Understanding the Biblical God

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLICAL GOD

If our ideas about God are wrong
then we'll be wrong about our other doctrines too,
because ultimately all our beliefs stem from our view of God.

This article reveals how the biblical God differs from the Mormon God, through a study of His attributes. A clear explanation of the Trinity is included.

A SHORT EXPLANATION CONCERNING THE LDS GOD

In line with the teachings of Joseph Smith, members of the LDS church worship a deity who is only one of many Gods throughout the universe, each ruling their own planet. Their doctrine of eternal progression teaches that, in common with mankind, these Gods had originally existed as intelligent matter. Then they were then born as spirit beings, through the normal marital process, into the families of beings who had already progressed to godhood. After having progressed sufficiently, these spirit beings took on bodies of flesh and bone on planets similar to earth, where they earned the right to godhood through obedience to Mormon laws and ordinances, as well as through gaining the requisite amount of intelligence. The only difference between Gods and humans, is that they are at a further stage of progression than we are at this moment in time. The LDS church has a couplet, which reads something like this:

As man is God once was,
As God is, man may one day become.

The name of the LDS God is Elohim, and unlike the God of the Bible, he has a body of flesh and bone.

THE TRUE GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US

Ordinary mortal man does not have the wherewithal to fathom God out. It would be impossible for a finite, created being to fully comprehend the far superior, infinite One who had created him. Because of our limitations the only way we can begin to have any real understanding of God is through His own revelation of Himself. And He has chosen to reveal Himself to us firstly through the Old Testament prophets in the Bible, and lastly through His living Word who became flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (Hebrews 1:1,2, KJV)

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD

A study of idolatry reveals that behind every false god and/or idol, stands that great deceiver, Satan. The Bible is emphatic in its teaching that God is unique, and that although there are many other so-called gods, He is the only real God who has ever existed. He was the first God, and will be the last. The first means before anything else, and the last means after everything else.

..... I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me (Isaiah 46:9, KJV).

..... Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me (Isaiah 43:10, KJV)

..... I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God (Isaiah 44:6, KJV).

(Amongst the Dead Sea scrolls was a complete copy of the book of Isaiah in the original language, dated as far back as the second century before Christ. And it agrees with our modern translations.)

GOD IS AN IMMORTAL SPIRIT

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that God is Spirit (John 4:24). He also said that a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). Paul said that God is immortal and no man can see Him as He really is because He is surrounded by unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16).

..... Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (Exodus 33:20, KJV)

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18, KJV)

However, the fact that Moses and the elders saw Him (Exodus 24:9-10), and that Isaiah had a vision of Him in the temple (Isaiah 6:1) tells us that God can manifest Himself in a visible form. And we also realize that a spirit can manifest itself in a bodily form because John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus (Matthew 3:16). Nevertheless, these appearances of God are not His essence, but manifestations of Him.

GOD IS ETERNAL, SELF-EXISTING AND UNCHANGING

God is not a created being; His existence as God had no beginning and will have no ending, because He is self-existing. He is the First Cause, the Creator, the source, and the origin and sustainer of all life. In other words, He always has been deity, eternally.

..... the Father hath life in himself (John 5:26, KJV).

..... with thee is the fountain of life (Psalm 36:9. KJV).

..... From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God (Psalm 90:2, KJV).

The words "everlasting" and "eternal" mean exactly what the dictionaries say they mean, and not what the LDS has pretended they mean, in a dishonest attempt to make it seem as though their unbiblical doctrines on deity fit in with what the Bible teaches. According to the dictionaries and in line with the Bible, "everlasting" means endless and unceasing. And "eternal" means without beginning or end of existence, everlasting, ceaseless and unchangeable (Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary).

James wanted to illustrate the fact that God is pre-eminent, and is and always has been eternally the same. So he called Him 'the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow' (James 1:17). Stuart Briscoe amplified James's statement in this way:

"When the sun is at its peak at midday directly overhead, there are no shadows. As it moves across the sky, so shadows start appearing and shifting. However, God is always at a shadowless peak, without rising or setting, beginning or ending. He doesn't revolve around anything else, but is always central and supreme."

Because God is eternally unchanging, we can know for a certainty that although all else around us may be subject to change and decay, neither He nor His Word will ever change, and will always remain reliable and steadfast.

For I am the Lord, I change not (Malachi 3:6, KJV)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8, KJV)

Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. (Psalm 119:89, KJV)

GOD IS INFINITE

That God is infinite, means that He isn't subject to or bound by anything, not even the dimensions of time and space. He lives in eternity, and created time and space, so they are subject to Him. As He has no human limitations, His abilities are beyond our comprehension.

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24, KJV).

GOD IS OMNIPOTENT AND SOVEREIGN

This means that there is nothing that God cannot do, and that all of His creation is subject to His will.

..... Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26, KJV)

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Proverbs 21:1, KJV)

GOD IS OMNISCIENT

His omniscience means that absolute knowledge is a part of God's very Being, whether it be in the past, present or future. He is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-wise. So unlike the LDS God, He has never needed to progress. He doesn't have to learn anything, gain any experience, or fathom things out. Nothing ever takes Him by surprise. His knowledge of past, present and future is perfect, instantaneous and true. Just as His Person is the I Am, so His knowledge is. His omniscience explains why the prophecies He gives to His true prophets are always fulfilled (unlike the many failed prophecies of Joseph Smith that he'd maintained he'd received from the LDS God).

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done ... (Isaiah 46:10 KJV)

God's omniscience is the reason He knew, 150 years before the birth of Cyrus, that his parents would give him that particular name, and that he would become a king. His prophecy through Isaiah (and Jeremiah), and its fulfillment, are both given below:

[God] That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 44:28, KJV)

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up. (2 Chronicles 36:22-23, KJV)

Because God exists in the dimension of eternity and is the author and creator of time, to Him the past, present and future are all equally clear.

GOD IS HOLY

God is and always has eternally been morally perfect, absolutely pure and free from sin and defilement. Unlike the Mormon God who had once lived as a fallen, mortal man, ["as man is, God once was"] the biblical God has never, ever sinned. His holiness manifests itself in a hatred of, and opposition to all that is wrong, sinful or unrighteous. It also makes Him want to save others from sin, so that they can be holy too.

GOD IS LOVE

God's love isn't anything like our idea of love. It's an unconditional commitment to our well being, even to His own hurt. We don't have to earn His love. He doesn't love us for who we are, or for what we can do for Him. He loves us because of His qualities, because of His goodness, because of who He is. And it's only after we become aware of His wondrous and undeserved love for us that we're capable of loving either Him or others with a true, unconditional love:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, KJV).

We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19, KJV)

GOD'S WRATH OR ANGER

Because sin is the cause of all the suffering in the world, a righteous God must ultimately bring about the destruction of all that is sinful. Yet His great, unselfish love compelled Him to provide a way for us to be set free from our sinful condition, so that He could save us from this fate. He paid an enormous price, the terrible suffering and the life of His Son. And those who scorn His infinite sacrifice will eventually experience his wrath.

God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV)

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14, 15 KJV)

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36, KJV)

Here again Mormons need to note that when the Bible talks about those who reject the Son, this includes those who reject His atonement on the cross as being good enough to pay the full price necessary for the forgiveness of their personal sins.

But the LDS teaches that Christ's atonement merely ensures universal resurrection (regardless of whether or not we have faith in Christ). And they claim that it opens the way for us to earn the right to forgiveness of our sins through obedience to the laws and ordinances of their LDS gospel (c/f 3rd LDS Article of Faith.) In other words, full salvation, including forgiveness of sins, can only be attained through membership of the LDS church and obedience to their laws and ordinances, including full tithing.

In downgrading the atonement the LDS is insulting both God's grace and the sufficiency of Christ. And they are effectively trampling on His shed blood that ratified the New Covenant of grace and forgiveness of sins. Just as they emphatically insist that salvation is only through their church, so the Bible emphatically insists that salvation is only by grace, through faith in Christ (c/f John 14:6, Acts 4:12.)

GOD'S JUDGMENT OF HELL

Some people think that because God is loving, merciful and compassionate He couldn't possibly send anyone to hell. But He made a colossal sacrifice to provide the way for us to escape this terrible fate; the life of His Son. So if we don't want to accept His gracious gift of salvation from sin, we'll be bringing the judgment of hell (known by the LDS as outer darkness) upon ourselves.

THE LIVING WORD OF GOD

Just as we use words to communicate, so at the right time God communicated Himself to us through His living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

..... [God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (Hebrews 1:2, KJV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God ..... And the Word was made 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 1:1,14. KJV)

Who being the brightness of his [God's] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3, KJV)

Who is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15, KJV).

..... God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself ..... (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV).

(Although Joseph Smith had no access to any early biblical manuscripts, and at the time had no knowledge of Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic, he nevertheless claimed to have re-translated the Bible, using the King James Version as a base from which to work. However, his idea of "translating" was to re-write sections of the Bible so that they fitted in with his own ideas. Consequently, John 1:1-4 and other sections have had their meanings completely changed in order to fit in with his own personal agenda, and to back up his ideas about an exclusively Mormon, and unbiblical Jesus Christ.)

CHRIST'S DEITY WAS PROPHESIED

John 1:1 above teaches us that Christ, the Word, was God — not a God, but God Himself. And many years before Christ's birth, Isaiah prophesied that the promised Messiah would come as a child, and that the child would be God incarnate:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, KJV).

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8, KJV)

CHRIST'S DISCIPLES BELIEVED HE WAS DEITY

When Christ appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, Thomas said to Him, "..... my Lord and my God" (John 20: 28). Bear in mind that no Jew would ever take God's name in vain. During the very early days of the church when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death, Christ's deity was so real to him that his dying prayer was to Him. And Matthew tells us that the disciples worshipped the risen Christ:

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. (Acts 7:59-60, KJV)

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. (Matthew 28:9, KJV)

THE JEWS SAID THAT JESUS CLAIMED TO BE GOD

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (John 10:33, KJV)

CHRIST HIMSELF CLAIMED DIVINITY

'I Am' was the name that God (Elohim in the original Hebrew, meaning God the Father) had used to reveal Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14. So those words were sacred to the Jews. They knew exactly what the Lord Jesus meant when He applied them to Himself. For a man to claim to be God was blasphemy, and the punishment under Jewish law was death by stoning. Yet Jesus consistently made that claim.

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:58-59, KJV) (Editor's emphasis)

Mormons need to note that if their major doctrine of eternal progression, on which Mormonism stands or falls, was true; then Christ would never have made the above statement, as it would have been meaningless. (Eternal progression teaches that we all existed before Abraham lived on earth.)

The Lord Jesus announced that He was the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). That was a direct claim to deity. And he claimed, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). He went on to declare that no one knew the Father except Himself, and anyone to whom He willed to reveal Him (Matthew 11:27). Yet again He was claiming equality with God.

Then there was the conversation between Jesus and His disciple, Philip:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." Philip saith unto him, "Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus saith unto him, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:6-9, KJV)

Note that Christ wasn't merely claiming to be a God in His own right. He was claiming to be the one and only true God. That's why the Jews wanted to stone Him. But the Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus will always be a stumbling block and a rock of offense to those who are perishing:

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (Romans 9:33, KJV).

There is an easy to understand and extremely interesting article on this website, on the subject of Hebrew terms of speech, which will give the reader a more vivid understanding of the deity of Christ. Here is the link: Mormon Doctrines On Christ Misconstrue Hebrew Terms of Speech

THE TRINITY

Although the word "Trinity" is not mentioned in the Bible, Christians use it as a term, in order to put a handle on what the Bible teaches.

At this stage we need to ponder on the fact that we are only finite, created beings, who exist within the bounds of time and space. So there is no way that we could ever hope to understand the eternal, self existing God who created not only ourselves, but also the dimensions of time and space. The Bible tells us that He designed, brought into being and sustains all that exists, including the stars, the petals on every flower, the complex and intricate design of the eye, and all the other wonders that give evidence of His genius and magnificence. And it also consistently teaches that there is and always has been only one eternal, uncreated omnipotent God, who is simultaneously manifested in three beings, i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, all of whom are equally God. Understandably, seeing they are one God, there's nothing done by the one being, without all three being implicated. As they are one, they're utterly dependent upon one another. And although they each have their own individual parts to play, they always interact as a unit, in perfect harmony with one another.

Jesus only began His public ministry after the Holy Spirit had come upon Him (Matthew 3:16). And He said that He could do nothing without His Father (John 5:19).

THEY WERE EACH INVOLVED IN CREATION

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness" ..... And God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26, 27, KJV).

For by Him (Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are on earth (Colossians 1:16, KJV, c/f John 1:3, 10-11).

The Spirit of God hath made me ..... (Job 33:4, KJV).

THEY ARE EACH INVOLVED IN SALVATION

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, KJV).

How much more will the Blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14, KJV).

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 2O:28, KJV)

THEY WERE EACH INVOLVED IN THE RESURRECTION

This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses (Acts 2:32, KJV)

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. (John 2:19-21, KJV).

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11, KJV)

THEY ARE EACH INVOLVED IN ETERNAL LIFE

Because water is essential to life, the Bible often uses it as a picture or a type, both of eternal life and of the agent of eternal life, the Holy Spirit. The following scriptures show us how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit work together in the eternal life-giving process:

The Father is the origin, or the source of eternal life. He is the fountain of living water. The Son is the intermediary, the pipeline who supplies the living water. And the Holy Spirit is the living water.

THE FATHER (THE ORIGIN OR SOURCE)

For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13, KJV)

THE SON (THE PIPELINE, THE INTERMEDIARY)

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14, KJV)

THE HOLY SPIRIT (THE AGENT)

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:38-39, KJV)

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD

The emphatic teaching of the Bible is that there is only one God. Below is the English translation of Deuteronomy, with the original Hebrew given in brackets after the relevant words:

The LORD (JHWH/Jehovah) our God (Elohim) is one (echad) LORD (JHWH/Jehovah) (Deuteronomy 6:4).

The Hebrew word for God is 'Elohim', which is a plural word. Its singular form is 'Eloha'. Furthermore, the word they have used for 'one' Lord (Jehovah) is 'echad', which is not a word used in the singular sense. It denotes a compound unity, such as where a man and his wife shall become 'one' flesh (Genesis 2:24). It can also mean a union of more than two persons, i.e. 'the people gathered as one' (Ezra 3:1). A different Hebrew word, 'yachidh' is used to convey the idea of absolute, solitary oneness, e.g. a 'one and only' son (Genesis 22:2, 12).

Because of the choice in the original Hebrew wording, Deuteronomy 6:4 conveys that the Godhead consists of more than one person, bonded in unity. It also tells us that Elohim and Jehovah are one and the same. If the writer of Deuteronomy 6:4 had intended to convey the singular, solitary meaning to Deity, he would have rendered this verse,"JHWH Elah yachidh JHWH". So we can only conclude that he meant a compound unity.

From beginning to end, the Bible reveals God as an eternal, compound unity of three Divine Persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Since the earliest days of the church, Christians have used the term 'Trinity' to describe the biblical God.

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRIUNE GOD

It is impossible to comprehend anything beyond the scope of our own finite knowledge and experience. So how could we possibly expect to comprehend the deity who created us? If we could, it would mean that we were on a level with or better than God.

The LDS maintains that the doctrine of the trinity was introduced into the Christian church either by the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 or the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381. However, they are wrong in both cases. Neither of these councils introduced this doctrine. They each merely "rubber stamped" the fact that the trinity had been accepted as a biblical teaching by the church since its inception. The writings of the early Christian Fathers during the first and second centuries prove that the trinity had been an established doctrine from the very earliest times. (See also the article, Mormonism's Claim to be a Christian Denomination . It contains a section on the trinity, with quotes from documents written by men who were critical of the very earliest Christians simply because of their worship of Christ as God whilst also claiming that there was only one God.)

Furthermore, the Book of Mormon (that Joseph Smith wrote before he'd changed his mind about God) teaches the trinity and stresses that there is only one God, who is a spirit being; thereby contradicting both Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price:

And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? And he said, Yes. And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and on the earth? And he said Yes ........ (Alma 18:26-29)

And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem? And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth ..... (Alma 22:9-11)

..... Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God..... (Alma 11:44)

..... the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one ..... (3 Nephi 11:27)

..... to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God..... (Mormon 7:7)

Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No. (Alma 11:28-29)

..... there is but one God (Alma 11:35)

The God Mormons worshipped when their church first came into being, was in line with the deity of evangelical Christianity of today and of the primitive church. But then Joseph Smith began introducing revelations that rendered Mormonism an exclusive belief system, with an exclusive God, an exclusive Christ and an exclusive gospel.

The God the LDS is presently worshipping is the product of eternal progression; i.e. an exalted, redeemed, fallen, mortal man with a body of flesh and bone. And prior to reaching that stage, he had existed firstly in the form of intelligent matter and then in the form of a spirit being. And he bears no resemblance whatsoever to the God worshipped by the primitive church. This flies in the face of their claim to be the true, restored church of Jesus Christ. And regarding their contention that evil people had altered the Bible and removed all the Mormon doctrines, the doctrine for the trinitarian deity described in the Book of Mormon (whom the LDS worshipped right at the start of their church), is still in the Bible. It is LDS doctrines that have been changed, not the Bible.

The following leads will take you to other relevant articles:

The Mormon Gods, Past and Present

The Case Against the God of Mormonism

Contradictions in Mormon Scriptures

By clicking on the "home" button at the bottom of this page you will arrive at a comprehensive index of fully referenced articles, comparing various aspects of Mormonism with what the Bible teaches.

Copyright, 2007, by Mormonism and Biblical Truth. All rights reserved.