Millions of people around the world claim to have the “gift of tongues”, and to be able to “speak in tongues”. That the Bible speaks of such a gift is beyond dispute. The New Testament books of Acts and 1 Corinthians contain historical and doctrinal information relating to this gift of the spirit. What about today? Is the miraculous gift of “speaking in tongues” still happening today?
“TONGUES” IN THE EARLY CHURCH
What Were They?
First of all, let’s consider what “speaking in tongues” was in the 1st century. When miraculous “tongues” were first spoken, “there were devout Jews from every nation” present in the crowd, and although “all these people who [were] speaking [were] Galileans . . . each [person in the crowd heard] them in his own native language” (Acts 2:4-8 NAB). In attendance at that gathering of Jews from all around the Roman Empire were people from about 15 diverse areas, who were native speakers of about that many different languages, hearing Galilean Jews “speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves” (Acts 2:4 NJB). These speakers were empowered by the holy Spirit to miraculously speak foreign languages that they did not know. And yet, each person in the crowd heard “them preaching in [their] own native language about the marvels of God” (Acts 2:11 NJB). read more
Which Jerusalem for Christians – “Present”,”Above”, or “Heavenly”?
Many Christians today strongly feel that “Israel according to the flesh” (1 Corinthians 10:18 NAB) is still ‘God’s chosen people”, and that the modern day Republic of Israel has a place in God’s purpose, and fulfilled Bible prophecy when it was established in 1948. They believe that Old Testament prophecies of the restoration of Israel are fulfilling and will be fulfilled in a physical, literal way. Which Jerusalem matters to Christians? This article will consider what the scriptures themselves say.read more
The belief of Karma originated way back in antiquity in India, and, with variations, is held by the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Karma is also popularly believed in the Western world, and some even assert that Karma is a Biblical belief. What we need to know, then, is Karma true? The article on this website entitled, “Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?”, discusses many aspects and ideas of Karma in the light of what the Bible says, so we won’t repeat all that here, but please reference what the article sasy about it. We will, however, further discuss other aspects of Karma in the light of the scriptures in this article.read more
Was Jesus’ body resurrected? What about the sacrifice of Jesus’ body?
We hear much about “the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ,” but very little about the sacrifice of Jesus’ body. Why? Out of 31,000 verses in the Bible, not one of them mentions a resurrection of Jesus’ body. But, how about the sacrifice of Jesus’ body?
“We have been made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time”—Hebrews 10:10 NIV
Most Christian churches and preachers claim that Jesus’ physical body was resurrected. However, the Bible, as we can see above, says that Jesus’ body was sacrificed. What does that mean?read more
Trinitarians focus on a few scriptures in which the holy spirit is personified, which, when taken literally, make it appear to be an actual spirit person. Let’s examine the uses in John of the word spirit, wherever it means the holy spirit.
Is the holy spirit a person in the Gospel of John?
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Were Jesus’ Resurrection Appearances Physical or Spiritual?
What do Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection tell us?
There is no doubt that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:17 NAB). But how was he resurrected? In a physical body, or in a spiritual body? Were his appearances physical or spiritual, as a spirit?
Luke 23:53 – “Placed in a tomb . . . in which no one had yet been laid” (NIV). There could be no mixup about Jesus’ body, because there were no other bodies in this brand new tomb.
“Put to death in the flesh, he was made alive in the spirit” (NAB). “Was physically put to death, but he was made alive in the spirit.” (AAT) “Put to death in the body, but made alive in the Spirit.” (NIV)read more
Was Jesus resurrected as a spirit or with a fleshly body?
It is widely preached and believed that Jesus was resurrected with a physical body. It is even asserted that if one doesn’t believe Jesus was resurrected with a physical body, then that person denies that Jesus was resurrected. According to the Bible, was Jesus resurrected as a spirit or with a fleshly body? Let’s examine the scriptures to find out.
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
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.
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