"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." -- Philippians 1:2 (ESV)Paul is clear about his understanding of God and Jesus. This is not unlike the greeting in all of his other New Testament epistles. He consistently refers to God and Jesus as separate; one who is God and the other who is Lord. An introduction like this would be inappropriate if he thought Jesus was God. If that was his understanding, He certainly doesn't convey the message very well!
Are we really to believe that Paul was purposefully vague about the Trinity so that later generations could have this truth revealed to them? No. Paul clearly understood WHO God is. To Paul, God is the Father, the only God, and Jesus is His Son, the Christ (Messiah), who is Lord, but not equal in any sense. (see 1Cor 8:5-6; 1Tim 2:5) The Bible simply does not support the teaching of a Triune God, or the dual nature of Christ as both human and yet fully God. All scholars agree that NO Bible Scripture explicitly teaches any facet of the Trinitarian doctrine, it is understood that it came to its apex after the 3rd century Council of Nicaea, presided over by the Roman Emperor Constantine. History clearly shows that the trinitarian view of God was not accepted by all believers, and even rejected several times in later years by other Councils.
Brothers and sisters, the doctrine of the Trinity is at odds with the plain words of the Bible. Why is this so difficult to see and understand? Having been there myself, for almost 40 years, I still have trouble wrapping my brain around a reasonable answer to this question. How did I miss it all those years? I think the truth may be that I didn't miss it at all, I simply chose to ignore it. And, I think also, that this may be true for most common people who claim to love and believe the Bible. We read passages like this and wonder; how does this reconcile with the teaching that Jesus is God? But then we satisfy ourselves with the standard arguments we've always heard; "it's a mystery", or "you have to take it by faith", then go on as though it didn't say what it says.
I thank God that I have been able to perceive reality, the reality that is clearly stated in Scripture but overlooked by so many, for so many years, about the true nature of God and his Son, Jesus. There is no mystery! The truth is apparent if we will read the Bible for what it says and not for what we've been taught. And I am encouraged greatly to know that there are many others out there, just like me, who also embrace this truth.
The thought that comes to me over and again, is what Jesus said when he spoke to the woman at the well in John 4. He said,
"...You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!" -- John 8:32 (ESV)I thank God that I was freed from the curse of sin through faith in Jesus! But the truth, as clearly revealed in Scripture, has enlightened me to the fact that, having become a christian, I also became bound to an error. Further, this error was responsible for a gripping fear that said: "If you don't confess that Jesus is God, you cannot be saved." But I was bound by an ideology that was never taught by Jesus or his early disciples! The Bible does not command us to confess Jesus as God, but as Lord, and that God raised him from the dead! (Rom 10:9-10) Thank God I am no longer bound by that unfounded fear.The truth that the Father alone is truly God has made the Scriptures come alive to me in a new way! I now readily see what the Bible says in certain passages, rather than skimming over verses that just didn't fit what I was taught to believe. The Bible finally makes sense when viewed from this perspective, and I find a cohesion in its message, throughout, that I couldn't find before.
In the passage I mentioned above, Jesus explained to the woman that "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." (Jn 4:24) What does this mean? First, I contend that worshipping God in spirit essentially means to worship him from the heart, the inner most being, as opposed to a certain form, ritual, or ceremony (neither this mountain nor in Jerusalem - Jn 4:21). But I also think it means to worship Him in accordance with Jesus' own message. In addition to saying "God is spirit" he also said "...The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63) If His words are spirit, it is because they are God's words which He gave to Jesus. They are words of life which God, THE Spirit, gave to Jesus who faithfully spoke them from the heart!
Further, we must worship God in truth! The words "spirit and truth" are combined here to suggest not only that worship must come from the heart, but that it must also be in accordance with Jesus own revelation to us about who God the Father is. It is impossible to obey this command if we fail to understand Jesus own words concerning The Father.
"One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ -- Mark 12:28-30 (NASB)
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." --Mk 13:32 (ESV)
"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" -- Jn 5:44 (ESV)
"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." -- Jn 17:3 (ESV)
"Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” -- Jn 20:17 (ESV)This is but a few of the Scriptures that clearly debunk, from Jesus own perspective, the teaching that God is a Trinity and Jesus is both God and man. When the evidence from the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament epistles is taken into account, it is overwhelmingly contrary to the teaching of the Trinity!
Brothers and sisters, open your eyes and be free from the bondage of an erroneous doctrine that has ruled over the minds of the christian masses for far too long. May the God of Jesus reveal this truth to you.
