Sabbath 22/4/36/120

Dear Friends,

We know from Scripture in John 6:44 that it is the Lord God who calls us and gives us to the Messiah. It is through the Messiah that we come into the spiritual Temple that God is building in order that we may develop and fulfil our destiny to become part of the elohim as a son of God in His family. Being the chief cornerstone of God’s Temple, it is the Messiah who reveals the Father to us (Matt.11:25-27). As the anointed Lord to Israel by the Most High (Elyon) (Deut. 32:8-9 RSV), he revealed the Father to the prophets of old including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, and delivered the Law to Moses. It is through the Messiah that we come to know Him, the one true God, who alone we are to worship (Matt.4:10, Jn. 4:21-24).

We also know that it is by the power of God’s Holy Spirit as it extends from God through the Messiah that we do enter into a relationship with the Father. The knowledge and mysteries of God revealed to us by the Messiah allow us to come to the knowledge of the Father that is accurate and thorough. It is through the Messiah that we develop a close relationship, and not just an acquaintance, with the Lord God Eloah. We do not worship the Messiah in the same absolute sense as we worship God the Most High.

There are many reasons why we worship only the Father in the true or absolute sense of the word. In simplest terms, the King is honoured and respected above all the members of His Court. The Father is respected and revered above all else as He is the Creator, absolute power, and final authority. He appeals to no higher authority nor is there another God above Him. He is the final and absolute authority. He has power over all life (Jn. 5:26-30), including those of His heavenly Court or Council, who are the subordinate elohim.

His created spirit-sons are spoken of in Job 1:6, 2:1, 33:23-24, 38:7.

Job 1:6) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (KJV and RSV)

Job 2:1) One day the members of the heavenly court [sons of God KJV] came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. (NLT)

The Father sent one of His sons to be His emissary to mankind, and to be the Messiah.

John 5:43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

The son of God who became the incarnate Messiah, the Monogenes Theos (only born God) is recorded by John as saying that it is the Father who gives him life. It was through the resurrection that the Father restored the Messiah to his former state and anointed him to sit at His right hand:

John 5:26-30
26) For just as the Father has life in himself, so by the Father’s gift, the Son also has life in himself. 27) And he has given him authority to judge because he is Son of Man.
28) No, do not be surprised—the time is coming when all those who are dead and buried will hear his voice 29) and out they will come—those who have done right will rise again to life, but those who have done wrong will rise to face judgment! 30) "By myself I can do nothing. As I hear from God, I judge, and my judgment is true because I do not live to please myself but to do the will of the Father who sent me”. (Phillips)

Every word of God (SHD #433-Eloah) is pure (Prov.30:4-5). The Messiah came to speak His Father’s words:

John 8:28-29
28)So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me.
29) And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him." (RSV)

And:

John 17:7-9
7) Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee; 8) for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9) I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; (RSV)

Verse 9 confirms that the Father calls us to the Messiah and we are placed in his care as he is now our elder brother and High Priest to guide us to the Father.

Hebrews 2:10-18
10) It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11) For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12) saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."
13) And again, "I will put my trust in him. "And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given me."
14) Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15) and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.
16) For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.
17) Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18) Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. (NRSV)

The first four of the Ten Commandments, which are also the longest, clearly charge men to worship the one true God and Him alone (Ex. 20:3-10). To place anyone or anything in the position of worship reserved for the Father constitutes gross disobedience to His will and is sin. There are those from the Sabbatarian Churches of God system who continue to preach the false doctrine that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament and ancient Israel did not know God the Father. Do not be deceived by this false doctrine as some are. This demonic doctrine has even led a minister to absurdly claim on his website that the first commandment of God applies to Jesus Christ and not to God the Father.

See the Study Papers: The Government of God (No.174) at http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p174.html and The First Commandment: The Sin of Satan http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p153.html
Audios for these papers can be downloaded or opened at: http://ccg.org/_scripts/english/A1n.asp

God is building His spiritual Temple with the Messiah as the chief cornerstone and high priest. In God’s Temple, whether in the physical Old Covenant Temple system or the spiritual New Covenant Temple, the high priest is the mediator for the people. He never directs or accepts worship to himself, that is reserved for God the Father. Neither does the high priest accept prayers directed to himself. We are to worship and pray to God only.

We are to worship God in spirit and truth.

John 4:21-24
21) Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22) You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (RSV)

Yes, we acknowledge The Messiah as our Lord and Saviour. Before him every knee of the creation will bend. He represents the King, the Lord God Almighty. We honour and love him, but we do not worship him in the same absolute sense that is reserved for only the Father. Those in the synagogue of Satan will be made to come before the feet of the Elect and worship before their feet (Rev. 3:9). This form of worship is not the same form of worship we give to the Father. (See also Rev. 19:10 and 22:8-9.) The Greek word proskuneo (SGD #4352) has varied meanings.

The Messiah taught us to pray to the Father, and nowhere does he instruct us to pray to him. As we pray to the Father, we are told by the Messiah to pray in his name. Once again, do not be deceived by the false teachings that have entered into the Churches of God who say that it is OK to pray to Christ. They are deceived. They do not understand God’s Temple system and the role of the High Priest and the Messiah in it.

Tom Schardt
Coordinator, Southern California