Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God” to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know. (Acts 2:22)

And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men”. (Acts 14:11)

One of the major lessons to be learned about Trinitarians is the way they have adopted pagan philosophical concepts to describe and define their view of God. By doing so, they have allowed themselves to be spoiled by philosophy, against the apostle’s warning. Of course, they don’t seem to see it that way. It’s as if they were looking at the Scriptures through a lens that turned everything upside down and backwards, making it nearly impossible for them to see things any other way!

Look at the following graphic showing how lenses have a way of flip-flopping physical images:

It is almost bizarre how Trinitarians can look at the same Bible the rest of us are reading and come up with an image that is completely opposite (upside down and backwards) from the Jewish view while lining up so closely to pagan Neoplatonism and antichristian-Gnostic views. It isn’t rational, because it is a spiritual blindness. This is what happens when we are spoiled by philosophy and look through the lens of paganism: it becomes almost impossible to see things right-side-up! But look at the refracted image. The problem isn’t that the image is out of focus; it’s that the focus displays a reversed image from what is really there. It appears” that all the features and elements are intact. That appears to be what makes it hard for them to accept that their vision is askew. We say that the dog has a leg, and they say, “check, our dog has a leg too.” We say the dog’s mouth is open, and they say, “check, our dog’s mouth is open too.” We say our dog’s feet are on the ground, and they say, “that’s no big deal, we are still looking at a dog, and our dog is just as (biblically) viable as yours.” You see, that’s where it gets touchy… when you start getting into the real specifics and making sure everything lines up scripturally, rather than” just accepting man’s preconceived image, no matter how spoiled by philosophy it may be in justifying why and how such an image could be equally as valid as anyone else’s.

The problem is not limited to Trinitarians. The same phenomenon has afflicted the vision of the Onenessians. In fact, the core Oneness doctrines causing them to see the image the way they do came from the exact same sources in paganism and Neoplatonism! Helping Onenessians become aware of this fact is where we turn our attention next.

Notice again the two Scriptures we’ve chosen to head this chapter. If you can see that what the apostles preached is the truth, and that it is a pagan view to believe that god(s) come down in the likeness of men, then we’ve basically made our point. But not everyone believes it can be that simple. They still see any similarities as coincidental or a pagan theft of the idea from the truth. Everything else in this chapter is meant to explain just how true the apostle’s words were, and just how unbiblical the pagan view is.

In fact, the two views are just exactly the type of mirror-imaged views that our graphic shows. They both talk about man and God. One view is from the Jewish apostles preaching the Anointed One they believed in and wanted others to believe in, and the other was the pagan view that was so completely unacceptable to the apostles that when they heard of it they rent their clothes in disgust! Let’s take a look at the story:

¹¹When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!’ ¹²They called Barnabas “Jupiter,” and Paul “Mercury,” because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes”. ¹⁴But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out, ¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them…” (Acts 14:11–15)

Clearly, the apostles were thoroughly appalled at the pagan doctrine of gods coming down to earth in the form of men. Anyone should be able to see that what the apostles declared in Acts 2 was, “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God” to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him.” This stated truth is diametrically opposite to the pagan idea of gods coming to earth in the likeness of men. The latter is upside down and backwards from the truth. We don’t have to spell out this fact—the apostles have already done that! The problem comes when people aren’t as repulsed by pagan concepts as much as the apostles were. What Onenessians need to learn is to be just as repulsed by the pagan (non-Jewish) doctrine of “gods come to earth in the form of man” as they are of the pagan doctrine of three gods from which the Trinity developed and evolved.

So let’s take a closer look at the topic of gods coming to earth in the likeness of men.

It is well known among historians that the idea of gods appearing on earth as humans is a thoroughly pagan idea”. One writer, in referring to the above passage, explains the backdrop to the pagan-inspired conclusion regarding Paul and Barnabus in Acts 14:

Ovid records a famous myth that serves as the likely backdrop to this incident. According to this story, Zeus and Hermes come to earth disguised as humans”, and go to a thousand homes looking for shelter… Thus, when the people of Lystra behold Paul’s power to work miracles, they assume the gods have come down to them in human form”… Kyle R. Hughes, “THE GOSPEL FOR PAGANS: PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA” accessed 1/26/2017, http://taarcheia.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/exegesis-of-acts-14-8-20.pdf

In another place, Paul had been accidentally bitten by a venomous snake. At first the local inhabitants thought that Paul was being judged by God for being a murderer or some such. But when they saw that he was not affected, they changed their minds and said he was a god!

³But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand… ⁶ But they expected that he would have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but when they watched for a long time and saw nothing bad happen to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:3–6)

This confirms how thoroughly pagan it is, and how naturally it comes to such a way of thinking, to view miracle workers as gods! Those who claim it is the Bible that leads them to believe Jesus is God are just displaying a more refined form of the same type of attitude. A more careful study of the word of God does not confirm that such natural reactions are true to what the Scriptures teach. Rather, that idea comes from a superficial examination of the Scriptures. Then, once they get this idea in their heads, they read the Scriptures in such a way as to confirm their preconceived bias, rather than really hearing what the Scriptures explain.

This attitude of superficiality was also shown against our Lord. In John 7:52, Nicodemus had attempted a small defense of Jesus, but the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, claimed that no prophet was to come out of Galilee, and thus dissuaded themselves from looking into Jesus further. If they had taken the time to search out the truth, they would have found that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem, not Galilee. This is how superficiality causes people to resist hearing the truth.

The very fact that Paul, in Acts 14, reacted to the pagan view negatively and found nothing positive in it to use as a teaching opportunity is very important. This fact shows that, in Paul’s view, this was an idea that was totally pagan and bore no resemblance to Christ. Otherwise it would have been totally out of character for Paul not to have built on the idea at the point where the pagans left off. Paul clearly told us in 1 Corinthians about his method of reaching souls:

²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those who are under the law; ²¹to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law”. ²²To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some…” (1 Corinthians 9:19–22)

Paul didn’t mean he was willing to be deceptive. Notice how he qualified his words by saying he remained under the law to Christ (which would necessarily keep him from lying or being deceptive). He was simply saying that he was willing to find common ground and even to go as far as to meet others in their traditions, as long as it didn’t cause him to sin against Christ. We can see how Paul applied this method on the occasion when he came across certain philosophers in the city of Athens, and he took on the role of an orator such as they were…

²²Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things. ²³ For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I announce to you”. ²⁴The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, ²⁵neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. ²⁶He made from one blood every nation of mento dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, ²⁷that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸’For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ ²⁹Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man. ³⁰The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, ³¹because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead”.” (Acts 17:22–31)

This, then, was Paul’s method of operation (modus operandi): he would take a common starting point and build on that thought. Note the contrast between his response here and his earlier response in Acts 14:11, where he was nothing but appalled! Paul could have been just as concerned in this context at these philosophers, because in both the Jewish and Christian religions God is able to be known (e.g., Jeremiah 24:7; 1 Corinthians 2:6–13; and Hebrews 8:11). But instead, in this instance, he took the opportunity to introduce the God that they worshiped in ignorance. Thus, he found a common ground and built on it.

The difference in Acts 14:11 was that there was apparently no common ground upon which Paul felt he could preach Christ. Apparently nothing was further from his mind than the idea that maybe Christ was the true or better manifestation of the pagan idea of “gods come down to earth in the likeness of men.” But that isn’t to say that he didn’t find some common ground by which to preach to them.

But that common ground wasn’t deity; rather, it was their common humanity. Paul said, “Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you”, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God…” (Acts 14:11–15). Interestingly, Paul did not use this opportunity to even bring up Christ; at least not in the account we are given in the Bible.

However, the point is, Jesus the Anointed One, was also very much as Paul claimed, a “man of like passions with you.” That is what the following Scriptures clearly teach:

¹⁴Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same”, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶ For most assuredly, not to angels does he give help, but he gives help to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted”. (Hebrews 2:14–18)

¹⁴Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. ¹⁵For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points” tempted like we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:14–15)

If we remove the double negatives in the last sentence, we see the message is that we have a high priest who was touched with the feeling of our infirmities” and was tempted in all points like we are. The difference is that whereas we have all succumbed to sin, he did not.

Now look again at the contrasting view of the apostles on the day of Pentecost: “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22).

Three things are evident here: a) Jesus was a man approved of God, clearly distinguished from God; b) God did wonders and signs “by him” clearly distinguishing two individuals (not mere “natures”); and c) this was something they already knew.

This Jesus they were preaching was thoroughly Jewish. These Jews did not in any way “know” that Jesus was “God Himself come in the likeness of men,” as many theologians (Onenessian and Trinitarian) want you to believe he was. What the apostle said these Jews knew was that Jesus was a man approved of God. It was those words that encouraged them to repent and turn toward Christ.

These then are the two images represented by our graphic. One is right-side up, and that is what the apostles preached; the other is upside down and backwards, and that pagan view is what the apostles opposed. Jesus the Anointed One fits within the human side of Paul’s argument: “We also are men of like passions with you” in complete opposition to the pagan idea of “gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.”

The following passage warns us about mixing paganism with our Christianity. It also mentions the roles of fathers and sons and sheds even more light on the distinctions between God the Father and His human sons.

¹⁴Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness”? ¹⁵What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God”. Even as God said, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ¹⁷Therefore, ‘‘Come out from among them, And be separate,’ says the Lord, ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. ¹⁸I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.’ ^7:1 Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1)

This passage very clearly separated between what is pagan and what, biblically, is godly. The Bible very clearly stated that the idea of “gods come down in the likeness of men” was pagan in origin. This passage also indicates that if and when we come out of such paganism, God will receive us and make us His sons and daughters.

In the last chapter we covered the truth that “indwelling” does not equal “identity.” In other words, to be “indwelt by God” explicitly means that He remains a distinct and separate personality from ourselves. This passage above reiterates that idea.

Very clearly, verses 16 through 18 establish the biblical truth that being indwelt by God is practically synonymous with being sons and daughters of God. This is true both of us and of Jesus the Anointed One, God’s one and only, truly unique son. This is the true biblical position that other views of Christ, particularly as an incarnation of gods after the pagan view, nullify and make of no effect.

The Bible presents Jesus as having been full of the Holy Spirit. He spoke of himself as a temple, just as we are to be temples of God. These ideas clearly indicate that Jesus truly was and is a man of like passions.

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