Mosiah 15

(September 2, 2013)
It is easy to see why so many people have trouble with the understanding of the Godhead.  The problem predates Christianity and the Nicean Creed by a significant period of time.  Here, in the days of Abinidi, the wicked priests are still struggling with it.

The problem they have is a problem with the Jewish understanding of God.  They believe that the God of the Old Testament is the Father, and that the Father will bring them salvation by coming to Earth among them.  Christ, the God of the Old Testament, does come down to save them but they don’t believe in Him.  Paul, like Abinidi, attempts to teach through their prejudices by teaching the people that Christ is, essentially, the Father.  Christians then grasped Paul’s teaching in a expected, though mistaken, way.

Talking with members of other faiths can cause conflict on this issue very quickly – that is the reason why many people don’t consider us Christians.  My experience is that discussing doctrine with them does nothing to resolve the matter.  But, when I instead bear testimony of who Christ was and what He did for us, I find that we share a common ground and the Christ I believe in (and am struggling to follow) is the Christ they also believe in.