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trinity, triune God
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and THESE THREE ARE ONE. I John 5:7
It is amazing how much error there is in this world. Yesterday I got an e-mail from a Pentecostal who asked if I was a "Trinitarian". The question prompted me to write this article on the tri-unity (aka the trinity) of God (I prefer the Bible word "Godhead"). This is something I've been meaning to do for a long while. A measure of fear came upon me as I sought to write this treatise because herein I am seeking to describe the very nature of the Most High, magnificent, dread LORD God. Nevertheless, upon careful Bible study, I can write...
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20
I've heard people say that belief in the trinity means that we worship three gods. This simply reflects ignorance of the word of God. Any Christian willing to read their King James Bible with some clear eyeballs will see the truth. The LORD our God is one LORD (Deuteronomy 6:4) but He does exist in three Persons, a trinity.
If there were no other verse of the Bible testifying of the trinity, I John 5:7 would be enough for any Bible-believer to see that God consists of three Persons--the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost [1]. But this article was not written because of Bible believers. It was written to counteract the error of those who say that there is no Godhead consisting of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. A few groups come to my mind as I think of "anti-trinitarians"--
1. Folks like the "Jesus Only" group say that only Jesus is God. They say that the Father and the Holy Ghost are only titles. Later in this treatise, we will show how each person of the Godhead (a Bible word) actually speaks in the scriptures. A "title" cannot speak. The Jesus Only people will only baptize in the name of Jesus directly contradicting Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19,
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
2. A Pentecostal sect (I'm not talking about all Pentecostals) represented at the Isaiah 58 website denies the trinity saying that God created Jesus and then Jesus created everything else (close to JW theology). This is the error of Arianism, i.e., saying that Jesus is a created being.
In one article on their website, The Influence of Trinitarian Doctrine on Translations of the Bible by John David Clark, Sr., there are number of blasphemies...the author says Jesus was sinless NOT because He was God but because He was obedient. Remember that Jesus was born as a baby--how many two year olds do you know that are willingly obedient 100% of the time? I have yet to meet a sinless person and I never will. Jesus was sinless from birth, no one else can accomplish that feat. He was not an ordinary man. He is God come in the flesh. The article also says that the Father can make anybody a god and that is what He did with Jesus (reminiscent of Mormon theology). The author further attempts to destroy the truth of the word of God by saying that Bible translators purposely mistranslated "the Greek" pronouns for the Persons of the Godhead.
People who spread false doctrine can make it sound correct because they wrest with the scriptures to their own destruction. We've got to know our Bibles intimately. The Bible is the only standard of truth. The Isaiah 58 folks wrongly divide a lot of things including what they call "speaking in tongues".
3. Then you have the Jehovah's (false) Witnesses. The JWs are infamous anti-trinitarians who deny that Jesus is God. This cult follows the teachings of heretick Charles Taze Russell.
all of these groups are dead wrong.
How can one God exist in three persons?
The Bible says that God made man in His image--but it also says that God is not a man. How then are we in His image? In many ways, one of which is we ourselves are tri-partite. Look at your own self. YOU exist in three distinct persons yet you remain one man.
1. You have a body/flesh which is the part of you that others can see.
2. You have a mind where you think your thoughts and make your plans.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...
3. You have a spirit where you feel and where your essence lies.
I Corinthians 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
Your body, mind and spirit are separate and distinct. My hand is a part of me, but it is not my intellect, my mind. My thoughts are a part of me, but they are not my spirit. I'll give an example. There have been times where I've seen my mind and my spirit in conflict. I'm hurt. My spirit is wounded. I'm crying and my mind says "Stop crying!" but I can't because my spirit has been wounded. Sometimes our mind and our flesh are in conflict. We know something is wrong but we are so weak and powerless that we let the flesh have its way. Paul talks about how his mind and flesh were in conflict--
Romans ...7:25 So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
You are undoubtedly tripartite (body, mind, spirit) yet you remain one entity. If you and I were in the same room and I looked at you, I would only see your flesh. I could not see what you were thinking or what you were feeling. I could not see who you really are.
We bear the image of God in that we are tripartite. One of the most direct scriptures testifying of the triunity of God is 1 John 5:7:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and THESE THREE ARE ONE.
The Godhead and our salvation.
Let's take a look at the Godhead (a Bible word) and what each Person did in our salvation (for those of us who are saved).
1. God the Father sent the Son.
John 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
2. The Son was the propitiation (payment) for our sins.
I John 4:10, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
3. The Holy Ghost reproves us, teaches us, guides us and testifies of Jesus Christ.
John 14:26, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
"But Jesus is subject to the Father! How can He be God?"
1 Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Jesus is no less God because He is subject to the Father. Even as a human being, my body is subject to my mind. A signal must go from my brain to my hand in order for me to move it. Does that mean that my hand is not a part of me because it has to do what my mind tells it to? Nay. It is still a part of me even though it is in subjection to my mind.
When I meditate...
When I meditate on the triunity of God I liken,
* the Father to the mind (The plan originates and emanates from Him. He sent the Son and told Him what to speak. John 12:49, "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.")
* the Son to the body (Colossians 2:9, ...in him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead BODILY 2 Corinthians 4:6, "...the light of the knowledge of the glory of God IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST."); and,
* the Holy Ghost to the spirit (John 14:26, 15:26, "...the Holy Ghost...the Spirit of truth.").
The breakdown.
The scriptures call each Person of the Godhead, God. In fact, the word "Godhead" is a Bible word (Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, Colossians 2:9).
1. The Father is called God--
Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus is called God (see this article for more)--
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16
Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he [God] saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
For in him [Jesus] dwelleth ALL the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9
3. The Holy Ghost is called God--
Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? ...thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS manifest in the flesh, JUSTIFIED IN THE SPIRIT, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16
Each Person of the Godhead SPEAKS AUDIBLY in the Bible--
1. God the Father SAID of Jesus in Matthew 3:17 ..."This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
2. Jesus SAID in John 10:30, " I and my Father are one."
3. The Holy Ghost SAID in Acts 13:2, ..."Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."
Each Person of the Godhead was operative in the Old Testament--
1. The Father--Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
2. Jesus--1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 9 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
3. The Holy Ghost--Hebrews 3:7-11 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved ME, and saw MY WORKS forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
From the very first chapter in the Bible, God makes it known that He consists of more than one Person--
Genesis 1:26-27, And God said, LET US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God [not angels. the "us" can only refer to God.] created he him;
How about Genesis 3:22?
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil...
When Isaiah had a vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne, the Lord asked him a question,
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for US? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
In the Old Testament, we find that God has a Son (Proverbs 30:4, Psalm 2:7-12) and a Spirit (Isaiah 40:13, 2 Samuel 23:2, Judges 3:10, etc.). We also find that the LORD said that the LORD would send Him to the earth (Zechariah 2:10,11).
In closing...
The modern Bible perversions take out the word, "Godhead" and they attack the deity of Jesus Christ. One man told me that it was difficult for him to understand the deity of Jesus Christ while he read the NIV. Once he changed over to the King James Bible, it was abundantly clear. This is no surprise to me. Remarkably, the NIV oftentimes agrees with the Jehovah's (false) Witness "Bible" in the verses it deletes. In fact, EVERY complete verse that the NIV deletes is deleted in the New World Translation (the JW version). It also deletes many of the same words and phrases including important portions of our theme verse in I John 5:7. I know this for a fact as I have copies of both contemptible books.
Dear reader, if you are still confused about this issue, you need to pick up your King James Bible and keep reading it and talking to Jesus until you get some satisfaction. There is only one truth and the Lord Jesus will not withhold it from anybody who wants to know it.
[1] Of course, many (if not most) modern Bible versions do not have this complete verse. In this, they agree with the Jehovah's (false) Witness "Bible" called The New World Translation.
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and THESE THREE ARE ONE. I John 5:7
It is amazing how much error there is in this world. Yesterday I got an e-mail from a Pentecostal who asked if I was a "Trinitarian". The question prompted me to write this article on the tri-unity (aka the trinity) of God (I prefer the Bible word "Godhead"). This is something I've been meaning to do for a long while. A measure of fear came upon me as I sought to write this treatise because herein I am seeking to describe the very nature of the Most High, magnificent, dread LORD God. Nevertheless, upon careful Bible study, I can write...
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20
I've heard people say that belief in the trinity means that we worship three gods. This simply reflects ignorance of the word of God. Any Christian willing to read their King James Bible with some clear eyeballs will see the truth. The LORD our God is one LORD (Deuteronomy 6:4) but He does exist in three Persons, a trinity.
If there were no other verse of the Bible testifying of the trinity, I John 5:7 would be enough for any Bible-believer to see that God consists of three Persons--the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost [1]. But this article was not written because of Bible believers. It was written to counteract the error of those who say that there is no Godhead consisting of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. A few groups come to my mind as I think of "anti-trinitarians"--
1. Folks like the "Jesus Only" group say that only Jesus is God. They say that the Father and the Holy Ghost are only titles. Later in this treatise, we will show how each person of the Godhead (a Bible word) actually speaks in the scriptures. A "title" cannot speak. The Jesus Only people will only baptize in the name of Jesus directly contradicting Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19,
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
2. A Pentecostal sect (I'm not talking about all Pentecostals) represented at the Isaiah 58 website denies the trinity saying that God created Jesus and then Jesus created everything else (close to JW theology). This is the error of Arianism, i.e., saying that Jesus is a created being.
In one article on their website, The Influence of Trinitarian Doctrine on Translations of the Bible by John David Clark, Sr., there are number of blasphemies...the author says Jesus was sinless NOT because He was God but because He was obedient. Remember that Jesus was born as a baby--how many two year olds do you know that are willingly obedient 100% of the time? I have yet to meet a sinless person and I never will. Jesus was sinless from birth, no one else can accomplish that feat. He was not an ordinary man. He is God come in the flesh. The article also says that the Father can make anybody a god and that is what He did with Jesus (reminiscent of Mormon theology). The author further attempts to destroy the truth of the word of God by saying that Bible translators purposely mistranslated "the Greek" pronouns for the Persons of the Godhead.
People who spread false doctrine can make it sound correct because they wrest with the scriptures to their own destruction. We've got to know our Bibles intimately. The Bible is the only standard of truth. The Isaiah 58 folks wrongly divide a lot of things including what they call "speaking in tongues".
3. Then you have the Jehovah's (false) Witnesses. The JWs are infamous anti-trinitarians who deny that Jesus is God. This cult follows the teachings of heretick Charles Taze Russell.
all of these groups are dead wrong.
How can one God exist in three persons?
The Bible says that God made man in His image--but it also says that God is not a man. How then are we in His image? In many ways, one of which is we ourselves are tri-partite. Look at your own self. YOU exist in three distinct persons yet you remain one man.
1. You have a body/flesh which is the part of you that others can see.
2. You have a mind where you think your thoughts and make your plans.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...
3. You have a spirit where you feel and where your essence lies.
I Corinthians 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
Your body, mind and spirit are separate and distinct. My hand is a part of me, but it is not my intellect, my mind. My thoughts are a part of me, but they are not my spirit. I'll give an example. There have been times where I've seen my mind and my spirit in conflict. I'm hurt. My spirit is wounded. I'm crying and my mind says "Stop crying!" but I can't because my spirit has been wounded. Sometimes our mind and our flesh are in conflict. We know something is wrong but we are so weak and powerless that we let the flesh have its way. Paul talks about how his mind and flesh were in conflict--
Romans ...7:25 So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
You are undoubtedly tripartite (body, mind, spirit) yet you remain one entity. If you and I were in the same room and I looked at you, I would only see your flesh. I could not see what you were thinking or what you were feeling. I could not see who you really are.
We bear the image of God in that we are tripartite. One of the most direct scriptures testifying of the triunity of God is 1 John 5:7:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and THESE THREE ARE ONE.
The Godhead and our salvation.
Let's take a look at the Godhead (a Bible word) and what each Person did in our salvation (for those of us who are saved).
1. God the Father sent the Son.
John 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
2. The Son was the propitiation (payment) for our sins.
I John 4:10, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
3. The Holy Ghost reproves us, teaches us, guides us and testifies of Jesus Christ.
John 14:26, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
"But Jesus is subject to the Father! How can He be God?"
1 Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Jesus is no less God because He is subject to the Father. Even as a human being, my body is subject to my mind. A signal must go from my brain to my hand in order for me to move it. Does that mean that my hand is not a part of me because it has to do what my mind tells it to? Nay. It is still a part of me even though it is in subjection to my mind.
When I meditate...
When I meditate on the triunity of God I liken,
* the Father to the mind (The plan originates and emanates from Him. He sent the Son and told Him what to speak. John 12:49, "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.")
* the Son to the body (Colossians 2:9, ...in him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead BODILY 2 Corinthians 4:6, "...the light of the knowledge of the glory of God IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST."); and,
* the Holy Ghost to the spirit (John 14:26, 15:26, "...the Holy Ghost...the Spirit of truth.").
The breakdown.
The scriptures call each Person of the Godhead, God. In fact, the word "Godhead" is a Bible word (Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, Colossians 2:9).
1. The Father is called God--
Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus is called God (see this article for more)--
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16
Hebrews 1:8 But unto the Son he [God] saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
For in him [Jesus] dwelleth ALL the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9
3. The Holy Ghost is called God--
Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? ...thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS manifest in the flesh, JUSTIFIED IN THE SPIRIT, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16
Each Person of the Godhead SPEAKS AUDIBLY in the Bible--
1. God the Father SAID of Jesus in Matthew 3:17 ..."This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
2. Jesus SAID in John 10:30, " I and my Father are one."
3. The Holy Ghost SAID in Acts 13:2, ..."Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."
Each Person of the Godhead was operative in the Old Testament--
1. The Father--Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
2. Jesus--1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 9 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
3. The Holy Ghost--Hebrews 3:7-11 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved ME, and saw MY WORKS forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
From the very first chapter in the Bible, God makes it known that He consists of more than one Person--
Genesis 1:26-27, And God said, LET US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God [not angels. the "us" can only refer to God.] created he him;
How about Genesis 3:22?
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil...
When Isaiah had a vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne, the Lord asked him a question,
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for US? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
In the Old Testament, we find that God has a Son (Proverbs 30:4, Psalm 2:7-12) and a Spirit (Isaiah 40:13, 2 Samuel 23:2, Judges 3:10, etc.). We also find that the LORD said that the LORD would send Him to the earth (Zechariah 2:10,11).
In closing...
The modern Bible perversions take out the word, "Godhead" and they attack the deity of Jesus Christ. One man told me that it was difficult for him to understand the deity of Jesus Christ while he read the NIV. Once he changed over to the King James Bible, it was abundantly clear. This is no surprise to me. Remarkably, the NIV oftentimes agrees with the Jehovah's (false) Witness "Bible" in the verses it deletes. In fact, EVERY complete verse that the NIV deletes is deleted in the New World Translation (the JW version). It also deletes many of the same words and phrases including important portions of our theme verse in I John 5:7. I know this for a fact as I have copies of both contemptible books.
Dear reader, if you are still confused about this issue, you need to pick up your King James Bible and keep reading it and talking to Jesus until you get some satisfaction. There is only one truth and the Lord Jesus will not withhold it from anybody who wants to know it.
[1] Of course, many (if not most) modern Bible versions do not have this complete verse. In this, they agree with the Jehovah's (false) Witness "Bible" called The New World Translation.
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