PART 7 — GOD ALL IN ALL
We have followed one thread through this study.
Yehovah is one.
Yehovah is Spirit.
He revealed Himself to the fathers.
He appeared through the Messenger of Yehovah.
He came in flesh as Yeshua the Messiah.
The apostles gave to Yeshua the names, works, glory, and worship that belong to Yehovah.
And the Torah test showed that this would only be faithful if Yeshua is not another god beside Yehovah.
He is Yehovah revealed in flesh.
God Is Spirit
Yeshua said:
"God is Spirit."
John 4:24
He did not say God is three spirits.
He did not say God is three beings.
He said God is Spirit.
The Spirit is not a third separate god beside the Father and the Son, nor is the Spirit merely an impersonal force or power of God. The Spirit is God's own living presence, will, and activity, personally at work in creation, revelation, and redemption.
The Spirit is the living presence of Yehovah Himself.
This is why Scripture can say:
"The Spirit of your Father."
Matthew 10:20
And:
"The Spirit of Christ."
Romans 8:9
And:
"Now the Lord is that Spirit."
2 Corinthians 3:17
These are not different spirits from different divine beings.
There is one Spirit because there is one God.
Paul wrote:
"There is one body, and one Spirit... one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
Ephesians 4:4-6
One Spirit.
One God.
One Yehovah.
One God Revealed In Different Ways
Scripture does not present God as three separate divine beings sharing one title.
It presents one God revealing Himself.
The Father is the invisible Spirit.
The Son is the Word made flesh.
The Holy Spirit is Yehovah's own Spirit dwelling in His people.
This is not three gods working together.
This is one God making Himself known.
Yehovah is not limited to one form.
He fills heaven and earth.
He can speak from heaven.
He can dwell in Messiah bodily.
He can place His Spirit within His people.
He can be above all, through all, and in all.
That does not divide Him.
It reveals Him.
Why Did Yeshua Say, "Why Do You Call Me Good?"
A man once came to Yeshua and called Him good.
Yeshua answered:
"Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
Mark 10:18
Some read this as if Yeshua were denying that He is good or denying that He is God.
But that is not what He was doing.
Yeshua was asking the man to consider what he was saying.
If only God is truly good, then why was he calling Yeshua good?
Did he understand who stood before him?
Yeshua was not denying goodness.
He was pointing the man back to God as the source of goodness.
In His flesh, Yeshua had humbled Himself.
He came as a servant.
He did not come seeking honor from men.
Paul wrote:
"Who, being in the form of God... made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant."
Philippians 2:6-7
Yeshua did not walk around demanding people call Him good.
He lived in humility and obedience.
Yet the fullness of the divine nature dwelt in Him bodily.
"For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the divine nature bodily."
Colossians 2:9
So when Yeshua said, "Why do you call Me good?" He was not saying He was sinful.
He was not saying He was only an ordinary man.
He was bringing the man to the real issue.
If you call Me good, do you understand that only God is good?
And if only God is good, do you know who I am?
The Spirit And New Creation
From the beginning, the Spirit of Elohim moved over the waters.
"And the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters."
Genesis 1:2
Creation began by the work of God through His Spirit.
New creation happens the same way.
Yehovah promised:
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you."
Ezekiel 36:26
And:
"I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes."
Ezekiel 36:27
The Spirit does not lead us away from Yehovah's ways.
The Spirit causes us to walk in them.
Jeremiah says:
"I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts."
Jeremiah 31:33
This is what Messiah came to restore.
Not a people separated from God's commandments.
Not a people following another god.
But a people filled with Yehovah's Spirit, walking in His ways from the heart.
The Dwelling Of God With Men
Scripture has always been moving toward God dwelling with His people.
In the garden, God walked with man.
Sin brought separation.
In the wilderness, Yehovah dwelt among Israel in the tabernacle.
Later, His glory filled the temple.
Then the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John wrote:
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
Through Messiah, Yehovah came near in a way mankind had never seen before.
But the story does not end there.
Revelation says:
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them."
Revelation 21:3
The end of the story is not God's people escaping creation forever.
It is creation restored.
It is God dwelling with His people.
It is everything sin damaged being made whole.
The Throne Of God And Of The Lamb
Revelation also says:
"The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him."
Revelation 22:3
Notice the wording.
The throne is called:
"the throne of God and of the Lamb"
but then it says:
"His servants shall serve Him."
Not them.
Him.
The Lamb is not another god beside Yehovah.
The Lamb is Yehovah revealed in flesh, the One who gave His life for His people.
This is why Revelation also says:
"They shall see His face."
Revelation 22:4
The God no man could see in His fullness has made Himself known.
The invisible God revealed Himself through Messiah.
And in the end, His people will see His face.
God All In All
Paul wrote:
"Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father."
1 Corinthians 15:24
And:
"And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."
1 Corinthians 15:28
This does not mean Messiah stops mattering.
It means the work of redemption is complete.
The Son's mission in flesh has accomplished what He came to do.
Death is defeated.
The enemies are subdued.
The kingdom is restored.
And God is all in all.
Everything returns to the fullness of Yehovah's reign.
The Final Testimony
The testimony of Scripture never changes.
"Hear, O Israel: Yehovah our God is one Yehovah."
Deuteronomy 6:4
One God.
One Spirit.
One Savior.
One Redeemer.
One Shepherd.
One King.
Yehovah revealed Himself in many ways, but He is not many gods.
He is the invisible God who made Himself visible.
He is the Spirit who moved over the waters.
He is the Word who became flesh.
He is the Lamb who was slain.
He is the King who will reign.
He is the God who will dwell with His people.
And in the end, God will be all in all.
Yehovah our God.
Yehovah is one.