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.



Revised October 29, 2013