Doctrine Correction — Guided Study

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Before we start… I need to ask you something.

Have you ever wondered
why church often feels more like a production than a place of transformation?

Why is everything positioned like a stage…

and the people are placed as an audience?

Why do we gather weekly…
but rarely grow deeply?

Where is the discipleship?

Where is the studying together?
Where is the communing—not just attending?

I started paying attention…

Not just to what was being said,
but how it was being presented.

The tone.
The rhythm.
The environment.

And I realized something:

Many of us were taught how to sit, listen, and feel…
but not how to study, respond, and become.

Because when something is built around performance,
it naturally creates spectators…

But discipleship was never meant to be observed.

It was meant to be lived, practiced, and shared.

The first-century church didn’t look like rows and a stage.

It looked like people gathered—learning, asking, correcting, growing.

It was participatory.
It was relational.
It was transformative.

And somewhere along the way…

We replaced:

discipleship → with attendance
participation → with performance
transformation → with emotional moments

That’s not condemnation.

That’s clarification.

Because religion can gather people…

But only relationship will transform them.

So before we go any further… we have to correct what we believe.

Because:

• Wrong doctrine → wrong perception
• Wrong perception → wrong interpretation
• Wrong interpretation → wrong life

This is not about learning something new.

This is about unlearning what was inaccurate

so you can actually see God clearly.

These were not just questions I studied.. these were questions I brought to God and He answered.

IBG Discipleship Framework

Know God → Commune with God → Respond to God → Become like God

As you read this, don’t rush.

This is not information to consume…

this is truth to process.

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PART 1: WHO IS GOD?

Did the Godhead exist before Genesis?

Scripture doesn’t introduce God in Genesis—it assumes Him.

• “In the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1) → He already was
• John 1:1 → “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God”
• Colossians 1:16–17 → all things were created through Him and for Him
• Revelation 13:8 → “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”

 That means:

The Father, the Word (Son), and the Spirit all existed before creation.

What is the Trinity?

Three distinct “Whos”

within one divine “What”

Not three bodies.

But three persons.

Let’s Correct This:

“Persons” does NOT mean:

• 3 separate humans
• 3 physical bodies
• 3 independent beings

But:

• What God is → ONE (divine nature/essence)
• Who God is → THREE (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)

So “persons” =

distinct identities who can relate, speak, and act…

but are still fully one God

What Scripture Shows

At Jesus’ baptism:

• The Son is in the water
• The Father speaks from heaven
• The Spirit descends like a dove

All present

All distinct

Still ONE God

What Makes Them “Persons”?

Each one:

• Speaks
• Wills
• Relates
• Acts

For example:

• The Father sends
• The Son obeys and reveals
• The Spirit teaches and dwells

That’s not a force.

That’s relationship and identity.

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PART 2: HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF

Why Not “Bodies”?

Because:

• The Father is Spirit (not physical)
• The Holy Spirit is Spirit
• Only Jesus took on a human body (incarnation)

Calling them “bodies” limits God to something created.

“Persons” means they are distinct in relationship… not divided in nature.

What Scripture Reveals

• The Father → unseen, dwelling in unapproachable light
• The Son (Jesus) → God revealed in flesh (the Word made flesh)
• The Holy Spirit → God present and active within and among us

Not 3 gods

Not 3 bodies

Not 1 person switching roles

But:

One God

Three persons

Perfect unity

Different functions

God is Spirit

• John 4:24 → “God is Spirit”
• 1 Timothy 6:16 → He is invisible

The Father is not a physical being like us

BUT

He reveals Himself in ways we can perceive

(voice, form, glory, presence)

Genesis 3 — Who Was Walking?

• Genesis 3:8 → God walking in the garden
• John 1:18 → No one has seen the Father

So who was seen?

Many understand this as a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (the Word)

Because:

• The Son is the visible expression of God
• He reveals the Father

Was Jesus Created?

God didn’t create Jesus.

He incarnated.

Let’s Define This Clearly:

• Incarnation = God entering creation once in the person of Jesus
• Reincarnation = returning again and again in different bodies

What Actually Happened

• The Father didn’t become the Son
• The Son has always existed as the Word

Then:

The Word became flesh (John 1:14)

Not created.

Not a new version.

Not God switching forms.

God the Son stepped into humanity.

Jesus Became

• The Lamb
• The fulfillment of prophecy
• The “It is finished” moment

That wasn’t God changing identities…

 That was God fulfilling His plan through the Son

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PART 3: GOD WITH US

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is fully God and a person.

Not energy.

Not a force.

He:

• Speaks (Acts 13:2)
• Teaches (John 14:26)
• Can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30)
• Bears witness with you (Romans 8:16)

The Spirit

• Confirms truth
• Convicts
• Comforts
• Leads

He’s not “it”

He’s He

He Dwells In Us

He helps.

He teaches.

He convicts.

He comforts.

And He is not separate from God.

He IS God — present with us and in us

Full Picture

God is not divided — He is revealed.

• The Father → Source
• The Son → Expression (the Word made flesh)
• The Spirit → Indwelling presence

All one.

All eternal.

All active from the beginning.

Pause & Reflect

• What did you previously believe about the Trinity?
• Did you picture separation… or unity?
• Where did that belief come from?

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PART 4: REALITY, EVIL, & CHOICE

What is Evil—and Where Did It Come From?

To understand where evil came from…

we have to go back before humanity.

Scripture gives us a glimpse through the fall of Lucifer.

In Ezekiel 28, we see a description that goes beyond an earthly king and points to something deeper:

Ezekiel 28:12–15 (paraphrased for understanding)

• You were the seal of perfection
• Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty
• You were in Eden, the garden of God
• Every precious stone adorned you
• You were an anointed guardian cherub

Then this:

“You were blameless in your ways…

until wickedness was found in you.”

This is key:

Wickedness was not created in him.

It was found in him.

What Happened?

Ezekiel 28:17

“Your heart became proud because of your beauty,

and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.”

Doctrine Correction

Evil did not originate as something God created…

It originated through corruption within a created being.

Lucifer:

• Was created good
• Was given position
• Was given access
• Was given influence

But:

He chose himself over God

So what is evil?

Not a substance.

Not a thing God made.

Evil is:

The distortion of what was created good…

through pride, self-exaltation, and separation from God.

How This Connects to Humanity

The same pattern shows up in the garden. 

The serpent didn’t create evil in Adam and Eve…

He introduced influence

“Did God really say…?”

And just like Lucifer:

• They were created good
• They had access
• They had relationship

But they were also given:

Choice.

The Pattern

Lucifer → chose self over God

Humanity → chose independence over God

In Isaiah 14 we see what he chose outwardly: “I will ascend,” “I will exalt,” “I will be like the Most High.” The root of evil is not just disobedience but self-exaltation.

Lucifer did not fall because he lacked anything; he fell because he wanted position without submission, identity apart from God, and authority without alignment.

This same pattern appears in Genesis when the serpent says, “You will be like God,” not removing God but replacing Him.

Let’s ask the real questions.

Why did God allow access to the tree? Why create humanity knowing the outcome? Why allow Lucifer to operate?

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents the ability to be influenced outside of God, which means God did not force obedience and God allowed love to be chosen, because forced love is not love.

God created beings with the ability to choose. Lucifer chose pride and corruption entered. Humanity chose independence and separation entered.

Evil is not something God made. It is what happens when what was created good chooses to exist apart from Him.

Because without choice there is no love, without choice there is no relationship, and without choice there is no obedience.

So why are we here?

Not to perform. Not to survive. But to choose.

This life is a continuation of what began in the garden.

Another way to see it is that this world is another form of the tree, and you are constantly being influenced by truth or deception, God or self, relationship or separation.

Those who endure, those who choose God, and those who remain aligned will live with Him in restoration.

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PART 5: THE FULL PICTURE

What did God intend from the beginning?

God did not create humanity for separation.

He created us for relationship, alignment, and dominion under Him.

In the beginning, there was no confusion, no division, no disconnection.

There was unity.

God with man.
Man with God.

But through choice, that alignment was broken.

Not because God failed…

But because humanity chose independence over relationship.

So how do Genesis and Revelation connect?

Genesis shows us:

• Creation
• Access
• Relationship
• Choice

Revelation shows us:

• Restoration
• Judgment
• Separation removed
• God dwelling fully with His people

What was lost in the garden…

Is restored in the end.

What is God restoring?

Not just behavior.

Not just actions.

 Identity.

Relationship.

 Alignment.

God is restoring a people who:

• Choose Him freely
• Walk with Him daily
• Live in alignment with truth

From the beginning to the end…

It has always been about this:

God dwelling with His people.

And the same pattern still applies today.

You are not just reading Scripture…

You are living in it.

Every day you are choosing:

• Alignment or independence
• Truth or deception
• Relationship or separation

And the end is already written.

Those who choose God…

Will live with Him.

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If this shifted something in you…

Go to God.

Not with performance.
Not with the need to get it “right.”

Just go honestly.

Thank Him for revealing truth.

Ask Him to show you where you’ve been choosing outside of Him.

Renounce anything that needs to be renounced—
pride, self-dependence, false beliefs, misalignment.

And then…

Allow Him to reparent you.

To teach you what you were never taught.
To correct what was formed in you incorrectly.
To walk with you as Father—not just God.

Because this was never just about understanding Him…

It’s about returning to Him.

When you think about God, do you see separation, or do you see one unified presence working in every part of your life?

Pathway…

Read.
→ The Two Realities We Live In: The System vs The Kingdom
→ Covering vs Equipping: Why Spiritual Dependency Keeps People Stuck
→ Why Fighting Sin Isn’t Working: Healing the Root Behind Destructive Patterns

Reflect.
→ What is God revealing about the difference between the world’s systems and His original design?

Listen.
→ The Pursuit of Truth Podcast