“THE GOOD CONFESSION”

 

“Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called,      and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.”                                 (1 Timothy 6:12)

In his first epistle to Timothy, the apostle Paul admonished Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith”. He then reminded Timothy that he was called for this very reason. He then mentioned that Timothy made a profession or confession to that end “in the sight of many witnesses. It is significant that Paul used the past tense (“didst confess”). Whatever this confession was which Timothy made, it was done in the past. Let us consider what this confession was, and when it was made. 

Paul connects this ‘good confession’ with the ‘good fight of faith’. Then he states that Timothy was “called” to fight this ‘good fight’. The ‘good confession’ which Timothy made was when he responded to the gospel call (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; see also: Romans 10:10; 2 Corinthians 9:13; and 1 Timothy 6:13).

While this ‘good confession’ is to be upheld, there is an initial confession to be made. From Hebrews 3:1 we know that this is a confession about Jesus rather than about ourselves.

Most all denominational preachers tell sinners to confess their SINS. A text often cited in support of confession of sins is Romans 10:10, 13: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The mistake made in citing this text, is a MIS-use of “WHO” is being addressed in this context. This epistle was written to Christians, not sinners (see Romans 1:7). The confession that is to be made is clear from the text, for in v. 9 we read, “That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth THE LORD JESUS, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Another text that is cited for support of confession of sins is 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Again, this passage is written to Christians, NOT sinners (cf. 1 John 2:1, 18, 28; 3:1, 18; 4:1, 7, 13-21) Every N. T. epistle was written to those who already had “called upon the name of the Lord”.

The ‘good confession’ about Jesus is initially made by an alien sinner. It is found throughout the book of Acts. It was NEVER an admission that one is a sinner. The first time we find this ‘good confession’ being made was by those Jews on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), Notice the example of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. His confession is clear. The eunuch (a sinner) wanted to be immersed in water; Phillip told him that he had to CONFESS something about JESUS. His confession was the same as the Jews’ confession on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:36 with Acts 8:37).

This confession that the Jews and the eunuch made about Jesus could NOT be confessed PRIOR to Jesus’ being raised from the dead, for Jesus was neither “Lord” nor “Christ” prior to his resurrection. This is why those examples of sinners being saved prior to Jesus’ resurrection are NOT applicable today. While on earth, Jesus spoke forgiveness to many: 

The crippled man – Luke 5:16-24 – “Man thy sins are forgiven thee” – v. 20 FORGIVENESS WAS MERELY SPOKEN. 

The sinner woman who anointed His feet – Luke 7:36-50 – “Thy sins are forgiven” – v. 48 FORGIVENESS WAS MERELY SPOKEN. 

The thief on the cross – Luke 23:43 – “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise”. Again, FORGIVENESS WAS MERELY SPOKEN. 

These people, as sinners, were healed of physical infirmities, and had their sins ‘spoken’ away. But these instances were PRIOR to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus! What about NOW? Is this how people are saved TODAY? Had God’s eternal purpose been accomplished BEFORE Jesus shed His blood? None of these 3 could believe and confess what Paul stated in Romans 10:9-10, The reason is because Jesus had not even been put to death at this time, much less raised from the dead. 

We cannot look to any example PRIOR to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for our example of how to be saved TODAY. A sinner must confess Jesus as Lord and Christ; possessing ALL authority. The commands that Jesus meant for those who desire His saving blood to be applied to their sins, are the same commands that He gave to the apostles shortly before His ascension. They are recorded in Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; and Luke 24:44-47. It was these commands that the apostle was referring to when he mentioned a ‘form of doctrine’ that must be obeyed by the sinner to reach Christ’s blood now that it has been shed (cf. Romans 6:17-18). Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 reflects this: 

Acts 2:32 – “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” 

Acts 2:36 – “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.”

Neither of these things could be believed or confessed of Jesus by the sinner woman, the crippled man, nor the thief on the cross. In each recorded case of conversion, following belief, repentance, and confession of their faith in Jesus, each sinner was commanded to be baptized in water FOR remission.

THE GODHEAD

 

Where does one begin in his search to understand God? May I suggest as a starting point that you begin with a proper understanding of the term G-O-D. The word GOD is not a name like Peter, David, or Barnabas, are human names.  The Hebrew word for God (ELOHIM), is a plural term referring to more than one being. The scriptures clearly show this plural aspect of the term.

In Genesis 1:26, when describing the creation of man, Moses wrote, “And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness…”. These plural pronouns refer to more than one being. After man sinned, Moses again wrote in Genesis 3:22, “Behold, the man is become as ONE OF US…”. After the flood, when the descendants of Noah attempted to build a tower to reach heaven, God, in displeasure stopped the efforts by confounding their language. Moses again wrote in Genesis 11:7 that God said, “Come let US go down…”. The prophet Isaiah, when commissioned to go preach, recorded in Isaiah 6:8, that he “heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘who will go for US’.”

Who are the plurality of beings that are God? The Bible mentions three: the Father; the Word, who became flesh and thereafter was the Son (cf. John 1:1-3; Philippians 2:5-10); and the Holy Spirit. These three beings are whom the apostle Paul referred to as the “God-HEAD”. This term GODHEAD is found three times in Scripture:

Acts 17:29 – “...we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man.”   

Romans 1:20 – For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity-ASV(Godhead-KJV)

Colossians 2:9 – ...for in him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily...

We see from this a clear connection between the Creation and the Godhead. From Romans 1:20, we see that the term GODHEAD is having reference to the divine nature or divinity of God. A divine being is not bound or limited as human beings are. The three entities who comprise the Godhead have neither beginning nor end and as such are eternal in nature. This is seen from God’s interrogation of Job in Job 38 & 39.

All three beings were involved in the creation:

1] The WORD: (Psalm 104:5-9; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17.0; Hebrews 1:2; 2:10; 2 Peter 3:5-6; Revelation 4:11).

2] The SPIRIT: (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; 27:3; 32:8; 33:4; Psalm 33:6; Isaiah 42:5).

3] The FATHER: (Acts 14:15; 17:24). 

John wrote of the eternal nature of the Father and the Son in 1 John 1:1-2. (cf. John 1:3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:12-17). We read of the eternal nature of the Spirit from Genesis 1:2 and Psalm 139:7-10. 

Understanding how several individual divine beings comprise but one Deity is no different from understanding how several individual human beings comprise but one humanity. Note the illustrations below.

As the term humanity refers to a plurality of human beings, so the term God refers to a plurality of divine beings.

In the O. T., we don’t read of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Rather, we read of Jehovah; God; the Lord; or the Lord God. The reason is simple; the ‘WORD’ had not yet become flesh. However, in the N. T., the word God may refer to all three beings, or only the Father (cf. Philippians 2:5 with Philippians 2:10; see also 2 Corinthians 13:14). The context will determine this. After the WORD became flesh, the terms SON and FATHER were prominent. Jesus often referred to His FATHER in heaven (cf. Matthew 15:13; 16:17, 27; 18:10). All three (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) are mentioned in the following scriptures: Matthew 28:19; John 14:26; 15:26; Acts 2:33-34; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2.

We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, “All Scripture is inspired by God.”. We read in Hebrews 1:1 that “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets…”. Yet we find in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that men spoke from God being moved by the Holy Spirit. In 1 Peter 1:10-11 Peter stated that the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets.

 

Let us remember: “If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit ...” (Romans 8:11).