Category: Blog

Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

The general principles for Bible interpretation are, foremost, the literal interpretation followed by historical, grammatical and contextual interpretation.   Another major principle, Scripture-Interprets- Scripture Principle,  is to let other relevant Scripture passages interpret the passage under study.

Yet there is one overarching principle concerning the important doctrines and major prophecies which is very important.   I will call it the Harmonization Approach Principle.   When we say the Bible is infallible, we mean that the Bible is never wrong and is completely trustworthy as God is infallible.  2 Pet 1:19; 2 Tim 3:16-17.  So when we are interpreting a particular doctrine or prophecy with all relevant Scripture verses, we must believe all verses, including apparently antinomic verses, are true and without error.

This Principle will lead to either one of the following conclusions regarding paradoxical doctrine and major prophecies in my opinion.

1. Acceptance of Apparently Antinomic Beliefs By Faith In One Single Doctrine.  

Take the example of the Christology doctrine.   We find all relevant verses support both the premise that Jesus is 100% man and 100% God at all times.  Although it is paradoxical to our understanding, we accept this doctrine by faith.   Same for other paradoxes such as Predestination and Free Will.  Take another example in the Holy Trinity doctrine.  We find all relevant verses support both the premise that God is One and yet there are 3 distinct Divine Persons who are God individually.   The term Holy Trinity is thus given to accept this reality that there are 3 distinct Divine Persons in One Essential God-head.

2. The Belief That Can Best Accommodate All Relevant Scripture Passages As True. (Some theologians call it the Harmony Of Scripture Principle.)

Take the argument whether salvation is by faith alone;  or salvation is by faith and works together.   The belief that salvation is through faith alone by the grace of God and evidenced by works is that one single belief which can accept all relevant and apparently antinomic verses as true.

Take another example in the argument whether the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah or whether the Rapture and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus is one single event or 2 separate events.  The belief of 2 separate events best accommodate all relevant verses pertaining to these 2 subjects.

Have you not noticed that for most paradoxical doctrines or prophecies,  we accept the 2-events prophecy and  2- positions stand –  even 2 apparently antinomic stand – which best accommodate all the relevant Scripture passages instead of holding on to one extreme position or stand ?

By saying  “best accommodate”,  I do not mean to come to a compromise or best guess position of all the verses.  On the contrary, I believe and accept all verses,  even apparently antinomic, to be true since it is God’s Word which is infallible or inerrant.  Besides,  human finiteness cannot fully explain the infiniteness of God and His ways.

Many believers do not take either extreme actually.  They are likely to agree on some points of each extreme.

** All information on this subject is gleaned from Gotquestions.org website.

Obedience without Faith is Legalism;
Faith without Obedience is Cheap Grace (aka hyper grace).

Recently I heard the following 2 arguments arguing for the belief of Unitarian God:

1. Arguing for literal interpretation hermeneutics, one must accept Jesus as the Son of God and that He can do nothing aside from God the Father as mentioned in the Scriptures;
2. Arguing for faithful adherence to the exact words from the Bible, there is no such term as Trinity mentioned in the Bible so one will be inviting a curse if one adds this new word into the Bible.

Arguing further since mutually exclusive events cannot possibly happen together, similarly it is impossible to have 3 distinct Persons in one Essential God, thus proving conclusively the Unitarian nature of God.  And that the doctrine of the Trinity of 3 distinct Persons in One God-head is mere tradition handed down the centuries.

As for me, I believe in the Holy Trinity – that God is 3 distinct Persons in one Essential God-head. And Jesus is 100% God and 100% man.

I will narrow the argument to only one very important question :

Is Jesus fully God?  

For our salvation is at stake if we believe a different Jesus.

The Unitarian-God belief essentially denies Jesus is God.

All the greatest scientific minds in the world cannot explain how Light can have dual nature in being particulate and wave in nature. But that contradiction does not deter scientists from accepting the observable truth and create new invention out of such knowledge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality

It is not surprising that the article in the above link says this : “Although the use of the wave-particle duality has worked well in physics, the meaning or interpretation has not been satisfactorily resolved; see Interpretations of quantum mechanics.” And Niels Bohr regarded it as a duality paradox.

So likewise if we cannot explain satisfactorily how light can have dual mutually exclusive nature, are we to dismiss the doctrine of Christ being 100% God and 100% man as well due to our limited knowledge ?

I will also appeal to interpret Scripture literally as well for my argument that Jesus is fully God. Read these verses and consider whether Jesus is equal to God and is fully God.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD.

Phil 2:5-7
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard EQUALITY WITH GOD a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

John 20:27-29
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and MY GOD !” 29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Rev 4: 9-11
9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and OUR GOD, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Rev 3:14-19

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,  I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

As the Laodicean church is mentioned last among the seven churches in Revelation,  it can very well be the state of the church in the last period of the last days.  The Laodicean church does seem to portray the church in the First World cities today.  The city of Laodicea had vibrant economy sectors in banking, education and manufacturing.   There were banks,  medical schools developing the Phrygian eye powders and clothing factories.  They were wealthy and self sufficient.  It is ironic that the citizens and the church saw themselves as rich, smart and lacking nothing as a result, but on the contrary, our Lord saw them as poor, blind and naked instead.

Wealth is deceitful and attempts to choke the life of the believer.  Affluent cities today are defying God’s moral laws and most live in dissipation.  Are not the global cities today reveling in making merry and money?  Are we not living in such cities focusing on such economy sectors and trusting our security solely on such wealth ?  How easily such affluence can make us poor, blind and naked with pride, self satisfaction and complacency instead.  We cannot serve both God and Mammon or we will end up being lukewarm.

The only way to get right healing from Christ our Lord for our spiritual sickness is to obey His exhortation to repent and be zealous in whole hearted devotion to Him.