Is God a "TRINITY"?
The vast majority of Christians believe that God is a Trinity,
composed of three divine persons -- the Father, Son, and the
Holy Spirit! But is this age-old concept, which derives from
the Catholic Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., true? Does the
Bible itself -- the Word of God -- teach that God is composed
of three persons? Where did the "Trinity" doctrine come from?
What is the truth about the divine Godhead? Here is vital truth
you need to understand!
William F. Dankenbring
The overwhelming majority of professing Christians believe that God is a Trinity. They have been taught this doctrine in Sunday School, they sing of it in their hymns, and their pastors and teachers emphasize it continually. They recite it often in the Nicean creed, which forms the basis of belief of many Protestant Churches, as well as the Roman Catholic Church.
Protestant hymns declared, "God in three persons, blessed Trinity." Protestant and Catholic scholars, in their attempt to explain the "Trinity," and how God could be "three persons in one," admit that the concept is "one of the great mysteries of revelation," "transcends the finite comprehension," "incomprehensible," and even "absurd." Says Dr. Herbert Lockyer, "Natural reason may not be able to grasp and explain the Trinitarian conception . . . because the Three-in-One God is beyond our understanding, the truth should not be doubted on account of its mysteriousness . . . Are we not surrounded by mysteries? . . . the one God in three Persons is an audacious conception . . . a divine riddle . . . Granted that there is not prsented a formulated definition of the Trinity . . . the term Trinity is not found in the Bible . . . It is affirmed that the word Trinity itself was first formally used at the synod at Alexandria in A.D. 317 . . . Triads of divinities can be found in MANY RELIGIONS . . . In the Nicene Creed of A.D. 325 we have a Trinitarianism in which the three Persons are divine and are of one substance . .. this sacred doctrine is above reason."
Says the Worldbook Encyclopedia, "Belief in Father, Son and Holy Spirit was first defined by the earliest general council of churches. This was the First Council of Nicaea in 325. This concil declared that the Son is of the same substance as the Fathere. The East and West branches of the church later disagreed as to how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the other divine Persons. The Eastern Church held that the Son comes from the Father and the Spirit comes from the Father through the Son. The Western Church held that the Spirit comes from Father and Son together. Most Christians believe that Father, Son and Holy Sjpirit have equal power and glory. Each has His own activity. The Father creates; the Son saves souls; and the Spirit makes holy" ("Trinity" ).
The Nicaean Council condemned the theological view of Arius, a priest of Alexandria, Egypt, who about 318 A.D. rejected the Trinitarian doctrine and held that Jesus Christ was not divine God, but rather an inferior being created by God to redeem the human race. He believed that both Father and Son were greater than the Holy Spirit. Arianism was condemned by the Council of Constantinople in 381.
Interestingly, the word "Trinity" is nowhere found in the Scriptures -- in either the Old or New Testaments. Jesus never addressed God as a "Trinity," and never spoke of the concept. Nor did any of the early apostles.
A Spurious and Fraudulent Verse!
Some theologians claim that the Trinity doctrine is proved by I John 5:7, where we read in the King James Version: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,s the Word, and the Holy Ghost [Spirit]: and these three are one." That verse might seem rather clear, as supporting a Trinitarian view of the Godhead, except for one major problem -- the verse is absolutely SPURIOUS!
This verse does not belong in the Bible! It was inserted by corrupt scribes during the Middle Ages, with no other purpose than to "provide evidence" for a Trinity belief in the Scriptures. Says the Adam Clarke Commentary:
"But it is likely this verse is NOT GENUINE. It is wanting
in every MS. of this epistle written before the invention of
printing, one excepted, the Codex Montfortiii, in Trinity
College, Dublin: the others which omit this verse amount to
one hundred and twelve.
"It is wanting in both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Ethiopic, the
Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonian, etc., in a word, in all
the ancient versions but the Vulgate; and even of this version
many of the most ancient and correct MSS. have it not. It is
wanting in all the ancient Greek fathers; and in most even of the
"The words, as they exist in all the Greek MSS. with the exception
of the Codex Montfortii, are the following: --
"'6. This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by
water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth
witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7. For there are three that bear
witness, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree in
one. 9. If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is
"The words that are OMITTED BY ALL THE MSS., the above
excepted, and all the versions, the Vulgate excepted, are these: --
"[In heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these
three are one, and there are three which bear witness in earth.]"
Adam Clarke continues, "Any man may see, on examinaing the words, that if those included in brackets, which are wanting in the MSS. and versions, be omitted, thre is no want of connection; and as to the sense, it is complete and perfect without them; and, indeed much more so than with them. "
Clarke says with Dr. Dodd, "that there are some internal and accidental marks which may render the passage suspected; for the sense is complete, and indeed more clear and better preserved, without it. Besides, the Spirit is mentioned, both as a witness in heaven and on earth; so that the six witnesses are thereby reduced to five, and the equality of number, or antithesis between the witnesses in heaven and on earth, is quite taken away. Besides, what need of witnesses in heaven? No one there doubts that Jesus is the Messiah; and if it be said that Father, Son and Spirit are witnesses on earth, then there are five witnesses on earth, and none n heaven; not to
say that there is a little difficulty in interpreting how the Word or the Son can be a witness to himself."
Says the Critical-Experimental Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, of this passage:
"The only Greek MSS., in any form, which support the words
'in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one; and there are three that bear witness in earth,' are
the Montfortianus of Dublin, copied from the modern Latin
Vulgate; the Revianus, copied from the Complutensian Polyglot;
a MS. at Naples, with the words added in the margin by a recent
hand; Ottobonius, 298, of the fifteenth century, the Greek of which
is a translation of the accompanying Latin. ALL THE OLD
VERSIONS OMIT THE WORDS. The oldest MSS. of the
Vulgate omit them, the earliest Vulgate MS. which has them
being Wizanburgensis, 99, of the eighth century."
Where, then, is there any real "proof" of the doctrine and widespread belief that God is a "Trinity," composed of Three Persons? Just what does the Word of Inspired Scripture teach about the nature of God?
A Very Serious Problem for Trinitarians
In the gospel of Matthew we read of the birth of Jesus Christ, "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT" (Matt.1:18).
Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, so he planned to divorce her quietly. "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is CONCEIVED in her is FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins" (Matt.1:20-21, NIV).
These verses pose an excruciating headache for believers in a "Trinity." They constitute an insurmountable, unanswerable paradox! Consider for a moment: Here we read very plainly that it was the HOLY SPIRIT which "conceived" Jesus Christ. If the Spirit were indeed a Person, then, it would have to be the Father of Christ!
That "Person" who begets a "child," is always called the "Father." Since the Holy Spirit beget Christ, if it were a Person, it would be His "Father"! What a head-scratching paradox! How can a baby have TWO FATHERS? On the other hand, if the Father in heaven did NOT beget Christ, but the Holy Spirit did instead, the the "Father" was NOT Jesus' Father! In that case, Jesus was mistaken in His prayers in which He continually addressed His Father in heaven as "Father." Rather, He should have addressed the Holy Spirit as His "Father," if the Spirit is a Person, or one of the Three Persons in the so-called "Trinity"!
What CONFUSION! What a miasmora of spiritual error! What a jumbled up, mixed up, perplexing mess!
The truth is as simple as it is plain. Jesus Christ KNEW who His Father was, and addressed Him in prayers often, praying to His Father in Heaven. He never called the Holy Spirit His "Father," because He knew that the Spirit was NOT A PERSON, but rather the spirit energy or POWER that emanated from God!
The Spirit of God is not a "Person" at all, but is the spirit essence of God, which fills the Universe. It is the spirit energy or Power of God! The archangel Gabriel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the POWER of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
What IS the Spirit of God?
The Holy Spirit is the creative energy of God. David, the Psalmist, wrote, "When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30).
God inspired the prophet Jeremiah to write of Him, "'Am I only a God nearby, 'declares the LORD, 'and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?' declares the LORD. 'Do not I FILL HEAVEN AND EARTH?' declares the LORD" (Jer.23:23-24).
David wrote further of God's Spirit, saying, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast" (Psa.139:7-10).
God's Spirit is like a cloud that fills the Universe. It is invisible, because it is spirit. The naked eye cannot see it. But mankind can see the results of its actions! In the book of Genesis, we find that God used His Spirit in the creation process, to make all things. We read, "In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth . . . And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waterss" (Gen.1:1-2). "And God [Elohim] said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (verse 3).
The word for "God" here is Elohim, a Hebrew word, and means, literally, "the mighty ones." It is a uni-plural word, similar to the English words "church," "assembly," "family." It means more than one, and yet one at the same time. In other words, God is both one and more than one -- He is a Family, with more than one member -- yet all belong to that divine Family! The "Father" is the head of that divine Family; Jesus the "Son" is the firstborn Son, also God, but a different individual or person.
Notice this plurality in the book of Genesis. We read, "Then God said, 'Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground'"(Gen.1:26).
There is only ONE "Elohim," or "God Family," but more than one member in that divine family! At present there are TWO members of that divine family. John was inspired to write, "In the beginning was the Word [Logos], and the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God. He was with God in the beginning.
"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4). John goes on, "The Word BECAME FLESH and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, theglory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (verse 14).
The "Elohim" that created the heavens and the earth, then, was one God, but TWO PERSONS -- the "Father," and the "Word," who later became Jesus Christ! These two, acting together, in concert, created and fashioned the entire Universe!
This same truth is corroborated by the apostle Paul, who wrote of Christ, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For BY HIM all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created BY him and FOR him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Col.1:15-20).
Speaking of the Word, who became the Son of God, the apostle Paul also writes: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of ALL THINGS, and through whom he MADE THE UNIVERSE. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word" (Heb.1:1-3).
Thus two personages compose the "God" of the Bible, the "Elohim" or "Yahveh" of the Old Testament. These two individuals are the One and Only true GOD! They are united in all they do. They act as ONE in everything. There is no disagreement or "falling out" between them. They are ONE harmonious FAMILY!
The Spirit of God is the Spirit essence of which they are composed. Jesus compares it to the wind -- an energetic force which you cannot see or comprehend. He declared to Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:5-8).
God's Spirit energy is invisible, like the wind. However, it is also POWERFUL, like the wind! It goes wherever God directs it, to accomplish His will.
The Word of God not only compares God's Spirit to wind, but also compares God's Spirit to water. Jesus said, "'If anyone is thirst, let him come to me and drink. l Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, STREAMS OF LIVING WATER will FLOW from within him.' By this he meant the SPIRIT, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified" (John 7:37-39).
The Spirit of God is also compared to a solid force. Therefore, like physical matter, which can occur as a gas, liquid, or solid, even so the SPIRIT of God can be displayed in three forms or states, as well -- like the wind (or a gas which fills everything), like the water (a liquid which flows and can be poured out), and like a solid (it is the "solid" agency or form which literally "begets" us as children of God!
On the day of Pentecost, in 31 A.D., God sent His Spirit to come upon each individual of His fledgling new Church. We read, "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the BLOWING of a violent WIND came from heaven and FILLED the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT and began to speak in other tongues [languages] as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:1-4).
The Holy Spirit is that which literally "begets" us. In its "solid" form, it can be compared to the "seed" of the Father which, like the male sperm of human beings, literally "begets" a human child by joining with a female "egg" or "ovum" in a woman's belly. However, God's Spirit begets us by joining with our MIND, and thus making us a "new creature" or "creation" IN CHRIST!
The apostle Paul wrote of this marvelous mystery as follows: "Having believed, you were marked in him with a SEAL, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a DEPOSIT guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of his glory" (Eph.1:13-14).
James wrote, "He chose to give us birth [or, "to beget us," as the original Greek says] through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of FIRSTFRUITS of all he created" (James 1:18, NIV). Actually, the Englishman's Greek New Testament is more accurate here. It says plainly: "Having willed it, he BEGAT us by the word of truth."
The apostle John writes: "Everyone that believes that Jesus is the Christ of God has been BEGOTTEN; and everyone that loves him that BEGAT, loves also him that has been BEGOTTEN of him" (I John 5:1, Englishman's Greek New Testament). John goes on: "We know that anyone that has been BEGOTTEN of God sins not, but he that was BEGOTTEN of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him" (verse 18).
The Spirit of God unites with our mind, and a New Creature is begotten -- a NEW SON OF GOD! Sealed, or begotten, by the Holy Spirit, Christ begins to grow within us. We begin to develop His very own mind and attitude. Paul wrote, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your own self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be MADE NEW in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the NEW self, created to be LIKE GOD in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph.4:22-24).
Paul wrote to the Corinthians about this spiritual process. He declared, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has GIVEN US THE SPIRIT as a DEPOSIT guaranteeing what is to come" (II Cor.5:1-5).
The indwelling of God's Holy Spirit makes us a new man -- a NEW BEING!
As a result of this spiritual process, the apostle Paul wrote, "Thereore, if anyone is in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATION; the old has gone, the new has come!" (II Cor.5:17). The Holy Spirit begetting us, by connecting with our minds, makes us a new SON OF GOD!
But if we don't possess the Spirit of God, then we don't even belong to Christ -- we are not His at all. Paul wrote to the Romans, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, IF the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But IF Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your Spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is LIVING IN YOU, he who raised Christ from the dead will ALSO give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who LIVES in you" (Rom.8:9-11).
Isn't the truth of God perfectly clear?
The Spirit of God is NOT a "Person" at all, but the Power of God -- His creative energy, with which He created all the Universe. This Spirit, like a "gas," fills all space -- the entire Universe. You cannot go anywhere where the Spirit of God does not already exist and is present! But the Spirit-energy of God is also like a liquid, in that it "flows," and can be "poured out" on individuals, and flows through those who have it like a mighty river of living water (John 7:36). It also is like a "solid" in that, like a male sperm cell which unites with a human egg, theSpirit of God unites with a human,
making a NEW SPIRIT CREATION -- a new Son of God!
Paul goes on, explaining this cosmic mystery. He says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are GOD'S CHILDREN [children through a spiritual "begettal," as we are "begotten" by His Spirit!]. Now if we are children, then we are HEIRS -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory" (Rom.8:16-17).
God has called each one of us to BECOME PART OF HIS SPIRITUAL FAMILY!
Paul wrote to the Hebrews, of our awesome, manifest calling, saying, "It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: 'What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care about him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and PUT EVERYTHING under his feet.'
"In putting everything under him, GOD LEFT NOTHING that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
"In bringing MANY SONS TO GLORY, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of THE SAME FAMILY. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them BROTHERS" (Heb.2:5-12).
Did you get that? Even as God has given Jesus Christ ALL AUTHORITY, and RULERSHIP over everything -- the entire UNIVERSE! -- so He has given to all mankind, when they become converted and have His Spirit, and become His spiritual children, to have rulership WITH CHRIST over the ENTIRE FAR-FLUNG COSMOS -- the vast, unending UNIVERSE!
After we are born of God at the resurrection, and become Spirit beings just like He is, we will be "THE SAME FAMILY" -- THE FAMILY OF GOD! Jesus will look upon us as His own BROTHERS in the God Family! We will not be a "lesser" creation, but we will be LIKE HIM!
Isn't that astounding? Incredible? Amazing?
Think about that! We are literally "JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST" of all things God has created -- of the entire CREATION, and everything within it -- the entire cosmos and Universe, with all the galaxies, planets, stars, and beings in
the entire realm of Space!
John wrote of this awesome divine calling, when he said, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called childrens of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see him as he is" (I John 3:1-3).
What is Christ like, today? He is the EXPRESS IMAGE of the Father! (Heb.1:1-2). His face shines with all the glory of the radiant sun in its powerful strength. John describes Him, "His head and hair were white like wool, and white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. . . His face was like the SUN SHINING IN ALL ITS BRILLIANCE" (Rev.1:14-16).
That is what WE will be like, in the resurrection!
Doesn't that very thought boggle your mind? Think of it! Surely, we cannot begin to comprehend the love God has decided to share with us, to make us His very own Sons, and to give us of His very own Spirit as a begettal! We should bow our heads in humble praise, giving glory to God, our Father, and loving Creator in heaven!
A Few Honest Questions Examined
But if the Holy Spirit is not a Person, some will wonder why in various passages of Scripture it refers to the Spirit of God as "He" and "Him." Yet, in other passages, the Spirit of God is referred to as "IT." What is the reason for this ambivalence -- this seeming paradox, and contradiction? Why is the Holy Spirit sometimes referred to as "he"?
Let's understand this mystery, once and for all!
Romans 8:16 says, in the original Greek language in which it was written, "The Spirit ITSELF bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Likewise, in verse 26, we read in the original language: "And in like manner the Spirit also jointly helps our weaknesses; for that which we should pray for according as it behooves, we know not, but the Spirit ITSELF makes intercession for us with inexpressible groanings."
Yet, in another place we read: "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you" (John 16:13-14).
Why is the Spirit called "he" in these verses? The original Greek word translated "he" in many English translations is "ekeinos," is a pronoun, and simply means "THE ONE THERE," "that man, woman or thing." It could just as readily been translated as "it," or "the one there," but the translators chose to use the masculine pronoun "he" instead. It was simply a translation error; the original Greek did not use a masculine pronoun, but a neutral pronoun which simply reflects the noun immediately preceding it -- whether it is a he, she, or it! The translators could just as easily have said "SHE." The fact is, both "he" and "she" would be totally incorrect in this passage, because the noun referred to is simply "Spirit" -- or pneuma in the Greek -- and it is neither a masculine or feminine word, but should take the pronoun "it." However, remember, the translators of most Bible are conditioned to think in terms of the HOLY SPIRIT as a "Person," and so they translated accordingly.
Jesus also told His disciples, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you" (John 14:16). Here the Spirit of truth is called "him," and "he." Why is this?
Then again, in John 14:26 Jesus says: "But the Counselor [Comforter, KJV], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Why does this verse use the pronoun "whom," which would seem to indicate the Counselor, or Holy Spirit, is a "person"?
Also, in John 15:26, Jesus declares: "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." Finally, in the next chapter, Jesus says, "Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment . . ." (John 16:7-8). Here again, we see the words "whom," "who," "he," and "him," in reference to the "Counselor," or Holy Spirit. Why is this?
In this case, the subject of the sentence is the "Counselor" or "Comforter." The "who," "whom," "he," and "him" all refer directly back to the Counselor. The Greek word for Counselor
here is parakletos and means "advocate, intercessor, comforter, consoler." Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon says of this word, "prop. summoned, called to one's side; hence 1. one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defence, legal assistant; an advocate; 2. one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor; 3. in the widest sense, a helper, succorer, aider, assistant; so of the Holy
Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of gospel truth, and to give them the divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom."
In this instance, therefore, the Holy Spirit is compared to a Counselor or personal Advocate, someone who intercedes on our behalf, and who helps and aids us, and leads us into deeper spiritual knowledge. It is "personalized" in the sense of a metaphor. Since the word "Counselor" would take a pronoun such as "who," "whom," "he," or "his," these pronouns are used in this case. They refer to Counselor, however, not to "Spirit," and prove nothing one way or the other as to whether the Holy Spirit is a Person or the active, energetic force or power of God!
We often do the same thing in English, when speaking metaphorically. We often speak of our "flag" as in "let her wave," or our country, "let her remain great." Yet technically, a "flag" is "it" and a country also should be referred to as "it." In this case, since the Holy Spirit is compared to (or metaphorically described as) a "Counselor," it is logical that the Counselor would be described with the maculine or personal pronoun.
Remember, also, that the Holy Spirit, as such, is the SPIRIT OF GOD -- it is an extension of Himself. Since God is in the masculine, and is a Person, when His Spirit is referred to as a Counselor, it would naturally be regarded as being representative of God and therefore would take the masculine or personal pronoun "he," "his," "who," or "whom." What could be clearer than that?
"In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit"
Finally, if the Holy Spirit is not a Person, some might wonder, why does Jesus say in Matthew, in His final instructions to His disciples: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt.28:18-20). Does this verse prove the "Trinity" doctrine?
If this is all the "evidence" there is to support the Trinity, then it is a specious, weak, and unprovable doctrine to be sure. Nothing is said here about the Holy Spirit being a PERSON! Not at all! Think about it. All Jesus really told His disciples, here, is that they are to BAPTIZE people in (or, Greek, eis, meaning "to") the NAME of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What NAME is that?
It is the name of GOD!
Remember, the Father is the Head of the God Family. Jesus is the Word, or Logos, the Son of God the Father -- the Firstborn of many brethren. He, also, is GOD! Finally, the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of GOD." It belongs to no other. Only God can control His Spirit. It is the very essence and Spirit nature and POWER of God -- His creative energy. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, also, is GOD -- although it is not a distinctive "Person" or personality. It reflects the personality of God the Father and the Son! It does whatever they tell it to do. They speak, and it moves. They direct its energy and attention wherever they so desire. But it, also, is GOD!
Therefore, when Jesus told His disciples to baptize people in or to the NAME of the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, " He meant they should baptize people into or to the "NAME OF GOD."
In other words, Jesus told them to baptize people into the GOD FAMILY! When we are baptized, and subsequently receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit, we BECOME family members of the Family of God. God becomes our Father. Jesus becomes our Saviour and eldest Brother. We become the CHILDREN OF GOD! And all of the family of God have one characteristic or attribute in common -- they all have the HOLY SPIRIT!
That is why Jesus told His disciples to baptize people into the NAME of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He was saying to baptize them into the name of GOD -- Elohim, Yahveh -- the true names of God, which describe the God Family!
The Divine Family of GOD
The plain truth is, the Bible nowhere teaches a doctrine of a Triune God -- a God of Three Persons, a "closed triangle." Rather, the Bible teaches that there is a Supreme Family ruling over the entire Universe, presently composed of Two Individuals, both God -- the Father and the Word, or Son. But when we are resurrected, and made immortal sons of God, then we, too, will be part of that Divine Ruling Family -- SONS OF GOD, for ever and ever! Thus the "Godhead" is not limited to a closed "triangle." Rather, it is a growing, expanding FAMILY!
At the head of this Family is God the Father. He is the greatest, as even Jesus Himself testified. Although both Jesus and the Father are "God," the Father exercises greater authority. Jesus declared this to be true when He said: "For the Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). He added, "I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him" (John 13:16). Jesus came as a servant of God, as the messenger of the Father. Therefore, He readily admitted the Father is the greatest in
the God Family. Jesus and the Father are "co-equal" in the sense of both being God, but the Father has greater authority.
This truth is also verified in Corinthians. Paul wrote, "Then the end will come, when he [Christ] hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. . . . When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all" (I Cor.15:24-28, NIV).
So God the Father will be greatest in authority, for all ages; under Him will be Christ; and under them both will be the saints, made immortal, glorified, and given divine powers, so that they, too, will be literal "children of God" and "brothers" of Christ, as very members of the divine Family of GOD!
WHAT AN AWESOME TRUTH!
Can your mind begin to comprehend it?
Satan the devil hates this truth. He has tried to bury it under a mountain of pagan superstition and false doctrine. He has "deceived the whole world" even about the very nature of the Godhead (Rev.12:9). He has convinced the entire world that God is some sort of mysterious "Trinity," so mankind will be ignorant of his true eternal potential and awesome destiny!
Where, then, did the idea of a "Trinity" come from? Since it is not Biblical in origin, can we understand its true source?
The Pagan Trinity
Alexander Hislop declares in The Two Babylons, "In the unity of that one Only God of the Babylonians, there were three persons, and to symbolize that doctrine of the Trinity, they employed, as the discoveries of Layard prove, the equilateral triangle, just as it is well known the Romish church does at this day. In both cases such a comparison is most degrading to the King Eternal, and is fitted utterly to pervert the minds of those who contemplate it, as if there was or could be any similitude between such a figure and Him who hath said: 'To whom will you liken God, and what likeness will ye compare unto Him?'
"The Papacy has in some of its churches, as, for instance, in the
monastery of the so-called Trinitarians of Madrid, an image of the
Triune God, with three heads on one body. The Babylonians had
something of the same. Mr. Layard, in his last work, has given a
specimen of such a triune divinity, worshiped in ancient Assyria
. . . In India, the supreme divinity, in like manner, in one of the
most ancient cave-temples, is represented with three heads on one
body, under the name of 'Eko Deve Trimurtti,' 'One God, three
forms.' In Japan, the Buddhists worship their great divinity Buddha,
with three heads, in the very same form,under the name of 'San
Pao Fuh.' All these have existed from ancient times" (The Two
Thus the doctrine of the Trinity is distinctly pagan in origin! It goes right back to ancient Babylon, that fountain of false religion and religious abominations! The ancient Babylonian trinity was Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz, the illegitimate son of Semiramis. These three were worshipped as the supreme gods of the Babylonian pantheon. Froms them came the Roman trinity of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva about 509 B.C. In 493 a temple was built to the Greek trinity of Demeter, Dioonysus, and Persephone, in the Circus Maximus, under the Latin names of Ceres, Liber, and Libera.
The Babyonian trinity evolved to a faith in the "father," the spirit of the father in the human mother, and the son. Thus, the "spirit" was symbolized by the great earth mother goddess. This concept of the trinity came to be adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. Gradually the Father was displaced, as invisible and in heaven, and worship concentrated on the Mother and the Son -- a vestige of ancient pagan worship as well. After the death of Nimrod, who rebelled against God and was the world's first tyrant after the Flood, Semiramis, his widow, convinced the people that they should worship Nimrod as a god, and herself and her son Tammuz as the other two members of the pagan trinity. Thus the "Mother and child" worship goes all the back to ancient Babylon!
Writes Hislop in The Two Babylons:
"While this was the theory, the first person of the Godhead was
practically overlooked. As the Great Invisible, taking no immediate
concern in human affairs, he was 'to be worshiped through silence
alone,' that is, in point of fact, he was not worshipped by the
multitude at all. The same thing is strikingly illustrated in India at
this day. Though Brahma, according to the sacred books, is the
first person of the Indoo Triad, and the religion of Hindostan is
called by his name, yet he is never worshiped, and there is scarcely
a single temple in all India now in existence of those that were
formerly erected in his honor. So also in those countries of Europe
where the Papal system is most completely developed. In Papal
Italy, as travellers universally admit . . . all appearance of worship-
ing the King Eternal and Invisible is almost extinct, while the
Mother and the Child are the grand objects of worship. Exactly
so, in this latter respect, also was it in ancient Babylon. The
Babylonians, in their popular religion, supremely worshiped a
Goddess Mother and a Son, who was represented in pictures and
in images as an infant or child in his mother's arms. FROM
BABYLON THE WORSHIP OF THE MOTHER AND THE
CHILD SPREAD TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. In Egypt,
the Mother and the Child were worshiped under the names of
Isis and Osiris. In India, even to this day, as Isi and Iswara; in
Asia as Cybele and Deoius; in Pagan Rome as Fortuna and
Jupiter-puer, or Jupiter, the boy; in Greece as Ceres, the Great
Mother, with the babe at her breast, or as Irene, the goddess of
Peace, with the boy Plutus in her arms; and even in Tibet and
China, and Japan, the Jesuit missionaries were astonished to find
the counterpart of Madonna and her child as devoutly worshiped
as in Papal Rome itself; Shing Moo, the Holy Mother in China,
being represented with a child in her arms, and a glory around
her, exactly as if a Roman Catholic artist had been employed to
set her up" (The Two Babylons, p.20-21).
Thus the doctrine of the "Triune God," and the subsequent worship of "Mother and Child," are shown t be utterly and completely PAGAN to the core! What does Almighty God think about this modern worship, which professes to worship Him?
Jesus Christ declared to the people of His day, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They WORSHIP ME IN VAIN; their teachings are but rules taught by MEN'" (Matt.15:7-9).
Such worship is, in the words of Christ Himself, VAIN! It does no good whatsoever! It is a farce -- a fraud -- a fairy tale! It is utterly useless and empty worship, and those who practice it are closer to the Kingdom of Hell than to the Kingdom of Heaven!
Any religious doctrine which stems from ancient Babylon is, in the sight of God, a monstrous hoax and spiritual dynamite, foisted on the world by a devious and mendacious Devil. The apostle John declared:
"After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He
had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
With a mighty voice he shouted: 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the
Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every
evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all
the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The
kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants
of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.'
"Then I heard another voice from heaven say: 'COME OUT
OF HER, MY PEOPLE, so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are
piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give
back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she
has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give
her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave
herself. In her heart she boasts, "I sit as queen; I am not a widow,
and I will never mourn." Therefore in one day her plagues will
overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed
by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her'" (Rev.18:1-
The doctrine of a Triune God is pure paganism, coming from the sink of depravity, Babylon. Those who worship God according to the teachings of Babylon will suffer the plagues of God, and experience His undiluted wrath and fury poured out.
John writes, in the 14th chapter of the book of Revelation, this awesome and serious warning:
"Then I saw another angel flying in mid-air, and he had the eternal
gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth -- to every nation,
tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear GOD and
give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship
him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water'"
In other words, worship the TRUE GOD -- not some Triune pagan relic from the Babylonian past, adopted and "baptized" by the Roman Catholic Church, and all her Protestant "daughter" churches! Don't worship the Babylonian "Madonna and Child" in all their disguies and variations of paganism.
"A second agnel followed and said, 'Fallen! Fallen is Babyon the
Great, which made the nations drink the maddening wine of her
"A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: 'If anyone
worships the beast [modern Rome-Babylon] and his image [the
Roman Catholic Church, patterned after the "beast"] and receives
his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the
wine of God's fury, which has been poured out full strength into
the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulphur
in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the
smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever'" (Rev.14:8-12).
God hates this modernBabylonish religious system, which masquerades as His true Church on the earth. He detests and deplores its pagan practices, and its penchant for calling paganism "Christian," and its synthesizing ancient pagan beliefs with the Bible and calling them "holy." This whole apostate system is a stench in the nostrils of a Holy God!
God describes this modern religious system as the "daughter" of ancient Babylon. She is characterized as a "great prostitute." John writes of her:
"One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and
said to me, 'Come, I will show you the punishment of the
GREAT PROSTITUTE, who sits on many waters. With her
the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of
the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
"Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert.
There I saw a WOMAN sitting on a scarlet beast that was
covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and
ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet,
and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.
She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable
things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written
on her forehead:
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH
"I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints
the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev.17:1-6).
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD [Yahveh] our God, the LORD
[Yahveh] is one. Love the LORD [Yahveh] your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them
as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
It is time we forsake the clever errors palmed off on the world by a cunning Devil, and return to the faith once delivered to the saints. As the apostle Jude wrote, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and URGE you to CONTEND FOR THE FAITH that was once for all entrusted to the saints"(Jude 3). The truth of God has been buried under an avalanche of pagan superstition and fraud, disguised as "Christianity." The great deception was already beginning in the days of the apostle Jude! It is high time we get back to the pure, unadulterated TRUTH!
Jesus Christ said, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the TRUE worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit [that is, "spirit" is the very composition of God], and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24).
Now you have learned the TRUTH about God, His very nature, form, and Godhead. What are you going to do about it? May God help you to worship Him -- in spirit and in TRUTH!