The central idea of this work is this:
The only Person qualified to define the
Godhead is the Almighty God Himself.
We look therefore to those treasured verses in the Bible, where He does just that; reveals to us the essence of His nature in His own words.
Any attempt by man to take on this task will be guaranteed to fall short, as we are but dust and ashes in His sight. He is the Potter, and we are merely the clay. In the past man has made just such attempts in creed and doctrine while blatantly adding to the word of God his (man’s) own feeble words, often inducing error. As if that were not enough, these same extra-biblical writings made hundreds of years after the completion of the Bible have been imposed on others as a litmus test of faith.
But now, let us hear what God declares about the very essence of His nature, again, in His own words.
- Genesis 1:1-2: God, the Spirit of God
This shows how biblical language defies the language of the Trinitarian creeds, such as the Athanasian Creed, by the absence of any mention or explanation of divine “persons” when varying the terminology from “God” to “the Spirit of God,” when referring to the Creator of the universe. These two terms are used synonymously, not complimentarily, when God is first introduced in the opening verses of the Bible. - Genesis 1:26-27 & 3:22-24: God, He, the LORD God
Comparing these two passages of Scripture shows that the proper understanding of the term “us” of Genesis 1:26 is referring to the heavenly hosts as opposed to “three persons” of God. - Genesis 1:26-27 (Part 2): the Image in which man was created
Man was created in the image of God. But some see only a surface level view of what that means, limiting their understanding to a comparison of “our body, soul, and spirit are reflective of a ‘Trinity'”. But are these the true attributes to which God was referring or is there much more? Let’s look. - Deuteronomy 6:4: the LORD our God, One
Directly defines God to Israel as being “one”. - Proverbs 30:5-65: the One whose Word is pure, a Shield to those who trust Him
Here we have warnings from God not to add to His word. This should be strongly considered when reading post-biblical writings, including the late fifth or early sixth century A.D. writing called the ‘Athanasian Creed’ on which the current doctrine of the Trinitarianism is most directly based. - Isaiah 9:6: Child, Son, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
This verse directly calls the Son of God who is prophesied to be born, “the everlasting Father,” in plain, clear, black and white text. No mistake about it! - Isaiah 43:11: I, the LORD, Me, the only Savior
Since God declares that “besides me there is no Savior”, then Jesus Christ must Himself be that very Person of God. - Matthew 18:20: I, the One present in the midst of His people
Shows by implication that Christ Himself is the Person of the Holy Spirit, since He states that it is He Himself in the midst of His believers. - Matthew 28:20: I, the One who is always with His disciples
Since Jesus declares, “I am with you always,” implies that He Himself is the Person of the Holy Spirit. - Luke 1:35: Holy Spirit, the Highest, Holy One, Son of God
Declares that it was the Holy Ghost who overshadowed Mary to cause the conception of the Lord Jesus. Since the Holy Ghost is the father of the child Jesus, then the Person of the Holy Ghost has to be the very Person of the Father. This in itself seals the fact that God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are absolutely one, not multiple persons. - John 1:1 & 1:14: the Word, God, the Word become Flesh, the only begotten of Father
Shows how the term “Son” is misapplied when used before the incarnation of the Word. The accurate term to use for He who became “the Son” prior to Jesus’ birth is “the Word”. - John 4:24: God, Spirit, Him
Definition that “God is a Spirit” as given directly by Jesus Christ. Since God is a Spirit, it is impossible that there be more than one divine Spirit. - John 8:24, 58, 59: I am He, I AM, Him, Jesus
Jesus declares that He is the “I AM”, not the “second person” of a Trinity. - John 14:7-10: Me, My Father, Him, the Father, Jesus, I, Me, the One who dwells in Jesus
Shows how the Person of the Father is the Person of Jesus Christ - John 14:17-18: the Spirit of Truth, Him, the One who dwells with the apostles, the One who would indwell the apostles, I, the One who will not leave us orphans, the One who comes to us
Shows how the Person of Jesus is the Person of the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:9-11: the Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Christ, the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead, He, the life-giver, His Spirit who dwells in you
Directly calls the “Spirit of God”, the “Spirit of Christ” in the same breath. This is highly related to John 14:17. - Colossians 2:8-9: Christ, Him, the fullness of the Godhead, the One in bodily form, Him, the Head of all principality and power
Declares that “all the fullness of the Godhead” was present in Jesus Christ, not “1/3” of a “trinity”. - 1 Timothy 3:16: God manifested in the flesh, the Spirit, the One preached, believed on, and received up in glory
Declares that God Himself was manifested in the flesh, not a “second divine person”. - Hebrews 1:3: the brightness of His [God’s] glory, the express image of His Person, the One who upholds all things by His Word, He, Himself, the One who purged our sins, the One at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the Majesty on high
The only time that the word “Person” appears in the New Testament with reference to God, and it is in the singular form. It is also all-inclusive, referring to the Son, Jesus Christ, as “the exact representation” of the Father’s “Person”. Thus the Person of the Son is the Person Father manifested in visible form. The visible human Person is the “image” and “exact representation” of the invisible divine Person. Note the phrase “exact representation of His Person” once again. Jesus did not come as “three Persons”; He came as a single human Person. Therefore, as “God… manifested in the flesh” and as “the exact representation of His Person,” Jesus Christ, by coming as one Person, reveals that God is only one Person. - 1 John 5:7-8: Father, Word, Holy Spirit, three that are One, not three that agree as one (as in verse 8)
In the incredible difference between the ending of these two verses, the oneness of God’s nature is revealed. This highly questionable verse states that the Father, Word, and Holy Spirit are One, not that they “agree as one,” not one in unity, but one in essence, being, and person. In contrast, they are the three elements of salvation which “agree as one.” The Spirit, the water, and the blood are plurality in unity, but God is one Being who takes on multiple roles. - Revelation 1:8: Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, the Lord, He who is, was, and is coming, the Almighty
Jesus calls Himself directly, “the Almighty”.
Here is a thought to follow this reading of God’s own words describing Himself. It is perfectly natural for men to begin to imagine what God must be like after they learn of Him. They begin thinking of what they might see at the time of Christ’s return, or what they will behold in Heaven, the Millennial Kingdom, etc. But when assuming the huge responsibility of communicating to others the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must constrain ourselves to the use of the same language He uses (the same wording in whatever dialect) and to the same concepts which He has revealed to us. In so doing the church will be speaking the same thing and the same Gospel which we have received commandment from Christ Himself to proclaim.
In limiting ourselves to the use of God’s own definitions of Himself, the church can avoid debates and divisions caused by Scripture-altering, extra-biblical teachings and writings as in the case of the Athanasian Creed and other post-first century representations of Christianity, however popular they might have been then, as well as today. By upholding and remaining in the integrity of God’s Word alone as direct divine revelation, we the church of Jesus Christ will be faithful witnesses of His great salvation.
In the Light 