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THE BIBLICAL TRINITY
"A Scriptural Defensive of the Christocentric Trinity or Christrinity"
By: Jean leDuc
INTRODUCTION
Our churches have taught us all that there are three individual persons in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and yet only one God; and most of us have been told not to try to understand this concept because it is a mystery. In fact, there is no subject more controversial, and by questioning it, a believer risks to be put out of his church and be excommunicated "John 16: 2, 3 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me". But what if our churches are wrong, what if they have been mislead and have been misleading millions of Christians throughout the centuries?
Must the believer who knows otherwise close his mouth for the sake of an illusionnal peace and brotherly love? Is the majority always right and must the believer follow it like a reprobate blind sheep? Is such a Trinity taught in the Bible and did the Apostles ever proclaim such a faith? The answer to these questions is a resounding NO! If such a Trinity does not come from the Bible, where does it come from then? The historical source of this doctrine comes from the declarations of the first Ecumenical Council known as the Council of Nicea. This Council was called by the Emperor Constantine in the year 325 AD and is the foundation of Catholicism, both Roman and Protestant. The Emperor Constantine summoned this first general council to promote religious peace within the empire, and to unite Mithraism and Christianity in a new universal religion called Catholicism.
One of the results was the Nicean Creed, written by Athanasius of Alexandria, and the other was the Athanasian Creed. Both promote a pagan Trinity of three Gods (and to be more precise, two Gods and a Goddess) disguised under Christian and Biblical terms. This perversion of the truth is a melting pot that contains trace elements borrowed from neo-Platonism and the mystery religions of Egypt and Babylon, Druidism and Mithraism (see The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop). Their concept of the Trinity is the pivot or main hub of Catholicism, as we shall see in the Athanasian Creed, and to refuse to believe it spells disaster for any Christian. The Athanasian Creed will be our main focus as it represents more clearly the Orthodox and Ontological or Speculative Trinity of the Council of Nicea that is still being teached today.
THE ATHANASIAN CREED:
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And 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 Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.
As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three gods, but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord. And yet not three lords, but one Lord.
For as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so we are also forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
And in the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believes rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching His godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching His manhood; who, although He is God and man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the godhead into flesh but by taking of the manhood into God; one altogether; not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ; who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He sits at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the quick and the dead. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.
Enough said, let those who have eyes to see, see what is said in this subversive declaration of the Catholic faith.
· First: "it is necessary to believe it or perish". I say, it is better to perish in the truth than to believe this lie. What becomes evident here, is that one is a Catholic if he believes the following doctrine, whether he knows it or not, whether he likes it or not.
· Second: "we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord". Since Christian verity or the truth of Scripture acknowledges that if each Person by Himself is both Lord and God, then we have here three Gods and not one God. We see that Catholicism even acknowledges this idolatrous tritheism that it teaches, and forbids its believers to declare the truth in the following words: "we are also forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords".
· Thirdly: "our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world". Since the words "begotten" and "born" mean the same thing (look it up in your Dictionary), this Creed teaches that Jesus was born twice, once "before the worlds" and another time "in the world". This is perversion in its purest form.
· Fourthly: "This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved". The Bible teaches clearly that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2: 8) in Jesus-Christ alone, and nowhere does it teaches that we are to believe in such a Trinity as taught by Catholicism to be saved. Our faith is biblical and not Catholic; it comes from the Word of God (Rom. 10: 17) and not from the theological and philosophical speculations of men. The Word of God is our only rule of faith and not the Creeds of churches. Therefore, the only mystery in this false doctrine of the Trinity is the lack of gray matter between the ears of the Catholics who proclaim it.
But one will say, does not the Bible teach a Trinity and are you not anti-trinitarian ? Yes it does, but not the kind of Trinity that is being taught in our churches, and to believe it does not make one anti-trinitarian but it does make him anti-Catholic. The Word of God clearly teaches a Trinity of revelation that the elects receive by revelation through the faith they are given. One must understand that nothing in the Scriptures can truly be know unless it is revealed to him by the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things (1 John 2: 20, 27).
1- But isn’t the doctrine of the Ontological Trinity of three Persons in God based on verses from the Bible? Many verses throughout the Scripture are used out of context, twisted and applied to support this false doctrine. By looking at the main ones closely, we will see that they are far from supporting such a view.
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:
The most important thing to realize in this verse is that the word "name" here is singular and not plural; meaning that there is only one Name for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And what can that name be, except it be the name of the one that gives the revelation in this verse, that is "JESUS", the name that is above every name: "Phil. 2: 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name". This is further attested later in the book of Acts where we see the Apostles baptizing in the name of JESUS only: Acts 2: 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; Acts 8: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.); Acts 10: 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord; Acts 19: 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus". There is no evidence in the whole of the New Testament that any Baptism was ever given "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost". Dare we say that the Apostles disobeyed Christ by Baptizing in his name only without using the Trinitarian formula? or maybe they knew something that most churches ignore; the fact that "JESUS" is the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. If this is so, and we have ample evidences throughout the Scriptures that it is, then there are no three persons in God but only one Person, "JESUS-CHRIST" who is God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3: 16), and who is the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1: 15).
2- Are they any specific verses in the Scripture that show clearly that JESUS is the Father?
Yes there are many that show that Jesus and the Father are one and the same Person. We will look here at just a few of them: Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This prophecy of Isaiah concerning the birth of Christ declares without a doubt that Jesus is "the everlasting Father" that was manifested in the flesh as the only begotten Son of God. Jesus says that God is a Spirit (John 4: 24), therefore the Son is the visible envelope of the invisible Father (Col. 1: 15) who is Spirit and both are one and the same Person: John 10: 30 I and my Father are one, says Jesus. If the Father and the Son are both one and the same then they are not two individual Persons. The fact that the Father is in the Son and not out of the Son "John 10: 38 believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him", shows us that the Father is the divine nature in Christ who is both man and God, not as two persons but as one Person that is called "the New Man" (Col. 3: 10). This is why that when someone receives Christ he becomes a new creature "2 Cor. 5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new".
John 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Many seek to see the Father but do not seek him in Christ; they consider him to be a distinct Person from the Son and by doing so separate themselves from the one and true God. They search for him in philosophical speculations and in various religions and fail to notice that he who sees Christ sees also the Father for the two are one and the same. Therefore they cannot come to the Father and remain lost in their vain imaginations of God, for as Jesus says "John 14: 6 I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins.
John 8:27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
What is Jesus talking about when he says "if ye believe not that I Am he", is he talking about the fact that he his the Messiah, like so many think he his doing? No! The context is clear in these verses; Jesus is talking to the Jews about the Father saying that he his Him. He uses the words "I AM" to express his identity. By this expression that the Jews know very well, Jesus identifies himself with the Father that revealed himself to Moses:
"Ex. 3: 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Ex. 3: 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
In fact, Jesus uses this expression many times in the Gospel of John. We see it again in John 8: 58
"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM".
There is no clearer picture to describe Jesus as the Father; but there is something else that catches our eyes. In Ex. 3: 15 we see that God says to Moses "this is my name for ever"; now, the word "God" at the beginning of this verse is YAHWEH or JEHOVAH as some translate it. This is extremely significant considering that the name JESUS means JEHOVAH SAVES, identifying Jesus as Jehovah himself who took on a body of flesh to reveal himself unto men. There can be no doubt that Jesus is the name of God, the Great I AM, and that he is the Father and the Son:
"1 John 5: 20, 21 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen".
But what is more important is the fact that Jesus says in John 8: 24 that those who refuse to believe that he is the Father shall die in their sins. Let this be a warning to those who believe in the Ontological Trinity of the Creeds and divide God in three Persons. In fact, the apostle John tells us that the spirit of this teaching is the spirit of the antichrist:
"1 John 4: 1-3 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world".
Here we find the discernment between the true Biblical Trinity or Christrinity, and the false Orthodox Ontological Trinity; here is the discernment between the Spirit of God and the spirit of the Antichrist.
3- What about the distinctions Jesus makes between the Father and himself: he prays to the Father and even says that the Father is greater than him; doesn’t this prove that the Father and the Son are two different Persons?
Most Christians have the nasty habit of looking at spiritual things with the eyes of the flesh, instead of looking at them through the Spirit that was given them:
"1 Cor. 2: 12-16 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 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. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
Therefore they look at the relation between the Father and the Son in terms of an earthly relation. While it is true earthly wise that a father and a son are two different distinct persons, the same is not so spiritual wise. Scriptural wise the Father and the Son are no more apart than the bark is from the tree. Again I must point out that the Father is in the Son and not out of the Son, and when Jesus prays to the Father, he prays to One that dwells within him, of which he is the visible manifestation. This brings us to the distinction that is made between the Father and the Son:
"John 14: 28 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".
The distinction here is not one of Persons but of "greatness", it is a distinction between the flesh and the Spirit, between the two natures in Christ, the human and the divine. It as to do with the fact that Jesus, being God, humiliated himself by not searching to be equal with God and took on the form of a servant made in the likeness of man:
"Phil. 2: 5-9 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name".
In this sense the Father who is Spirit and dwells in the Son, is greater than the Son who is his manifestation in the flesh.
4- What of the Holy Spirit, is there any Scriptural support to affirm that He is Jesus also?
Again there are ample evidences that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are one and the same. Notice, that like the translators of the King James Bible, I use the word "Ghost" instead of "Spirit" for the word "Ghost" implies a supernatural presence that is more in the context of the supernatural presence of Christ in the heart of his elects. Going back to Isaiah 9: 6 we see that the name "Counselor" is given to Jesus in this prophecy. Now in Hebrew "Counselor" is "YÂ’ATS" (Strong #3289) meaning: to advise, to deliberate, to resolve. Now what is interesting is that the Greek word "Comforter" used by Jesus in John 16: 7 to describe the Holy Ghost means the same thing (Strong #3875): "PARAKLETÔS" = Intercessor, Consoler, Comforter. This relation between both words clearly indicates that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are one and the same. The Apostle Paul gives us a further clarification in his Epistle to the Romans:
"Rom. 8: 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his".
Here Paul establishes a definite relation of the Spirit of God with the Spirit of Christ indicating that they are both one and the same. He further clarifies the subject in this verse:
"2 Cor. 3: 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty".
Further more, Paul confirms the unity of our God, Jesus-Christ, by saying that there is one Spirit, not three; one Lord, not three; one God and Father, not three:
"Eph. 4: 3-7 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ".
Considering these Scriptural facts, we cannot come to any other conclusion than that JESUS is also the Holy Ghost that dwells within the heart of his elects.
5- Can we not say that Christrinity is the doctrine thought in the second century known as Sabellianism? There are absolutely no relations between Sabellianism and Christrinity. Sabellianism came from Modalism, and although there is a similarity in the fact that Modalism teaches also that the Father and Jesus are the same Person, Sabellianism says that God has three modes of existence, first manifesting himself as Father, then as Son, then as Holy Ghost. By this view the Father ceases to become the Father when he becomes the Son; and ceases to be the Son when he becomes the Holy Ghost, thus denying the eternal existence of Jesus-Christ. Contrarily Christrinity teaches the threefold existence of Jesus saying that Jesus is eternally conscious of being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The closest human definition we can use to describe this threefold existence would be to say that a man is conscious of being the father of his son, the son of his father, and the counselor of his family, and yet is only one person and not three. In Christrinity, Jesus is the Father, doesn’t cease to be the Father when he becomes the Son, and doesn’t cease to be the Father and the Son when he becomes the Holy Ghost, for the three are eternally one and the same Person.
It is somewhat misleading to speak of "three persons" in one God. The word "person" in its modern sense differs widely from the Latin word persona used in the beginning. The word persona corresponds more nearly to the word "character", the combination of qualities, traits or attributes that distinguishes an individual. It also corresponds directly to the Greek word "HUPÔSTASIS" which means "essence, support, assurance, person, substance (Strong #5287) which we find in "Heb. 1: 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high".
Modern thought insists upon the separateness and self-included nature of personality, a conception unknown to antiquity; and if we claim that there are three persons in God, we are understood to mean in this sense that there are three full personalities, like three men, an idea scarcely distinguishable from that of three Gods. The first disciples never meant that there were three modernly conceived persons in God, nor can it now be maintained. The Lord our God, Jesus-Christ, as a personal Spirit, has but one personality, in the sense which that word now bears. God is one Person and we must not deny it in our theology.
It is largely because we are under the spell of a word, and unconsciously labor to find three modernly conceived persons in the Godhead, that some might find the doctrine of Christrinity so difficult. By such we mean that God is a single Person whose name is JESUS, and in whose nature there is a threeness that has been expressed in his threefold self-revelation. The reality is that God is in some manner forever reproducing himself within himself. It is the renouncing or giving up of the self that so characterizes the life of Jesus and is the center of his teachings; it corresponds to the Greek word "AGAPAÔ" which means "sacrificial love". This is why Jesus says "John 15: 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends".
God is the perfect Mind, and in the nature of this "sacrificial love" he reproduces himself in Thought, Will and Word; and recognizes the reproduction as identical with the Mind that thought it forth. He thinks himself, and perceives that that which he has thought is himself. His Thought, Will, and Word comprehend and express all that is Holy Being contain. He perfectly recognizes that which he has thought himself to be, as perfectly identical with the original self that thought it. In this sacrificial giving up of his self he finds himself, and he recognizes himself in his thought of himself. In this the circle of his consciousness is complete and he bears the name "I AM THAT I AM".
Therefore, these eternal modes of existence in God are not personalities, in the modern sense of the term, but are separate aspects of one personality; and the Scripture teaches clearly that every true believer will partake of this unity in God "John 17: 20-23 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. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me".
This view differs from Tritheism, and from such forms of essential Trinity as approach Tritheism, in that it does not assert distinct personalities, in the modern sense, in the Godhead of Christ. In this threeness there are not three wills, there is only one Will; not three thoughts, only one Thought; not three words, only one Word. One Person exists in three modes, which are essential to his one personality. This a real Triunity; in one sense the Lord Jesus, our God, is three eternally; while in another sense, just as truly, he is one.
CONCLUSION
After looking at all the evidences from the Scripture, there is absolutely no doubt that JESUS is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and that the three are one and the same Person and not three Persons:
"1 John 5: 7, 8 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
There remains only one thing, are we going to take a STAND for the truth against the majority, or are we going to close our eyes and go with the majority. Christrinity glorifies Christ as all of God, the eternal I AM; but the Orthodox Trinity relinquishes Him as a second rate God.
In truth, if the one that believes in the Ontological Trinity is called a Trinitarian; the one who believes in the Christrinity can rightly be called a Christrinian.
"2 Cor. 13: 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen".
To Christ only be the Glory |
