God the Who?

By Pastor Jason from Abiding in the Faith Ministries

While I was shopping at the local grocery store, I was stopped by another shopper. He asked me if we were “brothers.” I paused briefly and said, “We are brothers from another mother.” He chuckled and talked about God the Father and the family. I listened intently to his words to see what direction this conversation was going. He continued to say that the earthly family mirrored the heaven family. Ok, I thought, go on. He continued that we hear about God the Father and children, but we don’t hear about god the mother. (I lowercased god the mother because this idea is heresy) After I listened to this, I knew why he chuckled because of my response. God the who? I thought. He said that he was part of a Bible Study studying god the mother and that this idea is in Revelation chapters 21-23.

I responded that my understanding of Scripture is that there is only God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit and that there is no mention of god the mother. Once I brought up that I had some understanding of Scripture, he paused and said, “Well, the Apostle Paul wrote about her in his writings, too.” I thanked him for the invitation, asked what chapters he was referring to, and told him I would investigate what he was saying, and we parted ways.

I find it interesting that this guy decided to discuss this subject with me out of thin air. I was a regular guy to him, but unknowingly, I was a pastor. I know that God is a trinity of one consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as recorded in Scripture. Why do I know this? By the proper teaching (while verifying with Scripture what was being said) and through study of God’s word. As familiar as I am with the Apostle Paul’s writing, I know he never mentioned anything that would be misinterpreted as a fourth person of the Godhead. This was the first time that I ever heard of a false religion teaching that there is god the mother, so I only had one retort.

Sometimes, God brings individuals like this before me as a test. It is a test to see how I will respond and a reminder that I need to continue working on my apologetics. Like other false witnesses before him, they try to lead others into a false religion by believing their “truth” is Truth.

Interactions like this one should fuel you to be a better student of God’s word. Fuel to learn how to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) with accuracy through constant study of God’s word. So, when conversations like this happen, you are prepared to answer everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have. (1 Peter 3:15)

Of course, I intended to investigate what he was saying, not just to prove that the teaching he heard was inaccurate, but to equip myself for further conversations with those who do not know the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. This gentleman, like others, needs to hear the True Gospel that there is only one way to God through Jesus Christ alone.

The false religion that he attends is the only one that believes in god the mother. Upon further research, I found many instances where their beliefs were formed by someone who misinterpreted Scripture to fit a mold suitable to them and attempted to make a verse say something that the verse does not say.

The idea of god the mother, comes from the misinterpretation of who the bride is in the Book of Revelation. The bride is misinterpreted to represent a mother and not the bride of Christ, which is the church in Revelation 22:17 and Paul’s words from Galatians 4:26.

“But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.” (NLT)

Consider the example. The belief of the heresy of god the mother, is flushed out from the verse in 2 Corinthians 6:18.

The Apostle writes, “And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

A human brain could read this verse out of context and rationalize that while God is a Father, and we are his children, there must be a mother. But they do not connect the dots on how we become children of God. We must remember that God is Spirit and is on a spiritual plane of existence while we are not, and the same rules do not apply. The church has not accepted this idea because nothing in Scripture would support such an argument.

This verse is only one of many that have been read, misinterpreted, and taken out of context.

Another heresy is that eternal life is received through god the mother.

Last I checked, placing your faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to receive eternal life. He said so himself. Jesus said in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.”

Another Bible passage confirming that eternal life only comes from faith in Jesus is John 3:36: “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

These are just a few examples. I found many more passages misconstrued and with some pulling at straws trying to get Scripture to match their interpretation instead of allowing God’s word to interpret itself.

Without a proper understanding of Scripture, I can see why people would fall into the heresy of a false church like this one.

This false religion even goes as far as to keep the law through works so they can receive God’s rest and blessings.

As I write this, my heart breaks for all those who have been swayed away through false teaching. A whole bunch of people who attend this false religion are getting misled to the broad road that leads to destruction and not to the narrow road that leads to heaven through Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:13).

Out of all the heresies being presented (they even defined what a heresy was), they had one accurate statement.

They said (and I paraphrase) that God’s will for us is to know God. We must have the correct knowledge of God and do so through God’s word, which I agree. To know about God and about God’s will is in the Bible, and without proper context, reading, and instruction of God’s word and by allowing the Bible to interpret itself, people can fall into false religion.

The Apostle Paul sent a letter to the Galatian church addressing some of the fallacies that were affecting the church and needed to be rectified. As I reread Galatians, I noticed that Paul’s words to the church are worth noting. Paul’s warning to the church of Galatia is the same warning that needs to be addressed to this religion or any false religion that deliberately blurs the truth concerning Christ and God.

Paul writes in Galatians 1: 6-10 NLT.

“I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Before the conversation happened at the grocery store, I was on the golf course with a friend. Earlier in the day, I met with another pastor, and after our visit was over, he challenged me to give him three words to summarize what he could pray for me about. The first word I gave him was “Fuel.” I want to intake the correct fuel without contamination so I can be fueled properly in the ministry. The second word I gave him was “Motives.” I wanted prayer that my motives for ministry were God-honoring and not selfish. Then, while on the course, the third word came to mind. “Accuracy”. Accuracy matters, not only on the golf course but also in the ministry.

We need to divide the word of truth accurately and be accurate with how we speak the truth to those who need to hear the gospel.

“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:16-17)

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About the Author

Jason began his ministry with a podcast called Abiding in the Faith, which grew into Abiding in the Faith Ministries (www.abidinginthefaith.org). A ministry to make God known by focusing on spiritual growth and evangelism through discipleship by helping to strengthen a person’s walk with Christ.

You can support Abiding in the Faith ministries by purchasing my new book. “Strengthen Your Walk: Lessons from Paul’s walk with the Lord”