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LSAYouth |
Who is Jesus
Christ - what about the trinity?
by
Douglas Tong
If you have ever asked this or a similar question, you are not alone. You need
not be concerned that you do not understand the concept of trinity as no one
else in the world understands it either.
First of all let me say that neither the word 'trinity' nor its concept is ever taught in the Bible. Trinity is a 3rd century invention by so called 'church fathers' who were converted Greek philosophers steeped in Greek (pagan) philosophy and worldview prior to their conversion. Any Trinitarian scholar attempting to explain the trinity will always resort to quoting from these men instead of from the Bible as the concept is unknown in the Bible. The best answer they can manage when hard pressed is 'We can never understand the trinity because it is a mystery' or some variation.
We need to be reminded that Christianity is staunchly monotheistic (one God) as opposed to pagan religions which are polytheistic (many gods). There is no such thing as a plurality of persons in the Godhead. We introduce a plurality when we use the word 'persons'. Anyone who pictures 3 different persons in their minds and then say with their mouths that they are really one cannot help but be confused. They say one thing but are actually thinking another. Anyone with such an understanding of the Godhead are polytheistic in their thinking regardless that they may say that God is one in order to align their verbal confession with the Bible.
In Mark 12:28-31 Jesus taught us the most important commandment. He begins by quoting Deut 6:4 which starts with " Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one." Deut 6:4 is known as the 'Shema' to the Jews. Every Jew is taught to memorize the Shema from a very young age. This is still practiced by many Jews today. Shows us how important monotheism is to the Jews. Christianity has its roots in Judaism. Jesus Himself was born a Jew. We received the Old Testament from the Jews. The Old Testament is scripture as much as the New Testament is scripture. Scripture never contradicts scripture.
It is important to begin the Shema with a declaration of the oneness of God because it is only possible to give the love of all our heart, soul, mind and strength to one (Mark 12:29-30). It is not humanly possible to do so for 3 or more. This only leads to confusion. Our God is not the author of confusion. He never changes (Malachi 3:6) . He is still one now as He was one then.
Allow me to take you further. The word LORD (all capitals) refers to Yahweh - the Name of the one God of the Old Testament. A prophecy in Isaiah 40:3 (quoted in Matt 3:3,Mark 1:2,Luke 3:4) speaks of John the Baptist as 'the voice of the one crying in the wilderness' whose life mission was to prepare the way of the LORD or Yahweh. We know from scripture that John prepared the way for Jesus. This tells us that Jesus is the LORD or Yahweh Himself - the one true God of the Old Testament come in the flesh.
Whenever we see the title 'Son' in the Bible eg. 'Son of God' or 'Son of Man' they always refer to the incarnation of God in flesh or the humanity of Jesus Christ and never to a second eternal person in the Godhead. You will notice that the Bible never teaches us regarding a 'God the Son' nor an 'eternal Son of God'. These titles cannot be found in the Bible. The Bible only teaches us of a 'begotten Son of God'. Let me explain the diff. If you substitute a name say Mark into the titles - eg. 'Mark the son' and 'Son of Mark' - you will see the difference. 'Mark the son' refers to Mark himself while 'son of Mark' refers to Mark's son. Likewise 'eternal' refers to timelessness while 'begotten' refers to a specific point in time. It was at a specific point in history that God became flesh. Before that God existed as Spirit and continues to exist as Spirit (John 4:24). Let's be careful when terminology not found in the Bible is introduced. God warned us not to add or subtract from His Word (Rev 22:18-19)
What about the title 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'? The fundamental moral nature of God is His holiness hence the title 'Holy Spirit'. God is the Father of all creation. He is also the Father of born again believers and of the humanity of Jesus Christ hence the title Father. The title 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit' speaks of the titles or roles of the one true God in His relationship to man. These titles do not refer to different persons in the Godhead. There is no plurality of persons in the Godhead. Colossians 2:9 tells us so clearly "For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."
John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." and John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." God and His Word are one just as a man and his word are one. We cannot separate a man from his word and say that they are separate persons. God's Word is God expressing Himself. In the Old Testament God spoke through the mouth