himself. (Yes, of course.)
Only God Himself can do His own work.
No one else can! (Praise the Lord!)
The words and work of Lord Jesus are directly expressed by God's Spirit.
Isn't this all the proof we need
that God's Spirit came down in the flesh
to speak to and work among mankind and appear to them?
Right! This is plenty of proof! Yes!
Could it be that no matter how God's Spirit speaks and works in the flesh,
we just can't see that they're the deeds of the Spirit?
Can this shell of the flesh really prevent us
from recognizing Christ's divine substance?
No!
No way! (That's right!)
Could it be that when God's Spirit becomes flesh to work,
no matter what we see,
we still can't recognize God's appearance?
If this is the case, then we are too thick-headed.
How can we attain God's approval?
Right!
Hearing your fellowship, I feel quite ashamed.
I've believed for years
and enjoyed much of the grace the Lord has blessed me with,
yet I never recognized the Lord's divine substance.
I didn't recognize the Lord Jesus was God,
in fact not literally God's Son.
I didn't treat the Lord Jesus like He was God Himself.
So I prayed to the Lord Jesus and also the heavenly Father, Jehovah God.
But now I understand the truth of the incarnation.
It doesn't matter what we call God's incarnation, what His name is.
In substance, He's the appearance of God in the flesh. (Amen!)
That's so true.
After hearing your communion today,
I've realized despite my faith,
I've never really known the Lord.
I couldn't recognize His voice,
so how could I think that I know Him? (Indeed.)
Thinking back on all those years I've believed,
I've only believed in just the Lord Jesus' name,
"the Lord Jesus" those words only.
So when I was presented with the gospel of Almighty God in the last days,
I failed to seek and study.
I just held on to my own misconceptions, denying, rejecting Almighty God.
I almost missed the chance to welcome the Lord's coming.
Just think it's horrifying.
The facts have left me utterly exposed.
I've been impoverished, pitiful, and blind.
I don't know God at all! (Yes!)
You have all expressed it well.
If Almighty God hadn't revealed the mystery and the truth of the incarnation,
not a one in the religious world
would understand or embrace it like we did today.
Yes!
If it weren't for Almighty God's compassion and salvation,
every believer would've strayed down the same path
as the hypocritical Pharisees who crucified our Lord.
Yes!
Believing in God without knowing Him, even unknowingly resisting Him,
all the while waiting to be taken to the kingdom of heaven,
it's so shameful!
Praise be to God!
Almighty God has blessed me, (Amen!)
letting me hear the voice of God,
be raptured before His throne,
and attend the wedding feast of the Lamb!
Amen!
Thanks be to God. Praise to Almighty God!
Thanks be to Almighty God! (Amen!)
Right now we've finally come to see the appearance of God
and be with Him face to face, (Amen.)
and live with Him in our lives from this day forward! (Amen!)
This fulfills the prophecy spoken in Revelation:
Amen!
All of us are truly blessed!
Thanks be to God.
Grandpa, you say God is here already.
Have you seen God?
I have heard God preach and speak to us.
Does God eat?
Does God sleep as well?
God eats and sleeps just like the rest of us.
I can assure you.
God is so great,
I want to see God too!
God loves you,
and I promise in the future you'll definitely get to see God.