GOD'S ONE TRUE CHURCH
prepared by Don R. Hender
With all the religions of belief and even
religions of disbelief in the world from since the time of Adam, what is the
importance of finding 'God's One True Church', if there be such in the world
today? Certainly there are thousands of religious belief systems including
those which some would say are not of a 'religious nature' but truely even
they are so, such as the religion of science, the religions of no 'no
religions' which have various set structures of acceptable established
belief norms in and of themselves, there are religions of life's devotion
such as the religion of sports, the religion of 'Star Trekies', even the
religion of Hollywood idol worship, and so on and so forth. Yet in terms of
opposing forces there are those religions thought of as of the Devil and of
course those religions of the one true benevolant God. But even there there
are gray areas of over lap. Does the one true God demand forced compliance to
his every word even by the force of death or is he a God of tolerance and to
what degrees of tolerance? Does he tolerate all behavior and only demands a
pronounced belief in Him, or does he expect an acceptabl 'Standard' of living
to so qualify a person to be considered one of His followers? All are questions
will tremendous room for belabored debate.
Now one could debate forever and still not arrive at the 'one correct' solution.
And at best out of such debate comes only the accepted result of he who debates
the best and not necessarily anything even near to the truth of the matter.
Thus I must turn from the realm of such fruitless labor as debate and but
merely state that which I have found to be the truth of the matter and what it
does consist of. I would hope that you would hear me out based upon that
premise. And whether you agree with me or not, that is no matter to be for
debate. I know what I know, you know what you think you know, and I am welling
to share my perspective with you for your consideration.
So where do I begin? Well I suppose that it is the Israelite in me that I must
begin with the consideration that there is only one true God which we have been
given to accept and worship. And though my concept of the 'One True God' is
not the same as many of my Jewish brothers, it is upon that basis which I will
begin. The Biblical God of the Old Testament is of course that One True God
and Paul the apostle uses the fact of mythical lure to introduce him to the
Gentiles of the Roman Empire when he speaks of the 'Unknown God' as being this
God which Paul represents as God. But here is the twist. This one true God
of the Old Testament is but that same God whom Paul does serve and that is
Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Thus I have quickly gone from the Jewish
slant which denounced the Christ to making Christ the same as the God of the
Old Testament. But how does that work? When Jesus is the Son of God, how is
it that Jesus is God?
John the apostle writes:
"IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were
made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was
life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it not." ~ John 1:1-5
And thus John takes his reader all the way back to Genesis and does introduce
to the reader God, the Word, who was not only with God but was God and the
'maker' of all things, whithout whom was not any thing made that was made.
Does John merely mix and play on words? Is this God not to be comprehended?
The authors of the Nicene Creed which is had today upon which the doctrine of
the Trinity is based would seem to conclude so as even today they say of it
that this God is beyond the comprehension of man. And without further
explanation than that creed inovated by men and the uninspired reading of
scripture alone, it seems that we are left in the unconprehensible wonderment.
Again I turn to the words of John as he writes those words of the great
intercessory prayer which Jesus Christ did pray unto the Father for the
benefit of his apostles and all of the saints and true followers of Christ.
"THESE words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and
said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that they Son also may glorify
thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." ~ John
17:1-5
Thus from the Beginning until the end of the work of Christ we seem to have
an account which places the Word, that is Christ, in the presence of the
Father wherein the Word was the Maker of all things. And Christ the Word
once he would have finished his work of the atonement would return back to
the presence and glory of his Father. This must be the consideration unless
in fact God the Father and God the Son are but one in the same being as does
that doctrine of men of the Trinity is to be accepted. In either case it is
a mystery that has been hid from most all mens understanding through the ages
of the times of man upon the earth. Just what is the relationship between the
Father and the Son?
Now the scriptures do further speak of Jesus Christ and the Godhead of God. When
Paul writes to the Colossians saints he warns them thus:
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit, after the tradtition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and
not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily." ~ Colossians 2:8-9
Yes! Jesus Christ does posses the fulness of the powers of the Godhead. Yes!
Jesus Christ is the same Lord and God as Jehovah of the Old Testament. Yes!
All things of the temporal creation that were made were made by him. In him
is invested the very heights, all principalities and powers of God. Yes! He
is our God whom we worship, Jesus Christ of the New Testament the same being
Jehovah of the Old Testament. In he does stand as that One True Unknown God.
And it even he whom the Jewis do still today ignorantly worship though they
do not accept him as their Savior and Redeemer in Jesus Christ.
So now wherein is the turth of God? And in so coming to know God and Jesus
Christ whom he has sent can we come to know of God's true church and doctrine?
In short God's true Church is that true Christian Church which Jesus Christ
established in Jesus' day and time, that is the true Church of Jesus
Christ, and that is God's one and only true church. There is no other way
but by way of Christ who is the same ministering God as Jehovah of the Old
Testament. It is a church which does not spread by forced membership, which
was Lucifer's plan. It is a church which is spread by invitation and the
preaching of the true word of God.
Christ Hidden in God
So often it is heard but not completely understood that Jesus Christ is the
'Anointed One', that is the anointed of the Father. So just who was it that
anointed and empowered Jesus Christ? Of course it was God the Father, our
Father in Heaven. In this anointing comes the selection and empowerment of
the Redeemer of the mortal temporal creation. That is from the beginning of
the marking of the ages of time from out of eternity, it was Christ Jehovah
who Saves [Jesus/Jehoshua] who was in the presence of God the Father. And the
Celestial Father consecrated, anointed, ordained and invested in him all the
power and authority of God, even that was and is the very fulness of the
Godhead bodily. That is Jesus alone could/would/should stand in the stead of
the Father in all things. Jesus alone was to be the creating force of this
temporal creation—that what he so created he would redeem. Jesus alone
was the appointed ministering God of this temporal mortality, for only those
who pertain to this creation do so minister unto it (D&C 130:5). Certainly
the Celestial Father in Heaven was not to reduce or reverse Himself to come
to the mortal telestial realm to take upon himself mortality, he being beyond
it in the Glory and Immortality of Celestial Eternal Life. Thus he selected
and chose one of his children, his firstborn son in the spirit, to be so
empowered to act in his stead in all things. And he placed upon him his
own divine investiture of empowerment to stand in the stead of the Father in
all things. And he empowered him, Jesus/Jehovah to be the mediator, the
advocate and the intercessor between man of this fallen temporal estate and
God the Father in Heaven. Thus as Jehovah, God of this temporal creation did
he who would also be Jesus Christ our Redeemer act in the place of our One
True God.
Now the question may seem to beg the answer, 'Which of all the Christian
Churches is 'Jesus Christ's Chruch'? In fact of matter that question has
already been simply answered. If it is Jesus Christ's Church is ought to be
called by his name, 'The Church of Jesus Christ'. As to just how that church
began in the more modern era and how it was lost in olden times, I but
refer you to another page concerning The
Great Apostasy and Restoration of Christ's Church.
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