The Trinity: Fact or Fiction?

The Trinity doctrine claims that the being we call God is composed of three "persons" or "modes of being." This concept suggests that God is Father, Son AND Holy Spirit, all three in one being, yet distinct and separate. They call it a mystery that "can't be explained." They're right, it CAN'T.

In order to understand the relevance of the trinity doctrine, we need to look at what exactly a "three in one" God would mean to humanity. If you claim to be a Christian, this means that you understand and believe in the fact that God provided a way for humanity to escape the death penalty and to live forever. This penalty came upon all of us because of our wrong thinking. God has such a high standard for character and mind that He established the death penalty for anyone who didn't reach this goal.

Sin, which is simply wrong thinking, couldn't be negotiated with or condoned. The life of a human being consists of flesh and blood. What we are is a physical body with a mind that is like God's mind. He can comprehend who He is and ask questions about life. He can know others, have relationships, etc. If we accept the Trinity concept, it attacks the very heart of all that God is doing through mankind.

Understand this. The penalty for sin is DEATH.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.

Ezekiel 18:20 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

That means cessation of consciousness. The end of all we are. Our thoughts, our minds, our emotions, hopes, dreams, etc., all ended (See Soul). That is because God decreed that no human would be able to gain eternal life in a perverted state of thinking, like Satan and the demons. This is out of His love for everyone.

Since ALL men and women have sinned, (Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ) we ALL come under that death penalty, regardless of how "good" we may be now. Even if we were perfect, we would still have that penalty over our heads, unless we come to realize and understand what this God who made us DID for us. He provided a way for the penalty to be paid FOR us, so we don't have to face eternal death. This penalty was paid by a human being, flesh and blood.

Think about this for a minute. If the Trinity were true, then God simply has a game He is playing where He makes up some arbitrary rules, and makes us adhere to them, like some kind of meaningless ritual. IF Jesus Christ, the one who died to pay the penalty for us, was only a PART of the "Godhead," then that means that Christ DIDN'T REALLY DIE.

If God is Father, Son, AND Holy Spirit, all as one, then what actually took place on the cross when Christ was thrust through with a spear, and His blood was drained from his body? Are we to believe that just a BODY died, and Christ was really still in heaven as part of the Godhead while the body He "was in" died on the cross? In what way does this pay the death penalty? The death of a human body that has no mind or consciousness that is made up BY that body, AND by the spirit in man, is NO DEATH AT ALL. It is a con game. Notice:

Matt 12:39 But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

This concept actually attacks the validity of Christ's death and it's power over our lives. Unless we understand who and what Christ was (See Christ), then we will completely miss the reality of all this. The being who was on this earth, as the Christ, was the same being who was the eternal "word" as described in John 1. However, as the word, He had all the powers of God, since He was literally God Himself, who was WITH the Father.

The Word literally GAVE UP THIS DIVINE STATE OF BEING...

He was changed or made into a flesh and blood human being. He was fully God, in that He was the same being that existed eternally, however, HE WAS NOW COMPLETELY FLESH AND BLOOD, WITH NO DIVINE POWER OR ETERNAL LIFE INHERENT WITHIN HIM. His whole being consisted of flesh and blood. He was exactly like you and me. 5 senses, felt pain, had emotions, had carnal nature, yet He KNEW who He was. He remembered things from His past eternity. . .(Luke 10:18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven).

This being literally gave up everything to come to earth to pay the penalty for every human being who has ever lived, simply because His life was worth more than EVERY human who has or ever will live, BECAUSE HE WAS LITERALLY "GOD IN THE FLESH," or better yet, "God AS flesh." Can you see the important difference? If the whole scenario that took place so many years ago was just a show, is it any wonder why people don't take the whole religious concept seriously?

God CANNOT DIE as a spirit being. If Christ were a part of the Trinity, then HE, as a being, REALLY DIDN'T DIE. Doesn't it seem a little ridiculous to believe that God went through this charade? How do you comprehend the SERIOUSNESS of sin and the death penalty when all that died on the stake 2000 years ago was a human body? Remember, the penalty for sin is DEATH, NOT to suffer some physical pain and torment. Some might conclude that was all that Christ experienced, but that is not DEATH. Why should Christ go through the act of feeling pain and suffering all that He did? THAT WAS NOT THE PENALTY FOR SIN.

Scripture states that "God so loved the world that He gave HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON." If Christ was a part of a Trinity, then how is the above scripture valid? Why would Christ be the "only" son when the Holy Spirit was ALSO a part of the Trinity? God stated this fact about "His only begotten son" because IT WAS THE TRUTH. This eternal being GAVE the ONLY OTHER ETERNAL GOD BEING that existed. THAT is why He is called "ONLY." This is the vital dimension to this equation that most people are missing. If Christ was just "in" a human body, then God could have created another "only begotten son" which of course, moots the whole concept of "only." Since God could create millions of other human bodies for Christ to "dwell" in, the term "only" becomes worthless.

NO! The being we know as the Christ, literally ceased to exist as a conscious being when He died on that stake almost 2000 years ago. He was "asleep," lifeless in the tomb for three days and three nights. During those three days and nights, He had NO consciousness. For the first time in His existence, the being who had known eternity was completely dead and lifeless. His state for those three days was an example of what the state of OUR existence would be FOREVER, without the penalty being paid for us.

Because Christ was sinless, His life COULD pay for all mankind, and because He DID NOT deserve eternal death, God the Father resurrected Christ, as an example of how He will resurrect every human being who achieves the right state of mind and character, just as Christ's example demonstrated. Remember, we are being shaped into the image of Christ, BY CHRIST. Who would be better able to relate to us, then He who was one of us?

Even though Christ was God in the flesh, he was tempted in all the basic forms that humankind has been tempted.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

One point to keep in mind regarding Christ. Just as we are born with a Spirit in Man, so too did Christ have this spirit essence. It is THIS spirit in us that is being shaped and molded into the image of Christ, but the "spirit in man" which Christ had was the image and molding of who He use to be prior to his human birth. THIS along with the Holy Spirit, the power from God the Father, enabled Him to resist and overcome sin and to remain the perfect sacrifice for us.

What of the arguments about God being three in "ONE?" Lets look at some of these scriptures.

John 17:21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, [are] in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. :22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

The above scriptures reveal that WE, as humans, can be "ONE" with EACH OTHER, and with the Father and Christ, even as the Father and Christ are "ONE." Does this mean that people who believe in God and are part of this process are actually one being? How can we be "ONE" with each other, and "ONE" with Christ and the Father? Notice also that Christ makes NO mention of the Holy Spirit being one with He and the Father OR us.

1 Corinthians 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, (Paul + Apollos) and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

How can two humans be "ONE?"

The marriage ceremony describes two people becoming ONE flesh. (Genesis 2:24) Does marriage suddenly transform two people into one? NO! The concept of "ONE" is being "ONE" in unity, purpose, cooperation, love, etc.

Matt 20:21 And he said to her, What wilt you? She says to him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand, and the other on the left, in your kingdom.

Mark 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which you now see and hear.

Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

Heb 12:2 Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 8: Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

Notice first that Christ is clearly shown to be at the Father's right hand, on a throne. Second, notice that John's mother requested of Christ that her two son's could sit at His right and left hand. Christ speaks of there being these positions as well.

Ask yourself this: IF God is a trinity, how can it be that Christ is sitting on a separate throne, next to the Father, and others will be sitting on the right and left of Christ? These clearly indicate that God is NOT a trinity, but a soon to expand family.

A few last points to make on this subject, but by all means not even close to exhausting the subject, let's consider these:

1. There are ten books in the New Testament that begin with, "Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."

   Doesn't this seem odd if the Holy Spirit were an equal "person" in a trinity? Why doesn't Paul acknowledge this element of a trinity?

2. Matt 1:20 "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
   If Christ is called the son of the Father, which He is, but His conception is of the Holy Spirit, why is He not called the Son of the Spirit?

Below are references regarding the trinity concept not being in the original belief system of the apostles and early church:

The Encyclopedia of Religion:

"Theologians today are in agreement that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity."

"Theologians agree that the New Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity."

The New Catholic Encyclopedia:

"The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the O[ld] T[estament]."

"The formulation 'one God in three Persons' was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century....

Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective."

The book The Triune God, by Jesuit Edmund Fortman:

"The Old Testament... tells us nothing explicitly or by necessary implication of a Triune God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.... There is no evidence that any sacred writer even suspected the existence of a [Trinity] within the Godhead. . . . Even to see in [the "Old Testament"] suggestions or foreshadowings or 'veiled signs' of the trinity of persons, is to go beyond the words and intent of the sacred writers."—Italics mine.

"The New Testament writers .. . give us no formal or formulated doctrine of the Trinity, no explicit teaching that in one God there are three co-equal divine persons.... Nowhere do we find any trinitarian doctrine of three distinct subjects of divine life and activity in the same Godhead."

"Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament."

Bernhard Lohse says in A Short History of Christian Doctrine:

"As far as the New Testament is concerned, one does not find in it an actual doctrine of the Trinity."

"The N[ew] T[estament] does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity. 'The Bible lacks the express declaration that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence' [said Protestant theologian Karl Barth]."

Yale University professor E. Washburn Hopkins in Origin and Evolution of Religion:

"To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown;. .. they say nothing about it."

Historian Arthur Weigall notes in The Paganism in Our Christianity:

"Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New Testament does the word 'Trinity' appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord."

"The early Christians, however, did not at first think of applying the [Trinity] idea to their own faith. They paid their devotions to God the Father and to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and they recognised the ... Holy Spirit; but there was no thought of these three being an actual Trinity, co-equal and united in One." - brackets mine.

"Primitive Christianity did not have an explicit doctrine of the Trinity such as was subsequently elaborated in the creeds."

"At first the Christian faith was not Trinitarian ... It was not so in the apostolic and sub-apostolic ages, as reflected in the N[ew] T[estament] and other early Christian writings."

Keep putting the pieces together and you will come to see the bigger picture much more clearly. You need to complete this study by going to the Spirit Page to understand more about this concept.

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