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Image and Likeness of God (Part Two)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe revelation of God the Son, as presented, emphasizes His tangible and recognizable form, aligning with the broader theme of understanding God's nature through clear, observable patterns. Jesus Christ, identified as the Son and our Elder Brother, revealed God as the Father, establishing a familial relationship with those who possess God's Spirit. When resurrected, He took great care to demonstrate to His disciples that He was not a ghost or mere essence, but possessed flesh and bone, affirming His corporeal nature with tangible qualities such as shape, size, and resistance to force. His body, though composed of spirit rather than flesh, maintained a distinct form and shape, as evidenced when He was restored to His former glory, mirroring the model used for Adam. Furthermore, the transformation promised to believers is to be like His glorious body, indicating that if we are to have a body resembling His, then He must possess a body now. Throughout various accounts, from the transfiguration where His form remained unchanged though glorified, to Stephen's recognition of Him in Judea as a man standing beside another God being, Jesus Christ's consistent appearance as a man underscores His identifiable shape and form. John also easily identifies Him, symbolized as a lamb, advancing to the throne and taking the scroll with His hand, further affirming His physical presence. These revelations collectively point to a clear, comprehensible image of God the Son, intended to guide believers toward a concrete understanding of their potential and ultimate goal to be conformed to His image, encompassing not just form but also personality and character.
The Nature of God: Elohim
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod the Son is a vital part of the divine family, identified within Elohim as a plurality of powerful beings. Jesus Christ, as the Son, is clearly established alongside the Father, forming part of the God family from the beginning. In John 5, He asserts His place within Elohim by affirming that He works as the Father does, having been with Him, which provoked accusations of blasphemy from those who understood His claim to divinity. His teachings and prayers, as seen in John 17, emphasize a unity with the Father and extend this oneness to His disciples, desiring that they be one as He and the Father are, united in mind and spirit. Jesus uses family terminology—Father, Son, brothers, sisters—to help us grasp the nature of Elohim as a family institution, expanding to include many, as revealed through His life and words. In John 1:1, it is confirmed that the Word, who is Christ, was with the Father and was God, establishing His eternal presence within Elohim. His death, as prophesied in John 11 by Caiaphas, was to gather the children of God into one family, one Kingdom, reflecting the purpose of Elohim to grow and encompass all who are drawn into this divine unity. Through His example and teachings, we are urged to grow in His knowledge, to be transformed into the image of Elohim, with Christ as the primary model for this transformation.
The Father-Son Relationship (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod the Son, Jesus Christ, is presented as a distinct Being from God the Father, playing a unique role in the divine relationship and purpose. The Scriptures clearly delineate that there is one God, the Father, from whom all things originate, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are channeled. As stated in I Corinthians 8:6, the Father is the Source of all creation, and the Son is the Conduit through whom the Father's purpose is carried out. This distinction reveals that while both are God, They are not co-equal, with Jesus Himself affirming in John 10:29 and John 17:20-23 that the Father is greater than He. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, as described in Colossians 1:15, reflecting the Father's character and glory while remaining a separate Being. He is the means by which the Father interacts with humanity, as emphasized in John 14:6, where He declares that no one comes to the Father except through Him. The Son's life and authority are gifts from the Father, as seen in John 5:26-27, where the Father grants Him life and the power to execute judgment. Furthermore, in John 5:37 and John 1:18, it is confirmed that no one has seen or heard the Father directly; it is through the Son that the Father is revealed. The unity between the Father and the Son is one of purpose, character, and plan, not of equality, as shown in John 17:20-23, where Jesus prays for believers to be one with Them in the same manner. Jesus consistently points to the Father as the ultimate Source, acknowledging in John 8:42 and John 6:57 that He was sent by the Father and lives by Him. The Son's role as the Channel is evident in both physical creation and spiritual redemption, with the Father initiating and the Son executing, as reflected in Revelation 4:11 and Romans 11:36. Ultimately, Jesus Christ, as the image of the Father, is the sole representation accepted by the Father for revealing Himself to mankind, as reiterated in Matthew 11:27 and John 14:8-9. The purpose of this revelation extends to believers, who are called to be transformed into the image of the Son, and thus the image of the Father, through a process of sanctification, as described in Romans 8:29 and II Corinthians 3:17-18. This transformation involves imitating Christ, as urged in I Corinthians 11:1, to reflect the Father's nature and purpose in their lives.
God the Father in the Old Testament
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod the Son, as revealed in Scripture, holds a central place in the divine family structure alongside the Father. Jesus Christ identifies Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, underscoring His eternal nature and essential role in all things. Without Him, we are nothing and can do nothing, for He is foundational to our existence and purpose. In John 1:1-3, it is clear that God and the Word, who is Jesus Christ, are two distinct yet equal divine Beings, working in perfect harmony. Jesus revealed during His ministry that there are two eternal heavenly Beings, the Father and the Son, presenting Themselves to humanity in a family relationship. They have always existed side by side, acting together in unity of purpose and mind. Throughout the Old Testament, hints of this divine partnership emerge, particularly in Genesis 1:26 where Elohim, a plural noun, speaks, saying, "Let Us make man in Our image." This indicates a joint decision and action between the Father and the Son, with Jesus Christ as the hands-on Creator of all things, as affirmed in various scriptures. Further instances, such as in Genesis 3:22 and Genesis 11:7, show Their united will in significant acts like the expulsion from the Garden and the confusion of languages at Babel, shaping the course of human history. In Messianic prophecies like Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, Jesus Christ is portrayed as the Anointed, the King, and the Son, with the Father affirming His role and authority. These passages, understood more fully in the New Testament, reveal Jesus as the One who fulfills these roles, subordinate yet united with the Father, as seen in His own words and the interpretations by Peter and others in Acts and Hebrews. Jesus Christ also declared the Father during His ministry, revealing a relationship unknown to many in earlier times. In passages like Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18-22, He applies prophecies to Himself, showing His mission as anointed by the Father to preach, heal, and liberate. In Daniel 7:9-14, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, ascends to the Ancient of Days, receiving everlasting dominion, highlighting His role in the divine plan under the Father's authority. Ultimately, God the Son works in tandem with the Father to fulfill Their purpose of creating sons and daughters in Their image, intervening in human affairs to guide history toward an everlasting Kingdom. Their unity and shared will are evident in every act, revealing Jesus Christ as both Creator and King, always in harmony with the Father's greater authority.
The Father-Son Relationship (Part Three)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod the Son is the Channel through whom all is being done and the Mediator between the Source and mankind. He is the One with whom mankind has always interacted. In Colossians 1:15 the apostle Paul identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Image of the invisible God. It was He who appeared to and conversed with and gave commands to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and many others. Regardless of the form in which He dealt with man, He was always God, whether known as Yahweh, Lord, El Shaddai, El, El Olam, Jesus, or literally over two hundred other names. He is called Yahweh 7,838 times and God 4,456 times. In all of His representations to mankind He is always the express character Image of the Father, revealing portions of His nature. The term pros ton Theon indicates direction, not association. Thus the first verse of John is telling that the Word of God points toward God. Thus the apostle John begins a revelation to Hebrew people familiar with the Old Testament that Jesus of Nazareth is the God, the Lord, of the Old Testament, the long-awaited Messiah. Now through the Son the Father's power, wisdom, and flawless character are seen. In Christ's final form as a slave, as a man of the seed of Abraham displayed before the apostles for three and one-half years, a living display of God's affections and sacrificial, serving nature is caught. Philippians 2 shows that Jesus emptied Himself of equality with God. As Jesus did, work out salvation in humble, sacrificial fear and trembling. Isaiah 53 shows how the Savior, Lord, and God would live life as an example. I Peter 2 shows that Christ suffered, leaving an example to follow His steps. He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. When reviled, He reviled not again. When He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judges righteously. I Timothy 2:5 states there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. There is no trinity. Two distinct Beings occupy distinctly different responsibilities. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ is that He is the divine link between God and man. He is neither the Absolute Deity nor merely human. His Spirit is directly from God from conception in His mother's womb. His body, containing life, is purely human and therefore subject to human frailties such as mortality. His consciousness resulting from this combination is unmatched in that with His mind He is able to communicate directly with the Absolute Deity while at the same time also being acutely aware of the conditions, needs, failings, pains, hopes, fears, and potential of human man. The Father Absolute Deity does not possess this combination, nor does any other man. The Christ is absolutely unique. When Paul says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God there in Colossians 1:15, exact likeness with the Father disappears and Jesus, on His own, though of the God-kind, is neither co-equal nor of one estate within a confusing trinity, but a separate unique Being. Because Jesus has the same Spirit, which is to say the same nature, He indeed was the express Image of the Absolute Deity in terms of character. John 17 states that knowing the Father and the Son is eternal life. The knowledge of God and of His Son Jesus Christ is the ultimate goal of human intellect. Since the Father is the Source of all that there is, and the Son is the Channel, or the Mediator, through whom He works, a full-blown revelation of the Father comes only through His Word, His expression, His image, His Son. Mark 15:34 shows Jesus had a God, and that God was His Father. John 20:17 shows that after resurrection that same One is still His God. The Lord the Mediator between and the Supreme God has a God, and that God is the One He revealed. Jesus has always been in between the Absolute Deity and mankind from the very beginning of man's creation in the Garden of Eden. It has always been Him who has revealed the Supreme God's position on things pertaining to man's relationshi
Our Divine Destiny
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)God's called-ones have been given the ability to decipher the scattered concepts, revealing the purpose of their destiny throughout the Scriptures.
Preparing the Bride
Booklet by John W. RitenbaughA Statement of Purpose and beliefs of the Church of the Great God.