CORRESPONDENCE WITH PASTOR G. REGARDING THE DEITY OF CHRIST (ODell) 2/4

SECOND LETTER TO PASTOR G. 

From: Dan Odell

Subject: Redacted answer to a Primitive Baptist minister Bro. G. It came to me this morning early, that a portion of what I would share with you as a setup for a brief exposition of Matt. 3:15-17, was already available to me in the form of a letter addressed to a Primitive Baptist minister; Who, notwithstanding the Christ-exalting lessons he was enjoying, picked up on an unfamiliar sound from them that led him to believe, I might be “unorthodox” respecting the Deity of Christ and the “Godhead” as he has understood it for over 50 years. Which view determined who he would or would not fellowship with. 

This has to do with what I believe is the single greatest cause of confusion regarding a Biblical view of the Divine Essence. Which is the failure to make the simple distinction between the Incomprehensible and Invisible Essence and the OPERATIONAL REVELATION of the Essence as displayed in creation, redemption, and illumination. Failure to make this clear is huge in our understanding. Hence, what was common among our Old School (Christ taught) forefathers, is uncommon, foreign, disregarded, and viewed as heretical by most today. May this suffice for now as a stepping stone, so to speak. Please see the following letter below: 

With the highest regards, 

Dan O’Dell, S.S. with a reason to hope if not deceived. 
Weslaco, TX. 4.16.2024 

From: Dan ODell Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 4:14 PM

 To: Pastor G. 

Subject: RE: The Pre-existence and Manhood of Christ. 

Brother R. It is good to know that unlike most Trinitarians you do not believe in a generated Son of God, much less delegated as such. With respect to the Tri-PERSONALITY of God…it appears that the relative properties of the Divine Being identified as Father, Son, and Spirit have more to do with the OPERATIONS OF GOD than the ESSENCE of God. 

The Divine Essence is, in the end, incomprehensible to any creature. Therefore, for a creature to dare to speak authoritatively on the MODE of existence of the incomprehensible God, is the utmost of folly. I am sure you would agree with this statement: That which is to be known of a Trinity in God (operationally considered) is revealed in the PERSONATOR of God…the Man-Christ Jesus, both human and Divine. For example: if God is revealed as the first cause of all things, as the cause of the manhood of Christ, or author of our spirits, he is properly called Father. This is a relative term relating to an offspring or an issue. If God is revealed in the labor of His works, as in creation or redemption, He is properly identified as the Word or Son. 

The term word, or Son, is also a relative term relating to a speaker, something spoken, and something spoken to. The Word proceeding was the human nature of Christ (John 1:14), the speaker was God (Gen. 1:3) and when He speaks to us by His Son or Word, we are the things spoken to. So, God expresses His will and reveals His power in and by His Word; in which He goes forth in the outworking of His eternal purposes, speaking all things into existence by the Word of His power and so “all things consist” (are held together) in that same Word. If God is to be revealed as an invisible Spirit, to quicken dead souls to life and dwell in His people, and not be a corporeal substance, but a spiritual indwelling, He is revealed as the Holy Ghost. To me, the triune way God is revealed seems rather to be in relation to the triple work in which he is revealed, i.e. Creation, Redemption, and illumination, and not in a trinity of individually distinct and separate Persons/Beings subsisting in what was understood by our Old School Baptist forefathers, as a simple uncompounded indivisible Divine Essence without body, parts, or passions. Have you not sometimes wondered why our sweet Lord Jesus was identified as the “everlasting Father” preceded by “The mighty God”? In Isa. 9:6? Or Rev. 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, THE ALMIGHTY.” In verse 17, “I am the FIRST and the LAST.” Are these not Christ’s own definitive terms of Himself? I see in this verse, that Christ is the “first” to the exclusion of all other first persons distinct from Him; further, He is the “last” to the exclusion of all third or last persons, distinct from Him. He is “THE ALMIGHTY” to the exclusion of all equal persons, for there can be only one ALMIGHTY. 

I see Him as the Lord Jesus Christ in exclusion to all other lords as distinct persons from Him. In these cases, I believe we are dealing with the Divine Essence in contrast with the Divine Operations wherein God is revealed by Christ. I am becoming convinced that failure to make these distinctions is the primary cause for much misunderstanding relative to these most important doctrines. Especially where the same words are used but with different understandings as to the meaning of the words used by both parties. Alas, I have spoken more than intended. I bought into the generated Christ idea and had to be saved from that as well. I once asked a noted PB minister in the Paris, AR. area (about 1989) what his thoughts were about eternal generation. He responded, “I believe it, but it was so far back it doesn’t matter.” I walked away in disbelief. If the Deity of Christ does not matter, what does? END THIRD LETTER TO PASTOR G. Editor’s note: This was to continue the setup for a brief exposition of Matt. 3:15-17 as requested 4.10.2024. 

Dear Bro. G. 

We are back from Welsh Tract Church and back to work here as usual. Having a few hours to myself this afternoon, I am blessed to attempt to continue our conversation regarding my views of Matt. 3:15-17. I understand you have received my redacted letter to a PB minister sent to you on the 11th. This being so, I am trusting you have some sense as to the importance of a clear and distinct difference between the Nature of our One Only Living and True God as compared to His OPERATIONAL REVELATIONS of Himself as set forth and held out in the Person and work of our Man-Christ Mediator; Wherein and by Whom we are blessed to discover all that is knowable about the INCOMPREHENSIBLE GOD of the Bible. On the strength of this assumption, I will proceed with further foundational information I am convinced is inseparably connected to a Biblical understanding of Matt. 3:15-17. In so doing, I will speak of three primary points of consideration, which are: 

I. THERE IS BUT ONE ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD, 

II. THE SPIRITUAL OPERATIONS OF THIS ONE GOD, and 

III. WHAT WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND BY GOD IN CHRIST.

Because time is precious and much is to be considered, I will limit myself today to points one and two. 

FIRST: THERE IS BUT ONE ONLY LIVING AND TRUE GOD: Amos 4:13, “For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and created the wind, and declared unto man what are his thoughts, and maketh morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of hosts is his name.” Exodus 34:14, “For thou shalt worship no other God; for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Psalms 82:18, “That men may know, that thou whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.” Deuteronomy 6:4, “Here O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” Isaiah 44:8, “Is there a God besides me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Isaiah 45:21-22, “There is no God else besides me, a just God and Savior, there is none besides me; look unto me, and be ye saved all ye ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.” 1 Cor. 8:4,6, “There is none other God but one…But to us, there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him.” If the above scriptures prove anything, they all go to prove there is but one only living and true God. 

This leads us to the next point: 

SECOND: THE SPIRITUAL OPERATIONS OF THIS ONE GOD: Let us hear our sweet Jesus say: “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship in spirit and truth,” John 4:24. 2 Cor. 3:17, “Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” Thus, we are to understand that where the Spirit (or Holy Ghost) is mentioned in the Scripture, the same one true and living God is displayed in His SPIRITUAL OPERATIONS, such as worship or liberty. We arrive at this from Peters's words to Ananias in Acts 5:3-4. “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God.” That the Holy Ghost is the true God, appears in the case of Mary’s conception recorded in Luke 4:35, “And the angel answered and said unto her, the HOLY GHOST shall overshadow thee; therefore also, that the holy thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the son of God.” Consider also, 1 Cor. 12:3, “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” 

When God is declared to be Omnipresent as a pure simple and uncompounded Spirit, it is under the name “Spirit”. As in Psalm 139:7, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” When God gave spiritual gifts to men, though the gifts were diverse, yet they all came “by the same spirit,” 1 Cor. 12: 4. Hence, we discover there is but one true and living God and that He is “a Spirit” as the Man Christ taught us. That God is undivided and uncompounded is evident from the above-referenced scriptures if they stood alone. 

Alas, they do not. For example: Mark 12:29, “And Jesus answered him the first of all the commandments is hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.” Vs. 30, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart.” And Vs. 32, “And the scribes said unto him, well Master, thou hast said the truth; for there is one God, and there is none other but he.” Verse 34 informs us that the scribes answered discreetly by quoting Deut. 4:35. Bringing these two points to a close, I will make this statement for you to consider: Though the doctrine of God’s operational revelation as “three”, is fully revealed in scripture, there is nothing like the positive declarations we find in this point, with respect to the ONENESS OF THE DIVINE ESSENCE, aka, THE UNITY OF GOD. Surely, as the Man-Christ Mediator taught us, “The first of all the commandments is this, hear O Israel; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD,” Mark 12:29. 

So much so, it is carried through the law, the prophets, and into the New Testament. This cannot be done by accident! Rather, by a Divine design. I submit the point of the first importance in the Doctrine of God, is His UNITY, and not how God is parted out and thereby divided. Hence, any system of Soteriology which implies either directly or indirectly by inference and implication, the existence of God as three beings (or persons), or parts of God, is a greater departure from the scriptural doctrine of God, than that which either obscures or denies His operational revelation as Three in One. 

It is my hope to be blessed to share with you an enlargement of the last sentence of the above paragraph in my next letter. I hope to show what we are to understand from scripture by GOD IN CHRIST, and what CHRIST IS; And in this process what the Father, Word (or Son), and Spirit are. Once we do that, I will offer my understanding of Matt. 3:15-17 as requested. Thank you for the opportunity to share with you what has fascinated me for some time and brought immeasurable joy to my heart. 

I shall remain, 

A debtor to Mercy if my heart does not deceive. 

Dan O’Dell, 
Weslaco, TX. 4.17.2024 

New Vernon, N. Y., June 1, 1840, 

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