Godhead Debate, Hayes vs Powers

Presented here is the affirmative I presented as my opening speech in the Hayes vs Powers debate. I am prayerful that you will enjoy reading my affirmative and also viewing the debate that I have also linked to. I am prayerful this will be a blessing. Please share this with all whom you think might be interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xboZD7T98eg

Proposition: The God of the Bible is One Rational/Sentient Being, Who has manifested Himself to HIs creation as the economy of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three distinct modes/personas of the One God’s economy have simultaneous existence.

Autotheos: The Self Existent God

The Father is the Autotheos whom we meet in the very first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning God …” Genesis 1:1

Even the Creeds recognize the Father as such:

The Creed of Nicea: “We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; …”

The Nicene Con-stan-ti-no-pol-i-tan Creed:

“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, …

The Apostles’ Creed:

“I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:”

My Intention 

Having given my proposition, I will proceed to prove it by three Infallible Proofs: 

1. Infallible Proof #1: That God is but one being who is rational, that is Self-conscious; 
2. Infallible Proof #2: That only the Father is God; 
3. Infallible Proof #3: That the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit are self revelations of the self same Father.

Infallible Proof #1: That God is but one being who is rational: that is Self-conscious; 

I will offer, here, a roster of texts that will demonstrate that God has existence as but one sentient “rational” Being: 

1. The Gate Keeper of the Faith: the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4
   Hear, O Israel: “The Lord our God is one Lord:” 

1. Hebrew: "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one];  
2. LXX: ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν

1. Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I, even I, am he, and there
   is no god with me: ... .” ～ The speaker is Father God, who denies the existence of any other god-person “with” Him. Those who mistakenly interpret John 1:1 as one god-person being “with” another god-person should consider this text. 
2. Isaiah 43:3 “For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: ... .” ～ The speaker is one individual, namely, Yahweh. (The word “LORD” in all capital letters indicates the Tetragramaton, i.e. YHWH.) Two other titles of God in this text are important: 

1. “Holy One of Israel:” the Deity is referenced throughout holy Scripture as “One,” never as a plural.
2. “Saviour:” Yahweh is clear that He alone is the Savour. 

1. Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” ～ Again, the speaker is Yahweh (YHWH) who speaks of Himself in the first person, and references Himself with the single personal pronouns: “I” and “Me.” Thus, Yahweh God is one individual, Who declares that there is no Savior apart Himself. (As a side note, one should see Luke 2:11, where Jesus is said to be the Savior, which Yahweh God declared Himself to be, exclusively.) Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 
2. Isaiah 44:6 “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” ～ The primary thing to take from this text (at this point) is that the speaker is Yahweh (YHWH), and He speaks in the first person singular and references Himself with single personal pronouns “I” and “Me;” He, further, denies the existence of any god-person other than Himself. Thus, God is but one person. 

1. One should make note that this one God-person said that He was the “King of Israel.” Now, this should be of interest, because Nathanael declared Jesus to be the “King of Israel” (John  1:49). 
2. Further, the one God-person, who stated “beside me there is no God,” claimed to Himself the titles of the “First and Last.” One should note that Jesus also made the same claim (Rev 1:8, 11). This, of course would be problematic if Jesus were not Yahweh God.

The remainder of the texts will be presented without comment, since our point is adequately established in the passages just given. 

1. Isaiah 44:8 “...Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” 
2. Isaiah 45:5 “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:” 
3. Isaiah 45:18 “ For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” 
4. Isaiah 45:21-22 “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” 

(In the  next two texts, an all important question is asked and answered.)

1. Isaiah 46:5 “To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?” 
2. Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,”

(Yahweh/Jehovah) is not a shared name: 

1. 12. Ps 83:18, That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah/Yahweh, art the most high over all the earth.

• Yet, Jesus is so named: Jer 23:6, In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Important: Jesus Validated Radical Monotheism, John 4:22  “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship (ἡμεῖς προσ-κυ-νοῦ-μεν ὃ οἴδαμεν,): for salvation is of the Jews.”

Know: Grk “eidō” (St’s G1492)

Infallible Proof #2. That only the Father is God. 

Paul taught that New Testament Christianity rests on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone (Eph 2:19-20 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;). With that in view, we will look to accomplish the second Infallible Proof with the testimony of the prophets, apostles, and Jesus Himself. 

• The witness of the Prophets:
  Isaiah 63:16 “Thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer;”
  Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” (NKJV) ～ According to the prophets, Yahweh alone is our Father; and He alone is the One God. 
• The witness of the Apostles:
  1 Corinthians 8:6 “But unto us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him:”
  Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” ～ According to the Apostle Paul, the only God is the Father; and He alone is the One God. 
• The witness of Jesus, Himself:
  John 17:1, 3 “These words spake Jesus, and lift up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father ... this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, ...” ～ According to the man Christ Jesus, the only true God is the Father. 

We consider it clear enough, from the Prophets, Apostles and Jesus Christ, that the Father is the only true God; said another way: There is no God but the Father— He is the Autotheos!

 So, God, then, is One Sentient Being (Infallible Proof #1); that One Sentient Being is the Father (Infallible Proof #2). 

Infallible Proof #3: That the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit are self relations of the self same Father.

1. Jesus, the Son, is the Self Revelation of the Father.  

1. John 1:18,  No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Bosom (Grk kolas from kilos “hollow”) used 6x in the NT; the front of the body, between the arms; the bosom of a garment; a bay of the ocean.
2. John 8:42, Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; …(answers John 16:28, I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.)          
3. Matthew 1:23, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Isa 7:14)
4. John 1:1, 14, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth
5. John 14:8-10, Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? …: … the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

To this the Apostle agrees:

1. 2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, …

To this the Prophet agrees:

1. Isa 9:6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

B. The Holy Spirit Is The Self Revelation Of The Father

1. The Holy Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4, “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’” (NKJV)～ Therefore, the terms “God” and “Holy Spirit” are titles of the same Almighty. 
2. John 4:24, God is a Spirit: Grk. πνεῦμα ὁ θεός
3. Ephesians 4:4, and one Spirit, in relation to God.

Holy Spirit Proceeds From The Father

1. John 14:26, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send …
2. John 15:26, … the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, …
3. The Holy Spirit is the “Power of the Highest” Luke 1:35, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
4. The Holy Spirit is the FATHER of Mary’s baby (the Son of Man) “for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:20.