Is Jesus Christ equal to God? Based on the following scripture, and what they have heard, or been told, many people think so.
“For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God” (John 5:19 NRSV).
If we look at this scripture closely, and think about it logically, there are three serious problems with the claim that Jesus made himself equal with God, and so he must be God..read more
In our series about what is stated concerning Jesus in the various books of the New Testament, this article examines the book of 1 Corinthians. It is claimed by many preachers and denominations that Jesus is part of a Trinity, along with God the Father and the holy Spirit. If this is so, we surely should find evidence of it in a New Testament book such as 1 Corinthians, which covers Christian beliefs. Is the Trinity doctrine in 1 Corinthians?
1 Corinthians 1:1 – “An apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” – God and Jesus are separate and distinct.
1 Corinthians 1:2 – “To the church of God in Corinth and to those sanctified in Christ Jesus.” – Two distinct beings – God and Jesus are mentioned, but no holy Spirit, or Trinity, here.
1 Corinthians 1:3 – “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Again, separate and distinct. Again, no greetings from the holy Spirit are mentioned. Of course, the holy Spirit is real, even though it is not mentioned here. If God and Jesus were part of a Trinity, as is claimed, this would be a logical place to mention the holy Spirit, and/or Trinity, in these opening greetings.
1 Corinthians 1:4 – “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.” – No holy Spirit, nor any Trinity or duality, is mentioned here.
1 Corinthians 1:6 – “God thus confirming our testimony about Christ concerning you.” God and Jesus are separate and distinct. No holy spirit or Trinity is mentioned.
1 Corinthians 1:9 – “God is faithful who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Two individuals named, God and Jesus, but no Holy Spirit, or Trinity.
1 Corinthians 1:28,30 – “God chose the lowly … It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God.” – Jesus comes from God, but is not God. God does not come from Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2:10 – “This God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God” (NAB). In this very first mention of the holy spirit in 1 Corinthians, it is called “the Spirit,” or “his spirit” (NIV). This language is indicative of the fact that the holy spirit is not a person. Without the spirit being a person, there is no Trinity.
1 Corinithians 2:11 – “Among human beings, who knows what pertains a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God” (NAB). The Spirit of God is compared with the spirit of humans. The activity of this “spirit” is compared with the “spirit” of the self-consciousness of humans. The spirit of humans is to their own individual thoughts as the Spirit of God is to his own thoughts. Holy Spirit is therefore “holy intelligence,” a revelation of the actual mind of God.
1 Corinthians 2:16 – “Who has known the mind of the Lord?… But we have the mind of Christ.” – There are distinctive differences between God and Jesus. The holy spirit is not mentioned here, not because it is not real, but because it is not a person, but is God’s “power” (Acts 1:8). No Trinity is mentioned because it is not real. The Trinity is not in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 3:23 – “You are of Christ and Christ is of God.” – Christ comes from God the Father. He is “the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 ESV; NASB; NAB; KJV). Jesus had a beginning to his life, so he has not been eternal, which means he is not God.
1 Corinthians 4:1 – “As servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” – Two separate, distinct individuals are mentioned, “Christ,” and “God.”
In our series about what is stated concerning God, Jesus, and the holy Spirit, is there any evidence of the Trinity doctrine in the various books of the New Testament? This article examines whether the Trinity is in Romans.
“Romans is theologically the most important of all the epistles written by Paul, and it contains his most comprehensive and logical presentation of the gospel . . . this =&0=&
Since Romans is said to “this foundational New Testament book,” we would expect to at least find some evidence of the Trinity doctrine, if it is true, in this important book of Romans.
Notice the relationship between the two – God and Jesus. How about the holy Spirit, how does it play a role?
Romans 1:1 – “Paul” is “a slave of Jesus Christ . . . and set apart for the gospel of God” (NAB). The gospel, the good news, belongs to God, not Jesus. Also, there is no mention of the holy Spirit or the Trinity in this verse. Why? Because, the holy Spirit, although it is real, is not a person.
Romans 1:3 – “the gospel about his Son” (NAB), “regarding his Son” (NIV). The gospel is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We see from the book of Romans that the focus is on God, who deals with humankind through his Son.
Romans 1:4– “Established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (NAB). Jesus was “appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (NIV). Since he was “appointed,” that means the one who did the appointing is the superior. Therefore, there is no equality, as the Trinity doctrine claims. Jesus is “the Son of God,” not “God the Son” – separate and distinct from the God the Father. Since “God has resurrected this Jesus” (Acts 2:32 HCSB), and Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18), it means that Jesus has not been eternal, as the Trinity doctrine claims.
Romans 1:7 – “from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV). It is admitted by Trinitarians that, “two divine persons are in view here . . . the Lord Jesus Christ . . . is shown to be another person besides the Father” (The Forgotten Trinity, p 157). But, why isn’t the letter also from the holy Spirit if the Trinity doctrine is true? – Because the holy Spirit is not a person. “God” is shown in this verse to be the “Father,” and not “the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 1:8 – “I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ” (NAB) – Notice that he thanks God, not Jesus, or the Trinity. But he does so “through Jesus.” This is the proper way to pray, not to Jesus or the Trinity, but through Jesus (John 14:6). “My God” is clearly shown not to be Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:9 – “God, whom I serve in preaching the gospel of his Son” (NIV) – Paul says he is serving God, not Jesus, or the Trinity, in the preaching of God’s Son. “God” is clearly shown to be someone other than “his Son.”
