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The Fullness of the Gospel - 1 - The Godhead
In 2006 the official Mormon Ensign magazine launched
"A series of articles explaining basic beliefs of the restored gospel"
entitled The Fullness of the Gospel. The series begins in the January
issue with the following quote:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
has many beliefs in common with other Christian churches," said Elder
Dallin H Oaks of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles. "But we have differences,
and those differences explain why we send missionaries to other Christians,
why we build temple in addition to churches, and why our beliefs bring
us such happiness and strength to deal with the challenges of life and
death." (Ensign, January 2006, p.50)
The first article (January 2006) addresses the nature of the godhead
and the first thing to note is that this huge subject is covered in
a page and a half. In a little over nine hundred words the article purports
to explain this fundamental of Mormonism, key to the 'Restoration' story
of Joseph Smith.
There is no substantial theology in the article in the sense of reasoning
from the Scriptures. No attempt to show what God has revealed about
himself in the past, and no effort to show how and why Mormon theology
fits better than Evangelical Christian theology into the Bible account
of God. Indeed, you might say that the writer takes these things as
read. The article might be summed up thus:
· The Mormon Church 'has many
beliefs in common with other Christian Churches. But we have differences…'
· The Mormon Godhead has three beings while other churches 'reject the
idea of three separate beings.'
· Thanks to Joseph Smith centuries of speculation have ended and the
true nature of God is known.
· The true purpose of life is now revealed as we realise man's literal
potential to become a god like the other gods of Mormonism.
No reason is given why we should believe these things. They are simply
asserted and the reader expected to accept their self-evident truth.
This confirms what we have believed for some time, i.e. that the flagship
Ensign magazine has become little more than an elaborate brochure for
the Mormon Church.
The Nature of the Godhead
Is the Christian Church 'confused' about the Godhead and have the centuries
truly been marked by endless speculation?
Has Mormonism 'Restored' true knowledge of God?
What does the Bible reveal about God's nature?
Which picture is closest to the Bible account, the Christian Trinity
or the Mormon plurality of gods?
If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams,
appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder,
and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he
says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let
us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or
dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love
him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut. 13:1-3)
The Bible makes clear that it is what prophets teach, not they're winsome
nature, urbane character, or apparent success, that is the clue to they're
status as guides.
Mormons claim to follow latter-day prophets who lead people to believe
those things that the Mormon Church itself admits are 'different'. These
differences, they claim, fill the considerable gaps in our understanding,
darkened by apostasy, and are their motivation and apologetic for sending
missionaries. We should remember that Mormonism does not bring what
might be readily recognised as the traditional Christian message, but
a very different gospel.
Nothing illustrates this better than their view on the nature of the
Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
"In common with the rest of Christianity we believe
in a Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. However, we testify that
these three members of the Godhead are three separate and distinct beings.
We also testify that God the Father is not just a spirit but is a glorified
person with a tangible body, as is the resurrected Son, Jesus Christ…In
contrast, many Christians reject the idea of a tangible, personal God
and a Godhead of three separate beings. They believe that God is a spirit
and that the Godhead is only one God. In our view, these concepts are
evidence of what we call the Great Apostasy." (Dallin Oaks)
This is a misrepresentation of the Christian God. The mistake the Mormons
have made is in assuming that any conception of the Infinite, Eternal
God must be fully comprehensible to finite man. In doing this they have
made the fundamental error of creating God in the image of man, making
him physical, finite and limited to time and space. Joseph Smith stated:
"It is the first principle of the gospel to know
for a certainty the character of God…and that He was once a man like
us." (History of the Church, 6:305)
What is the Mormon theology behind this conclusion? It is so far removed
from traditional Christian belief it is hardly credible that they should
get these ideas from the Bible and yet they claim to do that very thing.
Have Christians had it wrong for almost two thousand years and has Mormonism
restored the truth about God's nature? Using these articles as a starting
point we want to build a picture of what Mormons typically believe to
be true and fundamental to their faith and compare it with the Bible.
The 'Parts' of God
The Mormon will reason that in Genesis 32:30 Jacob declares "I saw God
face to face". Also in Exodus 33:11 we read "the Lord spoke to Moses
face to face, as a man speaks with his friend".
However, the Christian who knows the Bible will know that in Exodus
33:20 God declares that "you cannot see my face, for no-one may see
me and live". So what is the Bible talking about when it refers to men
seeing God "face to face"? In Numbers 12:6-8 we read:
"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I
reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this
is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With
him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles";
When prophets hear from God it is in visions and dreams and the prophet
may not always fully understand at the time the nature and purpose of
the message. Not so with Moses with whom God speaks "face to face",
or directly, "clearly and not in riddles". The term "face to face" is
an indication of the special relationship Moses had with God.
The 'Image' of God
The Mormon will further reason from Genesis 1:26-27 that God has a body
by saying that if we are made "in the image of God", and we have bodies,
then he must have a body. They will further reason that the Bible speaks
of God's physical attributes such as his eyes (Psalm 139:16); his hand
and arm (Psalm 44:3); his mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3).
The Christian might point out from Scripture that in John 4:24 Jesus
declared "God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit
and in truth". The resurrected Jesus said, "a spirit does not have flesh
and bones" Luke 24:39. If God is spirit and a spirit does not have a
body then what does Genesis 1:26-27 mean? In Ephesians 4:24 we read
of the purpose of our redemption:
"To put off your old self, which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness."
To be made in the image of God, then, is to enjoy his "communicable
attributes", i.e. his character and personality, righteousness, holiness,
wisdom, justice, love. To strengthen their argument, the Mormon will
reason from Matthew 5:48 that we are to "be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect". In the correct context this is not, as
they claim, a call to achieve godlike perfection, but to achieve right
thinking in our attitude to others, i.e.
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven. He causes his sun
to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
the unrighteous".
Impartial love, a God-like attribute imputed to man, making man to be
in the image of God.
References to God's eyes, mouth, hand and arm, etc. describe not God's
body but the activity of God, his eyes ever watchful; his arm, ever
reaching out to save; his mouth, communicating with us. We can point
out Psalm 91:4 "he will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings
you will find refuge". The Mormon will readily understand that God does
not have wings and that the Bible is speaking metaphorically. This is
true of every such reference.
The Fatherhood of God
The Mormon will reason, in his attempt to establish the man-like nature
of God, that "we are the children of God" Romans 8:16, meaning that
we are literally his offspring Acts 17:24-29, and that he is our "Father
in heaven" Matthew 5:48. This forms the basis of the Mormon Plan of
Salvation, i.e. "We are the children of our Father in Heaven. We are
created in his image. Because he is the Father of all people, we are
brothers and sisters" and "God has a plan" for his children.
However, Malachi 2:10 clearly links creation and the fatherhood of God
"Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?" God is the
father of humanity in the sense that he created humanity. Acts 17:24-26
speaks of God "giving all men life and breath" teaching that "From one
man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole
earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places
where they should live". The statement that "we are his offspring" is
clearly set in the context of creation. Romans 8:16 is again dealt with
properly in context for in verse 15 we read "For you did not receive
a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the
spirit of adoption. And by him we cry Abba, Father".
In Acts, then, we have a reference to God as our Creator/Father, while
in Romans we have a reference to God as our Father by adoption, through
faith in the saving work of his Son and the leading of the Spirit. Matthew
5:48 takes on a wholly different meaning as we consider our creation
and subsequent adoption into God's family, i.e. "even as your Father
(who made you and adopted you into his family) is perfect".
The True 'Otherness' of God
The contrast between the nature of God and the nature of man could not
be more clearly stated than in Psalm 90:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout
all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth
the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn men back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone
by, or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the sleep of
death; they are like the new grass of the morning - though in the morning
it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered (Ps.90:1-6)
God is eternal, "from everlasting to everlasting", while man is mortal,
springing up in the morning but by evening dry and withered. He is our
Creator and we are creatures.
While Christians see man being made in the image of God the Mormons
have quickly taken us to a god who is in the image of man. They start
with reference to a Supreme Being but end up worshipping a Superior
Being, i.e. an exalted man.
Incomprehensible
In his Confessions Augustine of Hippo reflected on the incomprehensible
nature of God:
"Who then are you, my God? What, I ask, but God who is Lord? For, 'Who
is the Lord but the Lord', or 'who is God but our God?' (Ps.17:32).
Most high, utterly good, utterly powerful, most omnipotent, most merciful
and most just, deeply hidden yet most intimately present, perfection
of both beauty and strength, Stable and incomprehensible, immutable
and yet changing all things, never new, never old, making everything
new and 'leading' the proud 'to be old without their knowledge' (Job
9:5); always active, always in repose, gathering to yourself but not
in need, supporting and filling and protecting, creating and nurturing
and bringing to maturity, searching even though to you nothing is lacking:
you love without burning, you are jealous in a way that is free of anxiety,
you 'repent' (Gen.6:6) without the pain of regret, you are wrathful
and remain tranquil. You will a change without any change in your design.
You recover what you find, yet have never lost. Never in any need, you
rejoice in your gains (Lk.15:7); you are never avaricious, yet you require
interest (Matt.25:27). We pay you more than you require so as to make
you our debtor, yet who has anything which does not belong to you? (1
Cor.4:7). You pay off debts, though owing nothing to anyone; you cancel
debts and incur no loss." (St Augustine, Confessions, Chadwick, 1991)
The best minds in Christian history have struggled with these ideas
and, in the final analysis, such knowledge as we have of God is beyond
our natural comprehension and must come by revelation, i.e. what we
know of God is limited to what God reveals about himself. For the rest
we can only stand in wonder with Augustine at the utter 'otherness'
of God. The Mormon comprehension of God, in contrast, is limited only
by man's imagination as Mormons conceive God as an exalted man. The
Mormon God is far from the incomprehensible being described by Augustine
and revealed in the Bible. His ways are very much our ways, his thoughts
just like our own, his life an extension of finite existence once lived
out on an earth, just as will be ours.
The Mormon claim that revelation alone can reveal the true nature of
God, but what has God already revealed of himself, how have Christians
understood this, and how does it compare with Mormon claims?
The Christian God
Three things might be said about the traditional Christian view of the
Godhead:
1. There is but one God
2. The Father, the Son and the Spirit is each fully and eternally God
3. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit is each a distinct person
The Bible makes it clear there is one God, and only one God:
Before me no god was formed, nor will there
be one after me (Is.43:10b)
I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God (Is.44:6)
I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God
(Is.45:5)
I am the LORD, and there is no other (Is. 45:18b)
And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there
is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the
earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Is. 45:21b-22)
The Bible also shows a plurality in God's being:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now some teachers of the law…[thought],
'Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive
sins but God alone?" (Mk.2:7-10)
'For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so
the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it' (Jn.5:21)
Jesus forgives sin as only God can and gives life, as only God can,
because he has life in himself (Jn.1:4). Yet Jesus is not the Father,
as is made clear from Jn.5:21 (c.f. Mk.1:11).
Jesus speaks of the Spirit as being of the same kind or nature with
himself:
'If you love me you will obey what I command.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to
be with you forever - the Spirit of truth' (Jn.14:15-17)
'Another Counsellor' here means 'Another like me', another of the same
kind. He is 'the Counsellor' or 'Advocate' and 'Intercessor', words
applied to Jesus. We read in the Bible that 'the Spirit gives life'
(1 Cor.3:6) even as the Father gives life and the Son has life in himself
and gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
The Bible reveals, then, that there is one God, but there are three
persons who are God. There is one God but this one God has a plural
nature. This one God is called the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Christians do not reject a Godhead of three separate persons, rather
we believe in what the Bible tells us.
The God of Christianity is an eternal being, plural in nature, comprising
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This God created all things ex nihilo -
out of nothing. He became man in the person of the Son, Immanuel, God
with us, in order to save fallen and lost humanity from their sin by
the sacrifice of the Cross. He dwells in us by his Spirit (Eph.2:22)
and by his indwelling we have Christ 'in us' and fellowship with the
Father (Ro.8:9-10; 1 John 1:3).
Conclusion
The god of Mormonism is a man, who became a god through repentance and
obedience to his god, formed a world from materials already in existence,
and peopled it with his already pre-existing spirit children. He sent
another god, the Mormon Jesus, to save his children by showing them
an example of obedience. He then sent a third god to guide his church,
though not very successfully since it apostatised, and finally sent
Joseph Smith to achieve what neither the Christ nor the Spirit of Mormonism
were able to do at first.
It is not true that the church has been confused over the centuries
until Joseph came along. Rather, the church has wrestled with these
things, seeking God in his Word and by prayer, and determined to accept
only what the Bible reveals to us.
"… you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and
accuse you to your face" (Ps. 50:21)
For further reading:
Saint Augustine, Confessions, OUP, 1991, trans. Chadwick
Should Christians Apologise? Reachout Trust, 2004, Harris, Hayward,
Thomas
New Bible Dictionary, Trinity, IVP, 1996 ed.
Systematic Theology, God: The Trinity, IVP, 1994, Wayne Grudem
Knowing God, J I Packer, Hodder & Stoughton
According to Plan, Goldsworthy, IVP
At The Heart of the Universe, Peter Jensen, IVP
Mormon Teaching Notes, a systematic critique of the Mormon Missionary
Discussions, Reachout Trust.