"Jesus Christ is God," I told Aldren, because he was telling me again that Jesus isn't God.
Mrs. Trinidad just finished our lesson for today and she let us use our free time to chat with our seat mates.
"Because your husband told you, right?" he said with a smirk on his lips.
"Yeah, and he explained it to me, and I am convinced that Jesus Christ is God," I said with confidence.
He let out a chuckle and said, "Because you don't know about Matthew 24:36."
My brows furrowed in confusion. I didn't know the verse he mentioned. "What it says?"
"Do you have a Bible app?" he asked and looked at my phone placed on my desk.
"Yes, I have." I pick up my phone and opened my Bible app. I searched for the verse he mentioned.
Matthew 24:36 - No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come - neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.
My lips parted as I read the verse twice.
"If Jesus is God, how could he not know when he would return?" I heard him say.
Napatingin ako sa kanya at nakita ko ang nakakalokong ngiti sa labi niya. Hindi ako kaagad nakareact dahil hindi ko alam ang sagot. I brought back my eyes to my phone screen and read the verse once again. Aldren was right. Even the Son didn't know when he would come. This means, there is one thing that Jesus doesn't know. How is that? I thought.
"Mrs. Hunt, how many years have you been married to Mr. Hunt?"
Nailipat ko ang tingin ko kay Mrs. Trinidad nang marinig kong tanungin niya ako.
"P-pardon ma'am?" Hindi ko masyadong naintindihan ang sinabi niya dahil nakatuon ang isip ko sa topic namin ni Alden.
"How many years have you been married to Mr. Storm Dylan Hunt?" she asked with a sweet smile on her lips.
Napalingon ang mga classmates ko sa akin, tila hinihintay din ang sagot ko.
"5 years, ma'am," I answered.
"Ah, I see. Matagal na rin pala," she said while nodding her head. "Storm Dylan is one of the most outstanding students I've met in my class. He was our magna cumlaude in their batch."
I just smiled. I wasn't surprised anymore. It was obvious that Storm was very smart and intelligent.
"Ma'am, sikat po 'yun dati, 'di ba? He was covering and revising songs," tanong ng isa sa mga lalaking classmates ko.
"He's a musician . . ." sabi pa ng isa.
The whole class started to talk about Storm, though some of them wasn't familiar with him.
"What's your husband's ministry? I wonder why he left his career," Aldren suddenly asked me.
"He's an evangelist," I replied.
Nakita ko ang pagkagulat sa mga mata niya. "Oh, he must be knowledgeable about Theology."
"Yeah. He graduated from a Bible School."
"Maybe that's the reason why I can't convince you, because he can really defend it by using his Theology." He let out a chuckle.
"Because his explanation is more convincing."
"Because he's your husband. Don't trust anyone's doctrine easily. Even those people you love can drag you to hell by making you believe in a false doctrine," he said in a serious tone. He looked at me, and our eyes met. "I'm just concerned about you. Don't trust your husband when it comes to the foundation of faith. Your husband can't save you."
I stared at him for a few seconds before I spoke, "How can I say if my husband is teaching me a false doctrine?"
"When he teaches that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God; He is not God."
"If the Father is God, then the Son is also God," I defended.
"No. God is one. They can't be two. Jesus can't be God. He's not even omniscient. He doesn't know everything."
I fell silent.
Aldren was always confusing me because he always had a point.
ＳＴＯＲＭ
"Thank you so much, Mr. Hunt," the company's new investor, Mr. Lee, told me and offered his hand to me for a handshake.
"Thank you," I thanked back.
Our meeting ended. I was left alone at the table when Mr. Lee left. I decided to take a break for a while.
My phone placed on the table suddenly rang. It was an unknown number but I accepted the call.
"Hello, Storm!" It was a masculine voice.
"Hello. Who's this?" I asked.
"It's Leo, your highschool classmate," he said and tittered. I remembered him. He was my seat mate.
I smiled. "Hey, how are you?" pangungumusta ko sa kanya.
"I'm good. See you on our batch's reunion. It will be next week; Friday. 'Yan ang pakay ko kaya kita tinawagan ngayon. Everybody will be present, so you can't be busy on that day," he said.
"Where is the venue?" I asked.
"At Villa Crisandra. That's Crisandra's new resort," he said, referring to our high school classmate.
"All right. Just pm me the exact address of that place."
"All right! See you there!"
"Yeah. God bless you."
"God bless you too."
Our call ended.
I heaved a sigh and took a sip of my coffee. I was a bit excited to meet my high school classmates again. They knew me as a popular person before, because I was highschool when I got discovered and gained fame and fans. But the Storm Dylan they knew before was no longer the same. I wished I would have the opportunity to share the gospel with them.
***
I just got home from work. I found Fara lecturing something at the study table. The air in the room was filled with the fragnance of Fara's sweet perfume. It was obvious that she just took a shower because her hair was wet and she was wearing a white robe. I released my bag on the bed before I approached her.
"How's your day?" I asked and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek from behind, because she was focused on writing. I felt the wetness of her hair when I touched it.
She stopped and looked at me. "Our final examination is coming. I need to review my notes," she said.
"I see," I said.
I took off my tuxedo and hang it on the coat rack, and then I sat on the bed.
Fara went back to writing, and I stared at her, until I decided to ask her, "When is your vacation?"
"The week after next," she answered without giving me a glance.
"Are you free on Friday?"
"This week?"
"Next week."
"I'm not free. That's the day of our examination. Why?" This time she glanced at me.
"Our batch in high school will be having a reunion."
"But I'm not free. Sorry," she pardoned.
I heaved a sigh. "It's fine. I'll just come alone."
We fell silent because she went back writing again.
"Wait! I remembered something!" she suddenly said and dropped her pen on the table and then turned her head to me.
She stood up and walked towards me. I was sitting, so I looked up at her. She held my shoulders and looked at me straight into the eyes. My brows cocked a little bit because of what she acted.
"Do you know about Matthew 24:36?" she asked with curiosity in her eyes.
My brows furrowed and replied, "Yes. Why?" I held her waist to draw her closer to me, which made her let go of my shoulders and put her arms around my neck. Her sweet scent became more fragnant to my sense of smell.
"So, you know that Jesus Christ didn't know a one thing?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered.
She later sat on the bed beside me, sitting on her knees. "So, does it mean Jesus is not omniscient?" she asked. I wondered where she got that idea.
"Jesus is omniscient," I said.
"How? Matthew 24:36 is clear," she confusedly asked.
"I already told you that the person of Jesus was truly and fully man, yet without ceasing to be truly and fully God, right?"
"Yes."
"That explains why Jesus said those words in Matthew 24:36."
Her brows furrowed. "I'm still confused."
"Philippians 2:6-11 will clarify that. Philippians 2:6-11 says 'Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God.' " I dictated the words very carefully to make her understand it. "Even though Jesus Christ was God, He chose to be humble and obey God while He was on Earth. When He became a human, He accepted human limitations to learn obedience according to Hebrew 5, grow in wisdom according to Luke 2, and undo Adam's mistakes according to Romans 5. Jesus Christ is true God, but at the same time He is true Man. Theology calls this the Hypostatic Union, where His divine and human natures are united. And also Kenosis, which means He willingly limited His use of divine powers during His time on Earth." I explained.
"So, that means Jesus Christ humbled Himself in order to obey the Father's will, though he was really God?" she clarified.
"Yes. The book of Philippians states that 'he gave up his divine privileges.' This verse suggests that Jesus Christ chose not to access His divine knowledge in His human nature, while still remaining fully divine. We affirm that Jesus Christ retains His omniscience in His divine nature. It's important to recognize that this is a divine mystery that doesn't require excessive explanation. Deuteronomy reminds us that 'the Lord has secrets known to no one.' Therefore, just as the Bible doesn't over-explain it, neither should we. A philosopher and theologian, Gregory of Nazianzus, says, 'Good theologians know when to speak and when to be silent.' "
I wondered if she understood what I said. It was so deep for a begginner Christian like her. But I was sure the Holy Spirit would help her to understand that.
She heaved a sigh and flipped her hair. "That's right," she said.
I caressed her face and asked, "Are we clear now?"
She held my hand that was caressing her face and nodded her head with a charming smile on her lips.
"The Bible is clear when it comes to the Deity of Christ, so don't doubt it," I said.
"Yeah. Now I hate my classmate for confusing me."
"Don't hate him. Just don't mind him. But be careful. There's a lot of false doctrines anywhere."
She pouted her lips. "He said your teaching me a false doctrine because you're teaching me that Jesus Christ is God," aniya na tila nagsusumbong. That made me laugh.
"Don't mind him."
"Okay," she said and heaved a sigh. "Jesus Christ is God, indeed."
Napangiti ako. "Yes, He is."
She drew closer to me and hugged me. I hugged her back. "Thank you so much!"
"Glory to God," I replied with a smile on my lips. "Besides, I'm willing to be your human Google anytime. Just anything about Theology," I joked, which made her laugh.
A moment later she took a deep breath while still hugging me. "I'm sorry for being ignorant of God," she apologized with sadness in her voice.
I knew my face softened when I heard those words from her. I'd already embraced the fact that I married a person who's not deep spiritually. Despite that negative fact in a life of a man of God like me, I was still very thankful to have Fara in my life. God taught me a lot of things through her. And I knew we would both learn more things together, which would make us grow in faith than ever before. Moreover, I was so ready to share everything I knew about God with her.
"You're not ignorant of God. You just need to go deeper and deeper. You don't need to apologize for your current spiritual life status, especially when you're just starting out. Someday, you'll become someone who stands firm in your faith in God, no matter how many deceptions of the enemy may come into your life," I encouraged her. That was what she needed to hear. "Just be obedient, and you'll grow deeper and stronger." I added.
"I'll keep that in my mind," she whispered.
I just smiled and kissed the top of her head.