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Can The Invisible God Become Visible?

Can The Invisible God Become Visible?

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Can Allah who is invisible become visible?

Yes or No?

If you say NO, then Allah is not all-powerful; he is a weak and inferior god, lacking the ability of even the angels he created.

If you say, YES, then you have a problem.
Since Allah is a singular, ‘one god’, unitarian deity, becoming visible would mean taking a physical form that humans can see. It has to be a complete transformation from invisible to visible.

This means, even if Allah takes the visible physical form of, let’s say,  a man for one minute, he will no longer exist outside of time and space as god! For that one minute, he has confined himself inside time and space on earth. He is no longer eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. For that one minute, there is no god in the universe!

This is the Muslim understanding of, Tawheed, the oneness of Allah.

The God of the Bible has no such problems. Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob is ONE God and exists in tri-unity.

[Simple analogy: The universe is made up of space, time and matter. Yet it is ONE universe not THREE universes! (UNI itself means ONE). And there can be no universe without any one of these three.]

Yahweh is ONE GOD ~ God the Father, God the Son (Word of God) & God the Holy Spirit. ONE God in three.

The eternal and invisible Word of God became a physical human being and walked on the earth that He Himself created. And in this way the invisible was manifested as visible!

God the Father did not become visible. He remained as the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God while His Word incarnated as Jesus on the earth as a physical human being for 33 years before He returned to heaven from where He came from.

Allah cannot do this. No wonder Muslims cannot understand the incarnation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. (John 3:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. (John 14:6)

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I Am Ant-Man

I Am Ant-Man

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God is Spirit. He is eternal, infinite and unlimited. He is not bound within the confines of time and space like you and me.

He created time and space but He exists beyond it. He encompasses everything over and above the dimension of His creatures. He is beyond every dimension we humans can perceive and He is beyond past, present and future. he is not limited by time. He is eternal. He is not limited by space, He is omnipresent.

The question is: Can such an omnipotent, omnipresent God, cause Himself, by His Word and His Spirit, to be incarnated as a limited HUMAN BEING to walk and talk among humans on earth?

Nothing is impossible for God. If anyone says God cannot do this, then you are limiting the Creator’s ability.

Christians believe He can and He HAS! Through Jesus Christ.

Remember that while He incarnated on earth, coming from outside time and space into human time and space in the form of finite human being in , the infinite God, who is eternal Spirit still exists, as He always has, outside of time and space! The eternal and infinite Father depositing His own essence as a finite Son in a human body on earth. He didn’t transform into a human being.

How this can happen is, essentially, the eternal God, added HUMANITY to His DIVINITY. In this way, He is limiting the very essence of who He is within a human body and within the confines of time and space and become and do all that a human being can do, EXCEPT sin, since He is perfectly holy and sinless.

A God who can do this is more awesome and superior and powerful compared to a god who cannot or will not step into his own creation in this manner.

Only a God of absolute love would go to such an extent to reveal Himself in such a way to His own creation so they would know Him in a way that is impossible in any other way.

Yes, any “god” can send prophets and holy men to teach his words to man, but which deity would come personally Himself for you and me? Not one who is too lofty or proud but only One who loves unconditionally.

 

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Let me give you an illustration. Any of you watched the movie, Ant-Man? In it, a man is shrunk to the size of an ant and able to interact with ants, to walk with them and communicate with them.

Interesting story but it’s only fiction. Man does not have the ability to do this.

But please imagine with me for a moment though. What if I did have the POWER to do this? To take the essence of my being, and add the DNA of an ant to it? I could incarnate as an ant and be planted into an ant colony and be part of their community!

Note that I did not transform into an ant. I exist as a human being, even watching the ant colony from the outside, as myself! My tiny incarnation though, is right in the midst of the ants and communicating with them, as one of them.

Is there two of me? Not really. I am still me. Still one. Taking on the form of an ant is an extension of who I AM but existing in the very limited world of the ants.

My presence and existence, as an ant, in the colony is limited to what my ant body can do physically. I eat like them. I walk like them. I look like them. I function as an ant, although in essence I know who I AM really and where I came from.  The world outside! Would I crawl around boasting to all the other ants “I am really a human being. Worship me!”

Who is in control while I’m in the ant colony? I AM. I didn’t completely transform into an ant. I am still me, existing on the outside watching everything.

As the ant, I could say to the other ants that “I and that human being out there are ONE.” I could also say, “That human being is greater than I.”  Would this be confusing?  Yes, I suppose so, but only to those who don’t understand what I have done to come to be among them. Many of them might even laugh at me and call delusional.

 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. John 3:13

He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. John 8:23

glass-ocean
Is Jesus A Man or God or Both?

Is Jesus A Man or God or Both?

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The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully man and fully God.

How can this be possible?

How can we understand the relationship between God the Father and Jesus?

I want to share a simple illustration that I hope would help us to understand this. (even though no analogy is perfect or sufficient.)

Let’s say, the ocean represents God, vast and infinite.

Now what if I take a glass and fill it to the brim with the water of the ocean?  What do we have?  Do we have TWO oceans? No.

There is only one ocean.  But we can have a representation of the ocean itself in the glass.  The exact same substance, the exact likeness, the exact same nature as the ocean. The glass holds as much of the ocean that it possibly can, within it’s tiny frame.

While the ocean represents God, that glass represents Jesus! God and Jesus are not two gods, as some mistakenly think.

Jesus is the exact representation of God on earth. In Jesus, the fullness of God dwells in BODILY form. (Colossians 2:9). In theology, this is called the “Hypostatic Union”.

Jesus was not a man who suddenly became God at birth.  Jesus, who is The Word of God, already in existence from the beginning, before creation, took on the form of a man. And therefore, He could come to earth in a visible form of the invisible God. When Philip, Jesus’ disciple, asked Him to show them God, Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen God.”

This is why Jesus could say, “I and the Father are one.”  Why? Because the nature and the essence of the substance in the glass is the same as the nature and essence of substance of the ocean.

And yet, Jesus also said, “The Father is greater than I.”  How is this explained? Well, isn’t the ocean greater than the ocean in the glass?

There is no contradiction!

 

There’s more. Let’s take the analogy further.

The glass, like the human body of Jesus, is fragile. The body of Jesus is the same as an earthly human body.  It can break. It can bleed. It can die.  Jesus, who is God, limited Himself to such an extent within a human body that He emptied Himself of all His majesty and power and glory and authority that was His from the beginning. But the very presence of God was in Him. That is who Jesus is.

In this way, Jesus is fully man and fully God. God dwelling in human flesh.

Just like the image of that glass of ocean, the glass is 100% glass.  And the substance in it, is 100% the same nature as the ocean.

As a man, Jesus can get hungry and He can eat and He can walk and do everything that a human can. Except that He was sinless. This is what many people fail to understand. They question how can God eat and drink? And how God can feel pain and suffer? The answer is simple. Because Jesus’ body is human.

With this simple illustration in mind, many so-called “contradictions” become clear. He was one with God, yet walked as a Man on earth, able to communicate with the God in heaven.

Jesus was a man. And Jesus was also God. As God, Jesus could forgive sins.  As God, Jesus accepted worship directed to Him. As God, He did and said many things which no one else has ever said or done.

As God, He resurrected His dead human body.  As God, He will return one day to judge mankind. And as God, He lives forever. No man or messenger dares to say this, but Jesus said: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” (John 3:13)

The prophet Isaiah records that God said: “I am the First and the Last.” (Isaiah 48:12).

In the Quran, Allah said: “I am the First and the Last” (Sura 57:3)

No human or angel or prophet or demon would dare to claim this title for himself, but Jesus did.

Jesus said:  “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!” (Revelation 1:17-18)

 

Further Reading: 20 Reasons Why Christians Believe That Jesus Is God

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Is The Trinity Three Gods?

Is The Trinity Three Gods?

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Muslims believe that Christians worship 3 gods.

Let’s find out if this is true.

First of all, the Bible clearly teaches that God is One. (e.g. Deuteronomy 6:4), and that there is only ONE God. No Christian believes in 3 gods.

So what is the trinity all about? Isn’t the trinity evidence that Christians have 3 gods?

Here is the truth. I’m going to explain using simple human illustrations to help clarify the truth. (No analogy is perfect.  After all, we cannot completely understand the fullness of God’s greatness with our human minds.)

You are free to question or comment but please, first read this whole article carefully from start to end…

 

First of all, trinity simply comes from the word tri-unity.  Tri-unity is not THREE. Tri-unity is ONE. There are many examples of tri-unity.

TIME consists of Past, Present & Future. Yet, it is not three “TIMES”!  Past is TIME. Present is TIME. Future is TIME. Is Past, Present & Future 3 TIMES?

SPACE is Height, Width & Depth. Yet, it is not three “SPACES”! It still only makes up the single dimension of SPACE.

FIRE is Flame, Light & Heat. How many FIRES are there?  Do the Flame of the FIRE, the Light of the FIRE, and the Heat of the FIRE make up THREE FIRES or just ONE FIRE?

 

Many people miss the fact that even we human beings are tri-unity beings! What do I mean?

We are made up of 3 distinct and unique substances.

1. You are a spirit. 2. You have a soul.  3. You have a body.  Just because you are spirit, soul and body, are you three beings?

3-Man lo res

Only when you have all 3, you are a real human being.

So if you have 1 spirit + 1 soul + 1 body, are you 3 human beings or one?

A common accusation is that Christians worship 1+1+1=3 gods. Well, your spirit, your soul and your body are 1+1+1= 3, yet you are one not three!

Your spirit, soul and body are different, yet they exist as one in unity to make you a human being. The 3 are unique and they function differently but work perfectly as one. You exist as spirit, soul and body but still you are one human being not 3 separate beings.

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No analogy can perfectly capture and illustrate the trinity.  The Bible teaches that God exists as The Father, the Word of God (Jesus), and the Spirit of God in perfect unity as ONE God. This is what triune or tri-unity or trinity means. It is not 3 separate beings.

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SOME COMMON RELATED QUESTIONS

1.Is Jesus 33% God?

This is a silly question. Is your spirit only 33% you?  Is the PAST 33% of TIME? Is HEAT 33% of the FIRE? Of course your body is 100% you! Your soul is 100% you. Your spirit is 100% you. In the same way, the Bible says that the Father is God, The Word of God (Jesus) is God, The Spirit is God.

This is why Jesus could say, “I and my Father are One.” You could say that about yourself too – my body and my spirit and my soul are one. And you would be perfectly right! You are not 3 separate beings, are you?

 

2. Then why did Jesus say, “The Father is greater than I.”? 

Well, think about this. Is your body greater than your spirit or is your spirit greater than your body?

Do you know your spirit is eternal? Your body is not; it will grow old and die one day. Would I be right if I said, my spirit is greater than my body! Of course.

The Word of God (Jesus), existed before creation, but stepped into His own creation, as a human being on earth. As a human, He was submitted to the Father.

As God, Jesus is equal with the Father. As a human man, the Father is greater than Jesus.

Another analogy: you can say that your boss is GREATER than you (in rank/position) but both of you are EQUAL – as human beings!

All these verses and many others have clear explanations. There is no contradictions unless one does not understand the nature of God.

 

3. Then why did Jesus pray to the Father when He was on earth?  

As a human being, Jesus was dependent on the Father.  There is perfect communication between the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit from eternity, so Jesus could talk to the Father while on earth in the form of prayer. As our role-model, Jesus was also showing us how we too should be dependent on God and pray to Him.

 

4. When Jesus died on the cross, did God die and cease to exist?

Let me ask you. When you die, what really dies? Your spirit, your soul or your body? Or all 3? Actually, it is only your body that dies. Your spirit lives forever, either in heaven or hell.

When Jesus died on the cross, the Father didn’t die, the Holy Spirit didn’t die. Only Jesus died; that is, He died as a human being; but as God, He he had the power to rise again to life. No mere human being or prophet or messenger can do this!

 

In John 20:28, when the disciple, Thomas saw Jesus after His resurrection, Thomas says to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” In fact throughout His life on earth, Jesus received worship from many people.

Not once did Jesus stop them or rebuke them saying it was wrong. (See Matthew 1:2, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 15:25, Matthew 28:17, John 9:38, Luke 24:52, etc). Would a mere man, prophet or messenger dare to receive worship that is reserved for God alone?

Are there any reference in the Bible that teaches the concept of the trinity? There are several. Here’s one example. In Mark 1:10-11, when Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice from Heaven (the Father) says to Jesus, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Here we can clearly see that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each distinctly acting in different roles at the same time.

If a religion has three gods, then they’re known as a TRIAD, not TRINITY.  The Mormons have a triad of gods. Triad is polytheistic. Trinity is monotheistic. One God.

If you turn to the very first page of the Bible in Genesis 1, you will see the evidence of the trinity, “In the beginning God (Father) created the heavens and the earth…..And the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said (The Word of God), ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

In another passage of the Bible, God the Father speaks to Jesus and addresses Him as God! See Hebrews 1:8-12 “But to the Son (Jesus), He (God the Father) says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice. You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands….you remain forever…you are always the same; you will live forever.”

In fact even the entire universe that God created reflects His nature. The universe is one but composed mainly of normal matter, dark matter and dark energy. If you take away any of these three, there can be no universe.

 

Further Reading: An Explanation of The Trinity For Muslims