God Created in Man's Image ? ?

Originally posted by roigam
To address the original question.
It could be said that man made god in his image in that men have made Jesus God and the Bible says clearly that he is the first-born son of the true God, our Universal Sovereign, Jehovah God.
Even Jesus' disciples knew who he was:
(Matthew 16:16) Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And notice too that Jesus did not say Peter was wrong!!!

Certainly Peter had revelation of Christ's Person. He was not wrong.

Christ is exceedingly profound and wonderful. And He is spoken of in more ways than just one.

This same Apostle Peters also wrote of "Our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1)

He spoke the truth in this instance as well.

Originally posted by roigam

I guess you didn't notice the references were not from JW literature.

2 co 4:3,4

I noticed.

As for Isaiah that was a prophecy of what Jesus would be called after his faithful life course on Earth doing his Father's will not a statement of what Jesus was at that time.

That interpretation does nothing for your Christology. Because you still have the Son being called the Eternal Father.

This kind of maneuver does not establish Arianism at all.
You still have the Mighty God being born as a child.
You still have a given SON who is the Eternal Father.

There is only ONE Father of eternity in the whole Bible - Jehovah.

"For You are our Father, Since Abraham does not know us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, Jehovah, are our Father; Our Redeemer from of old is Your name." (Isaiah 63:17)

We all need teachers. Do you have one?

I didn't ever say it was wrong to have teachers.
Sure I have teachers.

It is misleading to have teachers of the New Testament such as the ones you have at the kingdom hall.

I will look at your Encyclopedia quotes as I get time.

But you should know that "Eternal Father" would mean the Son given always WAS the "Eternal Father" from eternal times.
So this profound truth has merited an appropriate phrase - the Three-One God - Trinity.

Why don't you blame the prophet Isaiah for saying a born child and Son is Eternal Father and Mighty God.

OF course when we received Jesus Christ into our hearts we realized that there was no way to separate Jesus Christ from the Mighty God and the Father of Eternity. We met Jesus and God became real.

Originally posted by roigam
Sorry, this is really directed at RJHinds.

Jesus also said at:

(John 17:11) “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them on account of your own name, which you have given me, so that """they may be one just as we are one."""

So does that make the disciples of Jesus God also?

That would be a many headed god. Kind of like some pagan religions have, eh?

Ask me the same question.

Originally posted by roigam
Sorry, this is really directed at RJHinds.

Jesus also said at:

(John 17:11) “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them on account of your own name, which you have given me, so that """they may be one just as we are one."""

So does that make the disciples of Jesus God also?

That would be a many headed god. Kind of like some pagan religions have, eh?

You apparently did not read the following post of mine:

Hear oh Israel The Lord your God is one.

This one is like a composite one. Examples: ONE FAMILY, ONE COMPANY, ONE CHURCH

Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." - ONE FAMILY
God said, "Let US make man in OUR image." - ONE GOD

Baptize in the NAME of the Father, the Son. and the Holy Spirit - ONE NAME

COMPOSITE ONE

Obviously, Jesus is referring to the establishing of His ONE CHURCH - the Christian Church.

The CHURCH is supposed to be a representative of GOD on Earth while CHRIST is at the right hand of the FATHER.

Originally posted by roigam

The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”—(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126.

It is true that creedal statements about the Trinity were developed.
As a systematic theological doctrine we don't see a formal usage early in church history.

However, it is the New Testament, not creeds of councils, that told us the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.

When the ancient brothers said something like "We are under attack from this side and that side. We need to make some kind of formal creedal statements about what we believe about God" that is the latter development in reaction to attacks on the Gospel.

But that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each taught in the New Testament to be God, preceded systematic creeds.

I already showed you the "shop" talk of Paul to Christians in Romans 8:9-11. Virtually, you have the triune God right there in the NT.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”—(1967), Vol. XIV, p. 299.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit" is Second Corinthians 3:17.
All you have to do is consider who "the Lord" is and Who "the Spirit" . And you see that before systematic dogmatic statements the Spirit is the Lord. That makes the Holy Spirit God.

Also before systematic creedal formulas you have the Son as God in both Hebrews 1:8 and Isaiah 9:6 among other biblical passages.

That the Word was with God and the Word WAS God did not wait for a systematic creed to find its way into the Greek NT. You have in the first chapter of the Gospel of John God becoming flesh to tabernacle among us (John 1:14).

So you have God the Father and God the Son who became flesh.
And it was believed from the beginning.

In The Encyclopedia Americana we read: “Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”—(1956), Vol. XXVII, p. 294L.

Then we come back to the New Testament and see "Our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1)

Then we come back to the New Testament and see Thomas saying of the resurrected Jesus "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28)

So we see in many, many places the FACT of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit as God even though it was years latter the term "Trinity" was coined. And the early brothers and sisters enjoyed that fact in their experience.

roigam,

If you know God, tell us a little about what God is like.
I don't mean Encyclopedia information or facts about Constantine.

In your experience, do you know God?
Do you have some personal, intimate, fellowship and communion with God as a living One?

What has knowing God Himself been like subjectively ?
Are you like Robbie, just not going to answer anything about your subjective experience of Jehovah ?

Just a real experience or two is all I ask.

The Shema

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Torah/The_Shema/the_shema.html