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his073
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upc_1.arj
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UPC-1.TXT
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1989-10-02
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TESTING THE TRUTH OF THE TRINITY
In order to spot error it is first necessary to know and understand the
truth. In order to spot counterfeit money you study the real thing so that
when a phony is seen it is immediately obvious. You don't study all the
possible variations which might be found in a counterfeit bill. The same
principle applies to Biblical truth. We must study the Word of God and
hide it in our heart so that when a variation is presented to us we will
spot it immediately and know if it is error. R.L. Brandt, the Executive
Presbyter of the Assemblies of God, has said, "Error springs from either
deception or ignorance. And deception takes advantage of ignorance."
At this time we will deal specifically with the Trinity, which is the
term we use to express the unity of three persons in the one God. Dr.
Walter Martin, a renowned bible scholar, gives this definition of the
Trinity. "Within the unity of the One God there are three Persons, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three share the same Nature
and attributes. In effect then, the three Persons are the One God."
This doctrine is often difficult to understand because it transcends
our finite comprehension. Rather than blindly accepting a doctrine we must
test it for ourselves. We can test the doctrine of the Trinity by
answering these questions:
1. What does the Bible say?
2. What does history say?
3. What do the mainline Christian denominations say?
1. Some Bible verses pointing to a triune (3 in one) God:
Gen.1:1 "In the beginning God created..." The Hebrew word used for God
here is "Elohim", a uniplural noun which means "more than one." (The
singular is "El".) The word "Elohim" translated "God" is used in more than
2700 other places in the Old Testament. Gen.1:26 "...God said,
'Let\us\make man in\our\image......' "John 14:16 "....I (Jesus) will pray
the Father and He shall give you another Comforter..." There is a clear
distinction made here between the son who prays, the Father to whom He
prays, and the Holy Spirit for which He prays. I John 5:7 "For there are
three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Spirit; and these three are one."
2. History The Apostles Creed - A.D. 150. The Council of Nicea - A.D.
325. The Westminster Confession - A.D. 1647. The truth of the Trinity has
survived all the impact of denominationalism. And has remained intact
through the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the Protestant Reformation.
3. Consider the mainline, historic Christian churches - Anglican,
Presbyterian, Baptist, United, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Roman
Catholic, etc. They all have their differences but when it comes to the
doctrine on God they all agree that the Bible teaches belief in One God
manifested in three ways, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity has
become the main doctrine that all the cult groups attack.
A recent aberration or deviation from the Trinitarian doctrine sees
Jesus as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus it has come to be
known as the "Jesus Only" or "Oneness" movement.
In 1913 someone claimed a revelation from the Lord that "Jesus was the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." In other words there is
only one person in the Godhead and that is Jesus Christ. They also claim
that the doctrine of the Trinity is of human origin.
According to "Oneness" theology, the term "Father" designates Christ's
deity, while "Son" designates either His humanity considered separately or
His deity as manifested in the flesh. "Oneness" believers say that the
Father is not the Son and Jesus is both the Father and the Son. Therefore
Jesus is the Father, Jesus\was\the Son for a time on earth, and Jesus is
the Holy Spirit!!!
They don't believe in the eternal Sonship, but what about John 17:5,
"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was."? If Jesus alone is God, and
the Father and the Holy Spirit are only "manifestations" of Jesus, many
passages of Scripture are meaningless and even deceptive. Did Jesus
imitate His Father's voice in Matthew 3:17, "....This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.", or the Spirit's command in Acts 13:2, "As they
ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.'"? Who said,
"Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" in Mark 1:11? Where,
might we ask, was the Son when the Father said, "Listen to Him" (Matt. 17:5
NIV)?
The very existence of an "I" - "you" relationship denotes personality;
and the followers of the "Jesus Only" movement must either ignore or
pervert these, and many other passages, to destroy the personal Ego of the
members of the Holy Trinity. Our Lord's great plea upon the cross,
"Father, forgive them," becomes a hollow sham; His resignation to the
Father's will, an illusion - "Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matt.
26:39 NIV); and His final words to His Father on the cross, "into your
hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46 NIV), a pathetic fraud, if there is
not a genuine Person known as the Father, distinct from the Person of the
Son.
The same can be said of the Person of the Holy Spirit, who exhibits
every attribute of deity and personality. The multiple references of the
Holy Spirit in Scriptures in a subject-object relationship to the Persons
of the Father and the Son (John 14:16,26) are positive proof that the Holy
Spirit is a Person distinct from the Persons of the Father and the Son.
Furthermore, Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4),
and that He is no phantom, "mode", or "manifestation" of Jesus Christ, as
the "Jesus Only" movement maintains.
The first plank in the Trinitarian platform is the indivisible oneness
of God. However, nowhere in Scripture are we ever told that God is one
person.
The pathway to the wrong place always starts by leaving the main trail!
(For further\excellent\study read: "MAJESTY: The God You Should Know" by
J. Sidlow Baxter. Published by Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, CA.)