It is asserted by many that Jesus Christ was God a “God-man” in the flesh while on earth, and that he “died in his body, or flesh, but not in his deity or divinity.” Did Jesus die in his deity or divinity?
“Surely you, Yahweh, are from ancient times, my holy God, who never dies”—Habakkuk 1:12 NJB
“My God, my Holy One, you will never die”—Habakkuk 1:12 NIV
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God”—1 Timothy 1:17 NIV
“God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you are to tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you”—Exodus 3:14 NAB
“Truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am”—John 8:58 NASB. Many translations of John 8:58 capitalize “I Am” so as to convey the idea of a title. As a prominent Bible study guide says,“The ‘I am’ denotes absolute eternal existence, not simply existence prior to Abraham. It is a claim to be Yahweh of the OT” (Ryrie Study Bible note on John 8:58).`
Did Jesus claim to be God when he was in court, on trial for his life? Like Jesus’ enemies, Trinitarians often assert that Jesus was “claiming to be God” (John 10:33 REB). However, Jesus flatly refuted that false charge by saying, “I am God’s Son” (John 10:36). Like Jesus’ enemies, once again, Trinitarians also falsely assert that Jesus “was claiming equality with God” (John 5:18 REB). Jesus flatly refuted that false charge also, by saying: “In all truth I tell you, by himself the Son can do nothing; he can do only what he sees the Father doing” (John 5:19 NJB).
When, finally, Jesus was brought before the Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, what was the real issue that they were concerned about?
“The high priest said to him, ‘I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God'” (Matthew 26:63 NAB).
This was the real issue, whether Jesus claimed to be “the Messiah, the Son of God.” They obviously knew he never ‘claimed to be God’. Notice Jesus’ response:
“The words are yours. But I tell you this: ‘from now on you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven'” (Matthew 26:64 REB).
“For us there is only one God, the Father” (1 Corinthians 8:6 NJB). There are some important Trinity questions that need to be answered.
If the Trinity doctrine is truly Biblical, as Trinitarians claim, then they should not have any problems with answering simple questions about their doctrine, without any resorting to evasion, or denial. Here is the question:
Are both of the following statements true?—YES, or NO
A. For Christians, there is one God, the Triune God.
B. For Christians, there is one God, the Father.
1. If YES, then please explain how the “one God” of Christians is both a three person being and a one person being.
2. If NO, then please identify which of the two above statements is true.
If the doctrine of the Trinity is true, Trinitarians should be able to answer these questions Biblically.
There are some verses that are often translated as though people actually “worshipped” Jesus. However, as mentioned above, accurate translations do not reflect that idea. Let’s look at these scriptures with accurate translations:
“On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage”—Matthew 2:11 NRSV
“And the men in the boat fell at his feet, exclaiming, ‘You must be the Son of God'”—-Matthew 14:33 REB
The Bible’s final book, Revelation, predicts the future for the Church and humankind. The Trinity doctrine is said to be the main doctrine of Christianity, so we would expect to find the Trinity in Revelation, if the doctrine is true. The very first verse of the Book of Revelation gives us a clue as to the answer to the question of whether the Trinity doctrine is in Revelation:
“The revelation from Jesus Christ, WHICH GOD GAVE HIM to show his servants what must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1 NIV). [Emphasis ours].
“But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:33,34 NIV).
Some skeptics claim that Jesus somehow survived his crucifixion, and was unknowingly placed alive in the tomb, where he revived, and early on Sunday morning escaped from the tomb alive. This is quite a far-fetched story, but nevertheless, many people believe it. However, when we carefully consider all the known and pertinent facts, such a theory flies in the face of all the evidence.
The book 1 Peter opens up with a statement that has been that has been used to support the Trinity doctrine. The question for us to consider is, “Do we find the Trinity in 1 Peter?” Trinitarians point to the naming of the three who are said to be in the Trinity as proof of its existence. For example:“Investigating the time and circumstances that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ” (1 Peter 1:11 NAB). Trinitarians claim that “the Spirit of Christ” indicating things means it is a person. Many translation use “he” rather than “it.” However, “it” is the more accurate translation, as also rendered in the NRSV, and KJV. Additionally, Trinitarians overlook the very next verse, which talks about “the good news” which was “preached to you [through] the holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Peter 1:12 NAB). “The holy Spirit” was “sent from heaven,” by God.
“No slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16 NAB).
It is frequently asserted by Bible preachers and teachers that Jesus Christ Is Almighty God, along with God the Father, and ‘God the Holy Spirit,’ they are part of a Trinity. If this is so, then we should find plenty of scriptural evidence to support it. Do we find the Trinity in 1 Timothy? Since 1 Timothy was written by Bible scholar and teacher, the apostle Paul, to counter false teachers and false teachings, let’s see what it says.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1 NIV). God and Christ are here clearly portrayed as two separate and distinct individuals. As if this is not enough, it is further emphasized in verse 2:
“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Timothy 1:2 NIV). “Grace, mercy and peace” are said to come from both God and Christ, with no mention of the Holy Spirit. This omission of the Holy Spirit would be surprising and confusing if the Trinity were true, but since the Holy Spirit is not a person, this statement makes perfect sense.
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever” (1 Timothy 1:17 NIV). This sets Almighty God totally apart as being “eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God”, since Christ was created, died, and was visible while on earth.
“There is one God and one mediator between God and Christ, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV). By definition, the mediator cannot be either of the two parties that he mediates “between”. Therefore, it is obvious that Christ cannot be either”God” or “mankind”. No, Christ is “the man”, the “one mediator”. This one scripture is enough to obliterate Trinitarian notions.
“Who gave himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Timothy 2:6 NIV). “Sacrificed himself” (REB). Jesus died as a ransom sacrifice. Almighty God “Yahweh . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), therefore Jesus cannot be Almighty God. This one fact also obliterates the Trinity.
“He appeared in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16 NIV). KJV and NKJV have “God was manifest in the flesh”, however, footnoted editions admit that the Greek did not originally read this way. Notice the following footnotes to 1 Timothy 3:16:
“Many later (eighth/ninth century on), predominantly Byzantine manuscripts read ‘God,’ possibly for theological reasons”—NAB note
“NU-Text reads Who”—NKJV note. [NU-Text means the Nestle-Aland Greek Text (N-A) and the United Bible Societies Greek Text (UBS). By the 26th edition of N-A and the 3rd edition of UBS, the two Greek texts were identical.]
John 1:14 says “The Word [Christ] became flesh” (NASB). Numbers 23:19 says that “God is not human” (NIV), and John 1:18 says that “No one has seen God at any time” (NASB). God has never been on earth, nor “in the flesh”, nor “human”, but the Bible says Christ was seen by a lot of people on earth (John 1:14; 1 John 1:1-3), and was “fully human in every way” (Hebrews 2:17 NIV), obviously Christ cannot be Almighty God.
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you” (1 Timothy 5:21 NRSV). God and Jesus are just as separate and distinct from each other as they are from the angels.
“Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:14-16 NIV). Here, we plainly see that Almighty God is set apart from Jesus Christ, and God is the only one who has eternally been immortal (compare Revelation 1:18), and whom no one has ever seen (John 1:18).
In each of the eight times that God and Jesus are mentioned in 1 Timothy, their being distinct and separate is made very clear. Also, the Holy Spirit is only mentioned twice, and each time it is called “the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1), which is not something that a person is called. These eight simple Biblical statements of God and Jesus together devastate the Trinity dogma. In fact, the Trinity doctrine confuses pure Biblical truth, because it fits the description of one of the “false doctrines” that Christians are commanded in this letter “not to teach” (1 Timothy 1:3,4 NIV).
Based on the textual evidence, the Trinity doctrine is not found in 1 Timothy.