Introduction
If you were raised in the church, as I have been, you were taught about the Blessed Holy Trinity from your youth. The doctrine of the trinity officially originated some 1700 years ago during the formation of the organized church, 300 years after Christ had risen and returned to his father. Immediately after conversion to Christianity, I believed everythin I was taught and I would have died defending the doctrine of the trinity. So what changed my mind?
It all began when I was made to look like a fool before the church over a view I held by a person of authority who lacked tack. Since then I have taken steps to ensure that I had my facts are correct before being forced to eat humble pie. I decided to allow the word of God to be the sole witness that would established my personal beliefs. Thus everything I heard or had been taught had to be compared to scripture and verified.
I have found many of the proofs supporting the doctrine of the Trinity used in the past were mostly vague and at times, you wondered how did they derive their beliefs. Even then what they said didn't make sense with what I had learned. Since then, I have learned that most of the passages used as proofs were taken out of context and the slightest hint was assumed to be true. I have learned that anyone teaching the word of God is taking on a great responsibility to insure accuracy. However, those who listen have the responsibility of reproof. The outcome being, a prudent system of seeking and verifying the truth. God’s word tells me that no one else can have a personal relationship with my Father in heaven for me so it is my responsibility to work out my salvation with God. However, most Christians have a tendency to become lax and allow those who teach to study God’s word tell them what to believe and how to live.
The scriptures reveal that the disciples received the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecost and without the demonstration of God's power as seen in Acts 2. Christ simply inhaled and then blew upon the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Blowing on the disciples created a movement of air, which describes the Spirit coming and going as if driven with the wind.
Adam received the first application of God's breath when he became a living being. Like the wind that comes and goes, being born of the Spirit can not be observed with the eye. God’s children born are not born in the fashion of human birth, but through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. To be born of the spirit one also had to be born of human descent. In the course of time and through choice the human race received another application of his breath directed at specific individuals, saying I am sending you as the Father has sent me.
The disciples were told to tarry in the upper room for the empowerment of God. God must have known the disciples needed time to reflect on the events that had happened. Those were the longest ten days they had to endure as they prayed and waited on the Lord, but tarring in the upper room happen to all of us. There are times when the words you have heard suddenly become clearer after you waited upon the Lord. Then it dawns on you and your picture of what God wants from you becomes clear.
God answered their prayer in a different way on the day of Pentecost. The sound of God's mighty breath echoed among the buildings in downtown Jerusalem. Being a regional trade center, men from the surrounding nations were there on business and were drawn to the upper room to see what the commotion was all about.
God had intervened in the history of man and changed the lives of men forever. In the past, God intervened with the gift of languages to confound and scatter those living near Babel to fill the earth with men. Finally God intervened in a more personal way giving his children the help they to live a life pleasing to God. In the upper room, God gave his spirit to empower men for the purposes of building the kingdom of God. On that day God crossed the language barrier and those who never heard the gospel in their native language who stood in awe, praising God. These unlearned disciples spoke in the very dialect that the visitors to Jerusalem heard in their own homes. The disciples were affected by God's gift and experienced the power of God at work in their lives. They were dramatically changed in a moment of time leaving the upper room empowered becoming resolute witnesses of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.
What is really surprising is the amount of false information floating around within the church about God himself, but not in comparison to what the world has to say. It seems pointless to correct all the technical mistakes heard during the church services and I force myself to restrict ad-libs to whispers. However, its not too unusual to hear doctrines or church tenants that sound correct, but turns out to be erroneous. I call it misinformation because some information is given by the enemy to keep you busy and helpless while he attack your weaknesses. The problem with misinformation is that it appears to be correct and everyone picks up the ball and begins to play with it without ever looking at it to see if it is a bomb.
Here I am, writing about something that no one wants to believe or even pursue? For most Christians writing on the subject of the trinity would be acceptable if it were agreeable with the church community. However, when writing on any subject that conflicts with what the church has taught you since childhood - its like declaring war against the church. Putting that thought behind us and looking for a peacful way to present the truth is not easy. Still, Every one should know that you can't change anyone's mind to believe as you do. Your job as a teacher is to present the facts and let them determine what they want to beleive. As an author that’s where I stand, I present the facts and allow the reader to believe whatever they want.
The outcome of my Bible does not correspond well with the established doctrines. Sometimes the beliefs that I develop radically oppose what other Christians accept as truth. Under normal conditions when a number of people study the same subject, the majority derive the same conclusion, so why are my findings so different when I study the same scriptures as they do?
The beliefs I develop trouble me because they differ radically from the Church chooses to believe which is beginning to convince me that there is something wrong with my thinking process. As a result I have re-examined the scriptures going over the same passages but taking a different approach to see what develops. It is a method to double-check my reasoning from a different angle. Then I meditate on what I’ve learn. This may be somewhat redundant, but I spent more time on the subject and I am able to support my conclusion with additional information When you have studied in this manner you become transformed by God’s word into an unwavering state and become absolutely convinced that you know the truth.
I have gone over the information that I am presenting in a number of ways to ensure its accuracy. Fortunately, I have found other writers that agree and support most of my views, so I know that I have not been thrown a curve ball. What I have discovered is there is more ways to study God's word than my way. Listening to God is an art that every Christian needs to learn.
There lies the difference, in the last year of study I have not found sufficient or the scriptural evidence essential to prove that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct persons. You can't get around it, the evidence that proves the Father and Son are persons does not exist for the Holy Spirit. The outcome of my study is abnormal to the beliefs of the church, but knowing that the scriptures were inspired through the Holy Spirit is good enough reason to find out why.
The problem I am facing is that the church sees me as someone teaching a heretical doctrine. However, during the time I studied the Holy Spirit I found that I was not alone in my beliefs. Other people had similar questions and were searching for answers regarding the Holy Spirit. Everyone prefers to know the truth from God's perspective even those who may be a stout believer of the trinity.
Here is my advice, do not read any farther without consulting God in prayer. Ask him to guide your thoughts and reasoning while reading these articles. Secondly I am asking you to treat the doctrine of the Trinity as if it didn’t exist. Place it out of earshot and in the back of your mind so you may be open to hear God’s word. While it is unlikely that my predecessors may be right I have done my best to support my beliefs with scripture knowing that changing how people think is God's area of expertise.
Right or wrong, by reading this series of articles you should be able to glean a new insight into the Holy Spirit that you may not have known. The bible gives ample information about the Holy Spirit that is accurate and reliable from God’s perspective. When studying the truth about the Holy Spirit you will discover that all the general knowledge taught in the church about the Holy Spirit is not supported with scripture. For example, God's word does not express the idea that the Holy Spirit is the third person of a triune God. Synonyms for the "third person" and triune God do not exist either.
No one likes to hear what he said return to him twisted or come back to him or her in ways that they did not intend for them to be taken. What’s worse, God does not honor promises that have been misunderstood and those he did not commit to doing. God wants you to know the truth so you will not be deceived.
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