Day 50-I and My Father are One-5/17/06

Fifty days since I left Oklahoma. That's a milestone. Or at least a mild milestone. Today is p-day. I've got some time now. I'll finish Bro. Clark's lesson that I was talking about back on day 22. We were asked to play a game about answering questions that we would encounter in the mission field. Our group was asked: In John 10:30 the Savior says, "I and my Father are one." Explain how we know that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father are separate beings.

There are many choice scriptures in the Bible to explain this question. Frankly, it's almost too easy. First you reference Matthew 3:15-17 or Luke 3:22, when Jesus Christ is baptized and Heavenly Father says, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased." You just say, "God the Father wasn't pleased with himself . He was pleased with His son.

Now, if they wanna play hardball, they'll say, "Well, Jesus Christ was just God made flesh. When he was crucified, He returned to God and they became the one trinity-God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost."

If you quote Acts, that's just not fair. It's too easy to answer if you reference Acts 7:55-56. Plus, there is a better scripture that gets to the real meat of the issue. The Garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus Christ is praying to the Father, he asks, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; not my will, but thine be done." So either there is a split personality "Gollum-thing" going on here or Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are two separate beings.

You don't want to say, "You're wrong". You should have the attitude, "Let's see what the scriptures say."

The scripture that explains what John 10:30 and all of the other, "I and my Father are one" scriptures mean (and there are a lot of them), is in the same book as the book in question. John 17:21..."All may be one; as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Jesus Christ is talking about his apostles and how they can be one in the Father and in Jesus Christ. A Zion people. One in purpose. He's not asking that the apostles form into one mass. The apostles wouldn't join God literally. That just wouldn't make any sense. If that were true, in heaven there'd be only one huge God comprised of all of the people who had faith in Jesus Christ. You can see how logically God the Father and Jesus Christ being one person kind of falls apart.

John 17:21 is such a good scripture because it explains in beautiful simplicity what is meant by, "the Father and I are one" verses. "As thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be made one in us..." He is saying that we are one in purpose. Anyone, it doesn't matter who, can choose to follow the commandments and walk the straight and narrow path to be one with God. That what Jesus was saying. That's what he was praying for...that we could be like Him and be one with the Father.

Well, that's enough for today. In a future journal entry, I want to talk about one of my favorite topics, "Faith without works is dead." This question was brought up by S. who said in our first meeting back on day 26. She believed that we are saved through grace by faith like it says in Ephesians 2:8-9 "and not by works, lest any man boast." Faith in Christ is all you need to be saved, according to what some people believe. I want to delve into this the next time I have some free time.