Jesus Son of God—Son of Man Jesus Is Our Pattern: A Commentary on the Book of John

By J. Harlow Holmes

This is a Commentary like no other today. It reveals the true nature of Jesus as He walked on the earth and fulfilled the very necessary role that was required because of Adam’s fall. It fulfills the passage of I Corinthians 15:45—the last Adam. Jesus had to be like us in order to take our place. He was not God in flesh as preached today from most pulpits. He was the manifestation of God, His Father. Manifestation is the KEY word. He was God manifested in the flesh. When the Apostles saw Jesus in action they saw God the Father, John 14:9-11. We can see God in Jesus.

Another important message is that Jesus was our pattern. We, the Church, should be doing the things that He did today. He Said to the disciples:“As the Father sent Me, so send I you.”John 20:21. Then He included us in His prayer in John 17:20-21.

The Bible has been translated by those who believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. This came from Constantine and the first Nicene Creed in the 300s AD with the penalty of death involving over 200 Bishops if rhey did not sign it as he commanded. It seems that two were willing to die for the truth. All that was required to emphasize that Jesus was God just involved some prepositions and pronouns. However, the bulk of Jesus’ confession indicates otherwise.

The Prologue is the foundation of proof that Jesus was a human being just like you and me. The Lord told me that most everyone is a product of someone else’s teaching today. However, when I was first filled with the Holy Spirit in my mid-twenties Jesus told me to let Him teach me. I have been faithful to that command for nearly 65 years. This commentary is the result of that command.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973658559

J. Harlow Holmes

Jack H. Holmes was born in Palermo, California, the year before the crash of 1929, and grew up during the great depression with poor, but hard working parents. He completed his high school education at Oroville, California, and received his mechanical engineering education at the University of Santa Clara on a basketball scholarship. He worked for 44 years in the mechanical engineering field; 13 years for Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation (FMC), in San Jose, California, and Yakima, ashington; and from 1964, 31 years for Kwik Lok Corporation in Yakima, where he was Chief Engineer for 26 years. He received a number of design patents from both companies. In 1949, while in college, he married Merriam Emmons and they continued to live in Santa Clara for eight years. Still in his midtwenties, he became very involved with youth ministry in the Advent Christian Denomination, both in the local church, and the Northern California Conference. He was also on the San Jose Youth for Christ board for several years. During his time of teaching Sunday School and directing youth work, his Bible studies led him to receive the Holy Spirit in bed one night. His life immediately changed, and he became entrenched in the Scriptures, praying and studying every morning before work, noon hours, and whenever he could find time. This went on for more than sixty four years, doing in-depth individual word studies and transliterations which became the avenue for the Holy Spirit to give many enlightenments. These new truths became foundational for his spiritual growth and relationship with the Lord. Right after his initial experience by the Holy Spirit the Lord clearly said: “Do NOT read other books or commentaries. Let in his life over the years who have provided spiritual insight which has contributed to his growth in his relationship with Jesus. In 1958 Jack and Merriam moved to Yakima, Washington. While in Yakima, he and his wife continued to be very active in youth work and church leadership while attending Bethel Church of the Nazarene. He was president of the Yakima Chapter Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, on the Yakima Youth for Christ Board, and also on the board of KBBO Christian radio station. Upon moving to Cowiche they opted to go to the nearby Naches Heights Community Church. In 1997 he and his wife decided to sell their home and go full time in an RV doing construction work for churches and youth camps with MAPPS, an Assembly of God volunteer organization. In 2004 he and his wife settled back in Yakima due to his wife’s illness, and attended West Valley Church of the Nazarene. In 2011 Merriam passed away and Jack was remarried to Darleen Norton. Darleen proved to be another blessing of the Lord, who also helped in his writing and editing. Through the later years he has been motivated by the Lord to put down some of his thoughts, both old and new, in book form to share with anyone interested in searching for truth. REAL CHRISTIANITY - The New Covenant-Life, Living, and Rest Now is his first book published 2001—a Text-Book on basic Christianity. He has a second book published now, a follow-up to the first book, which is REAL CHRISTIANITY II, The New-Covenant Life-Style. He has numerous essays on subjects that help to improve interpretation of the Scriptures, offering correction on Christian doctrine. He has one essay, Defining Love, published in the book LOVE AMONG US, edited by Darrin L. Grinder and Thomas Jay Oord, published by Outskirts Press Inc. 2009. The Gospel of John is his first full commentary on a book of the Bible. It is an effort to maximize the humanness of Jesus, and identify Him as our pattern for living and doing His ministry. The commentary is also an effort for bringing more correction to basic Christian Theology. The purpose of the commentary is to discover who Jesus is, what we have through Him, and endeavoring to understand more of the spiritual. Finally, it is for perfecting our walk with, and relationship to God, our Father, and His Son Jesus, the Anointed One. He readily acknowledges that he is not infallible, and welcomes any discussion that will bring correction for producing a more truthful representation and understanding of these, and all Scripture. We should be like the Bereans, who thought it was important to verify the Apostles’ teachings. He welcomes any and all willing truth seekers to dialog about the book, or whatever is on their heart concerning the Word. It is his deep conviction that the enemy of our life is making great headway in discrediting and diluting some basic tenets of the New Covenant, and the Gospel of the kingdom of God through inherited misconceptions and numerous modern language translations today. Granted, these translations are, for the most part, an honest effort to make the Scriptures more user friendly. However, they have a tendency to continue erroneous concepts and biases from the past, which are embraced by today’s teachers and theologians, and even getting further from the truth. His heart and motivation is to somehow stir up the Church to be the powerful organism that is displayed in the book of Acts, which he believes is still the intention of the Head, the Lord Jesus, the anointed one. The book of John gives us the most powerful insight into the heart of Jesus, and His Father. It is his prayer that this commentary will bring correction and clarity to the Scriptures.

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Copyright © 2019 J. Harlow Holmes.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-5854-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5856-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5855-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019904183

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/09/2019

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Appendix

Dedication

I dedicate this new work to my wife Darleen who is God’s gift to me in this new chapter of my life. We are so meant for each other in this new season of marriage. Both having lost our mates of many years, it was a genuine miracle of the blessed Father in heaven for us to find each other. That is a story in itself, and I am so blessed.

She loves the Lord, is a good Bible student and a capable writer and editor. She read and assisted in editing this manuscript. I am very grateful for all that she did.

Acknowledgments

I greatly appreciated my wife Darleen for her reading and editing this manuscript. She was a great inspiration and help.

I would also like to express my appreciation and thanks to Jeanne Yurke, former pastor, theologian, and friend for the final editing and offering her comments. She has been a great source for theological and grammatical help, and a real blessing.

My main source for writing this manuscript is my Saviour, Lord, King of Kings, and elder brother Jesus, the anointed one, whom I trust has given the inspiration for the comments. It was my conversation with Him that if this book is not what He has communicated to me, it will be of no value, and fail in its purpose to reveal who He was in His walk on earth, and our relationship to Him.

Preface

Jack H. Holmes was born in Palermo, California, the year before the crash of 1929, and grew up during the great depression with poor, but hard working parents.

He completed his high school education at Oroville, California, and received his mechanical engineering education at the University of Santa Clara on a basketball scholarship. He worked for 44 years in the mechanical engineering field; 13 years for Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation (FMC), in San Jose, California, and Yakima, ashington; and from 1964, 31 years for Kwik Lok Corporation in Yakima, where he was Chief Engineer for 26 years. He received a number of design patents from both companies.

In 1949, while in college, he married Merriam Emmons and they continued to live in Santa Clara for eight years. Still in his midtwenties, he became very involved with youth ministry in the Advent Christian Denomination, both in the local church, and the Northern California Conference. He was also on the San Jose Youth for Christ board for several years. During his time of teaching Sunday School and directing youth work, his Bible studies led him to receive the Holy Spirit in bed one night. His life immediately changed, and he became entrenched in the Scriptures, praying and studying every morning before work, noon hours, and whenever he could find time.

This went on for more than sixty four years, doing in-depth individual word studies and transliterations which became the avenue for the Holy Spirit to give many enlightenments. These new truths became foundational for his spiritual growth and relationship with the Lord. Right after his initial experience by the Holy Spirit the Lord clearly said: "Do NOT read other books or commentaries, let Me teach you. He has been faithful to Jesus’ instruction. However, God has put men in his life over the years who have provided spiritual insight which has contributed to his growth in his relationship with Jesus.

In 1958 Jack and Merriam moved to Yakima, Washington. While in Yakima, he and his wife continued to be very active in youth work and church leadership while attending Bethel Church of the Nazarene. He was president of the Yakima Chapter Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, on the Yakima Youth for Christ Board, and also on the board of KBBO Christian radio station. Upon moving to Cowiche they opted to go to the nearby Naches Heights Community Church. In 1997 he and his wife decided to sell their home and go full time in an RV doing construction work for churches and youth camps with MAPPS, an Assembly of God volunteer organization.

In 2004 he and his wife settled back in Yakima due to his wife’s illness, and attended West Valley Church of the Nazarene.

In 2011 Merriam passed away and Jack was remarried to Darleen Norton. Darleen proved to be another blessing of the Lord, who also helped in his writing and editing.

Through the later years he has been motivated by the Lord to put down some of his thoughts, both old and new, in book form to share with anyone interested in searching for truth. REAL CHRISTIANITY - The New Covenant-Life, Living, and Rest Now is his first book published 2001—a Text-Book on basic Christianity.

He has a second book published now, a follow-up to the first book, which is REAL CHRISTIANITY II, The New-Covenant Life-Style. He has numerous essays on subjects that help to improve interpretation of the Scriptures, offering correction on Christian doctrine. He has one essay, Defining Love, published in the book LOVE AMONG US, edited by Darrin L. Grinder and Thomas Jay Oord, published by Outskirts Press Inc. 2009.

The Gospel of John is his first full commentary on a book of the Bible. It is an effort to maximize the humanness of Jesus, and identify Him as our pattern for living and doing His ministry. The commentary is also an effort for bringing more correction to basic Christian Theology. The purpose of the commentary is to discover who Jesus is, what we have through Him, and endeavoring to understand more of the spiritual. Finally, it is for perfecting our walk with, and relationship to God, our Father, and His Son Jesus, the Anointed One.

He readily acknowledges that he is not infallible, and welcomes any discussion that will bring correction for producing a more truthful representation and understanding of these, and all Scripture. We should be like the Bereans, who thought it was important to verify the Apostles’ teachings. He welcomes any and all willing truth seekers to dialog about the book, or whatever is on their heart concerning the Word.

It is his deep conviction that the enemy of our life is making great headway in discrediting and diluting some basic tenets of the New Covenant, and the Gospel of the kingdom of God through inherited misconceptions and numerous modern language translations today. Granted, these translations are, for the most part, an honest effort to make the Scriptures more user friendly. However, they have a tendency to continue erroneous concepts and biases from the past, which are embraced by today’s teachers and theologians, and even getting further from the truth.

His heart and motivation is to somehow stir up the Church to be the powerful organism that is displayed in the book of Acts, which he believes is still the intention of the Head, the Lord Jesus, the anointed one. The book of John gives us the most powerful insight into the heart of Jesus, and His Father. It is his prayer that this commentary will bring correction and clarity to the Scriptures.

Sincerely,

Jack H. Holmes September 1, 2017

Introduction

To help us understand the Scriptures better, especially for the commentary of the Gospel of John, it seems necessary to clarify our understanding of the spiritual, to see how God communicates about Himself and the spiritual to us. I believe that John’s Gospel is one of the most descriptive communications about our spiritual God, and His Son, Jesus, that we have in all of the Scriptures. I also include several Greek words which need clarification. Permit me to discuss the following issues before proceeding into the Prologue, and book of John.

Basic Theology

1. God is a spiritual being.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24

2. We are physical mortal beings.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Gen. 2:7

In the Septuagint[17] it says: "God…breathed upon his

face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul", or

explicitly in the Greek: "awakened man unto soulish (mortal,

subject to death) living."

3. Our language is physical, and finite.

Our spiritual God must communicate with us, His finite

mortal creatures, in, and on our terms when describing himself

and the spiritual. It is very limiting—not easy, especially since

we are also dull of hearing.

Therefore we must try to understand, by the help of the Holy Spirit, and the context of His word, who God is, what He is like, and what He is doing and saying. Because the text is from numerous old manuscripts written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, we have to depend on the translators to put the right thought into English for us. However, they are human, perhaps indoctrinated from prior teaching, and biased at times. Their renditions are not always made according to original thought. The Lord impressed upon my mind that: Everyone is a product of someone else’s teaching. May I say, very humbly, when I was filled with the Spirit years ago (really born from above), and began to study and write, Jesus said: "Let me teach you." I have been faithful to that word for over 64 years.

Translation Explanations

To begin, one Hebrew or Greek word can be translated to mean several different English words, or colloquial meanings. Also, sometimes translators will use one English word which can mean any one of several different Hebrew, or Greek words. In the case of the spirit, or the spiritual state, no language has words that specifically translate it. Therefore, the original languages use an ethereal word which can have many meanings, and translators often fail to present the original thought according to the context. When these situations arise I will interpret it according to the context, which might require additional words to make it clearer. Below are some specific words that are the subject of debate.

OLD TESTAMENT

The Word Spirit in the Old Testament as translated from Hebrew.

[Heb; ruwach or ruach: wind, breath][4] It is translated as spirit, and in the verses below, as God’s Holy Spirit. This is a good use of the word. The Holy Spirit is compared to wind several times. EG: John 3:8. Wind is somewhat ethereal.

²The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit [Heb: Ruwach; wind, breath, Spirit][4] of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Gen. 1:2

My Emphasis.

However, the same Hebrew word ruwach is also used interchangeably for the human spirit, and evil spirits, as in the following, and other verses. In my studies, I have concluded that the human spirit refers to the emotions of a person. If you study the Scriptures where these Hebrew and Greek words are used I think you will agree. This is not main-stream thinking. To get the proper meaning really depends on the context. Check these verses below.

²⁶And they told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart stood still, [Heb; pug; sluggish][4] because he did not believe them.

²⁷But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit [Heb: ruach; human spirit, emotions][4] of Jacob their father revived. Genesis 45:26-27. My definition.

As you can see, ruach would translate better as "the emotions" of Jacob….…revived. Jacob’s heart, the seat of his emotions, got sluggish (or sank) because he did not believe them. We use the term, their heart sank when someone hears bad news. In Jacob’s case he had sadness, or despair. That is his emotion. Then in the next verse it is more clearly stated: his emotions revived" (came alive, was happy, calmed down) as they continued to explain and show him the carts. Jacob did not die.

Below is another illustration concerning the word ruach.

⁵But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, "Why is your spirit [Heb: ruach; human spirit, emotion][4] so sullen that you eat no food? 1 Kings 21:5. My definition.

Here again, emotions would be more accurate. They are the manifestation of feelings—sadness in this case, but can also be joy or anger, etc. This is the human spirit, and I define it as our human emotions. They are one of our main human faculties. They are one of the ways the Holy Spirit touches us.

One more illustration:

¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit [Heb: ruach; Holy Spirit][4] of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. ¹⁴But the Spirit [Heb: ruach; Holy Spirit][4] of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit [Heb: ruach; depressive emotion][4] from the Lord troubled him. 1 Samuel. 16:14. My definition.

Notice that the same Hebrew word ruach is used in all three places above. The Holy Spirit descended on David. Then the Holy Spirit departed from Saul, and God troubled him with a different human spirit—a negative emotion. This time it would be better translated as a state of emotional depression from the Lord came upon him. If you read the next verse (15) you will see that the servant noticed Saul’s state of depression and thought music would help. That is recommended even today for depression. The AKJV translates this as an evil spirit, but that is not even inferred by the Hebrew word, or the context. God does not deal with evil spirits.

Another Hebrew word neshawmaw is also translated man’s spirit, but it is more of an angry emotional outburst.

[Heb; neshawmaw: puff, wind, (angry, or vital)][4]. See Job 26:4, Pr. 20:27.

I quoted the Hebrew words from Strong’s Concordance[4] as designated by the reference numbers. Strong’s does not provide the actual endings of the words that might be used in each case, but the context does support my analysis. I will supply the proper words when it involves the Greek texts from the Greek-English references.[3][9][10]

NEW TESTAMENT

The Word For Spirit in The New Testament.

The Greeks followed the same pattern as the Hebrews in describing the Spirit as follows:

[Grk: pneuma: A current of air; blast, or breeze, also breath][4] Notice the following verses.

³²And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit [Gk: pneuma; Holy Spirit][3][4] descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. John: 1:32. My emphasis.

⁵Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit [Gk: pneumatos; Holy Spirit],[3][4] he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit [Gk: pneumatos; Holy Spirit],[3][4] is Spirit [Gk: pneuma; Spirit],[3][4]. ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again [Gk: anothen; from above][3].’

⁸The wind [Gk: pneuma; wind],[3][4] blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit [Gk: pneumatos; Holy Spirit].[3][4]" John 3:5-8. My translation.

There is no question that in these verses the context is all about the Spirit of God except in verse 8. In verse eight pneuma is definitely wind. You can see how important it is to rely on the context.

The following word is translated ghost in the NKJV which is proper. [Grk: phantasma; phantom-spector][3][4] Matt. 14:26

OLD TESTAMENT

The Heavens, or sky above, or God’s abode—Hebrews.

For the spiritual abode of God called heaven translators have used the following Hebrew word:

[Heb; shameh: lofty, sky, visible arch where the clouds are, (the firmament); also the total expanse of space].[4]

In Genesis 1:1 Shameh seems to refer to the total expanse of space, without the earth and the solar system perhaps. It is interesting to note here that scientists have not found the end of space yet—and they will not be able to because it is infinite.

Also, whenever God spoke, or expressed Himself visibly in action, the expanse above was His stage for mankind. Therefore, this is all that the Hebrews knew concerning God’s dwelling place, as in 2 Sam. 22:14. However, God is spiritual, and He dwells in the spiritual, which is a totally different state of being, without space, time, or sound. The sky, or space above the earth is just a reference point for us. He has to have us look up, or above—not below.

Because we are confined to the finite/physical we have virtually no awareness, or understanding of God, and His state of being, unless He reveals Himself to us in some way. He uses our terminologies that are somewhat ethereal to describe the spiritual. Sometimes it is comfortable, and sometimes scary. Using the expanse above for heaven as God’s abiding place makes us think of direction, and dimension, and sound, but it is only a point of reference. When the text indicates heaven as God’s abiding place I prefer to translate it as the spiritual which does away with any physical inference. The spiritual is outside our concept of the physical, and is technically all around us. We are enclosed with the spiritual, including angels and demons. See Psalms 34:7.

As an example,

Unto You I lift up my eyes,

O You who dwell in the heavens [Heb: shamayim; heavens].

Psalms. 123:1

Or my translation:

Unto You I lift up my eyes,

O You who dwell in the spiritual.

Notice the eyes are looking up. We need that reference point. However, we are actually also in the Spiritual 100% of the time because it has no physical finite attributes, and we are not aware of it unless God’s Holy Spirit manifests His presence, or angelic beings appear. Also, the earth being a sphere that we live on, everybody around the world is looking up, but in different directions.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Heavens, The Sky Above or God’s Abode—The New Testament.

Now, in the New Testament, the Greek writers chose the same approach. The spiritual cannot be expressed directly in our finite language. So they chose ethereal words, as did the Hebrew writers. See the Greek word below.

[Grk: ouranos: the idea of elevation above, the sky] [4]

See Matthew. 3:2, & 22:2, "…the kingdom of heaven [Gk: ouranon;heavens][4] or the spiritual. My emphasis.

In Acts 1:10–11, the same Greek word translated as heaven definitely refers to the sky: "… And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven [Gk: ouranon; heaven, the sky][4] as He went up,…" See how important it is to rely on the context.

"…¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven [Gk: epouranion; above the sky][3][4] and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,…" Philippians 2:10.

My translation.

In the verse above epouranion means, the celestial, outer space. This word uses the root word ouranion expanse above with a prefix (ep) expressing as "above the above, or upon. Could be the stars, or spiritual beings, or both, but most likely spiritual beings, angelic beings, since it talks about: in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow." The devil and his angels are confined to the cosmos and they are going to bow some day. Satan is the prince of the power of the air. The context is our guide.

Then in Matthew. 18:35, "My heavenly [Gk: ouranios; spiritual][4] Father" and not His earthly adoptive father, Joseph. My translation.

One final word in this category,

[Grk: mesouranemata: mid-sky, mid-heaven].[4]

Here the same root word is used again, but with a prefix for midst or middle, and found only in Revelation. Rev. 8:13, 14:6, 19:17. It is used for the actual space immediately above the earth. This was part of John’s vision as it was happening above him, like an air show. The word heaven is used for all of the above verses, but the translators did not always properly define the Greek word according to the context. However, for the Revelation texts they did.

¹³And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! Revelation 8:13.

The word Word—New Testament Only.

I need to introduce a couple more translation clarifications. This is concerning the word Word which is used to translate two Greek words in the New Testament. Both Greek words are definitely different, as we shall see below.

The first word.

Word; [Grk: logos; fact, truth, revelation—spoken or written].[3][4]

My definition.

This word is used extensively in the first chapter of John’s Gospel. We can get a good idea about how the Logos works with the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 4:12, below.

¹²For the word (logos) of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit (human spirit), and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [My emphasis]

The Logos is like God’s psychiatrist, or psychologist, as well as the expression of the intent of His heart. When God spoke in the past He spoke truth about Himself, His creation, His precepts and judgements, and for conviction of sin through the prophets. God spoke directly with Adam and Moses. Now He has spoken to us through His Son, and we have it in written form inspired by the Holy Spirit.

¹God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,… Hebrews 1:1a

We will deal more with logos when we begin the first Chapter of John.

The second word translated Word.

Word [Gk: rhema (pronounced hray’-mah); an utterance] This is Strong’s definition. [⁴].

However, Strong does not provide the complete contextual meaning here either. I define rhema as a powerful creative utterance, or a spiritual impartation from God. This word is used when God speaks creatively, or imparts enlightenment of truth (faith), or awareness, and spiritual gifts or abilities like healing.

For example; In Hebrews 11:3, we read;

"By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word [Gk: rhemati; creative expression][3] of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."

My translation.

Creation was spoken into existence through God’s rhemati. It was attributed to God, but not to Him as the Logos, mentioned in John 1:1–2.

In Hebrews below we read, as it relates to Jesus.

"…³who (Jesus) being the brightness of His (God’s) glory and the express image of His (God’s) person, and upholding all things by the word (rhemati) of His (God’s) power [Gk: dunamus; power, ability][3][4], when He (Jesus) had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty (God) on high, ⁴having become so much better than the angels, as He (Jesus) has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Hebrews 1:3–4. Emphasis Added.

Here rhemati is identified as a powerful expression that is holding everything together and in order. Dunamus is translated as power, or ability, and is where we get our word dynamite.

One more reference: In Romans 10:17 we find rhema imparts faith: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word [Gk: rhematos; creative expression][3][4] of God. (Christ", in the Nestle text[3]).

Creation was accomplished and held together by the rhemati of God—not Logos. Faith is imparted by the rhematos of Christ, and not the Logos, or just reading the Scriptures. Rhema imparts the Logos and makes it faith. There are many more references where rhema is used, and logos.

As we go through the study of the Scriptures, we will insert the Greek words in italic, and the correction to the meanings of the words where it is assumed that it does not agree with Greek text and Scripture context.

One final bit of information. There are other English words that are not properly translated Greek words, such as: ‘life’, and ‘love’ which have to be corrected. Also, there will be prepositions and pronouns that will need correction to fit the context. The Lord indicated to me that His speech is always based on the root definition of the Greek word, and not the colloquial changes that occur through time.

Conclusion.

The main purpose of this brief word study is to show that the only way we have to understand the spiritual is by God communicating in our language, and using those objects that we are familiar with. From the beginning God has spoken to us by His Word (LOGOS), but His word has always been in our human languages. Therefore the information has been limited as written, or in picture form.

As mentioned earlier, the spiritual is vastly different from anything that we can possibly imagine. To understand the spiritual we would have to step from this physical state of being into a state of being which is entirely outside of our concepts, dreams, logic, or finite understanding. We have to be just like Jesus after His resurrection. At every point in God’s confrontation with us, He has to manifest Himself into the cosmos that He created, and meet with us on our grounds. That is condescending for Him, but He set it up that way. Also, as mentioned earlier, heaven above is His stage. That is where He reveals His marvelous demonstrations for our benefit.

We need to understand that God, or angels, do not literally have wings, arms, a face, or a body. However, He manifests spiritual information to us with those terms to make it possible for us to relate to Him. It is probable that communication in the spiritual is not even visual, verbal, or has sound, as we understand it. The words, sounds and sights could be just for us, His human creation.

Being created in His image is having His character—commitment, emotions, free will, rationality and creativity—all in a very limited way, but it does not relate to form for God does not have form. However, in a miraculous way, we are to live, and perform in the flesh as God does in the spiritual, which is demonstrated and made possible by Jesus in the flesh.

Over the years man has reduced the almighty, omniscient, omnipresent, spiritual, personal living God into something that man can envision. Instead of trying to gain some understanding, and reality of Him in the spiritual, we have put Him in our little, individual, finite boxes—like the man upstairs, or father time. See Romans 1:18-25.

Our plan, as we study the book of John, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is to put God back into the spiritual, and understand Him as much as possible by getting to know His Son Jesus. As we go through the passages of John we will point out how Jesus was totally human, yet spoke, and acted as God, His Father, and remind ourselves that He is the example, or pattern that we are to demonstrate. Like the Father living His life through Jesus, Jesus is also to live His life through us, as individuals, and corporately, as the Church, His body, the household of God.

That is all that we will say at this juncture. I pray that what is written is of the Lord.

PROLOGUE

JESUS

SON OF GOD-SON OF MAN

INTRODUCTION

Before I began this commentary on the Gospel of John there was a struggle with the concept of the Trinity Doctrine. Admittedly, I, no one, could really explain it. However, beginning in the first chapter of John, and arriving at verse 18, it referred to Jesus "being in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. This became a challenge. Some research had to be done. If Jesus was in the bosom" (heart) of the Father before He was begotten, then this requires rethinking the Trinity Doctrine. This doctrine has Jesus existing as a Spiritual being in eternity past, and existing as God during His earthly ministry. The Holy Spirit was also God. In checking the Greek texts (I have three interlinear Greek/ English texts)[3][10][21], verse 18 below is cited literally from the Vatican Manuscript[21]. It is translated by Benjamin Wilson as follows with my corrections.

God no one has seen ever; the only begotten Son, that [Gk: ho; who] being [Gk: on; being][21] in the bosom of the Father, he has made known. John 1:18. My translation.

The Steven’s text, translated by George Rick Berry, is similar: "who is in the bosom[10]. The Nestle Text as translated by Alfred Marshall is similar also, but has … the only begotten God (theos) the one being in the bosom…[3] That is really absurd! Would God be in the bosom of God? Also, a spiritual God could not be begotten" in a human mother. That is Roman Catholic doctrine which Constantine authorized. We will see this later.

Eberhard Nestle’s Greek text is that of the 21st edition of Novum Testamentum Graece, which is based on the study and critical research of generations of scholars[3]. One can definitely see the Trinitarian influence.

Studying verse John 1:18 with an unbiased mind shows that Jesus, "‘being’ in the bosom (heart) of the Father", was not a separate distinct person in eternity past. Also, no one has seen the Father ever, (including Jesus) but Jesus has declared, has manifested Him, for everyone to see—God, the Word (Logos), became flesh, John 1:14 (my emphasis). The key word is manifested. Jesus manifested His Father, God, as we see all through the Gospel of John—especially in John 14:9–10.

What this study has done for me is exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus to the highest possible finite understanding of who He really was, and what He did for us as a begotten, totally human, mortal being. In the development of this study I fully believe the Holy Spirit revealed to me that Jesus was the "Son nature in the heart of the Father" in eternity past. Then, when the Father begot Him in a human mother by the Holy Spirit, He was just like you and me, a mortal human being, exactly like Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45)—a requirement for taking our place in the atonement process.

Jesus was born with a pure heart.

Another important fact revealed by the Holy Spirit as I proceeded with this study was that in the beginning Adam was created with a pure perfect heart toward God. Adam’s heart changed after he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then the Holy Spirit revealed that because He, the Holy Spirit, was the divine sperm fertilizing Mary’s human egg, Jesus was also born with a pure perfect heart, becoming the second, the last Adam, I Corinthians 15:45. This answers the question for me why Jesus was totally focussed on His Father from early childhood, as evidenced when He was 12 years old, Luke 2:41–50, and throughout His earthly life. In that sense He was divine. What also is astounding, and parallels Jesus’ birth, is when we are born again (from above, filled with the Holy Spirit), we receive a pure heart, a heart also focussed on our heavenly Father.

²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:26–27.

⁸So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, ⁹and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Act 15:8–9

Jesus also had to deal with perverted nature.

It is also important to understand that Jesus was born with Mary’s DNA which included Adam’s fallen nature. Jesus had to deal with that throughout His earthly life, Hebrews 4:15.

The Holy Spirit also rested on Jesus as He was growing up.

It seems that there is one other aspect of Jesus’ life growing up, before He was filled with the Holy Spirit at His water baptism. The Holy Spirit rested on Him, guiding Him and giving Him wisdom and insight. This is like the Spirit’s relationship with the prophets under the Old Covenant. The Scripture that seems to indicate this is in Luke 1:40, "⁴⁰And the Child grew and became strong in spirit (emotions), filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." My emphasis. This would explain Jesus’ interaction with the teachers and scholars in the temple, Luke 2:46. Also see Luke 2:52, "⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

Now the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh and is drawing and touching all people of the world, Acts 2:16–21. When the grace of God rests on an individual there is a special anointing of the Holy Spirit—see Acts 4:33.

The Father manifests Himself through Jesus.

When Jesus was water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, He totally abandoned Himself to His Father God, allowing His Father to manifest Himself totally through Him, so that Jesus could say: "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. John 14:9. In that sense He was God, but only by the presence of Father God living through Him by the Holy Spirit. This fulfilled another purpose for Jesus’ existence—to reveal the Father. If He was individually God in the flesh, why would His Father need to dwell in Jesus, and manifest Himself through Jesus? Why did Jesus always acknowledge that the things He was doing and speaking was His Father working and speaking through Him? John 14:10. In this study it has become obvious to me that Jesus was the totally human pattern that we should be following. We, as individuals, should be born from above (filled with the Holy Spirit) and say: If you see me, you should see Jesus." We, the Church, should be doing the stuff that Jesus did—today!

It seems that Jesus did not exist as a person before He was begotten, and that He was totally human during His earthly life—God’s only begotten Son. It does not demean Jesus, but actually exalts Him, glorifies Him. This is expressed by His Father several times, Matthew 3:17, 17:5, John 17:1, 4–5. It portrays Him as a most incredible human being, one whom we can truly worship, and idolize.

In the commentary of the Gospel of John we will see that Jesus was completely abandoned, totally under submission, to the Father, totally in-dwelt by His Father. That is why Jesus acted as God. In fact, similarly, God said to Moses, who was Christ-like, that he would be as God before Pharaoh, Exodus 4:16. Even more than Moses, Jesus was the total manifestation of His Father God, yet as a human being. That is why a person could view Him as God when studying and following His life. Thomas did view Him as God after Jesus’s resurrection, John 20:28. However, remember that Jesus was God’s gift to the world, His only begotten Son, and the purpose of Jesus being born was to reveal His Father, be our pattern, and ultimately be our sacrificial sin offering—taking our place as a reproduction of the first Adam. The first Adam brought death on himself, and his successors, and the new Adam redeemed them/us by giving His life.

⁴⁵And so it is written, The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45.

The outline of the dialog you are about to follow.

This is an endeavor to outline Jesus’s manner of existence from eternity past to the present. PART ONE provides some historical background on how this Trinity doctrine began. PART TWO provides assumptions concerning Jesus before His birth. PART THREE discloses Scriptural evidence concerning Jesus’ life after His birth as a totally human being. Finally, in PART FOUR we see the glorified Jesus as a deity after His resurrection.

The Trinity doctrine is actually a concept that no one can explain, by their own admission, and actually support with properly translated Scripture. The translators of the Scriptures were obviously Trinitarians. However, that is what happens when Satan gets involved with his half-truth scenarios, as in the Garden. So continue as we attempt to resolve this dilemma.

PART ONE: HISTORY OF THE TRINITY THEOLOGY.

The First Christian Council was in Jerusalem.

This council was led by James. According to theologians, this James is considered to be the half-brother of Jesus. However, I believe that this James was the brother of the beloved John, the writer of the Gospel of John. Jesus’ inner circle was Peter, James, and his brother John, Matthew 17:1. This James had an intimate relationship with Jesus, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and also authored a book. There is no record where Jesus’s half-brother did anything, nor was filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact, most of the time His brothers and sisters were not convinced about Jesus’s identity as God’s Son.

This first council consisted of the twelve Apostles, Acts 6:2-4. Matthias must have been there, but he is never mentioned. Sometimes Peter would speak up. This was all following the coming of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2. Unlike the other councils to follow, these men had been with Jesus, were genuinely born from above, and were headquartered in Jerusalem, the center of this new sect. They were a continual source of information and leadership for a number of years—well after Paul’s encounter with the Lord.

During development of this new sect the only recorded managerial and doctrinal problems dealt with were as follows:

1. A group of Greek Christians (Hellenists) had problems.

They complained to the Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem that their women were being neglected, Acts 6:1-5. Remember this, it demonstrates that there already were two factions in the new sect of Christianity. The Hellenist Christians (Gentiles) came out of extreme Greek mythology, and carried some of their pagan thoughts with them—viewed later in apocalyptic Christian thinking. Later we will see that the Hebrew Christians had their own problems. We will always see Satan’s influence active throughout the development of the Church. It is probable that the Christians did not know the full message of the cross of Jesus at this time as well. Remember, there was no written New Testament Word as yet, only that which the disciples could share when they were available. The Gospels and letters started to appear toward the end of the first century, and Paul was a great exponent of the cross of Jesus.

One interesting thought here is that the Apostles did not want to give up their time to do service work, but wanted to continue in the Word and prayer. So they appointed seven men, full of the Holy Spirit, whom they called deacons, to do this work. This is important. This could be where, and when, the Apostles began writing down the Word under the influence of the Holy Spirit—with prayer. There were two writers of the gospels in this group, Matthew and John, as well as two writers of epistles, Peter and James (John’s brother)—Jesus’ inner circle, Matthew 17:1. Luke could have been there also because he wrote the book of Acts, as well as his own account of Jesus. This time period would be approximately 40 to 90 AD. John was supposedly exiled toward the end of this time period. Also, during this time Herod killed James, and tried to kill Peter, Acts 12:1-3.

2. Pharisee Christians.

There was another doctrinal question they had to settle. Another group of believers, the Pharisee Christians, tried to insist that the Gentile Christians should follow the law of Moses, including circumcision, or they would not be saved. After much deliberation among the elders and the whole Church in Jerusalem, the council voted against most of it, Acts 15:1–29. Peter seemed to be the leader here. There were other doctrinal issues and questions that had to be settled, which appear in the letters.

This is the first council of the new Christian Church, and no references to Jesus is God seemed to exist. There is not even the use of the word Trinity in their writings, even though Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are declared in rituals. God (Yahweh) in Judaism is generally understood to be the absolute, one God, indivisible, an incomparable being, who is the ultimate cause of all existence—important to remember. Judaism holds that Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yahweh is only one of a number of names which actually portray character or nature of the Hebrew God. The Greeks did not have a word specifically for the one true God, as we will see later—only theos, which is used for any idol or deity.

The early Church fathers maintained the tradition of one true God in their writings, and faithfully acknowledged Jesus being the Son of God, Son of Man, a human being like you and me. If the translators of the New Testament were faithful to that tradition instead of following the influence of those who held the Trinity concept, developed later, you would see the real Jesus. However, there were a few who maintained belief in the real Jesus discussed later. The men of the first council had known Jesus personally and were convinced of Jesus’ humanity. The same for the Jewish leaders who tried to put Him to death, and finally succeeded. The men of the later councils did not know Jesus, and it is questionable if they were even begotten from above (baptized with the Holy Spirit)—the same for the Church today. Most Christians today are John the Baptist believers, Acts 19:1–7.

Today’s heresies.

We would also emphasize that the modern Church today has developed its own heretical dogmas that have hurt the Church’s outreach. Satan has had his influence.

The following are examples of heresies without naming denominations:

1. If one does not speak initially in tongues (a prayer language) when one receives the Holy Spirit, one is not filled with the Spirit—not even born again or saved in some cases.

2. The experience of entire Sanctification, a second work of grace, which eradicates the sinful nature in