(Excerpts taken from the article “The TRINITY… Mystery or Confusion?” Beauties in the Truth, Volume 9, Number 3, August 1998)

There are four primary theologies held by the Christianity today in respects to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

They are the Oneness theology, the Trinitarian theology, the Arian theology and the Unitarian theology.

1) The Oneness theology is held by some Pentecostal groups such as the United Pentecostal Church, The Pentecostal Assemblies of the Word, and of course by Apostolic Pentecostals as well as The Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ and others.

2) The Trinity theology is held by the Catholic Church, and most Protestant denominations.

3) The Arian theology is held by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bible Students, some Messianic Jews, and a number of independent churches.

4) The Unitarian theology is held by the Unitarian Church, likewise by some Messianic Jews, and a number of independent churches.

THE TRINITARIAN VIEW

The doctrine of the Trinity is the belief that God is three separate personalities or three persons. Each person is God, but each person is distinct from the other persons. Thus Jesus is God and the Father is God, but Jesus is not the Father – they are separate persons. It is a puzzle not to be grasped by the human mind.

Another way in which Trinitarians perceive it is that there is one God made up of three separate and distinct persons of but one indivisible essence. These three persons existed from eternity, and are equal in power and substance. They are known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The undivided essence of God belongs equally to each of the three persons. The Church confesses the Trinity to be a mystery beyond the comprehension of man.

History:

This is clearly a problematic area for the subject. Trinitarian historians concede that the understanding of God, and their ability to express this understanding in Trinitarian terms took centuries to evolve. The creeds and writings of the early church fathers confirm this progression of belief in a triune god. There is virtually no support of the concept until the third century.

Trinitarian historians also state that Greek Platonic philosophy played a heavy part in the development of this doctrine. Many Trinitarian scholars view these Greek philosophies as a gift from God that helped Christians in the early period come to an understanding of the Trinity.

Only One God:

A few key premises sustain the Trinitarian view. One premise reasons that there is only one true God and all others called “god” are, by default, “false gods.” In other words, the word “god” should only properly apply to one god as a unique name or unique title.

Following this logic, if Jesus is called “god” then he must either be a false god or the true God.

Do the Scriptures support this thought?

We answer no. The Scriptures do not reserve the word “god” for the Almighty God alone. In John 10:34 Jesus pointed out that those through whom God gave His word were called “gods” (by using the Greek word for “gods”). Jesus continued by claiming to be the Son of God. Jesus used the word “god” (“theos” in the Greek) more broadly than what has been defined by the Trinitarian view. There are other examples, in both Old and New Testaments, of ones called god which did not fall in the category of “false,” and thus this premise does not hold up.

Attributes of God:

Another premise is that God has certain attributes which makes Him God. If the Son has these attributes, then he must be God. For example, God does not change and Christ “is the same yesterday, today and forever“; God is the “Creator” and Jesus is the creator; God is the “King of kings” and Jesus is the “King of kings.” The conclusion is drawn that Jesus possesses the attributes which qualify him to be God. However, in considering this further, there are attributes shared in common with Jesus and his disciples: the light of the world, judges of the world, sons of God, priests, kings, etc. All of these titles and attributes do not make the church and Jesus the same being.

Overcoming this problem requires looking at the broader context of scripture. For example, God, by Old Testament declaration, is the only “Savior.” Jesus also claimed to be the Savior. And further examination shows the 144,000 of Rev 14 are “saviors” (Obadiah 21).

How do we harmonize these seemingly conflicting statements of Scripture?

The truth is that God (the heavenly Father) is the Principal Savior, the Architect of salvation, without whom there would be no salvation. In His great plan the Father has employed others to assist Him, making them “saviors” also. Chief among them is His son, Christ Jesus.

Lack of Scriptural Support:

The greatest weakness of the Trinity doctrine is the lack of clear, unambiguous scriptural support. There are a few verses, such as John 1:1, that at best could be said to “imply” the doctrine IF John, the writer, believed the Trinity. However, in each and every case these verses can as easily support a non-Trinitarian interpretation.

Moreover, the deepest chasm is the lack of a single verse which “teaches” the doctrine. The Bible has many verses that teach justification, repentance, baptism, resurrection, but not one single verse in the entire Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. No verse describes it, explains it, or defines it. And no verse INSTRUCTS us to believe it!

It is men who teach and instruct you to believe it, NOT God’s word.

Considering how different the Trinitarian view is from the traditional Jewish belief of God, the question arises: where are all the arguments to get the Jew to change his view on the subject? When the Apostle Paul spent entire chapters reasoning with the Jew regarding the law, why did he not spend time endeavoring to assist the Jew to a “better understanding” of God? This vital but missing piece is an insurmountable flaw in the Trinity.

Did not the Apostle declare that he shun not to declare the whole Gospel? If so why did he leave this subject blank?

The Trinity is a doctrine rich in tradition, passionately defended by brilliant and sincere people, but severely weak in reason and wanting in Biblical support.

Continued with next post.