Do Christians Worship Three Gods? - Part 05

Liz Ayala: Stay with us as we discuss the question, do Christians worship three gods? Right here on Messianic Perspectives. Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Ayala. Today Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the doctrine of the Trinity. Does it really mean that Christians worship three gods, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Some people think so, and that's what we want to find out. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.
Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you. It's good to have you with us listening friend as we continue this series of studies on the Trinity. And when we finished up on the last program, we were looking at some passages in the Old Testament that foreshadow the New Testament revelation of the Trinity. Now remember, we said the Trinity is one of 11 mysteries that were obscured or hidden in the Old Testament, but have been revealed in the New Testament. That's basically the purpose of the New Testament. You could say it's a Jewish midrash, a commentary on the scriptures with parables and stories and explanations and expositions. In fact, the New Testament is the greatest of all the midrashim. You see, many people don't realize that the New Testament is a Jewish document. It was written by Jewish writers who were inspired in their writing by the Ruach HaKodesh, the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Old Testament scriptures. In fact, while we're on this subject, one common misconception is that Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, came to do away with Torah. And to a Jewish person especially, nothing could be more abhorrent than the idea of doing away with Torah, doing away with the law. Because God told the Jewish people to keep Torah forever throughout their generations, Leviticus 23:14. So anyone who suggests doing away with Torah is an apostate as far as the Jewish people are concerned, and rightly so. But what many people don't realize is that Jesus didn't suggest doing away with the law. Listen to what he really said. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, he said, but to fulfill, Matthew 5:17. You see, he didn't want to destroy Torah or the Nevi'im, the prophets. He had only the greatest respect for the scriptures. What made the Pharisees angry was that Jesus rejected many of their oral traditions. He pointed out the fallacies and hypocrisies in shackling the people with a lot of legalism and tradition that really had no basis in scripture. The Pharisees were the ones who got all bent out of shape when the disciples plucked a few stalks of wheat to eat on the Sabbath. They were walking by a wheat field. Not because it was a violation of Torah, but because it violated the Pharisees' oral traditions and interpretations of the law. But Jesus said, now watch this, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. He established his own authority as the law giver. He didn't come to destroy the law, the Torah, or the prophets, the Nevi'im, but to fulfill them, to complete them. That is, he came to complete and to fulfill all that had been written about him in the Old Testament. In other words, the New Testament is the continuation of Torah, the law. It includes the biography of the great law giver himself, Yeshua HaMashiach, the same one who gave Moses the commandments on Mount Sinai. Are you still with me? Jesus was the one Moses met on Sinai. It was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus visited Moses on Mount Sinai, and Moses visited Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. You see how the Old Testament and the New Testament fit together. The New Testament doesn't do away with Torah. It is Torah. It fulfills and completes the law. You see, that's why the Pharisees didn't like Jesus. Because he didn't accept their oral traditions at face value. That was one of the big points of contention between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, by the way. The Pharisees had this vast body of oral tradition known as the Talmud that they followed. And the Sadducees didn't believe in the traditions of the Pharisees. And the Sadducees finally died out too, but the Pharisees survived in the form of Rabbinic Judaism. Today the rabbis are very proud to trace their origins back to the ancient Pharisees. That's one reason the rabbis object to the New Testament because they feel it portrays the Pharisees, their forebears, in a very unfavorable light. But the point we're making is simply this. The New Testament is the fulfillment and the completion of the Old Testament. The New Testament was anticipated in the Old Testament. The Old Testament was fulfilled in the New Testament. And one of the mysteries that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but not fully revealed until the New Testament, is the mystery of the Trinity, the mystery of the incarnation. So today and for the next several days, we're going to be looking at some of the foreshadowings of the incarnation that we find in the Old Testament. And I'd like to begin by introducing you to a mysterious angel in the Old Testament, an angel that many scholars believe was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. We need to understand first of all that Jesus Christ existed in heaven as the second person of the triune Godhead before he was born as a baby in Bethlehem. You see, his life didn't start when he was born in Bethlehem. He has always existed. He had no beginning. In fact, the Bible tells us that when the beginning occurred, he was already there. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. That's John chapter 1 verses 1 through 3. So Christ's existence parallels God's existence. The Son has existed as long as God has existed. And of course, that is forever. Now let's flip over a few pages here in the book of John to chapter 8. And I want you to listen to what our Lord Yeshua said here in John chapter 8. He's speaking to the Jews, and he says in verse 56, your father Abraham, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, thou art not yet 50 years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Now watch what he says. Jesus said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham was, I am. In the Greek it's before Abraham was, ego eimi. It's from the Greek verb to be. It's the same thing God told Moses in the book of Exodus when he said his name was I am that I am, Yahweh. Jesus was equating himself with Jehovah God in the Old Testament. Before Abraham was, he said, I am. And if you have any lingering doubts as to what he meant, just look at the reaction of the Jews in verse 59. It says, then took they up stones to cast at him because it was blasphemy for a mortal man to claim equality with God. And according to Jewish law in the book of Leviticus, the penalty for blasphemy was capital punishment. So they understood exactly what he was saying. It might be possible for a Gentile to misunderstand a statement like that, but the Jews knew what he meant. So Jesus Christ existed before Bethlehem. Bethlehem is not where he began. It 's where he stepped out of eternity and into the space-time continuum and took upon himself a human body. But it's very possible, in fact probable, that he visited this planet many times before Bethlehem back in the Old Testament. We call those pre-incarnate appearances of Christ Christophanies, appearances of Christ in the Old Testament. Now let's go back to the book of Genesis. This is where we are introduced to a mysterious person known as the angel of the Lord, the angel of Yahweh. Have you ever seen someone on the street and you thought to yourself, I know I've seen that guy somewhere before. Well, that's the feeling you get when you study the angel of Yahweh. You start thinking, you know, there's something about him that's awfully familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Well, he should be familiar because he's Jesus Christ. Now before you take me out and stone me for heresy, hear me out my friend because I can prove to you from scripture that this was no ordinary angel. Before we're finished with this study, I'll show you irrefutable evidence that proves absolutely and conclusively that this angel is God himself. Now watch what happens here in Genesis chapter 16. This is where Abraham's wife Sarah has kicked Hagar out of the house. Hagar was Abraham's second wife from Egypt, and Sarah was jealous of her because she was going to have a baby. So Sarah told Hagar to get out. And Hagar ends up out in the desert all alone, doesn't know what she's going to do. And watch what happens in Genesis chapter 16 beginning in verse 7. And the angel of the Lord, the angel of Yahweh, found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness by the fountain in the way to Shur. And the angel said, Hagar, Sarah's made, whence camest thou and whither wilt thou go? Where did you come from and where are you going, Hagar? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarah, verse 9. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands, verse 10. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, now listen to what he tells her. This is the angel speaking, and he says, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly that it shall not be numbered for multitude. Did you hear what he said? He said, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, not the Lord will multiply thy seed exceedingly, but I will multiply thy seed exceedingly. Who is this angel? He's the Lord, Jesus Christ. In verse 13 after the angel spoke to her, look what it says. It says she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, not the angel that spoke to her, but the Lord who spoke to her. You say, well, I hope you're not going to base your entire conclusion on that one passage. No, I'm not. We're just getting started my friend. We'll pick it up next time where we left off. I'll see you then. Take care. Bye-bye.
Liz Ayala: Thank you Gary, and thank you listening friend for tuning in today. Now let me tell you about our special offer for this month. It's Gary Hedrick's booklet entitled, do Christians worship three gods? In this 70 page booklet, Gary addresses head-on the question of whether or not the doctrine of the Trinity makes Christianity incompatible with the teachings of the Jewish Bible or what we call the Old Testament. It's available for a suggested gift of $7. After all, the Jewish people have always been champions of monotheism. The central creed of Judaism is Deuteronomy 6:4 which says the Lord our God is one Lord, not three. So when a Jewish person becomes a believer in Jesus, isn't he forsaking his monotheistic Jewish heritage? Surprisingly enough, the answer is no. And you'll find out why in this interesting booklet. It has an informative question and answer section and also a helpful glossary of Hebrew words at the end. The title again is, do Christians worship three gods? Then we also have the programs you are hearing here on the broadcast available on two CDs with the same title, do Christians worship three gods? This series is available for a suggested gift of $12. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Ayala. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on do Christians worship three gods right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas and is made possible on this station by the free will contributions of our listeners in this area.