Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Here is part of the record of Paul's work in Ephesus from Acts 19:
A couple things to note. Paul must have ministered literally hundreds or thousands of messages in Ephesus, months in the synagogues and years in a school. I highly doubt that Paul's teachings were limited to the 6 chapters in his epistle to the Ephesians. In the synagogue his chief objective seems to be presenting the kingdom of God.
Paul went first to the Jews. That was his custom. He used the entire O.T. to persuade them that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah. That was his chief message to the Jews. I am quite sure that he used his vast study of the O.T. in these messages. Then to the Gentiles, Paul emphasized that God had raised the Man Jesus, who was crucified in Jerusalem, from the dead. Hundreds of people then saw this Jesus before He ascended to heaven. Then Paul himself saw Jesus.
It is Paul's letters to the Philippians and Colossians where he addresses the deity of Christ. I mentioned some of these verses, but you seem unable to grasp his thoughts.
I find it continually distasteful to see your standard practice of resorting to "W.Lee-ism" when responding to the scripture in my posts. Find me one post where I used Lee's teaching to rebut your errors, or kindly stop it!
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Yikes, I guess I’m that brother that sins 70 x 7, so once again, I must beg your forgiveness and will in the future abstain from associating your posts with Lee-ism, unless it is overtly mentioned. What exactly are my errors you are rebutting? Maybe if you list them I should examine them.
It is not that I view Christ Jesus as just some random guy, or a throw-away model that God used and now we all can discard. No,no, no: Christ Jesus our Lord was the unique, son of God, sent to us specifically as the Christ, who came in the image of God, all the fullness of God dwelt in him bodily, as Peter spoke in his 1st gospel in Acts Jesus a man approved by God, whom God worked through, crucified, God raised from the dead, God exalted to His own right hand, God made this man both Lord and Christ. Colossians and Philippians confirm and strengthen this. Yet we are not called upon to make Jesus God, nor are we told that there are 3 persons in one God. If we would read through Col and Phil, we would see Paul give difference to the God and Father of Jesus and Jesus himself. The name of Jesus is above any man; this Jesus is above all, the firstborn of all creation,
yet Paul does not waiver in showing that the head of Christ is God. Paul portrays the one God and Father, even if showing the exalted position Christ has been GIVEN. And we are called to maintain that same profession- that there is one God, the Father. Why is this so difficult to confess and uphold? Almost 2 millennia of trinitarianism has morphed the truth of the gospel into a 3 people god, and Jesus into the preeminent god of those three! In the foundational church, this was not spoken, taught. In the foundational church God is God, and Christ is Christ.
Ohio, et all, lets hear how you accept and order your Christian lives by Pauls admonition to hold to one God, the Father.