God – a single entity and not a trinity

A balanced view of God

To get a balanced and consistent view of who and what God is we must surely, have to take the whole of the Biblical record into account. We shall start with some references from the beginning of the Bible to see what the early believers in God wrote.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” Deuteronomy 6:4

“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:8

I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: Isaiah 45:5

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me…” Isaiah 46:9

So from these few verses we have seen that God has not once described himself as being three in one. No where in the Old Testament, or in the whole Bible for that matter, is mentioned the word Trinity. God has only said he is one being.

What does Jesus say about God?

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he (Jesus) had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mark 12:28-29

So Jesus believes and supports the statement made in the old testament that God is one being.

The popular belief that God, is three beings in one (the Father, the son and the Holy spirit) is nowhere found in the scriptures. Consider Christs own words:

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. John 14:28

So is this a third part of almighty God speaking as some suggest? If so, Jesus was in subjection to the other third of his supposed being – “God the father”. If the view of the trinity is true then each third must have a ranking system. God the Father at the top and the others somewhere underneath him – but remember that the suggestion is that they are all one person according to the argument of the Trinity, so it is impossible for one being to have parts of it which are of higher authority than other parts of it. Consider this verse:

Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:42

Jesus was in complete subjection to the fathers will, but he had a will of his own. This clearly shows that they were not one person but two completely different beings, having their own wills.

Another point we could bring out is that the Bible teaches that God knew things that Jesus didn’t – this of course would be an impossibility if they were the same being:

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Mark 13:32

What did the early Christians believe?

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1Timothy 2:5

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 1 Corinthians 8v6

Notice how the apostle Paul believes that there is one God and one Lord Jesus. They are two different beings – not part of a trinity. Again we could mention here that the word “trinity” is nowhere to be found in the Bible but mainstream Christianity holds it up as a core doctrine.

Other Evidence to show that Jesus and God are not part of the trinity

God cannot be tempted

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” James 1:13

James tells us God cannot be tempted. Jesus was:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15

For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. Hebrews 2:14

How could God be tempted to sin against himself?! God makes the laws and therefore it is impossible for God to sin or even be tempted to sin.

God cannot die

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalms 90:2

So God is everlasting. However Jesus died and was in the grave for 3 days:

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:18

God cannot be seen

In Timothy we read how that God dwells “in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. (1 Tim 6:16). But Jesus dwelt on earth and was seen of hundreds of people!

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 1:18

So Jesus then, declared God but cannot of been God himself because “No man has seen God at any time”.

The relationship between God and Jesus Christ

Although Jesus was not God, he was a manifestation of how God wants men to live. He thought like God, he obeyed God’s every command, he was the very likeness of God – BUT he was not God himself. Consider the following verses:

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4:4

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9

We can see that Jesus was a manifestation of God. He even tells us this himself:

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.John 17:16

Manifested means “to clearly show”. He clearly showed what God wants us to be like to such an extent that he could say this:

I and my Father are one. John 10:30

In the light of the verses previously presented this cannot mean that Jesus was one being with the Father. All it is saying is that Jesus was one in purpose with God. This can clearly be prooved by examining what Christ says a little later in John:

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:20-21

The believers in Christ’s time were not part of the trinity (but if you take John 10:30 to mean that then, following this logic they must be!).

Where does the belief in the trinity come from?

We have seen how that, throughout the Bible God is only described as being one being. We have seen how that Jesus and the early followers of Christ also believed this and clearly taught it. So where and how has this view of the trinity come from?

Our history books show us that the belief comes from a creed called the Athinasian creed. It was published and imposed in the fourth century after Christ died, about 300 years after Jesus walked the earth. The Romans used this creed when they changed from being Pagans to so called Christians and this Creed is still used in Churches around us today and is the basis of The Roman Catholic faith and the basis of the other faiths who have split from the Catholics. Here is a quote from it:

“The Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the father another of the son and another of the holy ghost. But the Godhead of the father, of the son and of the holy ghost is all one, the glory equal the majesty co-eternal.”

Now we notice that none of this is backed up by scripture, the true word of God. Surly any true follower of God would have written in the relevant passages so that everyone could understand and know why this creed had to be obeyed. But there is not one.

The belief in the trinity is showed by nearly all history books to of been put in place after the early apostles and therefore is admitted to not of been what the early Christians believed. In a historical book called “The Doctrine of the trinity” by a Mr. P.E.White (who is a Catholic) we read this:

“From the very first the rule has been as a matter of fact, for the Church to preach the Truth, and then appeal to scripture in vindication of its own teaching.”

Sadly we feel that he is speaking truth. But why do so many follow after the belief of the Trinity? The answer is simple. They do not check it for themselves with what the Bible teaches. Consider Jesus Christ’s words:

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 5:39

So it is to the Bible we must turn, and when we do, we do not find any evidence to suggest that God is made up of three beings.

Author: M. Davies, Nottingham, Feb 2009

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