THE DOCTRINE

       Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6:4,5 Hear, O Israel : The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. The reason we start with Moses is because Moses had a relationship with Jesus unlike most men. Moses was actually for all practical purposes a type of Christ to the children of Israel . On the other hand, the scribes and Pharisees would in turn attempt to probe Jesus with questions in effort to catch Him in error (see Mark 12:13 ). With this in mind, let us pick up on one of their conversations in Mark 12: 28-34 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord; And thou shalt love the Lord your God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all the mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God: and there is no other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, And when Jesus saw that he answered him discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. We should not be surprised here as Jesus quotes scripture from the text Moses wrote in Deuteronomy to respond to the scribes’ question. His response was so precise that no one dared to ask Him any more questions in fear they would be found in error themselves.

       Let us assume that we are the scholars of our day, and we are going to probe Jesus with our questions concerning the trinity (three person) godhead. Let us ask something as simple as, “Jesus, to which of the three should we pray, and to whom should we give the glory to when our prayers come to pass?” Again, we can be certain that Jesus would quote scripture to ensure a precise answer as he did unto the scribe. Quite possibly Jesus may respond, is it not written in Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One. Or, in Isaiah 43:10,11 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior. Then again Jesus may quote Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not told you from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses, Is there a God beside me? Yea, There is no God: I know not any. Or Isaiah 45:5,6 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. Or Isaiah 48:11,12 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel , my called; I am He: I am first, I am also the last. The God of Isaiah says He knows of no other God formed, not before Him, not after Him, not beside Him, and not equal to Him. He is the first, He is the last, none in-between, and He shares His glory with NO OTHER! Jesus Christ was and is in fact the God of Isaiah (see Revelation 1:7,8,11,17,18 and Revelation 22:12 ,13 ). Would we dare ask Jesus any other questions concerning this matter of any other God besides himself? The fact of the matter is monotheism is truth and polytheism is error. We will discern in this chapter whether the teaching of trinity is monotheistic or polytheistic (truth or error).

       The prophet wrote in Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Let us now read this passage again, only this time instead of saying “his name”, let us use Jesus because this is who this is in reference to. Jesus shall be called Wonderful. Jesus shall be called Counselor. Jesus shall be called the Mighty God. Jesus shall be called the Everlasting Father. Jesus shall be called the Prince of Peace. In the mindset of Trinitarian doctrine, Jesus can be called all the above except the Everlasting Father for Jesus (the Son) is a distinct separate person from the Father and from the Holy Ghost. They are incidentally labeled as the 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person of their triune godhead. If we were to ask a Trinitarian who the Prince of Peace is, the answer of course would be Jesus Christ. If we were to ask who the Everlasting Father is, we get quite a variety of answers, but not Jesus Christ. This struggle with truth can only be reconciled by and through a divine revelation of Jesus Christ (see Matthew 16:15 -17 ). Going forward just a bit to the gospel according to Luke 10:21-22 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father: and who the Father is , but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. This revelation is essential or we will stumble at this truth like many did according to the gospel of John. This is evidenced in John 8:19-27 Then they said unto him, where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. Then they said unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I have said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you: But he that sent me is true: I speak to the world those things which I heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. They missed this revelation. Jesus answered their question, which directly pointed them to the Father, but they understood not. Jesus straightly told them that if you do not believe that I am He, attempting to reveal to them who the Father was, they would die in their sins. They missed it because they saw a man claiming to be God, rather than God claiming to be man. They did not get a hold on the idea that the Father robed himself in flesh and was revealing himself through the humanity of Jesus Christ. This fact is brought to light in John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. The reason they say Jesus was a blasphemer is found three verses prior in John 10:30 where Jesus claims I and my Father are One. In the Greek tongue, “one” literally means one another; not with one another, but are one another, as in I am He and He is me one and the same. Thomas and Philip struggled with this same issue in John 14:5-9 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whether thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from hence forth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how saith thou then, shew us the Father. How could they have missed this truth? Since they began to follow Jesus Christ, they still did not understand who he really was! As many as there were in that day that did not understand who Jesus claimed to be, there are as many or maybe more today that do not understand because they are blinded by false doctrine. We have the written Word of God, therefore, we do not have to be without a clear understanding of who Jesus Christ is. Jesus said in John 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Then Jesus states in John12:32 And I, If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Contradiction? No, not if you understand that Jesus and the Father are one and the same. Otherwise you will have to figure out who actually is drawing men to God. Paul wrote to the Galatians in 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of man, neither by man. But by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead:) Jesus said in John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, forty and six years was this temple in building and wilt thou rear it up in three days. But he spake of the temple of his body. Contradiction? No, not if you understand that Jesus and the Father are one and the same. Otherwise, you will have to try to figure out who actually raised Christ from the dead. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Paul also wrote to Timothy in I Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. The Father took upon himself humanity in Christ Jesus. Christ’s human nature always spoke of God as his Father, while God in Christ always claimed to be the Father. Jesus wants us to look past his flesh and see him for who He really is. This is exactly how he addressed Philip. How long have I been with you and yet you do not know me. If you look past my flesh Philip, you will see me for who I really am the Father. If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. If we recall back to the time when God called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of bondage from the Egyptians and Pharaoh, Moses asked the Lord, “Who shall I say has sent me?” The Lord responded, “I AM THAT I AM: Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”(see Exodus 3:14) When I AM manifested Himself in the flesh, He said unto the Jews, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (see John 8:58). Jesus claims to be that I AM shortly after He told them that if you do not believe that I am He ye shall die in your sins.

       We have seen in these passages Jesus Christ as God manifest in the flesh who claimed to be one and the same as the Everlasting Father to the Jews, to Thomas and to Philip. But Jesus does not stop there. He continued to bring forth yet another revelation to light during his conversation with Philip. Let us pick up on it in John 14:15-18 If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not; neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. If you read further down, you will find that the Comforter is the Holy Ghost. Jesus claims in Matthew 18:20 for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. How would it be possible for Jesus to be in the midst of two or three unless He is a Spirit or better yet, the Spirit of truth, which is our Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. To shed more light on this truth, let us read Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost made you overseers, to feed the church of God which He purchased with his own blood. How did the Holy Ghost purchase the church of God with his own blood? The only possible way for this to be true is for Jesus Christ to be the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ claimed to be the Father, He also claimed to be the Holy Ghost. Would this not signify that the Father and the Holy Ghost be the same person? This truth comes to light as we read concerning the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:18-20 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. We have taken into account here that the Holy Ghost causes Mary to conceive which constitutes that He (Holy Ghost) is the Father of the child that is in the womb of Mary. Look at it in this light; if a man should cause a woman to conceive, it would be very difficult for him to explain that some other person is in fact the father of that child. The fact of the matter is he could not do it. This is precisely why the trinity cannot be explained. There simply are not three different people that make up one God. It is impossible to separate the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. These are not co-equal, co-powerful, or co-eternal. These are all one and the same. This is why the scriptures conclude in Colossians 2:9 In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus is not the second person in the godhead, He is not “in the godhead” at all, for the godhead dwells in Jesus Christ.

       If God intended for his followers to believe in a trinity, wouldn’t He have said something like, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is three in one and thou shalt worship us all the same. If God intended for his followers to believe in a trinity, wouldn’t He have claimed to be a triune god or called himself a trinity in His Word. There is not a single place from Genesis to Revelation. You will find only ONE throughout His Word. Jesus claimed to be that one, and was crucified for it. Jesus claims to be the Almighty God; not one-third mighty all mighty (see Revelations 1:7,8). The fact of the matter is truth is found throughout the Holy Scripture. The gospel of John 4:23,24 states But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Ephesians 4:4-6 states There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. I Timothy 2:3-6 states For this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

       If one would take the time to study a little bit of church history, they would find that this trinity doctrine was birthed at the council of Nicea approximately 326 AD. This group moved away from Jesus name and began teaching Father, Son and Holy Ghost as three different persons. You would also find that this group emerged through time and is known today as Roman Catholicism. The Roman Empire changed I AM into we are. Many protested against Roman Catholicism, but as they broke away, they hung onto this particular doctrine. This doctrine is what unites them. This very teaching keeps a multitude of people from the revelation of Jesus Christ. Because of this doctrine, many of the truths in God’s Word are now taught in error especially concerning baptism and salvation. My challenge to the reader is to research the history of the trinity doctrine. It is not found in scripture, it was not taught by the apostles, it was introduced in 326 AD by Constantine, and is held dearly as truth in Roman Catholicism. These simple facts alone ought to make one question its’ validity. The very word “trinity” is not mentioned one time in the Word of God. If this was a valid doctrine, surely it would have been mentioned somewhere. The fact of the matter is Jesus claims that He knows of no other God formed. Jesus said that He is the first and the last, and there is none other beside Himself. Is it any wonder why trinity is not mentioned in the Word of God. The scripture testifies of Jesus Christ, to which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord of all! Scriptures never teach that we will bow a knee to a Father, Son, and Holy Ghost trinity godhead.

In JESUS NAME, Amen.