The Genesis 32:30 John 1:18 KJB PARADOX Portrays Jesus Christ PERFECTLY
Genesis 32:30
“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
King James Version (KJV)
John 1:18
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
King James Version (KJV)
To the unlearned and feeble minded this appears as a great Contradiction. Atheists love to throw these examples of scripture in the face of Christians.
The truth is what we observe here in these 2 scriptures is a PARADOX. I will explain more below. First we must establish the truth that IF there were contradictions in the Bible that would mean that God lies.
God does NOT lie.
Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
King James Version (KJV)
Titus 1:2
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
King James Version (KJV)
"When learning a teaching, our mind tries to understand. Because God is not a liar (Proverbs 8:7-8, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18) and logic is without doubt, logic is a requirement for doctrine. If we disregard logic, our mind cannot serve doctrine. Hence, we need to know what a paradox and a contradiction is.
A paradox is defined as when there are two or more statements, where all statements are true, but it is not clear how they can be brought into agreement, and once it is clear, the paradox is solved.
A contradiction is defined as when there are two or more statements, where not all statements can be true and therefore cannot be brought into agreement.
When encountering a paradox, the study around each of the involved Bible verses needs to be expanded until the paradox is solved, going from verse to verses, from verses to chapters, from chapters to books, and from books to the whole Bible.
Genesis 32:30
“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
King James Version (KJV)
John 1:18
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
King James Version (KJV)
John 1:18 gives us the answer to why the Father who is SPIRIT who is God is JESUS CHRIST IN THE FLESH. Philip struggled with this John when Jesus admonishes him and states:
John 14:9
“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, Shew us the Father?”
King James Version (KJV)
Colossians 1:15
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”
King James Version (KJV)
Hi Andrew. I commented on one of your YouTube videos a while back; maybe you remember me. I read a verse that blew my mind recently and thought I'd share the experience with you. I don't think it directly relates to this article, but...one might say it does.
ReplyDeleteAs I study the old testament, something I used to ponder was "Who is the narrator? and therefore the author of it all. And I began to theorize that it could only be Jesus Christ himself, but couldn't quite settle on it. Until recently I read something in Exodus.
Throughout the OT, I was noticing that very often, the author would write something like "Then God said to Moses, I will....", so the author was recording his witnessing God talking to Moses (or whomever), but it's rare that you see the author say, of himself "I will..." without "Then the Lord said" preceding it.
So the verse I speak of is found in Exodus 13, and one might want to read all of the chapter to get the context, but really, just verses 14 & 15 could suffice. And it ends with "but all the firstborn of my children I redeem."
By careful examination, I concluded that the author is clearly God, and is clearly addressing each and every reader that reads this verse. But if the reader isn't paying close attention, they might take it as what one is to tell their son when they ask "why is this done, father?" which it cannot be, unless the father has more than one wife and therefore might have more than one firstborn son that he'd be obligated to sanctify unto the Lord.
So then another question has come to my mind. The Soul of the Godhead, and the Spirit of the Godhead didn't physically write down the scriptures, right? So...was Jesus present bodily in the OT, not as Messiah, but rather just as a common person, who was witnessing all the events of God's interactions with the human race, and recording them; and on the rare occasion added in his very own thought, just to very subtly let readers know that he was always there? Did Jesus as a physically present commoner write all of the OT, leaving behind texts for humanity to find and know and share?
Part 1 of 2
DeleteAndy:
Thank you for your in-depth commentary. You have a gift for searching for the depths of scripture. I had to take extra time to carefully study your comment. Overall it is very thought provoking.
One very important thing I’ve learned in my years of Bible STUDY (key word study) is we have to follow strict guidelines in allowing scripture to interpret itself and not fall into the trap of attempting to make an interpretation fit based on our own thoughts. We also must always apply solid hermeneutics which basically are adhering to CONTEXT, EXEGESIS (Grammar, Syntax, Vocabulary within context), and paramount is HARMONIZE SCRIPTURE with Scripture. All scripture must fit as a witness. I will go through your comment and address each part separately.
You begin with quote:
As I study the Old Testament, something I used to ponder was "Who is the narrator? and therefore the author of it all.
And I began to theorize that it could only be Jesus Christ himself, but couldn't quite settle on it. Until recently I read something in Exodus.
My Comment:
Technically, the narrator is the person writing the scripture, but ultimately yes, you are absolutely correct. As I have posted in several Blog studies, The Bible is literally Jesus Christ speaking through the mouth of the writer. In my 7-part series of the Messianic Psalms I point out where it is even written that the Holy Ghost (The PERSON of Jesus Christ himself speaking spiritually through the MOUTH OF DAVID). See my 7-part study and also my Blog on Doctrine is the TEACHING of God’s WORD by the teacher himself, Jesus Christ:
Acts 1:16
“Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.”
King James Version (KJV)
The Messianic Psalms are vital to our Faith Conclusion
https://www.thethirdheaventraveler.com/2024/10/the-messianic-psalms-are-vital-to-our.html
Doctrine is: Learning The Teaching of the Word of God
https://www.thethirdheaventraveler.com/2023/09/what-is-doctrine-deep-study-we-must.html
Part 2 of 2
DeleteYou write:
Throughout the OT, I was noticing that very often, the author would write something like "Then God said to Moses, I will....", so the author was recording his witnessing God talking to Moses (or whomever), but it's rare that you see the author say, of himself "I will..." without "Then the Lord said" preceding it.
My Comment: Yes, I agree.
You Write:
So the verse I speak of is found in Exodus 13, and one might want to read all of the chapter to get the context, but really, just verses 14 & 15 could suffice. And it ends with "but all the firstborn of my children I redeem."
By careful examination, I concluded that the author is clearly God, and is clearly addressing each and every reader that reads this verse.
My Comment: Yes, I agree.
You Write:
But if the reader isn't paying close attention, they might take it as what one is to tell their son when they ask "why is this done, father?" which it cannot be, unless the father has more than one wife and therefore might have more than one firstborn son that he'd be obligated to sanctify unto the Lord.
My comment: I have read this passage several times and I honestly do not understand what you’re saying here. Sorry.
You Write:
So then another question has come to my mind. The Soul of the Godhead, and the Spirit of the Godhead didn't physically write down the scriptures, right?
My comment: No, as I point out in the beginning the Spirit of the Godhead - literally the living Spirit of Christ functioning as the “persona - SOUL” of Jesus Christ titled the HOLY GHOST speaks through the mouth of the person chosen to write scripture. A human like for example David wrote many of the Psalms. Paul wrote Romans etc.
You Write:
So...was Jesus present bodily in the OT, not as Messiah, but rather just as a common person, who was witnessing all the events of God's interactions with the human race, and recording them; and on the rare occasion added in his very own thought, just to very subtly let readers know that he was always there?
My comment:
Not to get tangled in semantics, technically Jesus Christ has existed eternally as THE MESSIAH but it was NOT until he brought himself through the WOMB of the virgin Mary and was born with blood in his body through the amabodic fluid of a woman did he become the SON OF MAN. In my detailed studies in COME MEET MY KINSMAN REDEEMER We see time and time again that Jesus Christ appeared throughout the Old Testament.
You Write:
Did Jesus as a physically present commoner write all of the OT, leaving behind texts for humanity to find and know and share?
My comment: See my comments above. Jesus Christ exists eternally as the living Spirit of Christ functioning as the “persona - SOUL” of Jesus Christ titled the HOLY GHOST speaks through the mouth of the person chosen to write scripture. A human like for example David wrote many of the Psalms. Paul wrote Romans etc.
Acts 1:16
“Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.”
King James Version (KJV)
Thank you Andrew,
ReplyDeleteSo then, we are left to wonder if (let's use the 5 books of Moses here) it is Moses who physically wrote the 5 books, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and therefore always spoke of himself in the third person? Or was there some other person that was under the influence of the Holy Ghost that maintained anonymity? I find it hard to believe that, if Moses physically did the writing, that he would have always referred to himself in third person.
Concerning the one thing I commented that you couldn't understand: Exodus 13:14-15 explains what an Israelite father should answer to a son who asks "Why are these things done with firstborn beasts and sons?" so, the very last thing said in 15 ("but all the firstborn of my children I redeem") I imagine many read and consider to be part of what the father is to explain to his son who has asked him "Why are these things done with firstborn beasts and sons?" Which would be an erroneous understanding because one man can't have first born sons (plural) unless he has more than one wife (each wife could have a first born son). I think it's safe to assume that 99.999% of the time, each man had only one wife. So the very last thing said in verse 15 is a sudden switch from the explanation that a father is to give to his son, to God himself speaking in the first person regarding the nation of Israel (whom He has referred to as His firstborn son). I hope all that clears this up :-)
I pray you do not allow your CARNAL MIND (which is enmity against God) try to logically conclude what scripture does not say. It really does not matter what we think it is what scripture says. We have 2 major scriptures that CLEARLY SAY MAN WROTE THE BIBLE under the inspiration of God.
Delete2 Timothy 3:16
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
King James Version (KJV)
Acts 1:16 (KJV)
"Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus."
You also can NOT ASS UME that 99.999% men had only 1 wife. In the spiritural realm persons 1st, 2nd 3rd in grammar change frequently and so does time. You realize in Isaiah there are instances in only one chapter where Isaiah is referring to things PAST PRESENT and thousands of years in the future.
I believe you're getting your own logic involved here. SCRIPTURE MUST INTERPRET SCRIPTURE.
Thank you dear brother 🙏🏼
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. God bless you.
Delete