<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial">Comentario:</font><HR>Originalmente enviado por HUGO RICO VILLANUEVA:
Muy agradecido hermano Jetonius por sus indicaciones, así como su amplio comentario, que ciertamente aportan mucha información que puede aumentar nuestro acervo cultural. Pero dista mucho de proporcionar la revelación Divina que se requiere para este asunto.
Primeramente déjeme manifestarle por principio y por orden de donde nace mi inquietud. DIOS ES LUZ, Y NO HAY NINGUNAS TINIEBLAS EN EL.( 1ª DE JUAN:5 ) . Creo fírmente que Dios se a expresado clara y llanamente a través de su palabra. Y a permitido por medio de su Espíritu manifestar todos los misterios a su Iglesia. Dentro de ellos el misterio mas grande que es Jesucristo. También creo que LA EXPOSICION DE TUS PALABRAS ALUMBRA ; HACE ENTENDER A LOS SIMPLES ( SAL 119 : 130 ) . De la misma forma Pablo nos dice: PORQUE NO OS ESCRIBIMOS, OTRAS COSAS DE LAS QUE LEÉIS, O TAMBIÉN ENTENDÉIS; Y ESPERO QUE HASTA EL FIN LAS ENTENDERÉIS. ( 1ª COR. 2:13 ) .En base a esta premisa y afirmaciones de la palabra yo parto a creer no, de un termino sino de un concepto. Y los conceptos que en ella se vierten son muy claros, no comprendo porque la insistencia en afirmar mediante retórica mal fundada, frases elaboradas y alguno que otro poema ( este no fue enviado por usted ). Una doctrina que para muchos a pasado a ser un dogma que no permite mayor transacción.
A continuación me permito citarle algunos pasajes que para mi confirman la unicidad de Dios.
Así dice Jehová Rey de Israel, y su Redentor Jehová de los ejércitos; Yo soy el primero, y yo soy el postrero, Y FUERA DE MI NO HAY DIOS.
No temáis, no os amedrentéis ;¿no te lo hice oír desde la antigüedad, y te lo dije? Luego vosotros sois mis testigos. NO HAY DIOS SINO YO, NO HAY FUERTE; NO CONOZCO NINGUNO. ( ISAíAS 44:6-7).
Estas cualidades Dios las a expresando en su Hijo como un acto de su suprema voluntad, en ISAÍAS 42:1-9 nos presenta a su ungido, ciertamente participando de su naturaleza Divina, compartiendo su Gloria pero en total dependencia de la fuente He puesto sobre el mi Espíritu, Yo te sostendré, Yo te guardare, Te pondré por pacto al pueblo por Luz a las naciones.
Jesús mismo profetisa acerca de su venida en Mateo 16:27; Porque el Hijo del Hombre vendrá en la Gloria de su Padre con sus ángeles.
1ª de Corintios 15 :23-28 Nos dice ; Pero cada uno en su debido ORDEN : CRISTO LAS PRIMICIAS ; luego los que son de CRISTO en su venida.
Luego el fin, cuando ENTREGUE EL REINO AL DIOS Y PADRE, cuando haya suprimido todo dominio, toda autoridad y potencia.
Porque preciso es que el reine hasta que haya puesto a todos su enemigos debajo de sus pies.
Y el postrer enemigo que será destruido es la muerte.
Porque todas las cosas las sujeto delante de sus pies, y cuando dice que todas las cosas han sido sujetadas a él, CLARAMENTE se EXCEPTÚA A AQUEL que sujeto a el todas las cosas.
Pero luego que todas las cosas le estén sujetas, ENTONCES TAMBIEN el Hijo mismo se SUJETARA al que le sujeto a él todas las cosas, para que Dios sea TODO en todos.
Y vea Hermano que en este pasaje nos habla del CRISTO ya Glorificado, y aun la dependencia se sigue manifestando en el Supremo Dios. En Apocalipsis 1:1 nos dice La revelación de Jesucristo que DIOS LE DIO. La omnisciencia es cualidad total de Dios, pero a el le agrado participar de toda su plenitud, de toda su riqueza, y sabiduría ( EFESIOS :1, COLOSENSES : 1 Y 2 , HEBREOS : 1 Y 2. ) Y en esta forma podemos apreciar mas grandemente la Gracia de Dios por haberse echo tan accesible a nosotros a través de su Hijo. Porque el es el resplandor de su Gloria, y la imagen misma de su sustancia.
Jesucristo es Dios ( Pero no es triuno ) Yo y el Padre, UNO SOMOS JUAN 10:30.
El Espíritu es Dios ( Pero no es triuno ) Dios es Espíritu.
Concluyendo : Pablo afirma en 1ª de Corintios 8:6 Para nosotros, sin embargo, solo hay un Dios, el Padre, del cual proceden todas las cosas, y nosotros somos para él; y un Señor JESUCRISTO, por medio del cual son todas las cosas, y nosotros por medio de él.
DIOS LE GUARDE
[/quote]
Estimado Hugo:
Me alegro que busque usted la claridad, pero se dará cuenta que hay asuntos intrínsecamente complejos, y no se me ocurre uno más complejo que el ser de Dios.
Se puede encontrar un buen tratamiento de la Trinidad en los textos de teología sistemática, como por ejemplo el de Luis Berkhof.
Tengo a mano un estudio que alguna vez empecé a traducir pero que nunca concluí.
Presenta abundantes textos bíblicos para estudio, y tal vez le sea de utilidad. Entre tanto, veré qué más puedo hallar.
Bendiciones en Cristo,
Jetonius
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LAS BASES BIBLICAS DE LA DOCTRINA DE LA TRINIDAD
CHRISTIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
Un estudio esquemático por Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
1. HAY UN SOLO DIOS
A. Un Dios, afirmaciones explícitas:
1. OT: Deut. 4:35, 39; 32:39; 2 Sam. 22:32; Isa. 37:20; 43:10; 44:68; 45:5, 14, 2122; 46:9
2. NT: Rom. 3:30; 16:27; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6; Gal. 3:20; Efe. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2:5; Sant 2:19; Jud 25
B. Nadie como Dios
1. Afirmaciones explícitas: Ex. 8:10; 9:14; 15:11; 2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Chr. 17:20; Sal. 36:8; 1 Rey. 8:23; Isa. 40:18, 25; 44:7; 46:5, 9; Jer.10:6-7; Miq 7:18
2.Ser como Dios es mentira satánica: Gen. 3:5; Isa. 14:14; Juan 8:44
3.Fallen man became "like God" only in that he took upon himself to know good and evil, not that he acquired godhood: Gen. 3:22
C. False gods (idols) are not gods at all: Deut. 32:21; 1 Sam. 12:21; Psa. 96:5; Isa. 37:19; 41:2324, 29; Jer. 2:11; 5:7; 16:20; 1 Cor. 8:4; 10:19-20
D. Demons, not gods, are the powers behind false worship: Deut. 32:17; Psa. 106:37; 1 Cor. 10:20; Gal. 4:8
E. Men and God are opposite, exclusive categories 1.Num. 23:19; Isa. 31:3; Ezek. 28:2, 9; Hosea 11:9
2.Matt. 19:26; John 10:33; Acts 12:22; 1 Car. 14:2
F. Powerful, mighty men and spirits are not gods
1.Men: Ezek. 28:2, 9; Isa. 31:3; 2 Thess. 2:4
2.Angelic and demonic spirits: 1 Car. 10:20; Gal. 4:8
G. Are men meant to be gods or like God?
1. The image of God indicates that man is to represent God and share His moral character, not that man can be metaphysically like God: Gen.1:26-27; 5:1; 1 Cor. 11:7; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10
2. The goal of being like Christ has the following aspects only:
a. Sharing His moral character: 1 John 3:2; Rom. 8:29
b. Being raised with glorified bodies like His: Phil. 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:49
3. Becoming partakers of the divine nature refers again to moral nature ("having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust"), not metaphysical nature: 2 Pet. 1:4; see also Heb. 12:10; on the meaning of "partakers," see 1 Cor. 10:18, 20; 2 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 5:1
H. Are men ever considered to be gods?
1. Moses was "as God," not really a god: Ex. 4:16; 7.-I
2. The elohim before whom accused stood in Exodus was God Himself, not The-judges, as many translations incorrectly render: Ex. 22:8-9, 28; compare Deut. 19:17
3. The use of elohim in reference to the judges in Psalm 82, as cited by Jesus in John 10:34-36, does not mean that men really can be gods
a. It is Asaph, not the Lord, who calls the judges elohim in Psa. 82:1, 6. This is important, even though we agree that Psa. 82 is inspired.
b. Asaph's meaning is not, "Although you are gods, you will die like men" (which is how Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc. read it), but rather, "I called you gods, but in fact you will all die like the men
that you really are."
c. Thus, Psa. 82:1 calls the judges elohim in irony. They had quite likely taken their role as spelled out in Exodus and Deuteronomy to mean they were elohim, or gods, and Asaph's message is that these
so-callet-gods were mere men who would die under the judgment of the true elohim (vss. 1-2, 7-8).
d. Christ's use of this passage in John 10:34-36 does not negate the above interpretation of Psalm 82.
e. The words, "the Scripture cannot be broken," means "the Scripture cannot go without having some ultimate fulfillment" (cf. John 7:23; Matt. 5:17). Thus Jesus is saying that what the OT judges were called
in irony, He is in reality; He does what they could not do, and is what they could never be (see the Adam-Christ contrasts in Rom. 5:12-21 and 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 45 for a similar use of OT Scripture).
f. The clause, "those against whom the word of God came" (John 10:35) shows that this "word" was a word of judgment against the so-called gods; which shows that they were false gods, not really gods at all.
g. Finally, these wicked men were certainly not "godlike" or "divine" by nature, so that in any case the use of elohim to refer to them must be seen as figurative, not literal.
I. Other so-called gods
1. Satan: he is a false god, as are all demonic spirits (see G.2. above): 2 Cor. 4:4
2. The belly: a false god, when we allow our appetite to be our master: Phil. 3:19
3. Angels: ?as. 8:5 is paraphrased in Heb. 2:7, not quoted literally (cf. Psa. 68:18 with Eph. 4:8). In Psa. 8:5, elohim certainly means God, not angels, since Psa. 8:3-8 parallels Gen. 1:1, 8, 16, 26-28. Note that the Psalmist is speaking of man's exalted place in creation, whereas Hebrews is speaking of the lower place taken by Christ in becoming a man.
II. THIS ONE GOD IS KNOWN IN THE OT AS JEHOVAH, OR YAHWEH ("THE LORD")
A. Texts where Jehovah is said to be elohim or el: Deut. 4:35, 39; Psa. 100:3; etc.
B. Texts where the compound "Jehovah God" (Yahweh Elohim) is used: Gen. 2-3; 9:26; 24; Ex. 3:15-18; 4:5; 2 Sam. 7:22, 25; etc.
III. GOD IS A UNIQUE, INCOMPREHENSIBLE BEING
A. Only one God, thus unique: see I.A.
B. None even like God: see I.B.
C. God cannot be fully comprehended: 1 Cor. 8:2-3
D. God can only be known insofar as the Son reveals Him: Matt. 11:25-27; John 1:18
E. Analogical language neede to describe God: Ezek. 1:26-28; Rev. 1:13-16
F. God is transcendent, entirely distinct from and different than the universe, as the carpenter is distinct from the bench
1. Separate from the world: Isa. 40:22; Acts 17:24
2. Contrasted with the world: Psa. 102:25-27; 1 John 2:15-17
3. Created the world: Gen. 1:1; Psa. 33:6; 102:25; Isa. 42:5; 44:24; John 1:3; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 1:2; 11:3
IV. THE FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST IS GOD
A. Explicit statements: John 17:3; 1 Cor. 3:6; etc.
B. The expression, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Cor.1:3; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3
V. JESUS CHRIST IS GOD
A. EXPLICIT STATEMENTS:
1. Isa.9:6; note 10:21. Trans. which render "mighty hero" etc. are inconsistent in their rendering of 10:21.
2. John 1:1. Even if Jesus here is called "a god" (NWT), since there is only one God, Jesus is that God. However, the NWT rendering is a mistranslation.
3. John 1:18. The best manuscripts have "the unique God" (monogenes, frequently rendered "only-begotten," actually means "one of a kind," "unique").
4. John 20:23. Compare Rev. 4:11, where the same construction is used in the plural ("our") instead of the singular ("my"). Note that Christ's response indicates that Thomas's acclamation was not wrong.
5. Acts 20:28: "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." All other renderings are attempts to evade the startling clarity and meaning of this passage.
6. Rom. 9:5. While grammatically this is not the only possible interpretation, the consistent form of doxologies in Scripture, as well as the smoothest reading of the text, supports the identification of
Christ as "God" in this verse.
7. Titus 2:13. Grammatically and contextually, this is one of the strongest proof-texts for the deity of Christ. Note 2:10.
8. Heb. 1:8. The rendering, "God is your throne," is nonsense - God is not a throne, He is the one who site on the throne!
9. 2 Pet. 1:1. The same construction is used here as in Titus 2:13; see the parallel passages in 2 Pet. 1:11; 2:20; 3:2, 18.
10. I John 5:20. Note that the most obvious antecendent for "this" is Jesus Christ. Also note that the "eternal life" is Christ, as can be seen from 1:2.
B. JESUS IS JEHOVAH/YAHWEH:
1. Rom. 10:9-13. Note the repeated "for," which links these verses closely together. The "Lord" of 10:13 must be the "Lord" of 10:9, 12.
2. Phil. 2:9-11. In context, the "name that is above every name" is "Lord" (vs. 11), i.e., Jehovah.
3. Heb. 1:10. Here God the Father addresses the Son as "Lord," in a quotation of Psa. 102:25 (cf. 102:24, where the person addressed is called "God").
4. 1 Pet. 2:3. This verse is nearly an exact quotation of Psa. 34:8a, where "Lord" is Jehovah. From 1 Pet. 2:4-8 it is also clear that "the Lord" in v. 3 is Jesus.
5. 1 Pet. 3:14-15. These verses are a clear reference to Isa. 3:12-13, where the one who is to be regarded as holy is Jehovah.
C. JESUS HAS THE TITLES OF GOD
1. Titles belonging only to God
a. The first and the last - Rev. 1:17; 22:13; cf. Isa. 44:6
b. King of kings and Lord of lords - 1 Tim. O':15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16
2. Titles belonging in the ultimate sense only to God
a. Savior - Luke 2:11; John 4:42; 1 John 4:14; cf. Isa. 43:11; 45:21-22; 1 Tim. 4:10
b. Shepherd - John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; cf. Psa. 23:1; Isa. 40:11
c. Rock - 1 Cor. 10:4; cf. Ise. 44:8
D. JESUS RECEIVES THE HONORS DUE TO GOD ALONE
1. Honor - John 5:23
2. Love - Matt. 10:37
3. Prayer - John 14:14; Acts 7:59-60 (compare Luke 23:34, 46); Rom. 10:12-13; 1 Cor. 1:2;
4. Worship (proskuneo) - Matt. 28:17; Heb. 1:6 (compare Psa. 97:7)
5. Service (latreuo) - Rev. 22:3-4
6. Faith - 3-16; 14:1; etc.
E. JESUS DOES THE WORKS OF GOD
1. Creation - John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 3:14 (compare Rev. 21:6); cf. Rom. 11:36; Heb. 2:10; Isa. 44:24
2. Salvation - see C.2.a.
3. All of God's works -- John 5:17-19
F. JESUS HAS THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
1. All of them - John 1:1; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3
2. Self-existent - John 5:26
3. Immutable - Heb. 13:8
4.Eternal - John 1:1; 3:58; 17:5; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:2
5.Omnipresent - Eph. 1:23; 4:10; Col. 3:11; Matt. 18:20; 28:20
6. Incomprehensible - Matt. 11:25-27
G. OBJECTIONS
1. Prov. 8:22. This text does not refer to Christ as wisdom (compare all of Prov. 1-9, esp. 8:12-21; 9:1-6), and simply is a poetic way of saying that God "got" His wisdom before He did anything - that is, God
has always had wisdom.
2. Col. 1:15. "Firstborn of all creation" does not mean "first creation," otherwise Paul's next statement ("because everything was created in Him and for Him") does not follow.. Instead, it means he is the eventual owner or heir of all creation.
3. Rev. 3:14. "Beginning" in Revelation as a title means source or one who begins, i.e., Creator (Rev. 21:6).
4. 1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28. Jesus is still subordinate to God, but as the Son to the Father; i.e., they are equal in nature, but the Son is subordinate in His relationship to the Father.
5. John 20:17; Rev. 3: 2; etc. Jesus calls the Father "My God" because He is still Man as well as God. Note the distinction between "My God" and "your God" in John 20:17.
6. Mark 13:32. Jesus' statement that He did not know the time of His return is to be explained by His voluntary acceptance of the humble form and likeness of a man (Phil. 2:6-8); He does not repeat this statement when asked after His resurrection (Acts 1:6-7).
7. Mark 10:17-13. He does not deny being God, but simply says that the man has no business calling anyone other than God "good" in an unqualified sense.
VI THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD
A. Equated with God or the Lord - Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17-18; etc.
B. A person - John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; etc.
C. Objections
1. Can a person "fill" a human being? Yes, if that person is spirit (John 13:27).
2. Why is the Holy Spirit manifested as a dove, a tongue of fire, etc.? Because He is incorporeal.
3. How can a person be "poured out" (Acts 2:17, etc.)? This is a metaphor, and speaks specifically of the gifts of the Spirit's manifestation, not the Spirit Himself.
VII THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT ARE DISTINCT PERSONS
A. MATT. 28:19
1. "the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit": use of definite article before each personal noun indicates distinct persons unless explicitly stated otherwise; compare Rev. 1:17; 2:8, 26.
2. Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongites, etc., argue that "Father" and "Son" are distinct persons but "Holy Spirit" is not a person at all; Oneness Pentecostals argue that all three are different offices or roles
of one person. Both views are impossible in view of the grammar.
3. Does singular "name" prove that the three are one person? No; compare Gen. 5:2; 11:4; 48:6; and especially 48:16!
4. "Name" need not be personal name, may be title: Isa. 9:6; Matt. 1:23. If a single personal name is sought, the name shared by all three persons is "Yahweh" or "Jehovah."
B. ACTS 2:38 AND MATT. 28:19
1. Neither passage specifies that certain words are to be spoken during baptism; nor does the Bible ever record someone saying, "I baptize you in the name of.... 11
2. Those said to be baptized in the name of Jesus (whether or not the formula "in the name of Jesus" was used) were people already familiar with the God of the OT:
a. Jews: Acts 2:5, 38; 22:16
b. Samaritans: Acts 8:5, 12, 16
c. God-fearing Gentiles: Acts 10:1-2, 22, 48
d. Disciples of John the Baptist: Acts 19:1-5
e. The first Christians in Corinth were Jews and God-fearing Gentiles: Acts 18:1-8; 1 Cor. 1:13
3. Trinitarian formula for baptism (if that is what Matt. 28:19 is) was given in context of commissioning apostles to take the gospel to "all the nations," including people who did not know of the biblical God.
C. FATHER AND SON ARE TWO PERSONS
1. The salutations: Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; 6:23; Phil. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 These. 1;1, 2; 1 Tim. 1.,l, 2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Tit. 1:4; Phm. 3; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:2; 2 John 3.
2. Two witnesses: John 5:31-32; 8:16-18; compare Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:15.
3. The Father sent the Son: John 3:17; Gal. 4:4; 1 John 4:10; etc.; compare John 1:6; 17:18; 2 C:21.
4. The Father and the Son love each other: John 3:35; 14:31; 17:23-26.
5. The Father speaks to the Son, and the Son sdeaks to the Father: John 11:41-42; 12.28; 17:1-26; etc.
D. JESUS IS NOT GOD THE FATHER
1. Isa. 9:6. "Father of eternity" means eternal; compare other names formed with word "father":
a. Abialbon, "father of strength" strong (2 Sam. 23:31)
b. Abiasaph, "father of gathering" gatherer (Ex. 6:24)
c. Abigail, "father of exultation" exulting (1 Chr. 2:16)
2. John 10:30
a. Jesus did not say, "I am the Father," nor did He say, "the Son and the Father are one person."
b. The first person plural esmen ("are") implies "we," thus two persons.
c. The neuter word for "one" (hen) is used, implying essential unity but not personal unity (compare John 17:21-23).
3. John 5:43
a. Oneness interpretation: Jesus' coming in His Father's name means He was the Father because He had the Father's name.
b. Actual meaning: Others come in their own name (or their own authority), but Jesus does not; He comes in His Father's name (on His Father's authority).-
4. John 14:6-11
a. Jesus and the Father are one being, not one person.
b. Jesus said, "I am in the Father," not, "I am the Father."
c. The statement, "The Father is in Me," does not mean Jesus is the Father; compare John 14:20; 17:21-23.
5. Colossians 2:9
a. Oneness argument: The Godhead, which is the entire being of God, is in Jesus; Jesus is not in the Godhead.
b. Trinitarian interpretation: "Godhead" means Deity, the state of being God, the nature of God; thus Jesus is fully God, but not the only person who is God. Since Oneness makes "the Godhead" = the Father, they cannot say that Jesus is "not in the Godhead," since Jesus is in the Father (John 10:38; 14:10, 11; 17:21).
E. THE SON EXISTED BEFORE HIS INCARNATION, EVEN BEFORE CREATION.
1. Prov. 30:4. This is not a predictive prophecy; "prophecy" in 30:1 translates massa, which is rendered elsewhere as "burden."
2. The Son created all things: see V.E.l.
3. Jesus was "with" (pros or para) God the Father before creation: John 1:1; 17:5; pros in John 1:1 does not mean "pertaining to," although it does in Hebrews 2:17; 5:1.
4. These statements cannot be dismissed as true only in God's foreknowledge.
a. We are all in God's mind before creation; yet such passages as John 1:1, John 17:5 clearly mean to say something unusual about Christ.
b. To say that all things were created through Christ means He must have existed at creation.
c. No one else in Scripture is ever said to have been with God before creation.
F. JESUS IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. The Holy Spirit is "another Comforter" (John 14:16; compare 1 John 2:1).
2. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; 16:7).
3. The Holy Spirit exhibits humility (John 16:13) and seeks to glorify Jesus (John 16:14).
4. The Son and the Holy Spirit are distinguished as two persons in Matt. 23:19.
5. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus (Luke 3:22).
6. Texts commonly used to prove that Jesus is the Holy Spirit
a. 2 Cor. 3:17 - the Spirit is here called "Lord" in the sense of being Yahweh or God, not Jesus; note Acts 28:25-27 of. Isa. 6:s-lo.
b. 1 Cor. 15:45 - Jesus is "a life-giving Spirit," not in the sense that He is the Holy Spirit whom He sent at Pentecost, but in the sense that He is the glorified God-man; and as God, He is Spirit by nature.
All three persons of the Trinity are Spirit, though there are not three divine Spirits; and only one person is designated "the Holy Spirit."
c. Rom. 8:27, 34 - the fact that two persons intercede for us is consistent with the fact that we have two Advocates (John 14:16; 1 John 2:1).
d. John 14:18 - Jesus here refers to His appearances to the disciples after the resurrection (compare 14:19), not to the coming of the Spirit.
G. THE FATHER IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. The Father sent the Holy Spirit (John 14:15, 26; 15:26).
2. The Holy Spirit intercedes with the Father for us (Rom. 8:26-27).
3. The Father and the Holy Spirit are distinguished as two persons in Matt. 23:19.
4. Arguments commonly used to prove that the Father is the Holy Spirit.
a. Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35 - it is argued that the Holy Spirit is the Father of the incarnate Son of God; this argument ignores the fact that the "conception" is not a product of physical union between a man and a woman!
b. The Father and the Holy Spirit are both said to be active in various activities: the resurrection of Jesus (Gal. 1:1; Rom. 8:11), comforting Christians (2 Cor. 1:3-4; John 14:26). sanctifying Christians (Jude 1; 1 Peter 1:2), etc. The most these facts prove is that the two work together; they do not prove the two are one person.
VIII. Conclusion: The Bible teaches the Trinity
A. All the elements of the doctrine are taught in Scripture
1. One God
2. The Father is God
3. The Son is God
4. The Holy Spirit is God
5. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons
B. The Bible does not forbid using extrabiblical language to define and describe biblical truth.
C. The Bible teaches that "the faith" (which would include the nature of the object of faith, namely God) was "delivered once for all to the saints" (Jude 3). Therefore any religious movement that claims to have restored the true doctrine of God through any kind of revelation is unbiblical:
1. Joseph Smith in 1844 claimed that God was revealing at that time that there were many Gods.
2. The Jehovah's Witnesses claimed in the late 1800s that God had chosen that time to restore true worship of Jehovah to the earth.
3. In 1913-1914 the Oneness Pentecostal movement began after a Pentecostal announced a "revelation" clarifying Matthew 28:19 to teach that Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
4. In 1934 Herbert W. Armstrong claimed to be the channel through whom God was restoring the gospel and revealing that men could join the Father and the Son as members of the Godhead.
5. Victor Paul Wierwille claimed that God spoke to him audibly in 1942 and promised to reveal knowledge of the truth unavailable since Paul the apostle if he would teach it to others; Wierwille went on to write a book called Jesus Christ Is Not God.
Distributed by: John Farkas
Berean Christian Ministries; P.O. Box 1091; Webster, NY 14580
