John 17 Observations

Who is YAHUAH? This chapter seems to contradict the idea that YAHUSHA is YAHUAH. Yet, in the context of other Scriptures, John 17 does not convey otherwise. For instance, there are verses in the Psalms that illustrate help when attempting to understand this mystery.

How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Psalms 13:2

O my soul, thou hast said unto YAHUAH, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; Psalms 16:2

My soul shall make her boast in YAHUAH: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. Psalms 34:2

And my soul shall be joyful in YAHUAH: it shall rejoice in his salvation. Psalms 35:9

To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O Elohim. My soul thirsteth for Elohim, for the living Elohim: when shall I come and appear before Elohim? Psalms 42:1-2

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in Elohim: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my Elohim. Psalms 42:11

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in Elohim: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my Elohim. Psalms 43:5

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be merciful unto me, O Elohim, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. Psalms 57:1

To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon Elohim: from him cometh my salvation. Psalms 62:1

My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. Psalms 63:8

In the day of my trouble I sought YAHUAH: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. Psalms 77:2

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of YAHUAH: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living Elohim. Psalms 84:2

A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Psalms 103:1

Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for YAHUAH hath dealt bountifully with thee. Psalms 116:7

1. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. Psalms 119:129

I wait for YAHUAH, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Psalms 130:5

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalms 139:14

I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. Psalms 143:6

Praise ye YAHUAH. Praise YAHUAH, O my soul. Psalms 146:1

In each of these verses, the writer speaks about or even speaks directly to a part of his being in the third person. He spoke as if a part of himself was separate and/or distinctly independent. He spoke as if a part of him has its own will as he commanded this part toward certain actions. This part, however, was subject to his ultimate will.

Yet, we know that the Psalmist was not two or three separate persons. He was one person. He was whole, complete even though he spoke at times as if he were not. His spirit, soul and flesh had three separate roles, assignments, or jobs, if you will. But the Psalmist was one person.

Anything in this earth realm automatically has limitations. YAHUAH clothed himself in earthy flesh to come into this natural, physical, earthly realm. He lowered Himself to assume this form. The Apostle, Paul, said this:

Who, being in the form of Elohim, thought it not robbery to be equal with Elohim: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8

The ways of YAH are not complicated. We are the ones that overcomplicate them.

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of Elohim as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Mark 10:15

Our Messiah would not have said this and then make the kingdom of Elohim so complicated and complex that we with child-like, trusting faith, cannot understand.

With that, let me use some very uncomplicated math to try explaining this great mystery of YAHUSHA being YAHUAH come in the flesh. I probably will fall short, but I want to try anyway.

But, first, I want to answer the question of why would I even attempt to write about this? Many ancient pagan religions have a trinity of three separate gods that they worship. Unlike these religions, we do not worship three separate Elohim. Understanding that we serve one Elohim is so foundational. With bold religious deception rampant we must, must, must know this.

I recently heard a preacher on the radio from a very well-known denomination, repeatedly refer to YAHUAH, YAHUSHA and the Ruach HaKodesh with the pronoun, “they.” This minister used this pronoun repeatedly. They never clarified why they were using this pronoun. So, I didn’t know if they were thinking of YAH as three separate Elohim or not.

Nevertheless, my spirit cringed within me, each time I heard this. The Father, the Messiah and the Ruach HaKodesh is one (echad) (see Deut. 6:4). YAHUAH is not three separate beings. He is One.

If you’re like me, you grew up learning math in a rote manner. For example, we learned that 1 + 1 = 2; 1 + 2 = 3; 1 + 3 = 4 and so on. We were taught to just say, “One plus one equals two; one plus two equals three; one plus three equals four” and so on.

We were taught to memorize all the addition facts; then subtraction; then multiplication; then division. In my experience, no emphasis was placed on the reasoning that supported these facts to be true. Was this the same for you?

It wasn’t until many years later when I taught first and second grade math that I began to understand what I was taught to memorize all those years ago. Let me explain.

Let’s look at this example addition sentence: 1/3  + 1/3 + 1/3 = 1. In my earlier years, I would have just said, “1/3 plus 1/3 plus 1/3 equals 1.” In all my years of taking math in school, I never fully understood the role of equal sign in math equations. You see, the equal sign means more than the rote word, “equals.”  

Rather, the equal sign means, “the same as.” Therefore, instead of saying, “One-third plus one-third plus one-third equals one,” reading it as, “One-third plus one-third plus one-third is the same as one” shows greater understanding.

What is on the left side of the equal sign is equivalent to what is on the right side of the equal sign. In our above example, the number 1 is a single number. Even though we understand that the number 1 is a whole number, if we were to break it apart, we can see evidence of the three equal parts of one-thirds.

This principle applies to all numbers. If we could break numbers apart, we would see that actual whole numbers are comprised of different combinations of numbers. For example, the number 7 can be broken apart in the following ways: 0 and 7; 1 and 6; 2 and 5; 3 and 4; 4 and 3; 5 and 2; 6 and 1; 7 and 0. A few other combinations could be 2 + 3 + 2; 5 + 1 + 1.

The number 7 is not complete if one or more parts of it is not present within it. For example, 2 needs the number 5 in order to be a complete whole number 7.

Now let’s think about the principle and function of the equal sign beyond the realm of earthly math. In the realm of heaven (Our Father who art in heaven), let’s look at this equation to illustrate our Elohim (a plural word) who is One (not three Elohim that can be described with the pronoun, “they.”)

If we were doing math in heaven to describe YAHUAH, we would write this:

1 + 1 + 1 = 1 This would read, One plus one plus one is the same as One. Three parts in One Elohim. The Father, the Son, and the Ruach agree in One.

Right now, since the ascension of YAHUSHA, one part of YAHUAH is manifested in this earth realm in us in the form of the Ruach HaKodesh. Remember, to be in this earth realm legally, one must have flesh and blood. Our bodies, as YAH’s temple, provide this for YAH’s Ruach, which is very much a part of His one complete, whole, being.

This is why the wicked one constantly seeks to inhabit flesh and blood on the earth. Animal or man, it does not matter to him as long as life is present.

Remember the Gergesenes?

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, YAHUSHA, thou Son of Elohim? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. Matthew 8:28-32

They knew if YAHUSHA cast them out, they could not legally stay in this physical realm without a body. So, they requested to go into the body of those unclean pigs. YAHUSHA was happy to oblige. The Gergesenes should not have been dealing with those nasty animals anyway.

As an aside observation—When those pigs died, they were still left without a flesh and blood host. This did not matter to them because they had accomplished their mission and therefore were released from their assignment, which was to kill, steal and destroy.

The man in the tombs was the target. He obviously had a powerful call on his life and was targeted for destruction and death. After his deliverance, he powerfully testified of YAHUSHA. So those unclean spirits killed something, not just their original assignment. After the pigs, they no doubt went on to seek another host. Remember, to be legally in this earth realm, you must have flesh and blood.

So in summary, John 17 does not contradict the truth that YAHUSHA is YAHUAH come in the flesh. YAHUAH is not three separate Elohim. YAHUAH, YAHUSHA, Ruach HaKodesh = (is the same as) One Elohim (NOT THREE). The Faith of the House of Israel is not polytheistic.

At times YAHUSHA spoke of the Father (Himself) as “superior” so to speak because YAHUSHA was at the time dwelling in the inferior earth realm. While, in reality, He is, He was, He is the Great I AM.

Here is another attempt to explain this mystery. Let’s say a man has his family at home (wife, children, grandparents, etc.). Yet he works outside the home, but is not the founder or CEO of the company he works for. At home, he is Father in his household. He is the husband and the head of the house.

The Father leaves the house during the week make a living to provide for his family. Outside of his home, he takes on the role of a worker in the company. This represents YAHUSHA in the earth realm. The father does not cease to be husband and head of his household while he stepped out of the spiritual realm (his home). Likewise, YAHUSHA never ceased to be YAHUAH. Remember the criticism of the Pharisees?

When YAHUSHA saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but Elohim only? And immediately when YAHUSHA perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) Mark 2:5-10

The father in our example, does encounter certain limitations while working at the company (represents YAHUAH clothing Himself in flesh). However, to be in agreement with himself, who He really is, (even as YAHUSHA was in perfect agreement with Himself, YAHUAH), the father’s character, his ways, his actions, his intentions, his thoughts, must be the same as (=) when he takes on the role of a worker. When we see the father at work, we see the same father in his home because of consistency in character. 

YAHUSHA likewise said this about himself:

YAHUSHA saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John 14:9

Also, YAHUSHA said that he and the Father are one.  YAHUSHA is YAHUAH.

When Abraham went to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to YAHUAH, Isaac asked him, “Where is the lamb?” Pay close attention to the wording of Abraham’s answer. He said, YAHUAH will provide himself a lamb. In light of the myriad of Scriptural witnesses, this verse can certainly be read as, “Elohim will provide HIMSELF a lamb.”

We can read these words as YAHUAH’s not only supplied the lamb caught in the thicket at the time that Abraham needed the sacrifice, but prophetically, He will offer up HIMSELF as the Lamb of Redemption on the cross at Calvery.

I think the following scenario also relates to this mystery.

Have you ever been in one place, but your mind or thoughts were as is sometimes described, “a million miles away?” Just because your mind was not on the task or situation at hand, your mind remained very much a part of your being.

You did not become two separate beings just because you were thinking about something else at that moment. In essence, you were two places at once. Your physical body was in one place and your mind was another. I think Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians relate somewhat to this scenario.

For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Master YAHUSHA Messiah, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Master YAHUSHA Messiah, 1 Corinthians 5:3-4

If we finite beings have the ability to be two places at once as described above, we can certainly believe that YAHUAH, the omniscient, omnipresent Elohim could as well?

My point is that YAHUSHA is YAHUAH and YAHUAH is YAHUSHA. He is ONE.

My point is that YAHUSHA is YAHUAH and YAHUAH is YAHUSHA. He is ONE.