The Trinity -

Truth or Tradition?

Index

The Trinity: Truth or Church Tradition?

by Les Sherlock, posted April 2021, but originally July 2017

A critique on the Christadelphian booklet called The Trinity: Bible Teaching or Church Tradition?

It is available online here

INDEX

Introduction

Questions and Challenges

The Second Challenge

The Third Challenge

The Holy Spirit

Elohim - Creator

Who Was Jesus?

Conclusion

John Calvin

Introduction

I already was aware of Christadelphian teaching on the subject in their denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ, but even so, when reading through this booklet for the first time, I was taken aback by the way the Bible was treated in order to make it support their doctrine. Their teaching on this topic is very similar to that of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the tactic of dealing with inconvenient scriptures is the same:

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

My constant prayer is,

“Lord, if in any way I am understanding or believing incorrectly, then please change my thinking to truth.”

I trust anyone reading this page of my site will do the same. For the whole of my adult life I have read a significant amount of the Bible every day, in order to put myself in the place before God where He can answer that prayer. Therefore I can wholeheartedly concur with the statements on page two of the booklet:

"…first, Christadelphians believe absolutely in the God of the Bible; and, second, they have total faith in the Bible itself, that collection of sixty-six books which we sometimes call ‘The Holy Scriptures’. We shall be looking at both the Old Testament and the New Testament sections of the Bible as our ultimate authority."

INDEX

Questions and Challenges

The First Challenge

Let me cut to the chase by starting at the end! On page 23 of this 24-page booklet, the final section before the Conclusion offers three challenges to those who believe in a Trinity. Since they are very easily disposed of, it’s as good a point to begin as any!

“If Jesus was God, then he was not really like those he came to save. He could not have been tempted in the same way that we are. So he did not need to fight against sin and overcome it. The Trinity has implications for our understanding of salvation.”

The fallacy of the above argument is exposed in the Philippians passage the booklet quotes earlier:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:5–8

The phrase, ‘being in the form of God’ in the New King James, is translated in other versions:

who, existing in the form of God…

(American Standard Version)

To whom, though himself in the form of God

(1965 Bible in Basic English)

Christ was truly God.

(Contemporary English Version)

Who being in the form of God

(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

who, though he was in the form of God

(English Standard Version. This version is used in the Christadelphian booklet.)

He always had the nature of God

(Good News Bible)

Although he was in the form of God and equal with God

(God’s Word)

In God's own form existed he, and shared with God equality

(International Standard Version)

I could quote many more translations, but I think the above is adequate, as they all agree fairly closely. In this booklet, it is claimed that Jesus had no pre-existence before his birth to Mary. Instead they claim that all scriptures referring to it mean that:

“These verses simply tell us that God had Jesus in His divine plan from the very beginning.”

Page 20

However, when you look at the various translations of Philippians, it is very obvious that He was much more than simply ‘in God’s mind’. The English Standard version they use puts it

“he was in the form of God.”

If what they claim was true it would say,

"he was in the mind of God.”

But it doesn’t! Before the birth of Jesus to Mary, He was in God’s form. To try to make the verse say something different from this is exactly what I said in the introduction - it is saying,

“when the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

I don’t want to bore you by repeating the same thing over and over again; but it has to be said that if the Christadelphians really consider the Bible as the ultimate authority, then they must bend their theories to what it actually says; not twist what it says to fit their theories. How could Jesus have merely ‘been in the mind of God’ when it specifically says of Him:

…but to the Son he says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions." And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak you will fold them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will not fail."

Hebrews 1:8–12

Notice Jesus is referred to as “God” in verse eight, but verse nine calls the Father “Your God,” thus referring to their relationship within the Trinity.

To return to the main point, though. The claim is that if Jesus is God, then He couldn’t be fully man. This is to misunderstand what the Bible teaches. Before Jesus came to earth He was fully God - as we will see later. But, as Philippians tells us, He gave up all His divinity when He became a baby, and was fully human for His entire life until after His death. This is repeated in…

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

Perhaps one way to explain this is to look briefly at the nature of man. We are tri-partite beings. That is to say we are made up of three different elements or parts: spirit, soul and body, as can be seen very clearly in:

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Thessalonians 5:23

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

This is not the place to go into detail, but briefly our body is world-conscious; our soul is self-conscious; and our spirit is God-conscious. Our body is in the physical world; our spirit is in the spirit realm and our soul is the ‘interface’ between the two.

…which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places… and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

Ephesians 1:20; 2:6

So, while this may not be the full story, it could perhaps be said that the soul and body of Jesus were fully human; but His spirit, although ‘emptied’ of everything He had before, was nevertheless the being He had been before His human birth. If Jesus had no previous existence before His birth, how could He be said to have ‘emptied Himself’?

who subsisting in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, having become in the likeness of men

Philippians 2:6–7 (LTHB)

How could He have ‘taken the form of a slave’? He would have had no choice in how He was born to Mary. It was an action He took Himself, and it is only by Him having previously existed with God and chosen Himself what He was to become that He can be said to have done these things. If He had no previous existence, then the Bible would not say, “taking the form…” but “He was given the form…,” since He would have had no choice in the matter.

This meant He had no power or authority that was in any way different to any other human being. There was one large difference, however: unlike everyone else, He was born sinless and never sinned during His entire life on Earth. This meant His communication with the Father and with the Holy Spirit was unrestricted in any way, where our sinful nature has cut us off from God and we are:

…dead in trespasses and sins..

Ephesians 2:1

…until we experience the new birth, become Christians, and then:

…you He made alive…

Ephesians 2:1

Hebrews makes a clear distinction between the person of Jesus and His body:

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me."

Hebrews 10:5

This makes it clear that when He came into the world, a body had been prepared for Him to inhabit. The ‘me’ and the ‘body’ of Hebrews 10:5 are two different entities. So He had a pre-existence outside of the fully human body before His incarnation. And of course, John tells us that the Word, who was with the Father from the beginning, became flesh - Jesus:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1–2, 14

It is noticeable that there are no miracles of Jesus mentioned in the New Testament until after He was baptised in water and received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In other words He was as dependent on God in His humanity as we are in ours. The supernatural life He led at that time was entirely dependent on the power of the Father through the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the first challenge in this booklet is shown to be without foundation: because Jesus had given up what He previously had been for all of eternity past, He was tempted in every way like us and was identical to us in every way apart from the sin in our lives.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

INDEX

Second Challenge

The second challenge:

“If Jesus was God, then we struggle to understand how he died. It is also hard to comprehend in what form he will return to the earth at the Second Coming.”

Page 23

I think I’ve already answered the first part of this challenge - He died because He was fully human. His soul functioned with the same kind of mind, will and emotions that we all have, and His fully human body died in the same way that ours would if exposed to the treatment He received at the cross. In an attempt to disprove the divinity of Jesus, on pages 9-10 various scriptures are quoted in this booklet that reveal His humanity. For example:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

John 5:19

Of course, these scriptures refer to the person of Jesus after He had ‘emptied Himself’ (quoted earlier) to become fully human in order to pay the ultimate sacrifice for us. So in no way do they relate to what He was before He came to earth or after His resurrection.

However, let us briefly consider what ‘death’ really means. What it does not mean is that we entirely cease to exist. The verse previously quoted in Ephesians says that we are born dead and continue to be dead until our lives are changed when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. But we are walking, talking, eating, sleeping, breathing at the same time as we are ‘dead’. Referring to his body as his ‘tent’, Peter tells us:

Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.

2 Peter 1:13

Paul says:

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

Philippians 1:21–24

So both Peter and Paul said that after their bodies had died, they would continue to exist and be with Jesus. In the Ephesians passage just quoted, being dead does not mean we do not exist, but that we are unresponsive to God.

When I was a boy I scared myself witless alone in bed one night when I pushed my hand under the pillow and felt a hand there. I yelled out and pulled away, to discover it had been my other hand that must have been there for some time and the blood circulation had stopped so it was dead and I no longer had any feeling in it. When my first hand touched it, there was no message to my brain that it was my other hand I had touched and I therefore assumed it must be somebody else’s.

That hand had gone dead. It was still there, but was no longer responsive. Likewise, when we are born, because of the sinful nature we inherit, we are not responsive to God. And when we die, our bodies are no longer responsive to the physical world, but we continue to exist - all the senses of our soul and spirit, cut off from the physical realm, are now concentrated in the spirit realm. The body then eventually disintegrates because the spirit is no longer present - there is no longer a life force keeping it active.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 2:26

So, when Jesus died on the cross, while His body ceased to function, He continued to exist. Peter tells us that He preached to the spirits in prison during this time, and Paul tells us that He led captivity captive in His resurrection and ascension.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison…

1 Peter 3:18–19

Therefore He says: "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE, AND GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." (Now this, "HE ASCENDED"—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:8–9 (Words in capital letters are quotes from the Old Testament)

Therefore there is absolutely no difficulty in understanding how He died. What form will He be in when He returns? Exactly the same one He was in when He ascended into heaven. As soon as He had done so, the two angels told the disciples:

…"Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

Acts 1:11

“This same Jesus.” He will be the same when He returns as He was when He left. In the High-Priestly prayer Jesus prayed just before His death, He said:

And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

John 17:5

Now, at the present time, the resurrected Jesus is restored to His former glory; and that is how the world will see Him when He returns to Earth. Of course, this booklet ignores John 17:5, because it completely destroys the notion that Jesus had no pre-existence before His birth to Mary. According to this verse He was with the Father ‘before the world was’. If this verse really means that Jesus was only in God’s mind at this time and did not exist in reality, then the consequence is that Jesus was here praying to cease to exist because He was asking for exactly the same relationship with the Father that was the case before the world was!

INDEX

Third Challenge

The third challenge

“If Jesus was (and is) God, it is difficult to see how he can be a high priest, a mediator, the intercessor between man and God - as the New Testament teaches.”

Page 23

Jesus is the perfect mediator because He is the only being who has had a human existence, still has a man’s body, but is also God.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven… And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

1 Corinthians 15:47, 49

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Hebrews 10:12

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

1 Timothy 2:5

On the one hand Jesus is:

…the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power

Hebrews 1:3

…and on the other hand:

…in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Hebrews 2:18

It is only difficult to someone who does not understand what the Bible teaches about the nature of God and the function of the three persons of the Trinity. I agree - it is not easy to understand fully who God is; but then this is only to be expected. He is so much higher and greater than we are, anyone who thinks they have the full analysis of Him is, by definition, wrong, because our minds are too small to be able to grasp it all.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:9

We can no more fully understand God than an ant can fully understand a human. It may well be that my understanding of ‘Trinity’ is wrong; but after decades of reading the Bible and studying the subject, it is the nearest explanation I can find that synchronises all the verses about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - as we will now see when we look at some more of the claims of this booklet.

INDEX

The Holy Spirit

On page three, after quoting Genesis 1:1–3, we are told:

“From the outset, the Bible speaks of God as one person. There is no suggestion here that the “Spirit of God” or the “Holy Spirit” is a separate person. It is God’s power, the infinite energy by which He was able to create the universe.”

This is the same error the Jehovah’s Witnesses make - the idea that the Holy Spirit is nothing more than energy, power, or some kind of force field. JW’s call Him ‘God’s Active Force’. It only requires one passage of scripture to destroy this notion, and I use the same translation of the Bible as the booklet:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

John 16:13–14 (ESV)

Referring to the Holy Spirit, these verses say HE will guide… HE will not speak… HIS authority… HE will declare… HE will glorify… HE will take… It couldn’t be clearer than that: energy cannot guide, speak, have authority, declare, glorify or take. Only a reasoning, intelligent being can do these things; and you don’t call power or infinite energy “He”!

It is true that the Greek word ekeinos can be translated either ‘it’ or ‘he’; it is the context that determines which is correct. Since the context is actions that could only be undertaken by a ‘he’ and not by an ‘it’, all 16 translations I have available are clearly correct in unanimously using the word ‘He’ here. In spite of this, Christadelphian teaching requires this pronoun to be ‘it’, even though the Bible translation they quote makes it ‘He’.

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

It is not just John 16 where this is shown.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16–17 (ESV)

Another Helper! A man in a pub spills someone’s beer, so he says,

“Sorry, I’ll get you another one.”

So he goes to the bar and when he comes back brings a packet of crisps. Has he done what he said? No! What if he brings back a glass of Coke? Still no! ‘Another’ used in this context means another one of the same kind. Jesus had been the disciples’ Helper up until this point; but now He says another Helper will be given to them: another of the same kind. Not an impersonal force, but a caring, thinking, feeling being.

We see this in the scriptures. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and therefore has emotions:

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)

This is not true of a force, which cannot be grieved. The Holy Spirit teaches:

for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

Luke 12:12 (ESV)

This is not true of a force, which cannot teach. Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God:

But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied to men but to God."

Acts 5:3–4

This is not true of a force, which cannot be lied to. The Holy Spirit gives direction and makes decisions:

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:

Acts 15:28

This too is not true of a force, which cannot make decisions. The Holy Spirit speaks, and therefore has thought and reasoning processes:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,

Hebrews 3:7

In the activity of the Holy Spirit described in the New Testament, we are shown that He feels emotions, makes decisions, thinks, reasons, directs and speaks. Christadelphian teaching requires the Holy Spirit not to have these attributes because He is a ‘force’ not a being. In fact everything that makes a person a person is attributed to Him. So the claim that the Holy Spirit is merely God’s power or energy and therefore without personality, is plainly wrong.

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

INDEX

Elohim - Creator

On page three of the booklet it refers to the Hebrew word Elohim that is translated ‘God’ very frequently throughout the Old Testament. This is a plural word, and I am happy to accept the booklet’s literal translation of this as ‘mighty ones’. However, if one accepts that it literally means ‘mighty ones’ as the Christadelphians clearly do, then once again they have a serious problem. The word appears 2,601 times in the Old Testament, almost all referring to God; and each time the literal translation calls God ‘mighty ones’. While one could perhaps argue this does not on its own conclusively mean that God’s being is in some way plural, it is certainly the case that it would need a plural word like this if He were.

It is the New Testament that gives us greater clarity about things. There’s an old saying:

“In the Old Testament is the New concealed; in the New Testament is the Old revealed.”

We see this particularly about God’s nature, since Jesus came to reveal Him to us.

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Matthew 11:27

They try to get around the problem of the plurality of Elohim by saying, on page four, in reference to Genesis 1:26 regarding the word ‘us’ :

“It is reasonable to conclude that the “us” here means God and His angels. God executed the work of creation with his angels.”

There is nowhere in the Bible where it says the angels created, or helped to create, the universe. Quite the reverse:

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.” … I have made the earth, and created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded… For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 44:24; 45:12, 18.

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

Indeed, angels are created beings themselves and so are a part of God’s creation. There is no grammatical or Biblical basis for making ‘us’ refer to angels - only the requirement of Christadelphian doctrine to divert the word ‘us’ away from God. Thus the use of ‘mighty ones’ and ‘us’ provide the first description of the Trinity in the Bible. Furthermore, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus was the Creator:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1–14

There is a comprehensive commentary on this passage here, showing there could only be one possible interpretation.

All things were made through Jesus. On page four of the booklet, such passages as Isaiah 44:24; 45:12, 18 (shown earlier) are quoted. Note that in this passage God says He created everything “alone” and “by Myself.” Yet John 1:3 says nothing that was created was made without Jesus. So unless He created Himself, which of course is impossible, Jesus is not a created being.

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Colossians 1:16

“All things were made by Him, through Him and for Him.” See also the Hebrews passage discussed below. Page four also quotes Hosea 13:4, where Almighty God says there is no Saviour but Him; and yet surely the Christadelphians would agree the New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is our Saviour?

Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

John 4:42

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

1 John 4:14

The only way these cannot be contradictions, is by Jesus being included in the being, Almighty God, who is speaking in Isaiah 44 and Hosea 13. There are not three Gods. There is one God and only one. This is repeated throughout the Bible. But why should it be considered impossible for the Almighty God/Yahweh/Jehovah, who is present in every part of the universe that extends at least 13.7 billion light years in every direction from Earth, to express His being in more than one way simultaneously? Such scriptures in no way negate the concept of a God who is ‘three-in-one’ and ‘one-in-three’.

The booklet, though, tries to get around the first chapter of John by claiming the correct translation of the first few verses is the word ‘it’, not ‘him’. So on page 18 of the booklet it says:

“In later translations, including the Authorised (King James) version, a capital letter was added and “it” was changed to “he”, so that the “Word” was made to sound like a person. To us this seems very much like doctrinal bias on the part of the translators.”

However, verses 14 and 15 make very clear to whom the word ‘Word’ refers:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"

John 1:14–15

The Word became flesh and we beheld His glory. Whose glory? The only begotten of the Father! Jesus. So it was not doctrinal bias the translators used, but the teaching of the very same passage of scripture. To try to make ‘the Word’ in the first few verses…

“the expression of God’s divine plan and purpose”

(page 18)

…as this booklet does, is to wrench it out of context and ignore what John makes so clear just a few verses later. In order to try to maintain this incorrect interpretation, they claim:

“The word of God came to men in the past through His prophets. But now it comes to us through Jesus, not just in spoken words, but as a living example of what God wants to teach.”

Once again this is an example of

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

It doesn’t say that Jesus brought God’s word, or was a living example of His word - it says He WAS the Word. And since the booklet quotes…

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made…

Psalm 33:6

…they are actually agreeing that the Word - Jesus - was right there at the beginning of Genesis, creating the universe. So the ‘us’ of Genesis 1:26 is seen as God the Father/ Author/ Originator/ Creator (In the beginning, God created…); God the Spirit (and the Spirit of God hovered…); God the Son/ Word (and God said…). Indeed, John 1:1 couldn’t be any clearer - the Word was with God and the Word was God. In verse 14 the Word is shown to be Jesus and in verse one He is shown both to be God and also to be with God right from the beginning - impossible if Jesus had no prior existence.

Further evidence is found in the first chapter of Hebrews, which directly quotes from Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 102:24–26:

But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions." And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail."

Hebrews 1:8–12

I said, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations. Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.

Psalm 102:24–27

Notice in Hebrews 1:10–12 it is the Son, Jesus, who laid the foundations of the Earth and the heavens are the work of His hands, while in Psalm 102 it is “YHWH” and “my God” who did these things. The word ‘LORD’, as is common in most Bible translations, is from the Hebrew word YHWH:

“yehovah. From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: - Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.”

(Strong’s Hebrew dictionary.)

Furthermore, these three verses are speaking to “YHWH” and “my God” in Psalm 102:25–27. In the Hebrews passage these words, we are told, are addressed to the Son (Hebrews 1:8,10). Therefore speaking to “YHWH” and “my God” in Psalm 102 is speaking to the Son. This could only be true if the Son, Jesus, is included in the being whose name is YHWH.

Further evidence of the pre-existence of Jesus is found in:

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:4

NOTE:

For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

Psalm 18:31

He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved… He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.

Psalm 62:2, 6

…Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.' "

Isaiah 44:8

All four of the above verses tell us there is no Rock other than Almighty God, yet Paul says the rock was Christ. He was referring to the Israelites travelling through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt, and Christ was with them at that time. Indeed, Jesus said Himself that He was there even before this:

Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John 8:57–58

Not only did Jesus make clear His pre-existence by this, but He also claimed the name of God for Himself, which is why the Jews wanted to stone Him for what He said:

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

Exodus 3:14

INDEX

Who was Jesus

Who Was Jesus?

The ESV translates verse 18 of the first chapter of John’s gospel:

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John 1:18

In fact John begins his first epistle in a similar manner to his gospel, referring to Jesus as “the Word” and stating He was with the Father before His human birth:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us…

1 John 1:1–2

That seems pretty conclusive to me. Of the 16 translations I have available, 12 of them translate the second phrase: “the only Son,” or “the only begotten Son.” Three others translate it similarly to the ESV:

The only Son, who is the same as God

(Good News Bible)

The unique God

(International Standard Version)

But the unique One, who is Himself God

(New Living Translation)

In order to try to avoid what the ESV translators clearly thought was the best translation otherwise they would have put something else in the main text, the booklet quotes the footnote in their version that says the translators had difficulty in deciding how it should be written.

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 1:18

The only God’ in the ESV is translated as ‘only begotten Son’ in seven of the versions I have, including the NKJV above. One has to ask, what is meant by this phrase? We read about ‘sons of God’ in Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. Adam is called the son of God in Luke 3:38. Jesus said the peacemakers would be called ‘sons of God’ in Matthew 5:9; and Paul said that faith in Jesus Christ makes ‘you all’ sons of God (Galatians 3:26). (I do not print them in full here for the sake of space!) This means, for Jesus to be the ‘only’ Son, He must be in a very different category from all of these. And He quite clearly is: all of them are created beings, while Jesus is…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

… the “only begotten Son.” The word translated ‘begotten’ is the Greek word monogenes, which Strong’s Greek dictionary defines as:

“only born, that is, sole: - only (begotten, child).”

So He was not created, but begotten…

“Begotten, not made, of one being with the Father,”

…to quote the creed. As an aside, this is not to take the creed as authoritative (although I believe it does have authority, albeit less than the Bible) but simply to use a convenient phrase that perfectly sums up the Bible teaching on the subject. This booklet goes to some lengths to decry the creeds, claiming them to be the work of people wishing to distort the truth of the gospel. There is much I could say on this subject; but suffice it to say that after reading a considerable amount of the works of St Augustine (arguably the most influential of the early Church fathers), I have been most impressed by his determination to promote teaching that is 100% in alignment with the Bible. As he shows in his writings, the creeds were produced to correct the errors that had been infiltrating the Church and to give a definitive statement of what the Bible teaches about the foundational truths of Christianity.

Furthermore, during the Reformation many suffered death in their efforts to bring Christian teaching back to what it had been originally, after being distorted by what ultimately became the Roman Catholic Church. It is not tenable that people who gave their lives to restore truth back to the Church would deliberately distort the truth about who Jesus is. Sola scriptura (the Bible alone) was their watchword, and on this basis…

“Begotten, not made, of one being with the Father”

…continued to be taught as the accurate summary of Bible teaching. See here for a brief history of 31 Reformers from the time of the reformation that is acknowledged as beginning over 500 years ago on 31st October, 1517.

There very obviously was no mother involved, as this is referring to Jesus’ eternal past, not His human birth; so it is something very different from our understanding of parent and child. This means that every time you read the phrase ‘Son of God’ in the New Testament, it is referring not to a created being, but the only One who was begotten of the Father and therefore is of the same nature as the Father.

John 1:1 says the Word was God. It doesn’t say the word was what God thought, or spoke, but the word was God. Just as spoken words are the expression of our thoughts, just as our bodies are the physical expression of our beings, so the Word was, and is, the very expression of God Himself. The very existence of God results in the Son - for there to be an eternal Father, who has never ever changed, there has to be an eternal Son, who also never changes:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

So, as we have seen, John 1:18 tells us that while no-one has seen God, it is Jesus who has revealed Him to us. As Jesus Himself said:

Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:9

So, we read in Romans:

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Romans 14:10–12

Verse 10 says we’ll all stand before the judgement seat of CHRIST; but verse 11 says every tongue will confess to GOD, and verse 12 says we all give an account to GOD. So standing before the judgement seat of Christ where, obviously, Christ is seated, is confessing and giving an account of oneself to God.

The booklet refers to John 14:9, and on page seven concludes:

“Jesus is simply telling Philip that the Father could be seen in him. He showed us what God was like, just as any ordinary son may have the features of his dad. Jesus had the qualities of his Father - but that did not make him God.”

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

In contrast to the above statement from the booklet, Paul says,

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

Colossians 2:9

Well, I have many of the features of my late father, and those who knew him and know me could easily tell we are father and son. So anyone looking at me can have an idea what my father was like. However, it could never be said that anyone looking at me is looking at my father, because we are two different people! I can do things he could not do; he could do things I cannot do; his likes and dislikes were not all the same as mine. So anyone seeing me certainly is not seeing my father. Yet this is what Jesus said here –

“he who has seen me has seen the Father.”

The only way this could be true is by Jesus being ‘of one being with the Father’. Even though at the time he said this he had a fully human body and soul, His heart (or His spirit, as I mentioned earlier), even though emptied of what it had been previously, still expressed the very being of Almighty God. This is why Hebrews 13:8 (quoted above) is correct in saying that Jesus has always been the same.

But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

John 5:17–18

Notice that the act of Jesus calling God His Father was making Him equal with God. This is quite clearly the comment of the writer - John - and not a mistaken assumption made by those opposing Him at this time, which is what JW’s claim - another example of

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

This claim breaks the laws of grammar, because if that was what John really meant, then he would have said something like,

“they thought Jesus was making Himself equal with God by calling Him ‘Father’.”

The statement is in the sentence describing what had happened in this incident. Did the Jews seek to kill Him? Yes! Did Jesus break the Jews’ Sabbath laws? Yes! Did Jesus say God was His Father? Yes! Therefore it is inconsistent to accept that three of the four statements in this sentence were John’s commentary, but the fourth was not.

Jesus didn’t break any of God’s Sabbath laws, but by this time the Jews had added to them, making them more onerous than the original ones, which is why Jesus said,

And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

Mark 2:27–28

I find the explanation given on pages 8-9 regarding Thomas’s declaration of who Jesus was on their first meeting after the resurrection, to be extremely weak.

Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:27–28

After a couple of paragraphs trying to wriggle around what Thomas so plainly said here, it concludes:

““My God” was a valid title for one who, as God’s son, reflected the character and authority of God.”

Either Jesus was Thomas’s God or He wasn’t. As this booklet has been at pains to point out, there is only one God. Therefore it would be blasphemy to call anyone else or anything else, “God.” Do you really think Jesus would have accepted this statement if it were not true? When Peter started questioning His statement about His forthcoming sacrifice, He was very quick to put him straight:

But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Matthew 16:23

But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Mark 8:33

So if Thomas had been incorrect in calling Him “God,” He would certainly have corrected him. But He didn’t: instead He accepted this act of worship from Thomas, who has now realised that the resurrection was the ultimate proof of His identity. Instead, Jesus said:

Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

John 20:29

INDEX

Worship

In the following, please note that the Greek word translated ‘worship’ is:

Προσκυνέω; proskuneō; pros-koo-neh'-o; From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

Total KJV occurrences: 60

(Strong’s Greek Dictionary)

Jesus said only God should be worshipped:

Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP (proskuneō) THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.' "

Matthew 4:10

The angel told John that only God should be worshipped

And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship (proskuneō) God!

Revelation 19:10

However:

The wise men worshipped Jesus:

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped (proskuneō) Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11

The leper worshipped Him

And behold, a leper came and worshiped (proskuneō) Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

Matthew 8:2

The ruler of the synagogue worshipped Him

While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped (proskuneō) Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."

Matthew 9:18

The disciples worshipped Him

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped (proskuneō) Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

Matthew 14:33

When they saw Him, they worshiped (proskuneō) Him; but some doubted.

Matthew 28:17

And they worshiped (proskuneō) Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

Luke 24:52

The Canaanite woman worshipped Him

Then she came and worshiped (proskuneō) Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

Matthew 15:25

The mother of James and John worshipped Him

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling (proskuneō) down and asking something from Him.

Matthew 20:20

The delivered, demonised man worshipped Him

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped (proskuneō) Him.

Mark 5:6

The healed, blind man worshipped Him

Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped (proskuneō) Him.

John 9:38

The angels worship Jesus

But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP (proskuneō) HIM."

Hebrews 1:6

Not once are any of these corrected for worshipping Jesus, or told they were doing something wrong; but Peter immediately corrected Cornelius in for trying to worship him.

As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped (proskuneō) him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man."

Acts 10:25–26

Is Jesus God?

On page 10 is quoted:

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

John 17:1–4

The comment here is:

“The sentence in italics is significant. Jesus is saying that for those who seek eternal life, it is important to believe in the only true God and in Jesus Christ. If Jesus is God, or part of a Trinity, there would surely be no need to distinguish God and Jesus Christ in this verse.”

It is the middle sentence, in a different colour, in case the italics are not clear in your browser. The answer becomes immediately obviously when we realise that for Jews, all of whom accepted that Yahweh/Jehovah was the one and only God, they also needed to acknowledge Jesus, through whom their salvation now comes. The Jews had believed in the One True God for thousands of years, and this was valid and correct in the period of the Old Covenant; but this was now the time of the New Covenant and not enough: in order to experience salvation they needed to understand and believe the greater revelation of who He is.

The New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31, strictly speaking, came into force when Jesus offered His own blood once for all in the Most Holy Place in Heaven. You need to read the entire book of Hebrews to see this, particularly chapters seven to ten; but sample verses are:

Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant… But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption… how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death… "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

Hebrews 8:8; 9:11–12, 14–15; 10:16–17

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

1 John 5:11–13

The greater revelation of who God is can be seen from the scriptures:

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Matthew 11:27

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Luke 10:22

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 1:18

that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

John 5:23

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

1 John 2:22–23

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:3

And of course, we also have fellowship with the Holy Spirit:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)

How can you have fellowship (or ‘communion’ in some translations) with energy/power?

The importance of this can be seen by the fact that much of the persecution experienced by the early Church was a result of what they were teaching about Jesus Christ, largely from the Jews, who knew there was only one Saviour - Yahweh - but were now being told their Saviour was Jesus. The deity of Jesus Christ must be the case to prevent a contradiction between 2 Timothy 1:10, which declares Jesus is our Saviour, and Jude 1:25, which says God is our Saviour. These are just example verses stating the two facts - there are many more:

2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 106:21; Isaiah 19:20; 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; 63:8; Jeremiah 14:8; Hosea 13:4; Luke 1:47; 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:3, 4; 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6; 2 Peter 1:1, 11; 2:20; 3:2, 18; 1 John 4:14; Jude 1:25

On page 12 it says:

“Even in the promised kingdom of God and the eternal ages to come, Jesus is still called “the Son” and God is still “the Father.””

Of course they are! That is who they have always been and who they always will be because God never changes. The error the booklet is making is in the assumption that if Jesus is God then He is indistinguishable from the Father. The whole point of the teaching regarding the trinity is that the Bible tells us there is one God, who at the same time is described in three distinct roles, and we see two of them in the passage in John chapter 17 mentioned earlier.

It then quotes:

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:24–28

And comments:

“At the end of time, Jesus is subject to God. That firmly contradicts the Trinity, which has Him equal to God.”

Sorry, it doesn’t! This claim is based on the misunderstanding that the three ‘persons’ of the ‘Godhead’ have identical ‘functions’. (The words are in inverted commas because I am here using imperfect adjectives to try to describe the Being who is beyond our human understanding.) They do not. It is like saying that because my arms and legs are subject to my head, then they are not equally a part of my body. They are as much a part of my body as my head; but serve a different function.

Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 that the body has different parts with different functions, but are all equally parts of the body in nature. Husband and wife are equally one flesh in the marriage relationship, but the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church and the Father is the head of the Son (1 Corinthians 15:28, previously quoted).

For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

Ephesians 5:23

In their roles, the husband is the head of the wife, but in nature (the nature of marriage) they have identical rights and responsibilities and are equal partners. Likewise, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have different functions; but are all equally Almighty God.

In an attempt to prove Jesus is not God by claiming they are distinct, separate beings, page 13 quotes:

yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

1 Corinthians 8:6

This seems to be something of an own goal, because we also read in the Bible:

that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

Acts 17:27–28

So Acts tells us we have our being in God, and Corinthians says we exist through Jesus. The only way these two verses cannot be contradictory is by Jesus being God.

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped

Philippians 2:6

We have already discussed the above verse, but there is one more point to be made. On page 21, it says:

“Does the phrase “in the form of God” prove that Jesus was indeed God? Not at all. Adam and Eve were also made in the form of God (see Genesis 1:27).”

The Greek word translated ‘form’ in Philippians 2:6 is:

G3444, μορφή; morphē; mor-fay'; Perhaps from the base of G3313 (through the idea of adjustment of parts); shape; figuratively nature: - form.

Total KJV occurrences: 3 (Strong’s Greek Dictionary)

It appears in just two other verses:

After that, He appeared in another form (morphē) to two of them as they walked and went into the country.

Mark 16:12

but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form (morphē) of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

Philippians 2:7

The Hebrew word translated ‘image’ in Gen 1:26–27 is:

H6754; צֶלֶם; tselem; tseh'-lem; From an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, that is, (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol: - image, vain shew.

Total KJV occurrences: 17 (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary)

In all but five of the occurrences it refers to idols. Of the five exceptions, four are in reference to man being in God’s image and one regarding a son being in his father’s image:

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image (tselem), according to Our likeness… So God created man in His own image (tselem); in the image (tselem) of God He created him; male and female He created them… And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image (tselem), and named him Seth… "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image (tselem) of God He made man.

Genesis 1:26, 27; 5:3; 9:6.

It is very clear that, aside from them being two different languages, ‘form’ in the New Testament is a very different adjective to ‘image’ in the Old Testament. In Philippians 2:7 His form became that of a servant. This means He actually became a servant. But ‘image’ in Genesis means a resemblance or likeness, as Genesis 1:26 specifically states. So the word in the New Testament means literally to be the thing or being described, while the word in the Old Testament means to resemble the thing or being described.

When you actually examine the scriptures properly, it can be seen that the case of Adam and Eve bears no relevance to the Philippians passage. The argument is invalid! It’s another example of

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

On pages 22-23 the booklet unsuccessfully tries to side-step another passage where the divinity of Jesus is clearly seen.

“In the Old Testament, God was called “the first and the last” (Isaiah 44:6; 48:12). In Revelation 1:8, God says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega”… but then in verse 17, Jesus speaking to John says: “Fear not, I am the first and the last” and in the last chapter of Revelation it is again Christ who says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev 22:13). The risen Lord Jesus Christ takes on a title which was previously God’s.”

Let’s be clear about this. There cannot be two Alphas, two Omegas, two Beginnings, two Ends, two Firsts and two Lasts. These words are not merely titles to be bestowed on whomever God decides to so honour. They are a statement of fact. God is the first because there was nothing that existed before Him. He is the last because everything in the physical universe will end but He will still be there

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Mattew 24:35

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10

… and everything He has made that is eternal can only continue as long as He continues - should He ever end (impossible, of course), then everything else would end simultaneously.

He is Alpha and Omega and Beginning and End for precisely the same reason. The only way that Jesus could also be said to be First, Last, Alpha, Omega, Beginning and End is by being one being with God throughout all time, eternity past and eternity future.

However, since the booklet has quoted Isaiah 48:12, let us look a little more closely at the passage and what follows that verse:

"Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. 13 Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together. 14 "All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; He shall do His pleasure on Babylon, And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; Yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. 16 "Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me." 17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. 18 Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Isaiah 48:12–18

Note first of all that ‘I’ and ‘me’ throughout this passage must refer to the same being if we follow the normal laws of grammar. The booklet states that this is God, verified by the capitalisation of the word ‘LORD’, which is YHWH in Hebrew, and usually translated Yahweh or Jehovah in English; so presumably they will have no difficulty in accepting ‘I’ and ‘me’ in all these verses is God Himself.

Now look at verse 16:

"Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me."

Isaiah 48:16

This is a clear reference to the Trinity: The Lord God (the Father) and His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) have sent Me (Jesus, the Son). Should anyone try to claim the ‘me’ and ‘I’ in this verse refer to Isaiah and not Jesus, then firstly remember we have already seen from the normal laws of grammar that it could only be God; secondly the being ‘I’ was there from the time of the beginning according to the first half of the sentence, so it couldn’t possibly be Isaiah; and thirdly note that the Lord God and His Spirit sent ‘Me’, showing a little of the relationship between them. Note that when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to His disciples, He said He would send Him to them:

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 15:26

So on one occasion the Spirit sends Jesus and on the other, Jesus sends the Spirit, thus demonstrating equality of status while distinguishing difference of function during different operations. Notice also that He says He is their Redeemer, when Jesus is spoken of as the Redeemer

But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

Luke 24:21

to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:5

looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:13-14

INDEX

Conclusion

John calls Jesus the Word in the first chapter of his gospel because, clearly, His primary function is the expression of God. Since John 1:14 tells us that Jesus is the Word and the Word is Jesus…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

…then, without altering the meaning of the first verse in any way, it could legitimately be rephrased:

In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.

End of story! It couldn’t be clearer. Except it isn’t the end of the story, because throughout the Bible we are told Jesus is the Alpha; the Omega; the first; the last; the beginning; the end; all things were made by Him; He is before all things; in Him all things consist; He holds all things together; at His name every knee will bow; every tongue will confess He is Lord of all; the angels worship Him; He is Wonderful; Counsellor; Mighty God; Everlasting Father; Prince of Peace; Saviour of the world; the Bread of Life; the Door; the Branch; the Good Shepherd; the Prophet; the High Priest; the King of kings; the Messiah/Anointed One; the Way; the Truth; the Life; the Light of the world; the True Vine; the Resurrection; the Rock; the Lord of lords.

See here for 100 truths about Jesus, with Bible references.

Furthermore the Holy Spirit is shown to have all the attributes of God, with personality, emotions, reason, and everything that makes a person a person. He is also the Creator, and the Infinite Power of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, and lives with us to guide us and empower us to be what would be impossible for us on our own.

The doctrine of the Trinity may well be inadequate - wrong even - but it is the only way I know that everything in the Bible referring to God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can be true and not contradictory. This is why the early Church Fathers composed the creeds they did, and why Church leaders at the Reformation, and ever since, have reaffirmed them. At the present time we only see through a mirror dimly, because our finite minds cannot fully comprehend truths too high for them; but at the end of this life, when we see Jesus face to face, then we will know and understand.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

1 Corinthians 13:12

I have concentrated entirely on the booklet I picked up recently from a Christadelphian bookstall. However, in the statement of beliefs on the Christadelphian website, there are four objections to the divinity of Jesus Christ which I now will use in summary of the points I have covered.

“God is one. There can only be one true God. It is undeniable that Jesus referred to himself and the Father as separate. To fly in the face of this the most fundamental of Biblical teachings, in any way, is to venture out onto very thin ice.”

As we have seen, all the references to support this statement are made during the period of Jesus’s earthly life as a man, having emptied Himself of what He previously was. The argument is invalid. See earlier for more detail.

“Mortality and immortality are mutually exclusive characteristics. God is immortal, and cannot die. Jesus died. If you alter this, all Scripture is inexorably weakened.”

As has been shown, the body that Jesus had assumed in His incarnation died on the cross. Jesus suffered and died ‘in the flesh’:

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit… Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh…

1 Peter 3:18; 4:1

Nowhere in the Bible is the death of humans described as total cessation of existence. We saw that Paul tells us we are dead in our sins until we are born again, and this death is not non-existence but separation from God. It could be argued that Jesus also experienced this separation on the cross, since:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Matthew 27:46

For the first and only time of His existence, Jesus was separated from the Father because of the burden of sin He was bearing, until, having paid the full price, He was raised from the dead and the former relationship with the Father was restored. However, throughout the whole experience, Jesus continued to exist. The claim of mutual exclusivity disappears when everything the Bible teaches is taken into account.

“Jesus always very clearly pointed out his subservience to God; in power, teaching and life itself. To assert their equality is untenable.”

This assumes equality means identical function, when it does not. Additionally, the answer to the first point applies here: in His birth He laid aside everything that He had been until then. For more detail see earlier; but there is an additional point to be made. In Philippians 2:7 it says:

…but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

He took upon Himself the form of a servant. His role as a servant was prophesied in the Old Testament:

"Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles… Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

Isaiah 42:1; 52:13

'Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

Zechariah 3:8

"BEHOLD! MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL PLEASED! I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE WILL DECLARE JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.

Matthew 12:18.

Therefore, since it was at His birth He became a servant, as it says, then before His incarnation He was not a servant; and after His resurrection He ceased being a servant because He assumed the glory that He previously had with the Father (John 17:5). So taking the words that Jesus used during the time He was a servant and applying them to Him for the rest of the time (and eternity) when He was/is not a servant, is taking them out of context and incorrect.

There is an old saying:

A text without its context is a pretext!

A more recent version is:

“A text without its context is a con!”

However, the words of Paul regarding who Jesus is now and who He will still be when He returns, could not be clearer…

looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

Titus 2:13

“…Jesus is our great God and Saviour.” In context, the following chapter says:

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Titus 3:4–6

God the Father is our Saviour, through the work of the Holy Spirit, Who comes to us through Jesus who is also our Saviour. So here we see the work of the one God revealed in three persons, each with a different function.

“Mortal humans cannot exist in the direct presence of God. As Exodus 33:20 says, no man can see God and live. Therefore, to say Jesus was fully God and fully man violates scripture, since thousands of people saw Jesus.”

The answer to the first point applies here also: in His birth He laid aside everything that He had been until then. For more detail see earlier.

To return to the main purpose of this page: the booklet concludes with two scriptures and I am happy to use them in ending this.

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Jude 1:3

The faith delivered to us once for all can be understood from the 66 books of the Bible. It is only by ensuring that our understanding of this faith is perfectly aligned with ALL the scriptures that we can contend for it in the way Jude exhorts. I believe I have shown here that Christadelphian doctrine conflicts with a significant number of scriptures on a fundamental aspect of our faith; and this is a serious matter.

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Revelation 22:18–19

This admonition clearly applies to the book of Revelation; but the booklet says it is:

…a warning that must surely apply to all scripture.

(Page 24)

Please do not take my word for it. Indeed, I am sure anyone who has been persistent enough to read this far will not do so. Rather, I hope you will copy the Bereans:

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Acts 17:10–11

I pray as you do that our loving Father will reveal to you the truth about His only begotten Son by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth - if we will let Him.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…

John 16:13

INDEX

John Calvin

John Calvin was one of the leading theologians at the forefront of the early years of the Reformation in the early 17th century. In his ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’ he spelled out his response to critics of the movement. Today there is some controversy over his writings, mainly because of what he said with regard to the sovereignty of God - usually called ‘Calvinism’. I decided to read his own writings so I could see for myself what he actually taught, rather than what is commonly believed that he said. I have not yet reached the section describing ‘Calvinism’, but have been most impressed by his teaching in what I have read. So my use of it here is not to claim his writing as any more authoritative than anyone else, or to state I believe everything he wrote (and that is not to say I do not, either, as I have not yet read it!); but because I find the reasoning irrefutable.

You do need to be ready for old English as it was translated 200 or so years ago and I have put my own comments in the sentences not indented. The division into paragraphs is my own to make it more readable, since there are no paragraphs in the Kindle edition I am using.

The Institutes of the Christian Religion can be downloaded as a Kindle version.

Chapter 13.9, Kindle Location 2616, page 65:

“When it is said in the forty-fifth Psalm,* "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," the Jews quibble that the name Elohim is applied to angels and sovereign powers. But no passage is to be found in Scripture, where an eternal throne is set up for a creature. For he is not called God simply, but also the eternal Ruler. Besides, the title is not conferred on any man, without some addition, as when it is said that Moses would be a God to Pharaoh (Exod 7:1).”

* Psalm 45:6. The word translated ‘God’ is Elohim in Hebrew.

“Some read as if it were in the genitive case,* but this is too insipid. I admit, that anything possessed of singular excellence is often called divine, but it is clear from the context, that this meaning here were harsh and forced, and totally inapplicable. But if their perverseness still refuses to yield, surely there is no obscurity in Isaiah, where Christ is introduced both as God, and as possessed of supreme powers one of the peculiar attributes of God, "His name shall be called the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," (Isa 9:6).”

* In grammar, genitive, also called the possessive case or second case, is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun. Wikipedia

“Here, too, the Jews object, and invert the passage thus, This is the name by which the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, will call him; so that all which they leave to the Son is, " Prince of Peace." But why should so many epithets * be here accumulated on God the Father, seeing the prophet's design is to present the Messiah with certain distinguished properties which may induce us to put our faith in him?”

* Epithet: an adjective or phrase that is used to express the characteristic of a person or thing, Encyclopædia Britannica

“There can be no doubt, therefore, that he who a little before was called Emmanuel, is here called the Mighty God. Moreover, there can be nothing clearer than the words of Jeremiah, "This is the name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," (Jer 23:6). For as the Jews themselves teach that the other names of God are mere epithets, whereas this, which they call the ineffable name, is substantive,* and expresses his essence, we infer, that the only begotten Son is the eternal God, who elsewhere declares, "My glory will I not give to another," (Isa 42:8).”

* Substantive: important, serious, or related to real facts. Cambridge English dictionary

Chapter 13.11, Kindle Location 2668, pages 67-68:

“The New Testament teems with innumerable passages, and our object must therefore be, the selection of a few, rather than an accumulation of the whole. But though the Apostles spoke of him after his appearance in the flesh as Mediator, every passage which I adduce will be sufficient to prove his eternal Godhead. And the first thing deserving of special observation is that predictions concerning the eternal God are applied to Christ, as either already fulfilled in him, or to be fulfilled at some future period.

“Isaiah prophesies, that "the Lord of Hosts" shall be "for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence," (Isa 8:13–14). Paul asserts that this prophecy was fulfilled in Christ (Rom 9:33), and, therefore, declares that Christ is that Lord of Hosts. In like manner, he says in another passage, "We shall all stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ. * For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Since in Isaiah God predicts this of himself (Isa 45:23), and Christ exhibits the reality fulfilled in himself, it follows that he is the very God, whose glory cannot be given to another.”

* Romans 14:10–11

“It is clear also, that the passage from the Psalms (Ps 68:18–19) which he quotes in the Epistle to the Ephesians, is applicable only to God, "When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive," (Eph 4:8). Understanding that such an ascension was shadowed forth when the Lord exerted his power, and gained a glorious victory over heathen nations, he intimates that what was thus shadowed was more fully manifested in Christ. So John testifies that it was the glory of the Son which was revealed to Isaiah in a vision (John 12:41; Isa 6:1–4), though Isaiah himself expressly says that what he saw was the Majesty of God.”

“Again, there can be no doubt that those qualities which, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, are applied to the Son, are the brightest attributes of God, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth," &c., and, "Let all the angels of God worship him," (Heb 1:10, 6). And yet he does not pervert the passages in thus applying them to Christ, since Christ alone performed the things which these passages celebrate. It was he who arose and pitied Zion-he who claimed for himself dominion over all nations and islands. And why should John have hesitated to ascribe the Majesty of God to Christ, after saying in his preface that the Word was God? (John 1:14). Why should Paul have feared to place Christ on the Judgment-seat of God (2 Cor 5:10), after he had so openly proclaimed his divinity, when he said that he was God over all, blessed for ever? And to show how consistent he is in this respect, he elsewhere says that "God was manifest in the flesh," (1 Tim 3:16).”

“If he is God blessed for ever, he therefore it is to whom alone, as Paul affirms in another place, all glory and honour is due. Paul does not disguise this, but openly exclaims, that "being in the form of God (he) thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation," (Phil 2:6–7). And lest the wicked should glamour and say that he was a kind of spurious God, John goes farther, and affirms, "This is the true God, and eternal life." Though it ought to be enough for us that he is called God, especially by a witness who distinctly testifies that we have no more gods than one, Paul says, "Though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many), but to us there is but one God," (1 Cor 8:5–6).”

“When we hear from the same lips that God was manifest in the flesh, that God purchased the Church with his own blood, why do we dream of any second God, to whom he makes not the least allusion? And there is no room to doubt that all the godly entertained the same view. Thomas, by addressing him as his Lord and God, certainly professes that he was the only God whom he had ever adored (John 20:28).”

Chapter 13.13 Kindle Location 2721, pages 69-70:

“Paul (Rom 10:11, and 15:12) interprets two passages of Isaiah "Whose believeth in him shall not be confounded," (Isa 28:16); and, "In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek," (Isa 11:10). But why adduce more passages of Scripture on this head, when we so often meet with the expression, "He that believeth in me has eternal life?"”

“Again, the prayer of faith is addressed to him-prayer, which specially belongs to the divine majesty, if anything so belongs. For the Prophet Joel says, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord (Jehovah) shall be delivered" (Joel 2:32). And another says, "The name of the Lord (Jehovah) is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe," (Prov 18:10). But the name of Christ is invoked for salvation,* and therefore it follows that he is Jehovah.”

* Acts 4:10, 12

“Moreover, we have an example of invocation in Stephen, when he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" and thereafter in the whole Church, when Ananias says in the same book, "Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name," (Acts 9:13–14). And to make it more clearly understood that in Christ dwelt the whole fulness of the Godhead bodily, the Apostle declares that the only doctrine which he professed to the Corinthians, the only doctrine which he taught, was the knowledge of Christ (1 Cor 2:2). Consider what kind of thing it is, and how great, that the name of the Son alone is preached to us, though God command us to glory only in the knowledge of himself (Jer 9:24). Who will dare to maintain that he, whom to know forms our only ground of glorying, is a mere creature?”

“To this we may add, that the salutations prefixed to the Epistles of Paul pray for the same blessings from the Son as from the Father. By this we are taught, not only that the blessings which our heavenly Father bestows come to us through his intercession, but that by a partnership in power, the Son himself is their author. This practical knowledge is doubtless surer and more solid than any idle speculation. For the pious soul has the best view of God, and may almost be said to handle him, when it feels that it is quickened, enlightened, saved, justified, and sanctified by him.”

Chapter 13.23, Kindle Location 2962, page 72:

“In every case where the Godhead is mentioned, we are by no means to admit that there is an antithesis between the Father and the Son, as if to the former only the name of God could competently be applied. For assuredly, the God who appeared to Isaiah was the one true God, and yet John declares that he was Christ (Isa 6:1–5; John 12:41). He who declared, by the mouth of Isaiah, that he was to be "for a stone of stumbling" to the Jews, was the one God; and yet Paul declares that he was Christ (Isa 8:14; Rom. 9:33). He who proclaims by Isaiah, "Unto me every knee shall bow," is the one God; yet Paul again explains that he is Christ (Isa 45:23; Rom 14:11). To this we may add the passages quoted by an Apostle, "Thou, Lord, hast laid the foundations of the earth;" "Let all the angels of God worship him," (Heb 1:10; 1:6; Ps 102:25–26; 97:7).”

“All these apply to the one God; and yet the Apostle contends that they are the proper attributes of Christ. There is nothing in the cavil,* that what properly applies to God is transferred to Christ, because he is the brightness of his glory. Since the name of Jehovah is everywhere applied to Christ, it follows that, in regard to Deity, he is of himself. For if he is Jehovah, it is impossible to deny that he is the same God who elsewhere proclaims by Isaiah, "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God," (Is. 44:6).”

* Cavil: to make unreasonable complaints, especially about things that are not important. Cambridge English Dictionary.

“We would also do well to ponder the words of Jeremiah, "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens," (Jer. 10:11); whence it follows conversely, that He whose divinity Isaiah repeatedly proves from the creation of the world, is none other than the Son of God. And how is it possible that the Creator, who gives to all should not be of himself, but should borrow his essence from another? Whosoever says that the Son was essentiated * by the Father, denies his selfexistence. Against this, however, the Holy Spirit protests, when he calls him Jehovah.”

* Communicatio Essentiae In Western theology, this is the doctrine that the Son receives His essence from the Father and the Spirit His essence from the Father and the Son, though this takes place within the single essence of God… Calvin argues vigorously against the view that the Father is the essentiator of the Son and the Spirit and claims that the essence of God belongs to the one true God alone (and not, therefore, of sole right to the Father and by derivation from Him to the Son and the Spirit). Books.Google.co.uk

“On the supposition, then, that the whole essence is in the Father only, the essence becomes divisible, or is denied to the Son, who, being thus robbed of his essences will be only a titular God. If we are to believe these triflers, divine essence belongs to the Father only, on the ground that he is sole God, and essentiator of the Son. In this way, the divinity of the Son will be something abstracted from the essence of God, or the derivation of a part from the whole. On the same principle it must also be conceded, that the Spirit belongs to the Father only. For if the derivation is from the primary essence which is proper to none but the Father, the Spirit cannot justly be deemed the Spirit of the Son. This view, however, is refuted by the testimony of Paul, when he makes the Spirit common both to Christ and the Father.”

“Moreover, if the Person of the Father is expunged from the Trinity, in what will he differ from the Son and Spirit, except in being the only God? They confess that Christ is God, and that he differs from the Father. If he differs, there must be some mark of distinction between them. Those who place it in the essence, manifestly reduce the true divinity of Christ to nothing, since divinity cannot exist without essence, and indeed without entire essence. The Father certainly cannot differ from the Son, unless he have something peculiar to himself, and not common to him with the Son.”

“What, then, do these men show as the mark of distinction? If it is in the essence, let them tell whether or not he communicated essence to the Son. This he could not do in part merely, for it were impious to think of a divided God. And besides, on this supposition, there would be a rending of the Divine essence. The whole entire essence must therefore be common to the Father and the Son; and if so, in respect of essence there is no distinction between them. If they reply that the Father, while essentiating, still remains the only God, being the possessor of the essence, then Christ will be a figurative God, one in name or semblance only, and not in reality, because no property can be more peculiar to God than essence, according to the words, "I Am hath sent me unto you," (Ex. 3:14).”

INDEX

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian

Verses marked LTHB are Scripture taken from the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible

The Trinity -

Truth or Tradition?

​

The Trinity: Truth or Church Tradition?

by Les Sherlock, posted April 2021, but originally July 2017

A critique on the Christadelphian booklet called The Trinity: Bible Teaching or Church Tradition?

It is available online here

INDEX

​

Introduction

“When the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

My constant prayer is,

“Lord, if in any way I am understanding or believing incorrectly, then please change my thinking to truth.”

Questions and Challenges

The First Challenge

Let me cut to the chase by starting at the end! On page 23 of this 24-page booklet, the final section before the Conclusion offers three challenges to those who believe in a Trinity. Since they are very easily disposed of, it’s as good a point to begin as any!

“If Jesus was God, then he was not really like those he came to save. He could not have been tempted in the same way that we are. So he did not need to fight against sin and overcome it. The Trinity has implications for our understanding of salvation.”

The fallacy of the above argument is exposed in the Philippians passage the booklet quotes earlier:

Philippians 2:5–8

The phrase, ‘being in the form of God’ in the New King James, is translated in other versions:

who, existing in the form of God…

(American Standard Version)

To whom, though himself in the form of God

(1965 Bible in Basic English)

Christ was truly God.

(Contemporary English Version)

Who being in the form of God

(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

who, though he was in the form of God

(English Standard Version. This version is used in the Christadelphian booklet.)

He always had the nature of God

(Good News Bible)

Although he was in the form of God and equal with God

(God’s Word)

In God's own form existed he, and shared with God equality

(International Standard Version)

I could quote many more translations, but I think the above is adequate, as they all agree fairly closely. In this booklet, it is claimed that Jesus had no pre-existence before his birth to Mary. Instead they claim that all scriptures referring to it mean that:

“These verses simply tell us that God had Jesus in His divine plan from the very beginning.”

Page 20

However, when you look at the various translations of Philippians, it is very obvious that He was much more than simply ‘in God’s mind’. The English Standard version they use puts it

“he was in the form of God.”

If what they claim was true it would say,

"he was in the mind of God.”

But it doesn’t! Before the birth of Jesus to Mary, He was in God’s form. To try to make the verse say something different from this is exactly what I said in the introduction - it is saying,

“when the Bible says ‘x’ it doesn’t mean ‘x’; it means ‘y’.”

Hebrews 1:8–12

Notice Jesus is referred to as “God” in verse eight, but verse nine calls the Father “Your God,” thus referring to their relationship within the Trinity.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

Perhaps one way to explain this is to look briefly at the nature of man. We are tri-partite beings. That is to say we are made up of three different elements or parts: spirit, soul and body, as can be seen very clearly in:

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Thessalonians 5:23

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

This is not the place to go into detail, but briefly our body is world-conscious; our soul is self-conscious; and our spirit is God-conscious. Our body is in the physical world; our spirit is in the spirit realm and our soul is the ‘interface’ between the two.

…which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places… and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

Ephesians 1:20; 2:6

who subsisting in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, having become in the likeness of men

Philippians 2:6–7 (LTHB)

…dead in trespasses and sins..

Ephesians 2:1

…until we experience the new birth, become Christians, and then:

…you He made alive…

Ephesians 2:1

Hebrews makes a clear distinction between the person of Jesus and His body:

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me."

Hebrews 10:5