Hebrews is a comprehensive treatise about Christian doctrine. Since the Trinity doctrine is asserted to be the main doctrine of Christianity, we would expect Hebrews to include significant mention of the Trinity doctrine, if it is true.
Is the Trinity doctrine in the book of Hebrews?
In our series about what is stated concerning God the Father, his Son Jesus, and the holy Spirit in the various books of the New Testament, we examine all the relevant scriptures of each particular book. In this article, we will examine the Letter to the Hebrews, and discover powerful testimony about whether or not the doctrine of the Trinity is in Hebrews. All quotes from NIV, unless noted otherwise. Hebrews says God speaks to through his Son.read more
Why does the Trinity matter? – Is Jesus Christ Almighty God?
Does the Trinity matter? It matters because the Bible says:
“There is no wisdom, there is no discernment And there is no counsel against Yahweh”—Proverbs 21:30 LSB
Does this picture make sense? It is confusing and contradictory!
“Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3)
The Bible says our eternal life depends on knowing the only true God the Father, and His Son, whom he sent, Jesus Christ. “Knowing” would have to include knowing who they are.
The Athanasian Creed, which many denominations accept, says a person’s eternal life depends on acceptance of certain statements of belief about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Ghost).
“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.”
“So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.”
“Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Substance [Essence] of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Substance [Essence] of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.”
“And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.”—Book of Common Prayer translation. See Schaff (1877b, pp. 66–71)read more
In the book of Acts, did the Apostles teach or preach the Trinity doctrine?
This article is part of our series about what is stated concerning God, Jesus and the holy Spirit, and whether they comprise a Trinity, in the various books of the Bible. This article examines whether the Trinity was taught or preached the book of Acts of the Apostles.
Jesus had foretold that, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit which the Father will send in my place, will teach you everything and remind you of =&0=&“The Helper, the Holy Spirit” would “guide [them] into all the truth” (John 16:13 NIV). Acts records for us how this was done, by documenting the spread of Christianity during its first three decades, including its beginning, when the holy Spirit was “poured out” (Acts 2:33). If the Trinity is true, then the doctrine should be evident in the book of Acts, because it records what the early Christians taught and how Christianity was established throughout the Roman Empire.
Acts 1:3 – “During the forty days after he suffered and =&1=&The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of the Gospel, and it’s the affirmation of Jesus’ Sonship and Messiahship. This is what the early Church preached, as recorded in the Book of Acts and the New Testament letters. However, today many theologians and preachers are “preaching” “a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6-9 NIV), asserting that the essence of the Gospel is that “God became a man and died for our sins. In contrast, for the early church it was,“God has resurrected this Jesus.” (Acts 2:32 HCSB)
Acts 1:4 – “Wait for the gift my Father promised” (NIV). – The Father alone is the one who is in control. “The “gift” refers to the Holy Spirit, as promised in the Old Testament (e.g., Joel 2:28-29) and reiterated by Jesus in John 14:16-17” (Bible Hub Study Bible). Calling the holy Spirit a “gift” gives us a clue that the holy Spirit is not a person. According to Jesus, “the holy Spirit” (Luke 12:12 NAB), is “the Spirit of your Father” (Matthew 10:20).
Acts 1:7 – “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority” (NIV). – Jesus said his Father is in control, who operates entirely “by his own authority,” without the involvement of a Trinity ‘godhead’, or even Jesus. Jesus, on the other hand, said, “I don’t speak on my own authority” (John 12:49 NLT). “Jesus . . . cried out, ‘ . . . I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him'” (John 7:28 NIV). Jesus said that he wasn’t even here on earth on his own authority, but was sent by his Father, whose authority he is under, because, as Jesus said, “the Father is greater” (John 14:28). This unequal authority between Jesus and his Father eliminates the equality aspect of the Trinity dogma. The equality aspect of the Trinity doctrine is thus obliterated by such Biblical truths.
Acts 1:8 – “You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you” (NAB). This action had been foretold in the prophets. God said, “I will put my spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:27 NRSV). The holy Spirit is God’s “spirit”, not another person. The language “comes upon you” is not appropriate when referring to a person, so this gives evidence the holy Spirit is not a person. Jesus connected “the holy Spirit” with “power’, which is essentially what the holy Spirit is. Without the holy Spirit being a person, the Trinity doctrine falls apart.
Acts 2:17 – “I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh” (NAB). Yahweh speaks, and refers to the holy Spirit as being “my spirit”, provides very strong evidence that the holy Spirit is not a person. The apostle Peter quoted the prophecy,”Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Yahweh your God, and there is no other . . . And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind” (Joel 2:27,28 LSB). These scriptures show that ‘Yahweh is God and no other’, that is, he is incomparable, unique. The holy Spirit, which is also featured in this prophecy, is obviously not Yahweh, as Trinitarianism claims.Even more so, the language, “a portion of my spirit” gives additional evidence the holy Spirit cannot be a person, because a portion of a person cannot be ‘poured out.’ Without the holy Spirit being a person, the doctrine of the Trinity falls apart.
Acts 2:22 – “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him.” (NIV) – Jesus was used by God, who is the superior one. Notice that “God” is not “Jesus,” who is “accredited by God to you”, and that “God did” the miracles “through” Jesus. Jesus is called “a man”. “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19).
Acts 2:22,23 –“Jesus . . . –delivered up through God’s settled purpose and foreknowledge”(Weymouth New Testament) – Yahweh God the Father, as the one who is “supreme over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18 NLT), decided long in advance what Jesus would do. No one else but God, not even Jesus, is ever said to have a “settled purpose and foreknowledge”. Also, Jesus is called a “man” (Acts 2:23 NIV; LSB), so he couldn’t be God, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19). Also, “God” is shown to be someone other than Jesus.
Acts 2:24 – “God raised him from the dead.” – “God” is again clearly shown to be someone other than Jesus. Jesus “died” (1 Corinthians 15:3); God didn’t. Why? “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), whereas Jesus was “dead” (Revelation 1:18). Trinitarians claim that “only the human part of Jesus died”. However, if any part of Jesus had remained alive, “Christ” could not have “died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3).
Acts 2:30 – “Since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants upon his throne.” (NAB) – God controlled everything, and he seated Jesus on “the throne of his father, David” (Luke 1:32), as foretold in fulfillment of Psalm 132:11. God is clearly shown to be someone other than Jesus.
Acts 2:31 – “he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption” (New King James Version). – Resurrection means coming back to life from the dead. Jesus was resurrected by God, the superior one, who did not die (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Notice that “his soul was not left in Hades”. “Hades” (Hebrew is “Sheol” [Psalm 16:10]) is the figurative place of “the dead” (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10). Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). If any part of “Christ” had remained alive, he could not have “died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). God is not “the Christ”, Jesus is. For these reasons, Jesus cannot be God.
Acts 2:32 – “God has resurrected this Jesus.” (HCSB) – “God” is obviously someone other than Jesus, because he brought the deceased Jesus back to life. Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). “God “is always alive, and “never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Jesus is clearly shown not to be eternal, since he “died” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Without the eternity factor, the Trinity doctrine collapses.Trinitarians sometimes assert that “God” = Trinity (3). Since Jesus was dead, that would only leave the other two members of the Trinity dogma alive, so God cannot = 3. When we analyze the Trinity doctrine in the light of the scriptures, we find that it is simply pure “nonsense” (Isaiah 32:6).
Acts 2:33 – “Exalted to the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you both see and hear” (NAB). This scripture is a death knell to the Trinity doctrine. Since “God” has Jesus at his right hand, and he channels the holy Spirit through Jesus to believing Christians. “God” is identified as “the Father”. Jesus is shown to be someone other than God, and also subservient to God, his Father, by being at “the right hand of God”. Additionally, the holy Spirit is called “it,” which proves it is not a person. These facts eliminate “the Son is God”, the equality, and the personhood of the holy Spirit, aspects of the Trinity doctrine, so the Trinity doctrine collapses.
Acts 2:34 – “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand'” (NIV) – Quoting from Psalm 110:1, “Yahweh declared to my Lord, ‘Take your seat at my right hand'” (NJB). Jesus is shown to be at God’s right hand of favor, so he couldn’t be God. God is the speaker, and the one who is in control, not Jesus. “Yahweh” is clearly shown to be someone other than Jesus.
Acts 2:36 – “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus” (ESV). – God the Father decided and granted Jesus Lordship and Messiahship. Jesus had neither of these “highly exalted” positions “from eternity” (Philippians 2:9 ESV), as Trinitarians like to claim. Trinitarians like to claim that title “Lord” makes Jesus God. But the scriptures tell us differently. “Christ” is obviously not God, because God made him both “Lord and Christ”.
Acts 3:13 – “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob . . . has glorified his servant Jesus.” (NIV) – God gave glory to His servant, Jesus. Jesus cannot be Almighty God because he is GOD’S “SERVANT.” God’s “servant” cannot be Almighty God, nor is the servant equal to the master! What is interesting about this is that in Exodus 3:15, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:15 LSB), “Yahweh” identifies himself as “God Almighty” (Exodus 6:2,3 LSB). Since Almighty God has “his servant Jesus”, Jesus cannot be Almighty God. As Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I am” (John 14:28 GWT; ISV; NET). Thus, there is no equality between Jesus and his Father, so Jesus cannot be Almighty God, as Trinitarians claim. Without equality, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
As part of our series about what is stated in the Bible concerning whether God, Jesus and the holy Spirit are a Trinity in the various books of the New Testament, this article examines the book of Galatians.
Galatians was possibly the earliest book of the New Testament that was written, and focuses on correct Christian doctrine. Was the Trinity part of Christian doctrine discussed in Galatians? Is any aspect of the Trinity doctrine mentioned in the book?
Galatians 1:1 – “Through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead” (NAB). – God is shown to be the Father. Jesus is not referred to as God. God and Jesus are revealed to be two separate and distinct individuals – the superior, God, resurrects the lesser one, Jesus, from the dead. “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). Therefore, Jesus cannot be Almighty God.
Galatians 1:3– “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (NAB). – Two separate and distinct individuals, namely “God our Father” and “Jesus Christ,” are mentioned, but there is no mention of the holy Spirit. Why not? There is no question the holy Spirit is real. Trinitarians claim it is a person. If the holy Spirit is the third part of a Trinity “Godhead,” as Trinitarians assert, it should have been mentioned here in these greetings. It’d not mentioned because it’s not a person, and therefore can’t send greetings. Why are there no greetings from the Trinity? Why is the Trinity never mentioned in the Bible? – Because it’s a ‘myth’ (1 Timothy 4:7).
Galatians 1:4 – “…who gave himself for our sins… according to the will of our God and Father.”(NIV)– Jesus’ willing sacrificial death was according to his Father’s “will,” which shows Jesus to be the subordinate to his “Father” who “is greater” (John 1:14).
Galatians 1:6 – “You are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ” (NIV). – God and Christ are presented as two different people, with God, the superior, doing the calling. God is clearly shown to be someone other than Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:15-16 – “God… set me apart… was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles.” (NAB) – “God” reveals “his Son” Jesus Christ to Paul, and uses Paul to “proclaim him to the Gentiles”. God, not Christ is shown to be the one who is in control. “His Son” is here clearly shown to be someone other than “God”.
Galatians 2:20-21 – “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for it if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing” (NIV). Once again, we see from the scriptures that “God” is someone other than “Christ” and that “Christ died”, which means Christ can’t be God because “God . . . will never die” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Over and over in the scriptures the important point that “Christ died” is emphasized. Trinitarians have invented “a different Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT), a so-called “God-man”, who, they claim, died “in his human nature, but not in his God nature”. However, the scriptures plainly state that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). If any part of Christ had remained alive, he could not have died for our sins, which would mean “Christ died for nothing”.
Galatians 3:2,5,14 – “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law . . . does God give you his Spirit . . . by the works of the law” (NIV). “Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed . . . so that we who are believers might receive the promised =&0=&Here we see that God the Father, the Almighty God, operates through Christ Jesus so that believers can ‘receive the holy Spirit through faith’. The holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit”, “his Spirit”, and “the promised Holy Spirit”. These descriptions are not descriptive of a person, but of an entity, and provides evidence that the holy Spirit is not a person, contrary to Trinitarian dogma.
Galatians 3:16-18 –“To your seed, who is Christ… God granted it to Abraham through the promise.” (NIV) – God gave Abraham the promise that through his seed (Christ), all nations will be blessed. God is shown to be someone other than “your seed, who is Christ,” and superior to “Christ”, thus eliminating the equality aspect of the Trinity doctrine.
Galatians 3:20 – “Now a mediator is not for one person only, whereas God is only one” (NASB). “Now the mediator or go-between [in a transaction] is not [needed] for just one
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. The holy Spirit is real, of course, but it is it a person? Is the Trinity doctrine in 1 Corinthians?
It is claimed by many theologians that the Trinity doctrine is THE most important doctrine of Christianity. For example:
“No doctrine is more fundamental to the Faith than the Trinity”—Dr Norman L Geisler
“The Trinity is a doctrine where error is especially deadly”—Dr John MacArthur
We believe that John MacArthur is onto something when he says, “The Trinity is a doctrine where error is especially deadly”, although we disagree about exactly what that “error” is. Let’s examine 1 Corinthians, by looking for evidence for, or against, the Trinity.
1 Corinthians 1:1-3,4,6,9 – “An apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God . . . To the church of God in Corinth and to those sanctified in Christ Jesus . . . Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus . . . God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you . . . God is faithful who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord . . . ” (NIV). – In the opening few verses of 1 Corinthians, God and Jesus are presented as entirely separate and distinct individuals. No greetings from the holy Spirit or the Trinity are mentioned. Why is the holy Spirit not mentioned here? Could it be because it’s not a person? Of course, the holy Spirit is real, even though it is not mentioned here. Now, if God and Jesus were part of a Trinity, as so boldly asserted by theologians, this would be a logical place to mention the holy Spirit, and/or Trinity, in these opening greetings.
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.” – The scripture makes it plain that the Corinthian Christians are “in Christ Jesus” because of God’s choosing. We also learn that Jesus comes from God, but is not God himself. God does not come from Jesus. As Jesus himself said, “I came from God. I came from the Father” (John 16:27,28 NAB). Thus, the scriptures are quite clear that Jesus Christ is not God. If the holy Spirit was a person, and also if the Trinity really existed, it would seem like we should have seen some mention of them in this first, or introductory, chapter of 1 Corinthians. Why don’t we? We’ll find out why as we analyze the next chapter of the book.
1 Corinthians 2:10 – “These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” (NIV). Trinitarians have claimed that the word “searches” indicates something that only a person can do, proves the holy Spirit is a person. However, the holy Spirit is personified here, as it sometimes is in other scriptures (1 John 4:6). In this very first mention of the holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians, it is called “the Spirit” (NAB), or “his spirit” (NIV). God reveals things through the Spirit, because he operates by using the holy Spirit to accomplish his purposes. The language in this verse (“the Spirit”; “his Spirit”) is indicative of the fact that the holy Spirit is not a person. Without the spirit being a person, there is no Trinity.
1 Corinthians 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 of God” 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, but not a person, as Trinitarians assert.
1 Corinthians 2:12 – “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God” (NRSV; NAB). Many translations render it with Trinitarian bias, “the Spirit who is from God”. Just as “the spirit of the world” isn’t a person, “the Spirit of God” isn’t a person either. We take note that it is “THE Spirit of God”. This is not descriptive of a person. Notice the similarity: “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit'” (John 20:22 NAB). “This action recalls Gn 2:7 where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus” (NAB note). The point is that the holy Spirit isn’t a person.
1 Corinthians 2:13 – “Words taught by the Spirit”. Trinitarians have claimed this means the holy Spirit is a person, because it is said to ‘teach’. However, the holy Spirit is personified here, as it sometimes is in other scriptures. Notice that, once again, it is called “the Spirit. God reveals things through the Spirit, because he operates by using the holy Spirit to accomplish his purposes. The language in this verse (“the Spirit) is indicative of the fact that the holy Spirit is not a person. Without the spirit being a person, there is no Trinity.
1 Corinthians 2:16 –“Who has known the mind of the Lord?… But we have the mind of Christ.” – “The Lord” here is Almighty God the Father. There are distinctive differences between God and Jesus. The ability to know “the mind of Christ”, but not the mind of God, is an indication that God “the Father is greater than” Christ (John 14:28), thus eliminating the equality aspect of the Trinity doctrine.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). The Trinity is not mentioned because it is not real.
1 Corinthians 3:23 – “You are of Christ and Christ is of God.” – “Of God” means Christ comes from God the Father. However, God is not “of Christ”. Jesus said, “I came from God, I came from the Father” (John 16:27,28 NAB). He is “the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 ESV; NASB; NAB; KJV), which means Jesus had a beginning to his life, so he has not been eternal. Without the Son being eternal, Jesus cannot be God, and the Trinity doctrine collapses..
1 Corinthians 4:1 – “As servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” – Two entirely separate, distinct individuals are mentioned, “Christ,” and “God.” Notice, however, that it is “God” who has revealed the “mysteries”, not “Christ”, which shows that God is greater than Christ. God here is “the Father”, who Jesus said, “is greater than” he is (John 14:28). Thus, the equality aspect of the Trinity doctrine is eliminated.
1 Corinthians 5:7 – “For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” – ‘Christ was sacrificed’, not God. “God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). However, Jesus “Christ died” and “was dead” (1 Corinthians 15:3; Revelation 1:18), so Jesus can’t be God. The fact that Jesus Christ hasn’t been eternal destroys the Trinity dogma.
1 Corinthians 6:11 – “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of our God.” (NJB) – The holy Spirit, rather than being referred to as a person, is referred to as “the Spirit of our God”, meaning it emanates from God, but is not God. Without the holy Spirit being a person, the so-called third person of the Trinity, the entire Trinity doctrine collapses! The scriptures themselves are the worse enemy of “false doctrines” (1 Timothy 1:3 NIV), such as the Trinity.
1 Corinthians 8:6 – “there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live.” (GNB) – ‘There is only one God, the Father’, not a 3-in-1 monstrosity. An obvious distinction is made here between God, who is “the Creator of all things”, and ‘Jesus Christ, through whom God created everything’. Even though Jesus Christ is called “Lord”, that doesn’t make him either “God”, or “the Creator”. Those titles belong to the “the Father”, as we can see from this verse. Jesus is obviously excluded from being God in this verse, and the holy Spirit isn’t even mentioned.
1 Corinthians 10:4 – “that rock was Christ”. Trinitarians have sometimes claimed that Jesus Christ being called “rock” because Almighty God is metaphorically called “the Rock” (Deuteronomy 6:4). “Rock” is used here as a figure of speech, similar to bread and water being used as figures of speech in John 4:14; John 6:30-35.. If the Trinity “Godhead” is true, then why are the Father and the holy Spirit not also included in this figurative “rock”? This is a clue that the Trinity is a ‘false doctrine’ (1 Timothy 1:3).
1 Corinthians 10:16 – “a participation in the blood of Christ… in the body of Christ” (NIV) – In discussing the significance of the Lord’s supper, the blood and body of Christ, not God, symbolize Christ’s sacrificial death. Since “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), and “God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Christ cannot be God.
1 Corinthians 11:3 – “The head of Christ is God” – “God is shown to be someone other than “Christ” in this verse. “God” is also shown to be superior (“the head”) over Christ.” Trinitarians sometimes claim that Jesus, the Son of God, if he wasn’t already equal to the Father prior to his resurrection, was made equal to Almighty God the Father at his resurrection. But this verse proves that Jesus was still not equal to his Father at his resurrection, and thereafter. As Jesus himself said, “the Father is greater than I am” (John 14:28 GWT). With the lack of equality between the the Father and the Son, as exemplified by this verse, one of the main tenets of the ‘false doctrine’ (1 Timothy 1:3 NIV) of the Trinity is blown away.
1 Corinthians 11:29 – “Eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ” – In discussing the significance of the Lord’s supper, the blood and body of Christ, not God, symbolize Christ’s sacrificial death. Since “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), and “God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Christ cannot be God.
1 Corinthians 12:6,11 – “There are differences of operations, and the same God who makes active all things in all persons . . . and one and the same Spirit makes all of these active, distributing to each appropriately, as it will” (1 Corinthians 12:6,11 Hart).“There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all. But at work in all these is one and the same Spirit, distributing them at will to each individual” (NJB). “But all these gifts are the activity of the one and same Spirit, distributing them to each individual at will” (1 Corinthians 12:11 REB). Most translations render verse 11, “just as He wills,” as if the holy Spirit is a person. Trinitarians use this as one of their “proofs” that the holy Spirit is a “person.” Note that in the accurately rendered Hart translation, the holy Spirit is referred to as “it”. Also, since “God has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13 NAB), “God . . . has given us a share in his Spirit” (1 John 4:13 NJB), it is obvious the holy Spirit is not a person, since one cannot have “a share” of a person. God uses the “Spirit” to enforce and enact his will. Without the holy Spirit being a person, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
1 Corinthians 15:3,4 – “Christ died for our sins . . . He was buried, and he was raised on the third day” – God didn’t die, because, “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Jesus was resurrected, because he “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). Since “Christ died”, he cannot be God, and he has not been eternal, which are two of the main pillars of the Trinity dogma. With the “eternal” feature of the Trinity doctrine scripturally eliminated, the Trinity dogma is vanished.
1 Corinthians 15:3,5– “Christ . . . appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve” (NAB) – This scripture confirms Jesus isn’t God. How did he “appear” to Peter? Christ was “put to death in the flesh, he was made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 NAB). “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34 NAB). This means that Jesus “appeared in another form” (Mark 16:12), such as a materialized body. Since Jesus Christ appeared to Peter after he was resurrected from the “dead” (Revelation 1:18), and God can’t die (Habakkuk 1:12), but Jesus did, Jesus cannot be God.
1 Corinthians 15:24,27,28 – “Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father” (NAB). “When it said =&0=&
We continue our series about what is stated concerning Jesus in the various books of the New Testament. Today, we will examine the book of Colossians.
Col1:1 – “Apostle of Christ by the will of God.” – Christ subordinate
Col 1:2 – “Brothers in Christ… peace from God our Father.” – Notice the relationship these Christians have – they are brothers of Christ, but children of God.
Col 1:3 – “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Col 1:12-13 – “giving thanks to the Father… transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” – Notice the Father is in control and effects this transference.
Col 1:15 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” – The image is not the same as the Father. Jesus is also referred to as a creature, not creator.
Col 1:16 – “All things were created through him and for him.” – Jesus is not the originator, but was used by God mightily in creation.
Col 1:18 – “The firstborn from the dead.” – The first one resurrected by God to heaven “that in all things he himself might be preeminent.” – NAB ftn – When Christ was raised by God as firstborn from the dead he was placed (by God) over the Church.
Col 1:19-20 (NIV) – “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” – God in control of Christ.
Col 1:20 (NIV) –“Through him [Christ] to reconcile to himself all things.” God uses Christ to reconcile “by making peace through his blood.” – God used Christ to make peace.
Col 1:21-22 (NLT) – “This includes you who were once far away from God… now he reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ… as a result he has brought you into his own presence.” – God uses Christ to bring people to him. God and Christ are obviously not the same.
Col 1:27 (NLT) – “God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too.”
Col 1:28 – “So we tell others about Christ… We want to present them to God.” – God and Jesus are separate.
Col 2:2 – “and grasp God’s secret, which is Christ himself.” – REB
Col 2:8-9 – “Christ. For it is in him that all the fullness if God’s nature lives bodily.”
Col 2:10 – “You have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” – God used/uses Jesus, and God also uses Christians, but this does not make anyone else God Almighty, including Jesus.
Col 2:12 – “God, who raised him from the dead.” – Jesus did not resurrect God.
Col
3:1 – “Where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.” – Jesus is favored by God, but is not God.read more
In the 27 books of the New Testament (NT), this core doctrine (the Trinity) of most Protestant, Catholic, and non-denominational churches should be prolific, and abundantly clear. Is it?
Each New Testament Bible book has certain statements of its main points, its core ideas. Church leaders generally assert that the Father is God, Jesus, the Son, is God, and the holy Spirit is God, and yet, they are just one God, not three Gods. They are said to be each eternal and equal in this “Godhead,” as they call it. If these ideas are true, we should see this clearly in the NT. Do we?read more
What are the scriptures that the gospel Mark is teaching about God? Is the Trinity in Mark? — Is Jesus Christ God Almighty, and also God the Son, or is he the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Son of Man? Is the holy Spirit portrayed as a person in Mark?
Mark 1:1 – “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (ESV).
Mark opens his gospel by briefly mentioning basically the theme of his gospel, and what it will prove — ‘that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’.
“Some important manuscripts here omit the Son of God” (NAB note on Mark 1:1). One important point that we can glean from this is that no manuscripts of Mark 1:1 call Jesus ‘God,’ or ‘God the Son.’
Mark 1:9-11 – “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit, like a dove descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased'” (NAB). In this scene, Jesus is in the water, and is obviously not the holy Spirit that came down upon him, or God, who is in heaven. The holy Spirit, rather than being portrayed as a person, or intelligent entity, is coming down in the air “like a dove”. Trinitarians assert that these scriptures support the Trinity in Mark. How? Trinitarians count, one, two, three . . . there’s the Trinity! The mention of the three together doesn’t make them a Trinity in Mark, any more the mention of “Stephanus, Fortuna=&0=&together make them a Trinity. As we can see, not one aspect of the Trinity doctrine is supported in these verses. There is no equality, no existing from eternity, nothing about being Almighty, nothing about all three being God, being the same “being”, or of the same “essence”, or “substance”, etc.
Mark 1:13– “He remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan” (NAB). – Since “God cannot be tempted by evil” (James 1:13 NRSV), so Jesus cannot be God, because “Jesus, the Son of God . . . was tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV).
Mark 1:24 – “Jesus of Nazareth . . . I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” (NAB) – “The Holy One OF God”, Jesus, is obviously not God.
Mark 2:5-7 – “When Jesus saw their faith, he saw to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘ Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” (NAB). Does this assertion made by Jesus’ enemies, that, ‘only God can forgive sins’, mean that Jesus is God, as Trinitarians claim? Notice next Jesus’ favorite title that he uses to describe himself:
Mark 2:10 – “The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” (NAB). – “The Son of Man” cannot be God, since “God is not a human being” (Numbers 23:19 NAB), whereas “the Word [Jesus] became flesh” (John 1:14). When Jesus was born on earth, he was “fully human in every way” (Hebrews 2:17 NIV), so he could not be God. The ‘authority to forgive sins’ had been bestowed on Jesus as God’s “representative” (John 5:43 Williams New Testament), obviously. God doesn’t need anyone’s authority to do anything. “He does whatever he pleases” (Job 23:13 NIV). Regarding Jesus’ authority, Matthew 9:8 says, “The crowd . . . praised God for sending a man with such great authority” (NLT 2013 edition). Jesus admitted, “I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment – what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49 NLT). Jesus said, “God sent me” (John 8:42 NIV), so he could not be God.
Mark 2:28 – Jesus once again refers to himself as “the Son of Man”. “The Son of Man” cannot be God, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19).
Mark 3:11 – “You are the Son of God”. Even the demons, whom he cast out, knew who he was, and admitted it. He was never called “God”, or “God the Son,” a Trinitarian concoction never used in the Bible.
Mark 5:7 – “Jesus, Son of the Most High God”. Once again, Jesus is called ‘God’s Son’, this time by a demon-possessed man, but not “God the Son,” a Trinitarian mythological concoction never used in the Bible.
Mark 6:4– “A prophet is not without honor except in his his native place and among his own kin and in his own house” (NAB)– Jesus calls himself “a prophet” – which is one who represents God. A prophet, by definition, cannot be God himself. Jesus said, “I came as my Father’s representative” (John 5:43).
Mark 8:29 – “‘Who do you say that I am?’Peter said to him in reply, ‘You are the Messiah'” (NAB), – not “God”, and not “God the Son”, which is a Trinitarian concoction that is never used in the Bible. This would have been the time to identify Jesus as God, if that’s what Peter believed. It would also have been the time for Jesus to adjust Peter’s thinking, and let him know he was God or Trinity, if that were the case.
Mark 8:31 – “the Son of Man must suffer”. “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect . . .” (Hebrews 5:8,9 LSB). God has never been on earth, so he has never suffered. “No one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:9). Since Jesus suffered on earth, and was seen by many, he cannot be God. God is “perfect in knowledge” (Job 36:4; 37:16), so he does need to learn anything. Since Jesus did learn from his sufferings, for this reason also, he can’t be God.
Mark 8:38 – “the Son of Man… when he comes in his Father’s glory”. The Son of Man is not God, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19).
Mark 9:7 – “a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son.'” – In this transfiguration scene, “God [is] in heaven” (Luke 15:18,21), Jesus is on earth, and God calls him his “Son”. Obviously, they are two entirely separate and distinct, different people, who are not of the same “essence”, or “substance”, or “being”.
Mark 9:9 – “until the Son of Man had risen from the dead” – The Son of Man is not God, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19), plus “God . . . will never die” (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV), and “this Jesus God resurrected” from the dead (Acts 2:32 HCSB; Revelation 1:18).
Mark 9:12 “the Son of Man must suffer much”. God is not the Son of Man, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19), and stayed in heaven (Matthew 6:9), not suffering on earth.
Mark 9:31 – “the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men … and they will kill him” – The Son of Man can’t be God, because “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), whereas “God . . . will never die” (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV)..
Mark 9:41 – “you belong to the Messiah“. The Messiah obviously cannot be God.
Mark 10:17,18 – “A man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.'”(NIV). Trinitarians falsely claim that Jesus was coyly implying that he is Almighty God, when the man called him “Good Teacher”, and by saying, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). The account begins with Jesus responding to a man who called him “Good Teacher.” These are the words Jesus is responding to when he asks why he had been called good. And then he further clarifies by saying, “No one is good but God alone.” Since he was called “Good Teacher,” Jesus is responding specifically to being called “Good TEACHER.”
The Trinitarian interpretation of Mark 10:18 contradicts Scripture. They are interpreting Jesus at Mark 10:18 to mean that no one can ever be called morally “good,” except God alone. However, the scriptures do indeed call people “good” in reference to moral goodness, thus demonstrating that the Trinitarian interpretation of Mark 10:18 cannot be correct. Notice:
“The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good”. (Matthew 12:35).
“Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21, 23).
“And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man” (Luke 23:50).
“For [Barnabas] was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” (Acts 11:24).
Notice what Jesus said about his teaching:
“What I teach is not my own teaching, but it comes from God, who sent me” (John 7:16 GNB)
Trinitarian claims about Mark 10:18 thus contradict the scriptures. Obviously, Jesus was saying that he’s not only not God, but is inferior to God. Thus, the scriptures disprove the “equality” aspect of the Trinity doctrine.
Mark 10:33– “the Son of Man will be delivered over”. The son of Man is not God, because “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19).
Mark 10:40 – “James and John . . . said to Him, ‘Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory . . . But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give” (LSB) – If Jesus says he doesn’t even have that much authority, then who does? – It must be his Father. Jesus here shows his inferiority to his father. Jesus admitted, “I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49 ESV). “He has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:27 NIV). Jesus is totally dependent upon his Father for his authority.
Mark 10:45 – “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” God doesn’t serve anyone, but Jesus does, which shows their entirely separate natures.
Mark 10:47 – “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout ‘Jesus, Son of David.'” – Notice, Jesus is never called “God”, but here he’s called “the Son of David”, an expression that cannot apply to God. God is no one’s son. This is another proof that Jesus cannot be God.
Mark 10:51– “The blind man said, ‘Rabbi,'” – He called Jesus “Rabbi”, meaning teacher, not God. Teacher is one of Jesus’ titles, but God isn’t.
Mark 11:9 –“God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.” This is a fulfillment of Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh'” (LSB), referring to Jesus coming in the name of Yahweh, which means that Jesus cannot be Yahweh.
Mark 11:21– “Peter said to Him, “Rabbi . . . ‘” (NASB) – Rabbi means teacher, which was one of Jesus’ titles, but Peter did not call Jesus God. In fact, neither did anyone else in the Bible.
Mark 11:22 – “Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Have faith in God'” (NAB), which means Jesus isn’t God, referring to his Father as God. Jesus was illustrating in the case of the withered fig tree, how faith in God can ‘move mountains’ (verse 23).
Mark 11:25– “So that your Father in heaven may forgive you”=&1=&The Father in heaven is the one who grants forgiveness, not Jesus.
Mark 11:28,29– “Who gave You this authority? . . . by what authority I do these things “ – Someone gave Jesus his authority. Who?
Mark 11:33 – “Jesus said, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things'” (NIV). Where does Jesus’ authority come from? Jesus said, “I have not spoken on my own authority” (John 12:49 ESV). “The Father . . . has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:27 NIV).Jesus’ authority comes from God the Father, which proves he is not only not God, he’s not even equal to God.
Mark 12:6 – “They will respect my son.” – Jesus, the Son, inferior to his Father.
Mark 12:12– “knew that the story was about them” – killing the Son, Jesus. Since “God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Jesus cannot be God.
Mark 12:14– “You teach the truth about God’s way.” – Not Jesus’ way, or the Trinity way, but “God’s way”.
Mark 12:29 – “Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! Yahweh OUR GOD IS ONE Yahweh” (LSB margin) – The greatest commandment is to love God, not Jesus or Trinity. “One” is the Greek word “heis”, meaning the numerical one, not a compound unity, as Trinitarians would have us believe. Not two or three, not divided, not Trinity. The main teaching of Jesus, he said, was that ‘Yahweh God is one person only’, “God is only one [Greek: “heis”] (Galatians 3:20 NASB), which flatly contradicts the Trinity doctrine of a 3-in-one God. “Heis” is the numeral one.
Mark 12:32,33 – “the scribe said to Him, ‘ . . . HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART . . . ” (LSB). God is referred to as being only “one” person.The scribe described him by the singular personal pronouns “he” and “him”. Jesus agreed with the scribe’s characterization of God as being “he” and “him” (Mark 12:34). On the other hand, if God was really “eternally three coequal and coeternal persons” “within the one being that is God” (The Forgotten Trinity, p 23), what should have been said was, “they are one and there is no other but them“. Not only is the Trinity doctrine not found in the scriptures, the scriptures resoundingly prove the Trinity to be one of the “false doctrines” “not to teach” (1 Timothy 1:3 NIV).
Mark 12:33 – “sacrifices we offer to God”, not Jesus, or Trinity.
Mark 12:35 – “the Christ is the Son of David” – God is not the son of David, nor is he anyone’s “son”.
Mark13:26 – “the Son of Man is coming” – God is not the Son of Man
Mark 13:32– “No one knows… not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” – Trinitarians claim that Jesus is omniscient. This verse proves otherwise, because Jesus admitted he didn’t know when the end would come. If Jesus is God, how could he not know everything? – The Son, Jesus, doesn’t know the day and hour, only God the Father does – obviously the two are separate and distinct individuals, they’re not of the same “being”, “substance”, or “essence”, and the Father is superior to the Son. Trinitarians’ claim that Jesus was Almighty God on earth is soundly refuted by this one scripture.
The same thing is true for the holy Spirit, that is, that no one knows the exact time of Jesus’ return but the Father. If the Holy Spirit is really a person, the third person of the Trinity, how could it be kept out of the loop about this extremely important prophetic event? Are we to believe that one or two members of this exclusive Trinitarian “Godhead” could keep a secret from the other two members, while at the same time sharing the same eternal and divine “essence” of being the one true God?
Since God knows things the Son doesn’t, obviously, God is superior to Jesus, they are two different, distinct and separate individuals.
Mark 14:21– “For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago” (NLT). “The Son of Man” is Jesus, not God. “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), but “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), so Jesus cannot be God
Mark 14:24 – “My blood which is the new covenant that God makes with his people” – Yahweh God, the superior one, makes “the new covenant” and seals it with Jesus’ blood. Jesus is “the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). “SAYS YAHWEH . . . I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT” (Hebrews 8:8 LSB margin). Jesus’ blood was shed in his sacrificial death. Since “God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Jesus cannot be God.
Mark 14: 36 – “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will” (LSB). – Obviously Jesus is speaking as a subordinate to his Father, which proves they are separate persons, and that “the Father is greater than” Jesus (John 14:28).. Jesus was not praying to himself, nor was he praying to a Trinity. In saying ‘all things are possible for you’, Jesus is referring to his Father’s Almightiness, in contrast to his total dependence upon his Father (John 5:19; Hebrews 5:7,8). By mentioning both his will and his Father’s will as being different, the separate identities of Jesus and his Father are highlighted.
“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ” (1 John 4:1
The letter of 1 John was one of the last books of the New Testament to be written, near the end of the first century. Trinitarians say that the New Testament teaches the Trinity doctrine with absolute definiteness. If these assertions are true, we should surely find some evidence of such at this late date in the first century, because “the faith . . . was once for all handed down to the holy ones” (Jude 3 NAB) with the completion of the Bible. So let’s see exactly what we do find when we examine the question, “Does 1 John teach the Trinity doctrine?”
1 John 1:2 – “This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us” (NLT). It is very obvious that this verse is describing Jesus Christ, and that “he was with the Father.” Notice how this compares with, “the Word was with God . . . He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1,2). Using the scriptures, we can discern that God is the Father, not Jesus Christ. Being “with” someone makes it clear that “two” separate and distinct individuals are being discussed (John 8:17,18). The statement, “We have seen him” is clear and unequivocal proof that Jesus cannot be God, because “no one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12 NIV). The holy Spirit is not mentioned here, which it likely would be if the Trinity doctrine was true. Nothing is either stated, nor implied, about a Trinity, or that Jesus is Almighty God.
1 John 1:3 – “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (NIV). Two entirely separate and distinct individuals, the Father and his Son, are mentioned, but not the holy Spirit, or the Trinity. God the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ are both real individual persons. Jesus Christ himself makes it clear that he and his Father are “two witnesses,” who are entirely separate and distinct individuals, as opposed to only “one witness” (John 8:17,18; Deuteronomy 17:6). The holy Spirit is not a person, so no fellowship is possible with it.
1 John 1:5 – “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all” (NLT). Jesus has been an instrumental witness that God the Father is “light”. “You will have Yahweh for an everlasting light” (Isaiah 60:19 LSB). “Let us walk in the light of Yahweh” (Isaiah 2:5 LSB). “We heard from Jesus . . . God is light”, is clear testimony indicating that “two” entirely distinct and separate individuals are involved, namely Almighty God and his Son, Jesus Christ (John 8:17,18), but not the holy Spirit, because it is not a person.
1 John 1:7 – “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (NIV). His Son? Whose Son? “God the Father” (2 John 3). The Father-Son relationship is emphasized by implication. A father and a son are often similar, but are always two entirely different individuals, for example, being different in age. The same is true for God the Father, who is “eternal” (1 Timothy 1:17 NIV), and his Son Jesus, who had an “origin” (Micah 5:2 NRSV). “The blood of Jesus” means that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3), in contrast to “Yahweh . . . God, who never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). The scriptural truth that Christ has not been eternal and “died” eliminates a major component of the Trinity doctrine. All this is in stark contrast to the Trinity doctrine, which blurs the distinctions between God the Father and his Son Jesus.
1 John 2:1,2 – “We have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice for our sins” (NLT) – Jesus is with his Father, serving, in effect, as our lawyer, before “God the judge of all” (Hebrews 12:24), in this word picture. A lawyer and a judge are two separate and distinct individuals (John 8:17,18), with the judge being the higher power (John 14:28). “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3), which is something that God cannot do (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV). Thus, the equality and the eternity claims of the Trinity dogma are eliminated.
1 John 2:20 – “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things” (NKJV). “This anointing is in the Old Testament sense of receiving the Spirit of God . . . True knowledge is the gift of the Spirit [cf Is 11:2], and the function of the Spirit is to lead Christians to the truth [John 14:17,26; 16:13]” (NAB note). “‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh'” (Acts 2:17 NAB). All of this weighs heavily against the Trinitarian idea that the holy Spirit is God, the third person of their Trinity. Trinitarians have claimed that since Jesus “searches hearts and minds” (Revelation 2:23 NIV), he must be God, because God knows everything. However, as we can see from the phrase, “you know all things”, such statements are not meant to be stretched to their ultimate, but understood in light of both the local and remote context of the entire Bible.
1 John 2:22-24– “Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also . . . you will also abide in the Son and in the Father” (LSB). The conjunction “and” means two entirely separate and distinctive individuals. A key issue mentioned here is “that Jesus is the Christ”, not the Trinitarian “Jesus is God”, or “Jesus is God the Son”. A parallel verse to these verses is,”Whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9). The Father and the Son are two entirely separate individuals is stressed in 1 John 2:22-24, but especially with the use of the word “both” to describe them in 2 John 1:9. “Both” clearly means “two” (John 8:17,18). What about the holy Spirit? Why is it not mentioned here, if the Trinity doctrine is true? – Because the holy Spirit is not a person, and the Trinity is a false doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3)!
1 John 3:8,16 – “The Son of God appeared . . . . Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (NIV). The scriptures do not say “God appeared”, or “God the Son”. Jesus is never called ‘God the Son’ in the Bible. Almighty God didn’t die, in fact, he cannot die. “My God, my Holy One, you will never die” (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV). “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3 NIV). So that means Jesus can’t be God.
1 John 3:20 – “God is greater than our hearts and knows all things” (NAB). Trinitarians have claimed that since Jesus “searches hearts and minds” (Revelation 2:23 NIV), he must be God, because God knows everything. Almighty God the Father is the only one who “knows all things.” Jesus, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from the things he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8 NAB). Jesus had to ‘learn obedience’, which shows he is not all-knowing, as God is. However, we can see from the definitive phrase, “God . . . knows all things”, God the Father is set apart from everyone else. Indeed, only he is said to have “perfect knowledge” (Job 36:4 NIV).
1 John 3:21-23 – “We have confidence before God and we receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” (NIV). Here, “God” Almighty is clearly shown to be someone other than “Jesus Christ”, and as supreme (“we receive from him”), as the one who grants our requests. Jesus himself said, “the Father is greater than I am” (John 14:28). Jesus Christ is clearly presented as God’s distinctive Son (“his Son”), never as the unscriptural “God the Son,” or as God Almighty. Without the Son being God, and equal to the Father, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
1 John 3:24 – “All who obey his commands keep in union with him, and he does with them; and this is how we know that he keeps in union with us–by the Spirit which he has given us” (AAT). A key component of the Trinity doctrine is the supposed personhood of the holy Spirit. However, the terminology, “the Spirit” is very strong evidence that holy Spirit is not a person. Persons are not referred to as “the.” Notice also that it is referred to as “the Spirit which he has given us,” another clue that the holy Spirit is not a person. “‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh'” (Acts 2:17 NAB). “A portion of my spirit” is not indicative of personhood.
1 John 4:1-3– “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (NKJV). God is shown to be in control, and he wants everyone to acknowledge Jesus as his Son, but not as part of a Trinity.The Trinity teaches that Jesus only had “impersonal human nature”, which Trinitarian technocrats call “anhypostasia”. This contradicts the scriptures which say: “Jesus Christ came as a human being” (1 John 4:2 GNB), “fully human in every way” (Hebrews 2:17 NIV). Anyone proclaiming the “God-man” of Trinitarianism does “not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”.”They preach a different Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT). “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8 LSB). “God is not human” (Numbers 23:19). Since ‘Jesus came to earth as a human’, and “God is not human”, therefore, Jesus can’t be God. Also, a being who is both God and man could hardly be truly human, ‘tempted in all points just as we are’ (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). The doctrine that Jesus was God is incompatible with the scriptural teaching that he was really human. The “God-man,” “Dual-nature” concept of Trinitarianism is, in reality, “a different Jesus” (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT), and “a different kind of good news” (Galatians 1:6 NLT). “The spirit of God” is not indicated to be a person. It is “the spirit of God”, not ‘God the Holy Spirit’, a Trinitarian concocted term, not found anywhere in the scriptures. “God is a spirit” (John 4:24 GWT).
1 John 4:6 – “We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit” (NAB). Trinitarians claim the holy Spirit is a person, the third person of their Triune God. One of the “proofs” they use is turning personifications in the scriptures of the holy Spirit into literalisms to assert the holy Spirit is a person, such as “the spirit of truth” in 1 John 4:6. However, not only is “the spirit of truth” personified in this verse, but so is “the spirit of deceit” personified. Therefore, we do well to ask, “If ‘the spirit of truth’ is a person, why isn’t ‘the spirit of deceit’ a person?” “The “spirit of deception” represents false teachings and the influence of the antichrist, as mentioned earlier in 1 John 4:3. This dichotomy is a recurring theme in Scripture, highlighting the ongoing spiritual battle between truth and error, as seen in Ephesians 6:12” (Bible Hub Study Bible). False doctrines, such as the Trinity, cannot hold up under ‘cross-examination’ (Proverbs 18:17).
1 John 4:9 –“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (LSB; NASB). What do we learn from this verse?
1. “God” is someone other than “His only begotten Son”
2. The greater sends the lesser
3. Someone who is “begotten” had a beginning to their life
4. The Father is older than the Son
“God” is mentioned as being someone other than “his only begotten Son”. God is the sender, and Jesus is the sent one, in this Master-slave relationship. It is not a relationship of equals. The greater sends the lesser. Also, Jesus is said to be “His only begotten Son”, which means he was created. Someone “begotten” has a beginning to their life, and their parents are obviously older. Jesus’ life had an “=&0=&whereas “Yahweh” “God” has existed “from everlasting” (Psalm 90:2 LSB). These scriptural truths eliminate the eternity of the Son aspect of the Trinity doctrine. Without the Son being God, and without the equality and eternity components, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
1 John 4:10 – “Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (NIV). “God” is shown to be someone other than “his Son”. The Master-servant relationship between God the Father and his Son (“God . . . sent his Son”), the fact that Jesus died (“atoning sacrifice”), are both emphasized again, which strongly implies that Jesus can’t be God. Without the Son being God, and without equality and eternity for the Son, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
1 John 4:12 – “No one has ever seen God” (NIV). Contrast this with John’s testimony in his letter that he and others saw Jesus, meaning the Son of God, Jesus Christ, cannot be Almighty God, as we can see from the following scriptures:
·1 John 1:3 – “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (NIV).
1 John 4:13 – “This is the proof that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit” (NJB). “He has given us of his Spirit” (NAB). The Trinity doctrine asserts the holy Spirit is the third person of the supposed Triune God. However, this scripture refers to giving “us a share in his spirit,” or “of his Spirit,” and is a very strong evidence that the holy Spirit is not a person. One cannot be given a share in a person. This is very similar to “God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit'” (Acts 2:17 NAB), and “you . . . were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:13,14 NAB). The holy Spirit is also referred to as “it”and “itself” (John 1:32 ESV; 14:17 NAB; Acts 2:33; 8:15; 11:15 NAB; Romans 8:16.26,27 NAB; 1 Peter 1:11 NAB). Without the holy Spirit being a person, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
1 John 4:14 – “The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world” (NIV). Obviously Jesus and God the Father are two separate and distinct individuals, with God, the sender, being “greater than” “the Son of God” Jesus Christ (John 14:28; 20:31), the Son. Without equality, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
1 John 4:15 – “Jesus is the Son of God” (NIV). Trinitarians claim that Jesus is “God the Son”, the second person of the Triune God. However, in the scriptures, Jesus is never referred to as ‘God the Son,’ as Trinitarians often call him. “God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4 NIV), which means “God” is someone other than “his Son”.
1 John 5:1 – “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who who loves the father loves [also] the one begotten by him” (NAB). Believers are begotten by God by being adopted as his spiritual children. Jesus was begotten by God the Father because he was created by him (“the firstborn of every creature” [Colossians 1:15 KJV]). “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God” (1 John 5:1 NLT). God has children, but no brothers (Romans 8:14; Galatians 3:26; Revelation 21:7). Jesus has brothers, but no children . Christians are God’s children, but are brothers of Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11), which makes God superior to Christ. These are two very different relationships, clearly showing that Jesus cannot be Almighty God.
1 John 5:5 – “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (NIV). Trinitarians would have us believe the main issue is that “Jesus is God”, the second person of the Triune God. However, notice here in 1 John 5:5 that the real issue is believing that “Jesus is the Son of God,” not believing that Jesus is God, or “God the Son”, or part of a Trinity. In the scriptures, Jesus is never referred to as ‘God the Son,’ as Trinitarians often call him. “God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4 NIV), which means “God” is someone other than “his Son”.
1 John 5:6-8—“This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord” (NAB). The Trinity doctrine asserts that the Son of God, “Jesus Christ”, and the ‘holy Spirit’ are both equally and eternally God, along with the Father. Trinitarians are quite inconsistent in their equivocation of terms. In this text, they equivocate “the Spirit” to God. However, “the Spirit” is personified in this text, along with “water and blood”. “Water” stands for baptism, and “blood” stands for Christ’s sacrificial death. “The Spirit” is no more God than “the water and the blood” are God. God didn’t get baptized, and didn’t die either (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV), therefore Jesus could not be God. “The Spirit” is obviously not a person because persons are not referenced as “the,” or “that.”
=&1=&– “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (KJV). “Some late manuscripts of the Vulgate add: testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth: the . (not found in any Greek manuscript before the fourteenth century).” —NIV footnote. So, this is how they got into Bible translations, such as the King James Version (KJV). There is thus zero evidence that these spurious words of 1 John 5:7,8 were originally part of the letter of 1 John. These spurious words weren’t added to any Geek manuscript of 1 John until about 1300 years after the apostle John wrote this Bible book.Trinitarians in the past often used these verses in 1 John to support the Trinity. However, these words are not found in any Greek manuscript before the fourteenth century, and so are considered spurious, and therefore not inspired by God’s holy Spirit. Modern translations usually exclude these words on this textual basis, or put them in either single or double brackets to indicate these words are highly questionable at best, or, they at least they note the manuscript facts in a footnote. These facts are nowadays so widely known that knowledgeable Trinitarians never use these verses in 1 John to support the Trinity anymore.
1 John 5:8 – “the spirit, the water and the blood, and these three agree together.” (NTFE). The Trinity doctrine asserts the holy Spirit is “the third person of the Trinity. However, if “the spirit” is a person, then “the water and the blood” are persons, because they also testify. The obvious fact that “water” and “blood” are not persons, is a clue that “the Spirit” is not a person either. We’ve examined the five verses in 1 John where the holy Spirit is mentioned, and each of them indicates the holy Spirit is not a person. Without the holy Spirit being a person, there is no Trinity. Therefore, the Trinity is not in 1 John. It is a “false doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3,4).
1 John 5:9,10 –“God has testified about his Son” (NLT). Obviously “God” and “his Son” are entirely separate and distinct individuals. “We accept human testimony, but God’s witness is greater, because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony … the testimony God has given about his Son.” (NIV). God’s testimony about “the Son of God”, Jesus Christ, is the strongest, most powerful testimony of all. These two verses make it abundantly clear that “God” is someone other than “his Son”. According to The Forgotten Trinity, Jesus and his Father are both “within the One Being that is God” (p 23). Contrast this with what Jesus said about himself: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified” (John 5:31 NIV). Why? Because, “One witness is not enough” (Deuteronomy 19:15 NIV). Jesus said that, “I am one witness who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me”, thus confirming “the testimony of two witnesses is true” (John 8:17,18 NIV). The scriptures expose the bogus claims of the Trinity doctrine, and prove the impossibility of Jesus being God.
