10-01-2008, 04:02 AM
Shlama Akhi Spyridon,
While I don't want to get too much into theology here I think my short answer is yes--that is a pretty good description Godhead as I see it. It is not a position that I think has to be attributed to one denomination or another but really a matter of parsing Scripture correctly and a for a quick description that one isn't too bad.
I do want to elaborate on things slightly. I think that many folks are caught up in the whole "Godhead is a mystery beyond words" idea unnecessarily. I certainly agree with you that this issue, more than most others, has created massive confusion, but to me Godhead is not a mystery at all and I maintain that through the wisdom of the Aramaic NT, it never has been.
There are many cases where Scripture teaches that YHWH does not change and that He is NOT the author of confusion, so I think the last thing that believers in Him and His Son should be wrangling over is His exact Being. YHWH is Spirit but the NT teaches "His attributes are CLEARLY seen" so if there is a problem NOW it is a WESTERN one.
Suffice to say that I believe I can understand Godhead very well to the extent that Scripture allows me to but that even I have difficulty WHEN I LEAVE THE SEMITIC VESSELS OF HEBREW AND ARAMAIC TO EXPLAIN IT ENGLISH. It is therefore easier for me to say "yes this defintion is pretty good" or "no that's not it" than it is for me to really say it in a way that is immediately apparent to most, but I think I am getting better at it on the English side and I think Mari does a really good job here--but it took YEARS to get it there.
The Ruach HaKodesh is to me another title for YHWH, as I have shown from Psalm 51:1-11 and Isaiah 63:1-11. YHWH is ALL POWERFUL so I kind of resist the idea in this definition slightly that there is a delineation between power and not within the YHWH construct, but at the same time, I know exactly what you mean. I should point out that the second attribute of Godhead is the Word or Son and that per Psalm 33:6 and John 1 that attribute was directly the force behind creation, so to me there is not place in YHWH that is not powerful indeed.
For me the most succint understanding of this idea is Isaiah 53:1 compared with Zechariah 12:10, but I don't want to run excessively on this matter to anyone else's consternation.
Hope this helps!
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth
While I don't want to get too much into theology here I think my short answer is yes--that is a pretty good description Godhead as I see it. It is not a position that I think has to be attributed to one denomination or another but really a matter of parsing Scripture correctly and a for a quick description that one isn't too bad.
I do want to elaborate on things slightly. I think that many folks are caught up in the whole "Godhead is a mystery beyond words" idea unnecessarily. I certainly agree with you that this issue, more than most others, has created massive confusion, but to me Godhead is not a mystery at all and I maintain that through the wisdom of the Aramaic NT, it never has been.
There are many cases where Scripture teaches that YHWH does not change and that He is NOT the author of confusion, so I think the last thing that believers in Him and His Son should be wrangling over is His exact Being. YHWH is Spirit but the NT teaches "His attributes are CLEARLY seen" so if there is a problem NOW it is a WESTERN one.
Suffice to say that I believe I can understand Godhead very well to the extent that Scripture allows me to but that even I have difficulty WHEN I LEAVE THE SEMITIC VESSELS OF HEBREW AND ARAMAIC TO EXPLAIN IT ENGLISH. It is therefore easier for me to say "yes this defintion is pretty good" or "no that's not it" than it is for me to really say it in a way that is immediately apparent to most, but I think I am getting better at it on the English side and I think Mari does a really good job here--but it took YEARS to get it there.
The Ruach HaKodesh is to me another title for YHWH, as I have shown from Psalm 51:1-11 and Isaiah 63:1-11. YHWH is ALL POWERFUL so I kind of resist the idea in this definition slightly that there is a delineation between power and not within the YHWH construct, but at the same time, I know exactly what you mean. I should point out that the second attribute of Godhead is the Word or Son and that per Psalm 33:6 and John 1 that attribute was directly the force behind creation, so to me there is not place in YHWH that is not powerful indeed.
For me the most succint understanding of this idea is Isaiah 53:1 compared with Zechariah 12:10, but I don't want to run excessively on this matter to anyone else's consternation.
Hope this helps!
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth