Doctrinal Problems of the Trinity
Point one.
The basic argument used to support the trinity is based on the number of persons believed to be a united unit of God that is the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. However, argument for man does not compare the number persons God created in man's unit, therefore, man is a triune being for an entirely different reason. The argument for the trinity of man is that man is spirit, soul and body therefore a triune being. The scripture proof is as follows.
However, hasn't God demanded that we love him with four attributes of the human being?
Wouldn’t God be unjust to demand that you love him with four qualities of our human nature if we only had three? God wants you to love him with all your being and if this passage is understood right man is composed of these four things, heart, soul, mind and strength. Those who favor the triune nature of God overlook the attributes that God deems more important than the flesh.
The trinity argument is illustrated by an egg which has three parts to it, the shell, the yoke, and the egg white. However, nothing is ever said about the nickle size air pocket seen in the the larger end of the raw egg shell, which is a membrane that allows the shell to be peeled off in strips when the egg has been boiled. Arguments like these favor the trinity doctrine more than what the facts do and because these argument are not scrutinized they fail the test of a proper comparison.
Let's make things even more confusing. There are twenty-six thrones mentioned in Revelation that living beings sit upon. Among the seats of authority in heaven one should belong to the Holy Spirit. Two are for the Father and Son and twenty-four are for the elders. However, no one, but God knows whether these twenty-four elders were created, belong to the same race of beings that God is from, or the degree of authority they have. The fact remains that none of these thrones belong to the Holy Spirit.
Point two.
The trinity doctrine describes three co-eternal and coequal Persons. The major problem with this theory is contradiction of terms. If God is coequal, why is each person of God numbered by rank? God the Father being the first person, the Son being the second person, and the Holy Spirit the third person. The scriptures do not support ranking of God by importance or power nor do the scriptures describe God in three coequal and coeternal beings.
Point three.
According to the Scriptures the Holy Spirit has made no claim to deity and none of the prophets referred to him as God under his inspiration. On the other hand, the Father and Son have made direct and indisputable claims to deity with clear and distinctive statements. In addition both have descriptions of their personal presence when the Holy Spirit does not. Although the Holy Spirit has spoken to man there is no recorded conversation between him and the other members of the divine. in addition the Holy Spirit has made no claim to deity.
Within the word of God, God the Father and God the Son has thrones. Persons of nobility are seated on a throne of authority from which they rule the people under them. God's word does not name the Holy Spirit as God nor show a throne for the Holy Spirit to sit upon. The Holy Spirit is portrayed, as a possession, as a gift, a promise, an anointing, a deposit, a seal of ownership, and as a warrantee (guarantee) of what is to come. These qualities do not describe persons.
Point four.
The trinity doctrine was developed over time by our church fathers from (325 to 589 AD) after the last Apostle had died and contact with first hand witnesses was no longer possible. A Roman attorney Tertilian coined the word Trinity nearly 200 years after our Lord was crucified and a hundred years after the New Testament we use today was completely written. A search of the bible text using substitute words for trinity such as three in one, three persons, third person or the divine nature (godhead) bore no fruit. In other words, God’s word is not referenced to show God in three persons.
Point five.
At the beginning of each of the New Testament letters Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and John greeted the church in the name of the Father and the Son. Was it a coincidence the name of the Holy Spirit was virtually absent in every one of these greetings? James, Peter, Jude, and John referred to themselves as servants of God the father and God the Son, but not of the Holy Spirit. In addition, Luke did not include the Holy Spirit when he greeted the Church in the name of God in the letters he thoroughly researched and was inspired to write. God entrusted these men to present his gospel truthfully, and in a precise manner. Four of the six New Testament writers used by God, were first hand witnesses of Christ teaching on the Holy Spirit and were present when Jesus gave the great commission. Apparently the apostles did not believe or know that the Holy Spirit a person of God.
Point six.
When you arrive in heaven you will be walking by the light of God the father and of the Lamb. If you are a Trinitarian you may want to ask why the Holy Spirit isn't with the father and Son casting light onto the streets of heaven?
Point seven
It is written that God created man in his own image, God created man male and female and then he called them man (Genesis 1:27, 5:2.) When Jesus said, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9) we can surmise that Christ was saying that he was the exact image and likeness of God. Man is the mirror image of God and looking at the reflection of ourselves from any mirror we have an outline of God’s appearance. God's divine nature is clearly understood from what has been made. (Romans 1:20)
Through Jesus Christ all things were made (John 1:3) and he made man male and female in the image and likeness of God. A third counterpart is completely unknown to the scientific community or man because everything created with breath was made in pairs.
From God’s perspective man was created in two persons within a committed relationship to each other. In the scientific community man has been categorized as a group of two beings of opposite gender. A drawing of the male and female was prominently displayed on the Apollo 11 moon-landing vehicle for alien life to find. However, God was the first to say the male and female (man) were made in his image.
As two separate individuals they complement and form dependence on each other. However, the first thing God did after bringing Eve to Adam was to instruct them how to recreate the human unit from his perspective. His gave instruction that a man would cling to his wife which related that the male and female were designed to be united as one flesh. Normally, the words image and likeness relate to things that are seen with the human eye. (Romans 1:20) However, in this case image also refers to the spiritual nature of man. Therefore, the word Image describes man as a twofold creation having flesh and spirit.
Point eight.
Jesus made direct statements that contradict a triune nature of God. Christ made the clearest statement about the unity of the divine nature at the direction of the Father. Jesus Said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30.) The trinity doctrine was derived out of context because the Divine nature of God was not the primary subject or purpose for the great commission. The objective of the great commission was to carry out God’s will in spreading the gospel and make disciples so the kingdom of God would grow. God does not anyone to perish and the great commission demands that we take God's message and his salvation plan through the cross Jesus died on.
When Jesus spoke about unity of God he did include the Holy Spirit or the relationship the Holy Spirit has within the nature of God. God does not imply, because implied thoughts can be deceiving. No one including God wants to hear the promises they made turned into something they did not intend to express. For example, how many times have you bought something based on the product description? Advertising is designed to sell a product and in the process the truth is both exaggerated and implied. If God were to imply anything it would require men to add to God’s word.
The evidence used by those to support the doctrine of the Trinity is primarily assumed and taken out of context. Assuming ignores God characteristics of being blunt and straightforward and allows those interpreting to fill in the blanks. The word of God is a verifiable truth, but the word of God does not support a doctrine of the trinity with hard facts.
God said that he does not change and his word will stand forever. It is safe to say that all theology including my own has flaws incorporated into our beliefs. Those flaws contain ideas that either glorifies God or nullifies what God has expressed. In other words theology can either glorify God or become a traditional teaching that Christ spoke about.
Point nine.
When Jesus asked the father for another comforter or someone like himself, it is not uncommon for the employer to work beside their employees. Jesus was asking for another comforter like himself to work beside him. Therefore, we must ask wwhy did Jesus express the idea that the father and he would make their abode in you -while he was teaching about the Holy Spirit?
Throughout the bible, God the Father and God the Son are completely devoted to each other and consistently worked to serve the needs of the other.
This verse shows how devoted Jesus was to his father with the absolute desire to obey his Father in every thing. Everything he asked of his father was granted to Christ because he revered his father and submitted to God who was in him.
Point ten.
Paul spoke of the Holy Spirit as a personallity and as a tangible asset for man's spirit. He spoke of the Holy Spirit as an anointing substance smeared on the flesh or poured over the head of a person that commissioned the recpient for God's service. The Holy Spirit is a seal placed to guarantee the contents on the container we live in and that the contents meet a standard of God's holiness. This seal is also a logo attesting to the maker and owner of the vessel. It attests to the sanctifying work of the spirit and preserves us untill the day of our Lord.
In chapter 7 of Revelation the saints from the tribes are sealed.
Paul also wrote that you were bought for a price and the Holy Spirit is a down payment that sets man a side for the day Jesus Christ redeems us. We may want to think of the Holy Spirit as a proof of payment that guarantees our future with God and that your life is in the hands that no one can snatch you from. He is the anointing from God authorizing you to go into the field to work on the harvest.
Point eleven.
The grammar of the Bible dictates how the words are used in sentence structure. The New Testament shows the word "Holy" (Holy Spirit) is an adjective, or a word used to describe a noun. In the Old Testament the word "Holy" (Holy Spirit) is used as a noun. However, this particular noun is unlike the noun of the English language because this noun does not refer to a person. What it means is this particular word is only used in regards to places and things. What is interesting is that a possessive pronoun is derived from the Hebrew word Holy used to describe the Holy Spirit. The translators saw the need to amend the Hebrew grammar to help the English speaking people grasp the true meaning. At the same time, the personal pronouns derived from the noun Holy reflect the Holy Spirit to be a possession of God. Don't let this information mislead you, there are other words in the Hebrew language for the word Holy and they refer to persons.
Point twelve.
According to Matthew, angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said the child conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit. Human understanding of conception dictates that the Holy Spirit is the father of Jesus Christ. However, our heavenly Father openly declared that he was well pleased with his Son Jesus Christ when John baptized him and again on the mount of transfiguration. On the other hand Jesus always spoke of God as his father. This scenario poises a specific about the genuiness about the truth of the matter. How could God's word be true if Jesus was conceived by the third person of God and the first person of God claim to be the one and only father?
Luke had another view on this issue. He said when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary. Whenever the word "overshadow" was used, this word pointed to the direct involvement of God the father. Luke points out two names for Christ at the time of his birth in particular. Jesus was called the Son of the Most High and the Son of God. Luke 1:34 says something we overlook, it says that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, but we also need to consider that the power of the Most high worked supernaturally to impregnate Mary.
Point thirteen.
God created man in two persons describing them as created in his image and likeness. God saw that man was alone and saw that Adam had no one of his kind to socialize with. From this information we can deduct that God knew the importance of relationships. Thus, God made Eve as a suitable mate from the flesh and bones of Adam and placed both in the garden to tend it together.
Having order to his life, God took time to review the work of his hands. Directly after Adam and Eve were created, God called them "man" (Genesis 1:27 and 5:2). God had truly defined the male and female as a specific group known as man. God and man may be understood with different terms and classified by different methods, but one thing is common, the basic unit of God and man consist of more than one person. God only provided an example of himself in creation by the image and likeness of himself. After Adam and Eve were created God commanded the male and female generations that followed to unite and become one flesh. This picture of God’s image and likeness has not changed as his image is seen in the marriage between the male and female of today. Jesus Christ attested with these words.
God made man in his image and likeness, but the resemblance of man to God does not stop with man was formed from the dust of the earth. God created the male and female calling them man and of the same flesh. The relationship God created in flesh reveal the kind of relationship that the father and Son have in the spiritual realm. We learn from the creation account that marriage is the symbolic representation of the union God has with his son. God incorporated a system of family growth by propagation through the union of the male and female. The union of man reflects a system of propagation for the spiritual family of God. In this system, God adopts those who believe in his son and makes his dwelling in the temple of our body.
Point fourteen.
God’s word does not reveal a conversation between the Holy Spirit and the Father or Son. Instead we learn that Jesus spoke of the miracles that God performed on his behalf. Christ revealed a personal relationship with his father countless times through out his ministry, but not once did he speak of the Holy Spirit’s involvement with his ministry. There has to be a reason for the lack of conversation or reconition of the Holy Spirit as the third person.
If anyone could give an exact picture of the divine nature it would have been Jesus Christ. In John, he spoke nine times about his unity with his father, but never spoken about a personal relationship or involvement with the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave glory to the father for the same miracles that the Holy Spirit normally receives from those who follow Christ. Jesus referred to the Spirit of truth six times, but in John 16:13-14 he used the pronoun "he" to reveal the relation of the Holy Spirit from his perspective. He revealed the Holy Spirit as another male person, but not as an third member of the divine nature.
Point fifteen
God wants a personal relationship with man and Jesus Christ is working in our lives to create a dwelling where God can live by his spirit . Jesus Christ is reconstructing the temple of God from the ruins of our lives to make a place where God can comfortly dwell. Most Christians know that the body of the Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit for one reason. The thought that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit has been embedded into our minds with the constant reminding of those who believe in the threefold nature of the divine.
God wanted man to know that our body is also the temple of the living God, but it goes largely ignored. Christians have been taught to believe that God is a triune being making it almost impossible to fathom the relationship God speaks about in his word. In this relationship, the Father and Son come to live into your heart uniting with you within your body. John understood this concept and wrote:
It shows that God planned all along to uinite with man and live together. Paul confirmed this precept and wrote whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
The picture of the trinity has been painted thousands of times by a number of people that believe in the threefold nature of God. Today we have an indelible picture of the trinity stamped into our mind that both clouds and suppresses the truth about God. For the most part Christians teach what they can understand about God through their limited knowledge of God. However, to develop an relationship with God, the Christian must allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, but truth that often differs from the theology of men.
Point sixteen.
The doctrine of the trinity when based on Matthew 28:19 has been formulated by our church fathers and taught as fact. The subject matter of Matthew 28:19 is not about divine nature of God but deals with the authority of Jesus Christ and his command to make disciples. According to Matthew 28:19 the Disciples of Christ were to go into the entire world under and by his authority alone. Christ’s command was to:
The command was to go, make disciples, baptize and teach his commands to everyone in the name of the father Son and Holy Spirit. In the sixty years while the New Testament was written there is no evidence that this command was followed to the letter by the eleven disciples. To the contrary the disciples and Paul baptized their disciples in the name of Jesus, nor did they teach the baptismal formula Matthew wrote about. What is interesting is some believe that the Baptism formula supports a belief in the trinity even when the required evidence supporting the baptism formula is not in the bible.
Point seventeen.
Exponents of the trinity say that there is no rational proof for the doctrine. The doctrine of the Trinity is indiscoverable by reason, so it is incapable of proof from reason. However, they use scripture to verify the trinity through human reasoning and appear to contradict their own reasoning on this point. On the other hand God inspired Paul to write a passage concerning the Divine Nature.
God placed a trail of evidence in his creation so ordinary men could deduct that our earthly environment was the outcome of intelligent design. Our earthly environment reveals God’s handiwork.
God placed an explanation in the first sentence of Genesis that no one has been able to dispute in a way that common man can accept and understand. Embedded in the creation God provided insight into his eternal power and divine nature so that man would have no excuse.
Point eighteen.
The trinity doctrine has some truth to it, but it has hindered most Christians from knowing the true nature of God. Christians shrug their shoulders unable to comprehend the words of Christ as he says he and the Father are one, therefore, they cannot absorb the truth that contradict their basic beliefs.
This verse is right in the midst of the teaching on the Holy Spirit and rightfully so. Through faith in Jesus Christ we have an access to everything the Christian receives from God . Jesus Christ is our primary counselor and the reason why he was able to ask God for another counselor. Paul taught us that the fullness of Deity dwelt in Jesus Christ, therefore we have access to the throne of God when Jesus Christ comes to live in us.
I can only recall one sermon on the oneness of the father and son and I have been attending church over thirty years. Those who preach God’s word proclaim that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit but do not teach on John 14:20. Jesus said when he came to dwell in you that you would be aware and know that he was in the father. However, this knowledge is neglected because of the tenets concerning the trinity and teaching on the Holy Spirit.
I was awe struck why God would want to dwell in my sinful body. Ephesians 2:18-22 had the answers I was looking for. It said that Jesus Christ was rebuilding my life into a temple that God could live in by his Spirit. After considerable thought and prayer, the thought came to me that the Holy Spirit was another name of our living God. I learned why Jesus said that he and his father would come to dwell in our hearts while teaching on the Holy Spirit. This teaching helped me to understand that our bodies are containers we live in and a house that becomes a certified temple of the Living God with Christ's help. Lets remember that Paul described your body as God’s temple 1 Corinthians 3:17, as a temple of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 6:19, and the temple of the living God 2 Corinthians 6:16.
Overall, Jesus Christ did not have much to say about a personal involvement of the Holy Spirit in his own ministry. Instead he spoke of the Holy Spirit with a respect difficult for men to understand. Jesus explained the Holy Spirit’s relationship with the lives of his disciples more than his own. The main purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help you grow in the Lord so that you may-
Point nineteen.
If the doctrine of the Trinity did not exist how would Christian laymen perceive the phrases Spirit of God and God’s Spirit? Is God telling the truth when he says I will pour out - my Spirit - upon men? The doctrine of the trinity has programmed Christians render the phrases Spirit of God and God’s Spirit into the Holy Spirit. we no longer the Spirit of God and God’s Spirit by the grammar of the bible. The truth is that Christians know theology better than they know God's word. In addition, Satan knows the word of God better than God’s children do and is capable of deceiving the elect. Deception can be avoided by making sure you are spending adequate time to listen to God to ensure every word you hear agrees with God’s word. We are to renew our minds so we can:
Point twenty.
Proving the third person of the Godhead from God’s word is impossible to do. The primary reason is that the evidence required to support the argument is not found in the written word that God gave us. The Holy Spirit is not describe as a third person, nor has the Holy Spirit claimed to be God, and God refers the Holy Spirit as my Spirit. Furthermore, if there had been a conversation between the Holy Spirit and the Father or the Son we could say that God recognized the Holy Spirit as a person. Instead God speaks of the Holy Spirit as his possession that can be poured into the bodies of human beings. Jesus referred to the Spirit of truth as someone being a person of the male gender (he) other than himself but it didn't mean he was referring to a third person. In John 14:15-26 between the promise to send another comforter vs.17 and receiving the Holy Spirit vs. 26 Jesus speaks only of dwelling in the heart of the believer with his father.
Trinitarians say everything God created is triune in nature. Man has a triune nature of a body spirit and soul, but proving animals have a soul is difficult because souls and spirits are not seen with the human eye. What's troubling is that most trinitarians cannot discuss the triune nature of the sun which is a part of God's creation. Man is limited in his knowledge but God has made the qualities we cannot see through his creation.
Point twenty-one.
The promised Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost in such a way that God was the only reason that could have done it. The sights and sounds stirred the people of Jerusalem into wondering what was taking place, but it also gave the Holy Spirit the opportunity to preach through Peter to the crowd that gathered. In this sermon, on the day of Pentecost, Peter was inspired to say that the commotion drawing people to the upper room was what the prophet Joel prophesied.
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Acts 2:15-17 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Acts 2:33
Peter made two specific points regarding the nature of God’s promise. Jesus Christ had just poured out the promise of God on his disciples and the crowds present were seeing and hearing this outpouring take place. Peter quoted Joel as saying
In this quote God uses the pronouns "I and my Spirit" to express who and what was the promise that was poured out on the disciples. God makes it quite clear that the Spirit is his and not of a third person.
Conclusion:
If God’s testimony were given in a court of law, you would have three people telling you how to interpret the evidence that was presented. The prosecution would present the evidence that shows reasons for guilt. The defense attorney would show that the evidence demonstrates the need for acquittal and the Judge would advise you to listen and to develop a verdict from what the evidence tells you.
Biblical interpretation is the process of perceiving the truth with the senses that God gave you. The problem with biblical interpretation is that every one is in the jury box judging the same evidence, but everyone has a different opinion. Overall we have a locked jury over the doctrine of the Trinity. Some will not listen to an opposing view while others are open the scriptures looking for the truth. One thing is certain, there is not sufficient knowledge to establish any doctrine when there are several versions of the same doctrine within the Christian community.
How can we establish a personal relationship with God if we are not willing to take time to listen to him and ask questions about what he said. In the same way we cannot establish our personal beliefs by allowing others to tell us what to believe? Our relationship with God needs to be personal as he will tell those he does not know to go away because he doesn't know you. John 17:3 tells us that eternal life is found of knowing God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even I like to think that I come in the name of Christ, but Jesus gave the command not to be deceived, which means that you can be deceived. Can verifying The Trinity be trusted? Thinkgodly does not have a monopoly on the truth and you would be wise to investigate everything found on the pages of thinkgodly. If you love the truth you need to hear God’s side of the story, because knowing him is better than hearing about him from other people.
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