One True God
In Defense of the One True God ver 1
A close look at the doctrine of the Trinity
by Ron VanBenthuysen
Foundations of the Trinity Doctrine
There are three foundations of the Trinity Docrine:
1. Monotheism; There is only one God.
2. There are three divine Persons.
3. The persons are co-equal and Co-Eternal.
The Trinitarians say that if you don’t agree with this doctrine, then you are a cult and not truly a Christian. A cult is any group who deviates from mainstream theology. Most American’s theologies are a combination of:
1. Futurist theology – Pre-millenial, Post-millenial, or A-millenial. Most prophacies of the Old and New Testiment have stalled and are still waiting to be fulfilled.
2. Trinitarian – defined above
3. Zionist – The Jews will regain their status as the favored children of God at some time in the future.
Questioning any of these theologies is still okay but deciding that any of them is in error makes you a heretical cultist. Let’s take a look at the foundations of the Trinity Docrine.
Foundation # 1 – Monotheism
By strict definition, monotheism is one God only. This was a problem for early Christians who viewed the Son of God as deity because the Jewish believers wouldn’t accept two Gods. This started a disagreement for thousands of years (so far) – what is the relationship between Jesus and the Father?
For this section, let’s restrict the question to; Does the Bible teach monotheism? We’re told it does. Here are the verses listed on Hank Hanegraaff’s web site to show monotheism: http://www.equip.org/site/c.muI1LaMNJrE/b.2548553/k.C0AF/The_Biblical_Basis_of_the_Doctrine_of_the_Trinity.htm
Hank’s site lists 11 verses from the OT (which are listed at the end of this article) but they all say something similar to this verse;
Isa 46:9
9 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
NKJV
God’s command is this:
Ex 20:3
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
NKJV
The gist seems to be that, “The One True God” is above all others. None compare to Him. We should not worship any other god (elohiym) before Him (Y@hovah).
The phase, “before me,” in Ex 20:3, comes from the Hebrew word “paniym” which means, face. The meaning of the verse becomes, “You shall not have any other Elohiym at the face of, or in front of, or in the presence of, [Me].
Does this prohibit another god? As long as the, “One True God” is at the top of the hierarchy, I don’t think so. Why do we want two gods? Because, Jesus, being the Son of God, makes Him some kind of Deity. If Christianity is truly monotheistic, then either Jesus is not deity or he has to be Yahweh Himself. But if there is room for two deities in heaven, then it is okay for Christ to be who he says He is – The Son of God . . .as long as “The One True God” is above all.
Let’s look at some New Testament verses that Hank lists to show monotheism. These verses are intended to show not only that the “One True God” is above all but also He is the only god . . .period.
John 5:44
44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?NKJV
But the King James version says it differently;
John 5:44
44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?KJV
Do either of these prove that there is only one God? What about this passage?
1 Cor 8:5-6
5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.NKJV
Why can’t we just believe the simple truths of the Bible intead of complicated doctrines?
Hank’s web site continues to prove monotheism:
Rom 3:30
30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. NKJV
It does say “One God,” but wait! Let’s read it in context. . .
Rom 3:29-31
29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
NKJV
The true meaning is the “One True God,” is one God for both Jews and Gentiles not necessarily the only god. This leaves room for Jesus to be at the right hand of Yahweh in heaven. . .which oddly enough is where the Bible says His place is. Jesus doesn’t have to be Yahweh Himself.
Is Christianity monotheistic? Not really. Trinitarians attempt to make Christianity monotheistic with the Trinity doctrine. That’s the main purpose of the doctrine but actually it fits the definition of soft polytheism best (multiple gods);
From Wikipedia:
Soft Polytheism is a variety of polytheism in which adherents believe that the gods and goddesses are manifestations or “aspects” of a single god (or god and goddess) rather than completely distinct entities.
Soft Polytheists regard their multiplicity of gods as being manifestations of either common impersonal entities, or representing different aspects or facets of a single personal god, the latter also sometimes known as “inclusive monotheists”,
Sound familiar? It sounds close to the explanation of the Trinity but there is one difference. The above definition says that the manifestations are not distinct entities or persons but the Trinitarians admit that their manifestations are “eternally distinct.” They have to be distinct because of several verses where Jesus says the Jewish law requires two witnesses to the truth. Jesus testifies for Himself and the other witness is the Father. If they were not distinct then the testimony about Jesus would be false. This can not be the case therefore the Father and Jesus have to be different persons but yet the same. Confused yet? Don’t feel alone. Many people seeking a relationship with God have given up because of the twisted world of the Trinity Doctrine.
It’s hard to explain how Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit can be eternally distinct yet the same being. The Trinitarians say that this can’t be known this side of glory. Hank Hanegraaff says that you shouldn’t try to comprehend it – just apprehend it. That means just except it even if it doesn’t make sense.
Foundation # 2 – There are three divine Persons.
I have no problem with three Divine Persons. . .but it’s not a very monotheistic view. I don’t care how many times the preacher says it. . .three persons do not equal a monotheistic view and manifestations of a single god do not equal three eternally distinct persons.
Can men be called gods?
Hank Hanegraaff says on his site, “Are mighty or exalted men gods?” He continues, “No scripture says explicitly that men are gods. The use of elohim in Psalm 82, probably in reference to wicked judges, as cited by Jesus in John 10:34-36, does not mean that men really can be gods.”
Really? The point here is not whether men are gods or what kind of gods they would be but the fact that beings other than the “One True God” are called god (Theos in the NT and Elohiym in the OT). Hank mentions this passage because on two occasions a disciple says, “My Lord, my god [Theos]” in reference to Jesus and in John Ch 1, it says the Word was with [Theos] and the Word was [Theos]. Hank’s argument is that whenever Jesus is called Theos it has to mean He is Yahweh, which is not the case. The word Theos is used frequently to mean other things than Yahweh, like:
2 Cor 4:4
4 Satan, who is the god [Theos] of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation
Certainly, Satan is not a part of the Trinity or equal to God the Father but he is called, theos.
Let’s see what Jesus actually said about Himself;
John 10:34-36
34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’?
Holy Bible, New Living Translation.
Jesus was using this defense to prevent being stoned (He knew it wasn’t His time), but we shouldn’t discount what He said as not true! So when Hank’s web site brushes this passage off and says Jesus wasn’t implying that men can be gods, he’s missing the point. Jesus was denying that He claimed to be God by pointing out that beings other than God the Father can be called a theos. This is the problem with modern religion. We are willing to discount Jesus’ words in favor of man-made doctrine.
I believe this passage is the best anti-trinitarian verse in the Bible. It’s odd that Hank’s web site mentions it so often but never in context. Jesus is accused of claiming to be God but instead of simply saying, “You are correct,” he re-states that He is the SON of God. . .but not Yahweh Himself;
John 10:31-40
31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”
33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them.
Holy Bible, New Living.
Foundation #3 – The persons are co-equal and Co-Eternal
I can’t really find much support for this one. A person would really have to twist scripture to come up with this.
Philipians 2:6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NIV
Jesus didn’t consider Himself equal with the Father, why should we . . .or do we know something Jesus didn’t know?
This passage is really troublesome for Trinitarians;
1 Cor 15:26-28
26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
NKJV
In the above verse, Jesus is definitly not equal to the Father. There are over 100 verses where Jesus is subordinate to the Father . . .even after He has risen to heaven. The verse above is after the assention, also all the verses in Revelation where Jesus is at the right hand of the Father shows Jesus as subordinate to the Father God. This doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t to be worshipped. He is after all, the Son of God.
Conclusion
So what then? Where are we now?
I believe this; As Christians we are to seek a relationship with God the Father, no other gods before Him, Yahweh alone. Since man is a fallen creature and the law has failed to make men righteous, there is only one way to have a relationship with the Father – through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We can become righteous in the Father’s eyes because of the work Jesus did on the cross. It is only then that we can have a relationship with Him. But we have to be clear on this – it is not the end goal of Christianity to have only a relationship with Jesus. . .we are to have a relationship with God the Father but it is through Jesus that this is possible.
This is what the Bible teaches. Very simple and clear. It is only through men’s interpretations that it becomes confusing. Man’s attempt to put God into a man shaped hole. If we read the Bible with an open mind and pretend that we don’t know what we have been taught, there is no way we could come up with the Trinity Doctrine.
Jesus was probably considered a heretical cultist in his day. He told the religious leaders that they were the enemies of God. Can you imagine that?
Matt 23:29-36
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
NKJV
In the parable of the tenants, Jesus lays it out for the religious leaders of his day. The parable (Matthew 21:33-46) says that the Jews were given the promise but they rejected it so it was then given to the gentiles. The outcome of the parable is that the Jews are destroyed. There is no mention of them regaining their position later. When the Jews heard this parable their reaction was;
Matt 21:40-46
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said to Him,”He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” . . .
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.
NKJV
So when the religious leaders today tell you that you are heretical and a cultist, you are in good company! A while back, I was at a meeting and the speaker was talking about God. A man in the back of the room stood up and said, “Does your God have a name?” Someone else said, “Jesus.” Don’t get me wrong, worshipping Jesus, the Son of God, is good but remember;
Ex 20:3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
KJV
These are the verses that Hank Nanegraaff uses to show monotheism;
Deut 4:35-40
35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. . . . 39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
NKJV
Deut 32:39
39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
NKJV
2 Sam 22:32
32 “For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
NKJV
Isa 37:20
20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone.”
NKJV
Isa 43:10-11
10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.
NKJV
Isa 44:6
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
NKJV
Isa 45:5
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
NKJV
Isa 45:14
14 Thus says the Lord:
“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.'”
NKJV
Isa 45:21-22
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22 “Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
NKJV
Isa 46:9
9 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
NKJV
John 5:44
44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?
NKJV