Birthing to the Workings: Rethinking Hebraic Teaching in Relation to the Godhead, Trinity, and Holy Spirit

By Dr. Shirley Johnson

All things in life are about birthing. Concepts, viewpoints, and even religious doctrine go through a process of birthing. In Birthing to the Workings, author Shirley Johnson examines the effect of the church leaving its Hebraic roots. In this informative analysis, Johnson places key emphasis on the effect this had on teachings related to the Godhead, Trinity, and Pentecost.

Packed with credible resources and buoyed by thorough research, this examination provides revelations and truths relating to Godhead perspectives and Hebraic viewpoint. It illustrates the following points:

The Hebraic believers emphasized the cohesiveness of the whole God versus the singleness of the one person.
The Father, and at times the spirit, have become supporting actors, with Yeshua stealing the show.
The first apostolic believers of Yeshua believed in manifestations rather than persons.
Yeshua, the apostles, and the early church did not support the current Godhead doctrines as espoused by Western Christianity of today.

Birthing to the Workings compares the birthing process of doctrine and the workings of the Holy Spirit to the birth of a child. The theological nature of birthing to workings is clarified as it relates to Christianity, the Trinity, and the Hebraic roots connection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450248488

Dr. Shirley Johnson

Dr. Shirley Johnson is a retired public school teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State College and a master’s degree and doctorate of religious education from IBU/Destiny Christian University. An ordained minister, she preached and taught in Christian and Messianic congregations. Johnson and her husband live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Book preview

Birthing

to the

Workings

Rethinking Hebraic Teaching in Relation

to the Godhead, Trinity, and Holy Spirit

leaf3.jpg Dr. Shirley Johnson leaf3.jpg

iUniverse, Inc.

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Birthing to the Workings

Rethinking Hebraic Teaching in Relation to the Godhead, Trinity, and Holy Spirit

Copyright © 2010 by Dr. Shirley Johnson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scriptures taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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ISBN: 978-1-4502-4847-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-4849-5 (dj)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-4848-8 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 08/20/2010

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

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Foreword

It is my joy and great privilege to have known Dr. Shirley Johnson for many years. She has been our dynamic teacher, preacher, and the minister of the Word at Calvary Messianic Congregation, where she is also responsible for the women’s ministry. Her writing is very inspired with the depth that is known to a genuine scholar of the Word of God. The book is filled with the powerful and meaningful points of biblical treasures that have been lost for centuries. Dr. Johnson is a timely writer with a message and the mandate that is anointed, prophetic, and very important to revealing the missing Hebraic roots of the church.

I highly recommend this book to every person to understand God and His Word, for the wholesome spiritual growth, and as an effective witness to the nations. This book is timely and on target, bringing back key biblical insights from the ancient truths that the Lord is now longing to communicate and restore to His people.

Dr. Irmeli Libertus, International Bible University

Co-founder of IBU and chancellor of Hebrew School

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Preface

After receiving my bachelor of science degree in education, I decided to teach, rather than pursue another degree. After many years of teaching, I continued my education, majoring in theology. It intrigued me that so many different teachings abounded that used the same Scriptures. I received my master of theology and doctor of religious education degrees from IBU/Destiny Christian University. IBU provides the typical Christian understandings, but it also examines the Hebraic history and understanding of key Christian principles. Therefore, I received a fuller approach to key doctrinal issues. I began to understand how the departing of our Hebraic roots had a definite influence upon current Christian doctrine. I was pulled toward Messianic Judaism and became interested in the new Christian heritage of my ancestors. I further observed through doctorate study that modern Christianity had originated from a largely Hebraic parentage. I perceived that aspects of Christian doctrine may have been somewhat colored by pagan influences. Still later, the Lord showed me the abuses that have been directed toward the Jewish people. These reasons inspired me to write Birthing to the Workings.

The Lord earnestly imparted the need for the examination of the above concerns. He has impressed upon me the need for clarity in relation to the concepts dealing with key biblical doctrine. The principles, which promote excess frustration in interaction among the body of Christ, involve several key aspects. The Godhead, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, and even the Law are examined in light of the concerns listed in the first paragraph.

There have been many debates over the years, before and after regulated church councils, on the makeup of the Godhead. Some have purposed that the Godhead was composed of two, not three. All sorts of theories have abounded, and even the Trinity itself is not directly stated but only alluded to in the Bible. Therefore, in actuality, the Trinity itself is a theory. This is compounded by the fact that the post-apostolic leadership sought to dissuade the influence of Hebraic theology within church teaching. The problem was accelerated when the first interpreters of the Bible were not familiar with Jewish customs, idioms, metaphors, and similes.

The fact that the early believers were Jewish, with a Jewish cultural background and viewpoint, has escaped many current-day believers. The Lord impressed me to show that the first believers started out Jewish and that modern believers have greatly drifted away from the original beginnings and teachings. We have drifted because of teachings that have become so ingrained within church psychology, viewpoint, and mind-set that they have become coded or internalized within Christianity itself. Therefore, doctrines not of God or the misunderstandings of doctrines have been birthed into the church. We accept certain things without question because those things are part of the accepted doctrine. We dare not question accepted doctrine because it is that—accepted. Others have written books on the Jewish roots of Christianity as the main purpose of their writings. I am writing to show that because we have gotten away from the original Jewish teachings or roots, we do not understand the Bible in the correct way. I am also writing to show that because we have fallen away from our Hebraic beginnings, our understandings, especially in relation to the Godhead and Holy Spirit may be perceived incorrectly. Beloved of God, I am not saying that certain concepts are completely wrong, but I am saying the totality or the result of conceptions accumulated over time may not be wholly correct. Beliefs have changed with time.

So, what is my purpose and what do I wish to prove? The purpose of this book is the following:

1.   To show that certain falsehoods have been birthed or coded into Christianity because of its departure from its Hebraic roots. In losing our Hebraic roots we see, interpret, and understand the word of God through a Roman, Greek, or Western eye, instead of a Hebraic eye.

2.   To show that perception has become so coded or ingrained that we do not question the accepted standard viewpoint.

3.   To show that the departure of the church from its Hebraic roots has resulted in influencing the understandings of the intricacies of the Godhead. We will discuss this departure and its influence upon the perception of the Godhead.

4.   To show that the choice of the word persons decreed at Nicaea has served to psychologically encode within Christianity the prominence of separation, rather than the unity of the Godhead.

I do believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I do believe that while wrong coding or birthing in Christendom has occurred, good birthing ordained by God has also taken place. As a note of interest, the title of this book implies many kinds of birthing. Birthing of ideas in the church and the effect of those ideas upon church doctrine and perceptions are discussed, but the title implies not only the wrong birthing but the good birthing in God’s magnificent church. Yeshua will be given for Jesus. Lord usually implies Yeshua/ Jesus. LORD refers to the Old Testament title of God.

I will reference two different biblical translations, but unless otherwise stated, all Scripture references will be the New American Standard Bible. The other biblical translation is the King James Version, and I will state when using it that it is the KJV translation.

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Chapter 1

Birthing

The odor of the night in the tight room permeated the senses. Perspiration beaded up on the physician’s forehead. The nurse wiped his brow, providing momentary relief. The young doctor was skilled and had seen many babies born—each birth so unique, yet all followed the birthing pattern. All had the same smells, sights, and sounds. Perhaps he should not be filled with the immense wonder of it all, yet even now, he was occupied with awe. Many times, he had seen a mother push. She strove for life. She pushed so very hard. The groans were deep and guttural. Was this how life was? Deep, robust, primitive, and vigorous life seemed to saturate the room. The whole scene played before him.

The mother’s scream shook him from his thoughts. How very close she was to death. Life and death swayed and waltzed together in a beautiful and finely tuned dance. The majority of the time, life emerged triumphant, but at times, life faded away—faded away like a forgotten dance partner slipping into the dark recesses of a drawn curtain. This mother, however, even with her complications, was young, vital, and quite strong. He sensed she would overcome any challenges. A baby would be born this night.

She glanced up at the doctor. She had not meant to scream as noisily as she had. She was certain he understood. Then another cramp hit her full in the back of her spine. Savage pain accelerated throughout her very being, and this left her intensely weak. She was very close to giving up. Her memory went back to the months before when the doctor had warned her that she was extremely petite. He had cautioned that the pregnancy would be difficult; he also had stated that she was young and strong. Another cramp descended, and now she ached profoundly. She thought, I could die and then the pain would be over—I need the pain to be over.

Her husband held her hand, coaching her. He had not expected so much pain. The pain, perspiration, and the odor in this hot, tense room were almost unbearable. He found it so strenuous to watch his youthful and attractive wife fight for the life within her to be born. She had struggled for months. The physician had ordered her to stay off her feet early on, and it had seemed that even her morning sickness had been unusually severe and debilitating. She had lost eight pounds during the first two months of her pregnancy. Then numerous months of bedfast boredom assailed her. With all of that resting, she still had moments of pain and frailty. Would providence bring jubilation, distress, or an amalgamation of both this night?

The baby quarreled to stay. Remaining in the familiar womb that had contained him for nine months seemed to be expedient, but a part of him needed out. He felt torn and exasperated. He thought, Is a birth all about pain? Fright and confusion filled every inch of his minute body. Primeval feelings emerged through him, radiating through the birthing canal. He longed for his watery warmth.

Another scream was heard. Then a foot emerged. The doctor silently prayed, Oh, God, Father, please don’t let me lose these two. The brave mother had worked hard for many months to ensure a healthy pregnancy. She had followed his orders, even leaving her job. She had stayed in bed for many months. Her husband had prepared the nursery—cleaning, painting, buying and moving furniture, making perfect preparations for the perfect child.

Blood—so much deep, red blood—permeated the room. The father’s stomach felt queasy; the smell was hotly sweet. The room was pungent with life. Yes, life screamed out! Birth and beginning, not termination, were the guests in this delivery room. The young father suddenly heard a cry. It was a baby’s cry. It was his son’s cry! Life—joyous, powerful, and so sweetly full—had arrived!

Birth is an exciting happening

The previous narrative related the experience of a fictitious family in a delivery room. The birthing experience can be an exciting event. The family in our previous story had positive and negative experiences. I personally had similar experiences when my own children were born. I have two sons. Both sons are now mature and have children of their own. For a number of years, I could not seem to get pregnant, and my former husband and I were very limited in physician choices or assistance. We just did not have the money for all the expensive testing that barren couples often need. Finally, a doctor at a free clinic confirmed my pregnancy. The free clinic and hospital was funded by the government; the hospital was open only to American Indians and their spouses. My former husband was Choctaw Indian. All the prenatal examinations would be conducted at this free clinic. Unfortunately, most young mothers who visited the clinic never had a chance to develop a rapport with any single doctor, as women rarely saw the same doctor more than once. I was no exception, although I did see the same doctor for my first three or four visits. After that, however, I saw whichever doctor was available. Although I would have rather had one physician throughout my pregnancy, I still felt blessed—it had taken so long for me to conceive, and I could hardly wait to be a mother. I wondered if the child I was carrying would be a boy or a girl—this was before medical technology could determine the sex of the unborn child.

The night finally arrived when I felt the first horrible, wrenching pains of childbirth. My husband hurried me off to the hospital. I assumed I would give birth in the typical manner. After all, I had read as much information as I could on the birthing process. I had packed my bag in the way I had been directed. I had come to the hospital when my contractions were just a few minutes apart. I was ready to have the baby, committed to the birth. The pains were very close together, but my water had not broken. The doctor informed me that I had dilated seven centimeters, and the baby was at the door. The only thing holding up the process was that my water was still intact. The pains became extremely close together and tremendously hard. I asked, Well, Doc, are you going to break my water? I got a resounding and loud No!

Then, between my next two labor pains, the doctor reminded me that the hospital was promoting healthy babies, which meant natural childbirth. Have you forgotten? he wanted to know. I had innocently believed that the physician would break my water for me, so I was in for a shock. Almost a week later, I was still in the hospital, with some contractions three or four minutes apart, but my water still had not broken. By this time, I was weak from the ongoing pain. My physical pain was compounded by emotional pain over the fact that the hospital did not sanction my leaving, so I had been away from home for a week. The reasoning was that I had dilated too much, and it was a sure bet that as soon as my water broke, the baby would gush forth. Finally, after a week, the doctors decided to wheel me into the delivery room. I thought of asking for medication, but did not—I knew what the answer would be.

In the delivery room, the doctor informed me that they still would not break my water. He instead directed me to push, on the theory that if I pushed hard enough, my water would break. Every time you feel a pain, push as forcibly as you can, my doctor directed. The pains were horribly challenging, and I felt like a semi-truck was cruising through my body. The physician berated me for not pushing sufficiently. Then the truck felt like it was on fire, with its steel fingers of explosive pain ripping through my back. It was at that point that I forgot all of my Christian teachings about love. I was quite sure that I loathed every man alive. I could not decide if I detested my husband or the doctor more when I heard another command: Push!

After almost an hour of this, my body was completely soaked in perspiration. Every place in my body hurt, and I felt incredibility weak. Waves of weariness tried to overcome me, but I endured the intense pain by visualizing my joyous cuddling with my first baby.

Shirley, I know you’re weak, but we’re so close. Give us another push. Come on, the doctor encouraged. I pushed … and then it happened. Warm water burst forth, bringing new life! And with that, I heard the doctor say, He’s coming—turn the head. Then my baby boy was born.

For a few moments, I really had wanted to die. A few seconds before, I had been filled with the worst pain, frustration, weakness, and anger that I had ever felt. But as I held my son, although I was still feeble, limp, and spent, I experience the greatest joy imaginable. The pain, the weakness, the anger, the depression, even the brief dance