This is the second part of The Secret of the Mystery of Christ Part 2. For Part 1 go here.
How Is Jesus God? The truth regarding the essence of Christ.
If Jesus is God (and He most certainly is), how is He so?
Trinitarians, Oneness Pentecostals, and Christian cults like United Church of God, JW’s and Universalists together with Muslims have yet to give satisfactory answers to the various problems that their doctrines produce. But this post will major on Trinitarians who believe in principle that there are three separate persons that make up one God.
I will answer the misunderstandings these have of the essence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
1) Firstly; I will put the doctrine of the Trinity on trial based on reasonable evidence supported by scripture.
2) Then I will explain the essence of Christ, His purpose, and designation in His bodily form on earth.
3) And lastly; I will refute their objections and explain their problematic scriptures.
Problematic Questions for Trinitarians
But first I need to identify precisely what many people have come to believe and how the misunderstandings came to be. This is an important step for anyone who wants to understand the true essence of Christ and answer such problematic questions, such as:
- If Jesus was God then who did He pray to whilst on earth? Himself?
- How did Jesus become incarnate?
- If Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit were one then how could Jesus seemingly act as subordinate in His prayer in the garden of Getsemane? And if there are two wills at play then God is definitely polytheistic – which I will demonstrate He is not.
- What kind of body did Jesus have before, during, and after His incarnation?
- Was He always the Son of God?
- Why did He come to earth in the form of man?
- How can man be made in God’s image if God is omnipresent Spirit? For what image is God?
- Why are the three names; Father, Son and Holy Spirit so important in the new dispensation of grace (New Testament Christianity)?
- If God has declared that He will not change in any way, then how do they explain Jesus being of human substance together with deity?
- If our sins warrant eternal retribution (which they do), and only if eternal retribution can be paid by an eternal atonement, then how do some say that Jesus died in the body of His humanity but not the spirit?
- Why does the Bible speak of three omnipresent Spirits, namely Father, Son and Holy Ghost, if God is one in spirit?
Solution:
All of the above questions are impossible to answer in truth and reason if you believe according to any of the belief systems mentioned above, and especially Trinitarian, Unitarian, Gnostic. But anyone who truly grasps the truth about Christ’s nature and adheres to the gospel, will be able to answer all of the above according to scripture, reason and life.
Note:
Out of my 40+ years of confessing Christ as Lord of all (which He is), 24 of those years I served and studied as a Trinitarian, so I know and understand the doctrine extremely well.
The singularity of God
“… Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. (Isa 45:21)
“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, (Isa 46:9)
There is no other god in the make up of God. He goes on to say that there is none even like Him, ruling out Arianism also.
Trinity on Trial: The Trinity doctrine
Jesus being God, is the Trinity doctrine’s cornerstone to Christianity. However, the Trinitarian finds it impossible to explain the essence of Jesus as God, and the relationship between the titles of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as we will see below.
The Importance of knowing the God in Whom we trust
If we believe in the Trinity or the opposing Oneness doctrine, will that by itself impede our chances of eternal life?
The answer is: No! It will not. One side may brand the other side as “heretics”, but as you will see, both sides have heretical viewpoints with some of the foundational principles concerning God. Yes, if either truly repents of their sin and follows after righteousness through the eternal Christ, the given Savior, then they will receive their part in eternal life.
So whether we believe that God is divided into three persons as in the consubstantial / manifold essence of the Trinitarian doctrine (although they would hate the word “divide”), or the Oneness doctrine of some Pentecostals that all of God is Christ does not alter our destiny if we trust in Christ as our Savior. For it is Christ who was given to us as our eternal atonement, and it is in Him that we are to exercise faith for our salvation.
However, to understand the essence of the three titles is of paramount importance for the sake of us knowing how the essence of God is by Whom we have our being and eternal life. Not understanding the make up of our God inhibits our faith. And to the extent that we don’t understand, to that extent we cannot exercise faith. For how does one exercise complete faith in the Object of their faith if one does not understand what that Object comprises? I dare say that they are usually left with exercising not true faith but religious belief based not on the Word of God but on the traditions of men. Read further and you will see what I am talking about.
Special Notes:
- For a doctrine to be true it must be so according to scripture, reason and life. (See How Do I Discern Truth From Lies?) Furthermore, a doctrine must be reinforced by multiple scriptures emphatically emphasizing its truths. For example:
- God is holy.
- We are to be likewise.
- Jesus came from God, and was the fullness of deity (God) in bodily form.
- True doctrines are not evolved; they are realized. Therefore, whatever doctrine was not in force in the Apostolic Era (1st Century Christianity) cannot rightfully evolve into one thereafter. For the apostles were the pillars (foundation) of the Church, and Jesus is the Rock upon which the foundation is built. These original expounders and conveyors of the truth of the gospel and all true doctrines of Christianity, which had been given to them by Christ and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, laid this foundation for all to follow throughout the rest of time. Therefore, whatever was written was for all ages to be the same. God’s Word changes not. And Paul cautioned us not to go beyond what was written in scripture (1Cor. 4:6).
True doctrines are not evolved; they are realised.
General understanding of the Trinity doctrine
The general understanding of the Trinity doctrine is that there are three separate persons in one “godhead” and they exist as one essence / substance. Trinitarians use the term “consubstantial” to describe three persons of a godhead that have the same nature / essence, but in fact remain three separate individuals. (See Consubstantiality) However, this is contradicted by those claiming that Jesus is “Fully man and fully God”. They have it that God adds humanity to a third of His infinite essence – being Christ only, which would also contradict God who said before the advent of Christ that He never changes in anything.
The Catholic diagram, which was adopted by Trinitarian Protestants without question, demonstrates the relationship of the “godhead” of the Constantinople Creed of 381 AD (“godhead” – a word that never appears in scripture in any of the original manuscripts; nor are any synonyms found to support it), and purports that
- The Father is not the Son, neither is the Son the Father.
- The Son is not the Holy Spirit nor is the Holy Spirit the Son.
- The Holy Spirit also is not the Father, and neither is the Father the Holy Spirit.
Trinitarians however, state that although no member of their godhead is of another in person, they all belong to the same god in substance / nature. Yet, at the same time, they proclaim that they do not hold to a polytheistic god, which has a plurality of persons in whatever form.
But is it for us to understand the essence of God?
A major portion of the church universally think so, otherwise they would not have tried so hard to explain Him.
All through the history of mankind God has desired to reveal Himself to man. Yet, because of man’s own depravity through sin, He was not able to do so other than through simulated revelations like fire, water, cloud, rock, etc., and personifications given to man in titles such as; Creator, Husband, Savior, Fortress, Father, and later, Son, then Holy Spirit, etc.
Therefore God had to reveal Himself according to the capacity of man’s level of righteousness or depravity, and his willingness to understand. What I mean here is that God can only reveal Himself to man according to man’s capacity to receive the revelation. And this depends on his state of oneness or closeness with God. The further he is from God the less light he receives from Him; and visa versa.
Coupled with this, one also needs to be willing to understand the deeper things of God. Many do not understand because they have entrusted themselves to the teachings of men without question or reason. The multitude of religions and denominations within religions makes this self-evident. But those who want to enter into the deeper things of God, and are willing to seek understanding regardless of where it may lead them, will find it. For our real, living God will make it so.
The origins of the Trinity Doctrine
Catholics say that Clement 1 (their fourth pope) spoke of the Trinity. But he did not.
Clement said in his epistle: “Do we not have one God, and one Christ, and one gracious Spirit that has been poured out upon us, and one calling in Christ?” (1 Clement 46:6). That’s it. No more. This does not suggest three separate persons. And no mention of a “Trinity”. It doesn’t even mention the “Father”!
Tertullian, in the second century only, was the first noted (Catholic) Forefather to use the term “Trinity” to describe God. But the term did not stick until later in the fourth century. The Catholics initially contrived a type of “Biunity” of Father and Son in the first Nicene creed in 325, which did not include the Holy Spirit as a “third person”. They simply stated that they also “believed in the Holy Spirit.” This inclusion as the third person of God was only affirmed in the Constantinople Creed of 381, some fifty six years later. Hence we have an evolving doctrine!
True doctrines are not evolved; they are realised.
Furthermore, the assertion that God was to be defined as three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal Persons of One Substance was only established in the “Athanasian Creed” which had nothing to do with Athanasius who died a century before the creed was established. And this creed has been in use by the church from the sixth century only, even though Athanasius died in 373 AD! The origin of the creed remains a mystery. Yet, even with so much uncertainty of the doctrine’s origin, the Catholic church included anathemas to the creed, condemning to a Christless eternity all who would not accept it. Yet scripture only condemns to hell those who do not follow after Christ in loving obedience (1Cor. 16:22).
Is the Trinity doctrine true according to scripture?
Nowhere in scripture does it state the word “Trinity”. However, even without there ever being such a word, does it necessarily mean that it is not true?
As stated above, for a doctrine of God to be true it must be true firstly to scripture. A truth of a doctrine of God will have a number of scriptures naming and describing it. This is the case with all true doctrines of God. However, scripture of the Old Testament and New Testament are void of such references to a “Trinity”. No synonyms of its likeness are found either.
But, to establish the Trinity idea, uninspired leaders in the early Catholic church who contrived the idea, motivated its universal acceptance by force, through political influence coupled with the invocation of fear. However, up until that point the majority of believers were “startled” at the notion of any Trinity. And in Tertullian’s own words:
“The simple, indeed (I will not call them unwise or unlearned), who always constitute the majority of believers, are startled at the dispensation (of the Three in One), on the very ground that their very Rule (Law) of Faith (Rom. 3:27) withdraws them from the world’s plurality of gods to the one only true God; not understanding that, although He is the one only God, He must yet be believed in with His own economy. The numerical order and distribution of the Trinity, they assume to be a division of the Unity.”
Tertullian
That is; the majority of believers who had, until then, believed that God is One. These believers – (“the majority”) believed strongly what was handed down to them from the apostles’ teachings of the first century. However, because they did not believe Tertullian’s concept, he ridiculed their intelligence in a back-handed way (“The simple, indeed – I will not call them unwise or unlearned”) to promote his doctrine.
Trinitarians’ Proposed Proof-texts
But let us progress further to some of the favorite scriptures commonly used by Trinitarians to support their doctrine:
* The mysterious “Us & Our” in Gen.1:26
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” (Gen 1:26)
The mysterious plurality in the word “Us” used in Genesis 1:26 is their first example. However, they fail to demonstrate a three-in-one deity. For the plurality mentioned can be any number greater than one.
Exegetes have labored over this problem throughout the ages, and there is no consensus of the meaning among them. But it in no wise even hints that three persons of a “godhead” are responsible for creation.
Of the many views of Gen 1:26, the main ones are:
Plurality of Majesty
Plurality of majesty (the Royal “we”). How many talk to themselves in this fashion, say, in the mirror, for example? But this form of speech is not evident in the records of early kings, so it is unlikely that this is the case being demonstrated.
Note on Plurality of Majesty by the New International Version Study Bible
Even the New International Version Study Bible acknowledges this, when it says: “The Hebrew noun Elohim is plural but the verb is singular, a normal usage in the OT when reference is to the one true God. This use of the plural expresses intensification rather than number and has been called the plural of majesty, or of potentiality.” — New International Version Study Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 6.
Speaking within
That God is speaking within Himself to His attributes. This point of view may appeal to some who say that God is Christ alone (Like Oneness Pentecostals). But this is highly unlikely as it isn’t even common for carnal man to do such a thing. And the event is being recorded by man (Moses) for mankind to understand God. For this would be similar to man talking amongst his attributes of body, soul and spirit. It would be ridiculous in the light of common sense.
Speaking to Angels
That God is speaking to angels. This could be, given the fact that angels look like men. In fact, so much so that we are admonished to treat strangers graciously, because some have welcomed angels unknowingly, thinking them to be human (Heb 13:2). God could have been including them in the plurality and involving them in His creation.
However, many expositors are not happy with this, saying that God did not need the help of angels in His creation. This is true; He did not need them. He is omnipotent, yet He still chooses to use countless angels as ministering spirits for both mankind and the kingdom of heaven (hence the hierarchical order of angels) throughout the ages. The whole of scripture testifies to God using angels for all of His purposes for creation. Angels do not act on their own accord but follow precisely the commandments of God.
In the end days God uses angels to bring condemnation on the earth. They separate the good and the bad. Then hurry the bad to their eternal Christless eternity, but carry the good to heaven. With all that angels are seen doing in scripture, God alone could have done it, yet He chose not to, but rather benevolently includes the hosts of heaven in all that He does.
Here is an interesting note to observe:
Many say that the “US”, “OUR” etc. could not refer to angels. Then please tell me who is scripture speaking about when it says: “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”(Gen 11:7). Did the Father, Son and omnipresent Holy Spirit go down to earth together and confuse the language of men? If so, was earth void of the omnipresent Spirit of God at the time? Similarly, was heaven void of the presence of God if all “three” went to earth to confound men’s language? This is a perpetual difficulty for Trinitarians. For how can omnipresence be confined to a place? Yet the “Us” is used here just as it is in Gen. 1:26! And, just like the Lord God visited Abraham with two angels, so could He have acted similarly to confuse the language of men.
If God chose to use angels for His purposes during and at the end of creation, then why say that He would never choose to use angels for the beginning of creation? Albeit God alone has the power of life and creation. He also is the only one Who has the power of death. Nevertheless, He uses angels in all of these other circumstances also.
Scripture says that God spoke creation into being. This He would have done alone, according to His own will and power. And it would be prudent to think that He created the angels similarly. However when it came to creating God’s supreme purpose for the natural / physical creation – that being man, He could have been speaking to the angels collectively as they have the form of men, which brings us to another viable suggestion:
God’s Vision is Timeless
But for this one, I will use Paul’s way of including the correct answer in a question (Rom 9:22). So I really need your sincere attention:
What if God, looking ahead at the time of the incarnation of Himself in Jesus, (which is His own Word John 1:1), talks to the heavenly hosts collectively, and with His eye on the whole future purpose of creation being in the natural realm instead of an extension of the spiritual (for an upcoming subject: – Why God created the natural when He had already made the supernatural realm), whilst looking to the future atonement in Christ, decided to make man in that image? Remember that time is not an issue with God who made it.
God knows all things, past, present and future, and based on his foreknowledge He unfolds His eternal desires. Therefore, even though Christ existed in the form of God’s Word before the incarnation (John 1:14), God planned Christ’s incarnation in the form of man and created man according to the form of His foreknown Son (foreknown as a Son before the foundations of the world). For God is Spirit – according to Jesus (Joh_4:24). He is formless as He is omnipresent and fills all in all according to scripture. So, to make man in God’s image as a universal spirit is absurd, unless He is looking into the future form of Christ who would come as a man, and thus made man in that image.
Angels in the Likeness of Men?
Further; angels look like men. What if God, though making angels first, did so with the view of His ultimate intention of making man, and made angels in foresight of His creation in man? For angels are ministering spirits for mankind in the first place (Heb_1:14). Why then would He not openly and collectively communicate with His angels His intention for creating the natural man?
An entrepreneur may speak among his employees when he desires to upgrade his business. He might say to them: “Let us buy another machine to increase production.” This would not mean that he expects his employees to contribute from their own wealth for the new machine, but simply including them in his plans for the business for the common good of all.
* The favorite Trinitarian scripture for the untaught – 1John 5:7-8 and its Catholic false inclusion
For there are three that testify: (1Jn 5:7)
the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1Jn 5:8)
The above verses are what appear in ALL the true original manuscripts. However, during the late middle ages an inclusion was added by the Catholics to enforce their doctrine of a triune god. Some versions read:
1Jn_5:7. For there are three that bear record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. 1Jn_5:8. And there are three that bear witness in earth],the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one.
The famous Dr. Adam Clarke, a Trinitarian himself, eradicates the inclusions of 1John 5:7-8 as a proof text. However, it does demonstrate to what level the early Catholics would stoop to further their false doctrine of the Trinity. (See Dr. Adam Clarke’s 1John 5:7)
Other Trinitarian “Proof -Texts”
Baptize in the name of: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (Mat 28:19)
Rev. H. D. M. Spence, D.D., & the Rev. Joseph S. Exell, M.A. compiled and edited the largest homiletical commentary – The Pulpit Commentary. Both Trinitarians themselves write:
One ought not to look for a Trinity in the verse but understand it to be the revelation of God and His relationship to man as being eternal Father. This was the paternal desire of God for His adopted children. The Son, as the focal point of the eternal plan of God, was sent to redeem a people for Himself. And the Holy Spirit was the demonstrated perpetual presence of the universal /omnipresent God.
God reveals only that which man will accept
The history of depraved man could not identify with God as who He was. The time of His revealed will was not given to man in the Old Testament other than through prophesy. This is because the time was not right and the people would not be able to receive it. It therefore had to be manifest to them at the appropriate time of God through Christ. God was unknown to most except for a peculiar few who strived to know God. He was to man an unseen, unrelatable Being of hearsay.
But then came the time for the dispensation of revelation to man through His very own physical presence to us through Christ (Emanuel – God with us Matt. 1:23). As Jesus said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. Was He exaggerating? May it never be. Read on to discover the truth of the essence of Christ and the constitution of God.
Lastly; the Holy Spirit came in power to demonstrate the presence of God among His people. Therefore, we are to understand the constitution of God by the three titles, viz. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Note carefully that scripture does not say “… in the names…” (plural), but “…in the name…” (singular). There is only one person of God; not three.
Descending Spirit upon Christ
Now Trinitarians try to separate the Holy Spirit from the Father and Son, by the use of another “proof-text”:
After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, (Mat 3:16)
Who was the one who saw? The passage is relating to John the Baptist who was given a vision of the Holy Spirit ascending as a dove upon the head of Jesus to signify that this was the One of Whom God had spoken – i.e. the Promised One.
Firstly; there was no dove! The Spirit ascended as a dove, i.e. gently alighting the head of Christ in anointing fashion.
Secondly; it was a vision seen only by John the Baptist. Jesus didn’t need a revelation to know that He was the chosen One of God (See also Joh_1:32-34). God was giving the vision to John who would bear testimony to Jesus being the Son of God.
Thirdly; The Holy Spirit cannot be deemed here as a separate entity to Christ, but was merely a vision for John to confirm the truth of prophesy of the coming Messiah. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent and cannot be defined by space or time.
Paul’s farewell to the Corinthians
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. (2Co 13:14)
Paul encourages the Corinthians by pronouncing a blessing upon them by detailing the truth of the presence of the essence of God as being with them. But highlights firstly; Christ the cause and goal of their salvation. Then the love of God as the divine Being. Note: he didn’t say “Father”, but God, to illustrate that the previously unknown universal deity is now known in Christ (Phil 2:9-11). And lastly; the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of God that was quickened to them to have the consciousness of God’s presence as a reality. This in no wise depicts a Trinity of three persons, but merely the reality of God by His expressed manifestations of Son (in the flesh) and Spirit (a consciousness within).
I will ask the Father…
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; (Joh 14:16)
Here Jesus, in His intercessory role, says that He will ask the Father… Jesus, as I mentioned before, came to earth in the form of man for the purpose of man. (See the full explanation of this in The Secret of the Mystery of Christ Explained Part 1) All things He did were in the strength as a man so that He could be the exact propitiation for man. Therefore, in the form of man He beseeched God for the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifest to their consciousness not only for their duration on earth, but also forever in the life to come. And He names God as Father to invoke a paternal consciousness among His disciples.
Jesus limits Himself
Because Jesus came in the likeness of man, He limited Himself also to the available power of men (Phil 2:7). Everything He did on earth, He did in the power that is available to all who will exercise unfailing faith in God and who will get to know Him intimately to know His will and to enable them to have communion with Him.
This also explains why Jesus didn’t know the time of His return while He was in the flesh as a man. Understanding the reason for Christ to appear before man as the perfect atonement helps us understand Christ’s self-imposed limitations on earth. In regard to Jesus not knowing the time of His return; Jesus came to do the express purpose of God and no more. It wasn’t for Him at the time to know the time of His return while He walked with man. God didn’t want man to know, but wanted true believers to always be ready in and out of season. This is seen in the parable of the ten virgins.
Jesus said that as He sees the Father doing the works so He does the Works. That means that God was doing the works through Christ. Jesus also said that what He hears the Father say He says to His disciples. To reiterate the point: He was the expressed image of God among men (Col 1:15). And as He said to Philip:
… “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (Joh 14:9)
This also explains the seeming plurality in Php 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Php_1:2)
Again, the Father is depicted as a paternal Being towards His people, and the Lord Jesus named separately as the reason why it is so. The Father is the effect and Jesus is the cause! Jesus’ life on earth was the reason why God the Father could be paternal towards His creation of man.
The Essence of the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit Explained
I will now explain the essence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one to dispel the erroneous doctrine of the Trinity. Please bear with me longer to enable me to do so. With the true understanding of the essence of our God and Jesus Christ our atoning Saviour and the consciousness of the presence of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to answer a lot of disturbing questions like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this post.
Understanding the Spirit of God – How many Omnipresent Spirits of God are there?
If there is more than one spirit of God in any form then none can be omnipresent. For omnipresence means being present everywhere at the same time and in the same space. Therefore, if there is more than one Spirit then no omnipresence can occur, for one omnipresent spirit would be taking up space and time that the other is not. And overlapping spirits don’t work either, for and overlap is one above another, obviating omnipresence.
However, scripture speaks of three Spirits of God – the Father (Matt 10:20); the Son (Acts 16:7); Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). And all of these Spirits mentioned are the omnipresent Spirit of God. So Trinitarians have a problem. They are confronted with three seemingly separate Spirits of God. Each one omnipresent, which is an absurdity.
But scripture demonstrates that the Spirit of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit reside in the true believer. (See for example: Rom. 8:9; Rom. 8:11; Rom. 15:16). So, unless there are three separate Spirits of God, making Him definitely a poly-spirited deity, the titles of the three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit must be the same Spirit.
God is universally known as the life-giving Spirit right from the time He blew into the nostrils of Adam. For it is through God that all beings with or without breath have their existence by the life-giving Spirit of God. But have you read and understood 1Co 15:45?
So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam (became) a life-giving spirit. (1Co 15:45)
The word “became” does not exist in the original manuscripts.
The original verse states that Jesus was the life-giving Spirit of God. Thus Jesus was the life-giving spirit mentioned in Gen. 2:7. For there can only be one life-giving spirit.
(Oneness Pentecostals will love this, but hold on a little longer. Their reckoning is also coming.)
Objection by some more learned Trinitarians:
Some may object and present Isaiah 48:16 as depicting two persons of God. The King James Version, inspired by the Catholic church, erroneously presents it as such:
Isa 48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
This would mean that there are two: the Lord God, and His Spirit. Yet a direct translation of the original manuscripts says:
Isa 48:16 Come near to Me, hear this, || I have not spoken in secret from the beginning, || From the time of its being, I [am] there, || And now Lord YHWH has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
The New American Standard and the English Standard Version say: “… And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit”.
Here the Lord God has sent Isaiah in the power of the Holy Spirit. And just as Moses told God that he didn’t want to go further with the unfaithful Israelites unless God went with him (Moses), and God said that He would send His angel ahead of them, so too Isaiah wasn’t summoned to go ministering for God without the unction and presence of the Holy Spirit going with him. The interpretation by Trinitarians is diabolical.
The KJV has no reasoning here; for to say that God and His Spirit has sent him, means that the Spirit of God is one, and God without spirit is two. Now how do you have God without spirit when scripture specifically states that “God is Spirit”?
Now here’s a help to understanding what I am about to say regarding the explanation of the One God:
Whenever you read “Father” or “Son” or “Holy Spirit” you are meant to perceive them in their ministerial positions. The Father is our paternal head. The Son is the atoning one come in the likeness of that for which He atones (i.e. mankind). The Holy Spirit is the universal omnipresent Spirit of God manifest to the consciousness of true believers – God in the heart.
There can only be one omnipresent Spirit of God and this Spirit (of God) reveals Himself in the above ministerial positions, i.e. Father and Son. And this is not just a New Testament dispensation revelation. Peter speaks of the early prophets being inspired by the “Spirit of Christ”.
seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
(1Pe 1:11)
We must understand that the Spirit of Christ, the Father and Holy Spirit are all one Spirit of God.
Understanding the One God and Jesus Christ
The picture is repeated here as it holds the illustration of the purpose of the whole argument of the post.
God is Spirit (Joh 4:24). This is the essence of God. This Spirit is one, eternal, omnipresent, almighty Being. He is the person of God and pervades all things at all times, and all things are upheld in existence by the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ (Heb 1:3). (See also Why should God get all the glory that explains Heb. 1:3) Therefore, the Spirit of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are synonymous in essence. Notice that Heb 1:3 never said “…the power of God’s word.” but, “…the Word of God’s power”. That is; all God’s power is manifest in His Word. Now who is His Word?
How is Jesus God?
Scripture says that Jesus is the Word of God. He is as much of God as God’s word is. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
When you speak and another hears you, they say that you are speaking. How many do you know who would say that your word was speaking? However, in reality, one hears your audible words. Nevertheless, your words are you and you are identified audibly by your words.
Note: The noun “logos” refers to both the expressed and unexpressed word. So whether God actually spoke creation into being audibly (which I doubt) or simply willed it to take place, the Word of God was responsible.
God is said to have spoken creation into being. Genesis says: “Then God said: … and it was so”. Solomon says that Jesus (as God’s Word) was established from everlasting (Prov 8:23); meaning that He had no beginning, and was as a master workman bringing creation into being (Prov 8:30). This means that the Word of God was the manifest power of God. And you cannot separate God’s Word from Himself, for the Word of God is the expression of God in power.
The analogy of the tornado
When earth is said to be struck by a tornado it is understood that the entire cell in the skies is not seen as doing the damage, but an extension of the cyclone touching down on earth causes the devastation. Now what we see as a tornado which does the damage is an extension of the great expanse of power above. It is representative of that power. It is the face of the immense power in the sky. And is of that power.
So too, God’s Word became flesh (please note that true scripture never says that the Word “took on flesh” as many interpretate John 1: 14 – for a clear understanding of this go here), incarnated in the form of a man for the purpose of being the suitable atonement for man. He was the face of God; for no one can see the omnipresent God without being omnipresent themselves. He was the express image of God (Heb 1:3) sent by God to reconcile man to Himself. Therefore, one cannot divide in any way the essence of Christ from God.
Trinitarians in the Catholic and Protestant belief systems both agree with one another that none of the members of their Trinity are the other. Yet scripture tells a different story.
Scripture teaches:
- The Spirit of God is universal / omnipresent.
- The Spirit of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the same Spirit of God.
- Jesus is the everlasting Word of God. The very essence / spirit of God. The express image of God to man.
There is no such thing as the Father in one place and the Son in another. Jesus ministry on earth was God on earth, albeit in the power available to man. This Christ did so that He could be the perfect propitiation for man. Nevertheless, He is the image of God on earth (Col 1:15).
A couple of other interesting notes which Trinitarians don’t teach:
Whose blood was shed on the cross?
We all know the scriptures that portray Christ’s suffering and the blood He shed on the cross. But whose blood was it?
The blood that was shed was that of God almighty. Hence the eternal blood of the sacrifice. Jesus, the expressed image of the Father, shed God’s blood to satisfy public justice for the sins (and eternal condemnation) of the world. There is no separation in the least between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son are the same being. Jesus, manifest on earth was of God (of the essence of God), just as the tornado is of the power above.
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Act 20:28)
Even though we know that Jesus shed His blood, this verse explains just whose blood it was, and claims that He (God) purchased the faithful with His own blood.
Trinitarian’s problem with the Blood
Some Trinitarians dare to teach that Jesus died as a human, but not in the Spirit, and that the blood was of the same origin as His flesh, i.e. human. This they erroneously deduce from verses like Hebrews 2:14. But if this heresy were to be true then we would have no hope. For sin causes eternal separation from God. And one has been reconciled through repentance and faith in the saving Christ as their eternal atonement / propitiation.
Sin warrants an eternal judgement and therefore can only be expunged by an eternal propitiation (like exchange). If Jesus flesh and blood were of human substance then there would be no eternal propitiation and we would still be left in our sins and condemned forever to live eternity without Christ or anything good. For a clearer understanding of the truth of the essence of Christ’s body on earth see Fully man and fully God?
How did Jesus send the Holy Spirit?
When Jesus, as the expressed image of God who came in the form of a man, left us, He sent the Holy Spirit, His own Spirit – the singular Spirit of God upon those who would truly believe. Now this “sending” of the Holy Spirit does not signify that the Holy Spirit was outside of the earth and had to be called down from heaven, because the Holy Spirit is omnipresent.
Nevertheless the sending is the quickening within the believer. And just as John the Baptist “saw” the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus in a vision, so too the Holy Spirit descends / anoints the believer. For to say that the earth was void of the Holy Spirit at the time of Christ’s baptism, or even worse, that Jesus was void of the Holy Spirit before His baptism is unscriptural, unreasonable and blasphemous, for Jesus was the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit – the life-giving Spirit of God.
Jesus said that those who truly believe would receive the Holy Spirit from within his “innermost being” (John 7:38). This does not mean that the Holy Spirit was void within them, for scripture says that God upholds all things (perpetually) by the Word of His power, i.e. by Christ through His Holy Spirit that permeates all things; but it means that they will be quickened by the Holy Spirit within. They will have a consciousness of the presence of God within.
How many thrones of God are in heaven?
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69).
So how can JESUS sit at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD as another Person when there is only ONE THRONE IN HEAVEN?” (Rev 4:2)
Please note what Jesus says in Rev. 3:21: ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Some may attempt to show that Jesus was referring positionally to a seat next to the Father. Also, that this scripture refers to two thrones, but that is not what the scripture says. (See Dr. Adam Clarke’s Rev. 3:21). So now we have two thrones but three persons. (They don’t like to use three “People” because it makes their triune god into plural deities – but there is no difference).
Jesus says that all true believers (those who overcome evil / sin) He will grant to sit with Him on His own throne. He goes on to say that He overcame and sits down with His Father on His Father’s throne. Now it will be obvious to the reasoning mind to understand Jesus as saying that He will give us the highest honor, and not that we all will be bunched together on one throne. Or, and even worst, that all true believers will sit with one Jesus on His throne while He sits together with the Father on His throne! There is only one throne of God in heaven. Not more.
Conclusion:
Many Protestant churches have adopted the Catholic’s false doctrines without testing what those doctrines are. This is a mistake of human error. What we have become accustomed to is difficult to dismiss. But Paul told us to test / judge all things and to keep that which is good (true). But we are to test all things with scripture, reason and where possible life examples.
- Does a doctrine bear true to scripture. You will have to get to know scripture to test it.
- Does it bear true to reason. Most doctrines can be tested by reason.
- Does it bear true to life. History, if read without bias, vindicates or condemns church doctrines either being of God or of men.
If the honest mind pursues the truth wherever it may lead them, then they will find it. God will make it so, as He desires all men to come to the truth. However, for those who refuse to scrutinize what leaders of the churches teach because of fear or complacency, will have to forfeit the blessings of truth and suffer the bondages of falsehood.
My sincere hope and purpose for writing what I do, is that you, the reader, will test everything regarding the doctrines of men. You will then find Christianity works as God’s word promises. Your life will open up to have eternal purpose. And death will lose its sting and become a joyous doorway to transition you to the great eternal life that awaits you. For we all should be living not so much for this life, but for the life to come.