Trinity Not There
Search This Site
An article has been posted concerning “A Study of 1 John 5:7” with many assertions, some of which we will examine here.
Let us first look at the scripture from two different translations:
1 John 5:7 – It is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
1 John 5:8 – For there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one. — World English
1 John 5:7 -For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
1 John 5:8 – And there are three that bear witness on earth: F15 the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
=========
FOOTNOTES:
F15: NU-Text and M-Text omit the words from in heaven (1 John 5:7) through on earth (1 John 5:8). Only four or five very late manuscripts contain these words in Greek.
Most are aware that there is a discrepancy in the manuscripts concerning these verses, as noted in the footnote of the New King James Version.
While we do not believe that John wrote the words as they appear in some translations, such the KJV and the NKJV, we still do not have anything said that refers to God as three persons, or that the only true God consists of three persons. The idea still has to be added to and read into even the traditional reading of 1 John 5:7,8. The idea of “one God” is not expressed since “one God” would in the Greek be “heis theos” (transliterated) not “hen [theos]“; thus since the traditional text has “hen” (neuter), not “heis” (masculine), the “one” being spoken of cannot mean “one God”. Nor does the Greek express “one Being/Substance”, as in the trinitarian phrase, “treis hypostaseis en mia ousia” (three persons in one being/substance). As can be seen, if the one in 1 John 5:7,8 was meant to express one in being/substance, then “one” would not have been expresed by the neuter Greek “hen”, but by the feminine Greek “mia”.
For more study on 1 John 5:7, see:
One of the statements we wish to note is the addition to the Word of God that: “Every true Christian is a Trinitarian; every child of God, sooner or later, enters by faith into the doctrine of the Trinity.” By such a statement, the author places himself in the role of Jesus as the “Judge” of those who profess Christ who do not believe in the added-on trinity dogma, and would of necessity have to claim to be a revealer of God’s Word in addition to what has been revealed in the Bible, since the Bible never states such a thing, and, additionally, the Bible never reveals the only true God as three persons.
While we would not say that every true Christian does not believe in the trinity, we can say that true Biblical Christian theology does not teach the trinity, especially since the added-on dogma would diminish the role of the only true God, the God and Father, as the only true Supreme Being, the only Most High. Furthermore, it diminishes, even destroys, another of the central themes of the Bible, the ransom sacrifice of our Jesus for sin of the world.
The statement is made: “It has been well said, ‘Salvation is built on distinctions in the Trinity;’ distinctions, not differences.”
While this may be what is said by men who believe in adding the trinity to the scriptures, the Bible never says such a thing. Indeed, if one actually tries to apply the trinity to doctrine to the principles of “salvation” as revealed in the Bible, then one will find that those principles have to be irradiated and rebuilt by adding more and more and more…, etc., to the scriptures to make the scriptures appear to be supported the added-on trinitarian dogma, while the simple beauty, harmony, love, wisdom, displayed in the scriptures concerning God’s gift of salvation through his son as revealed in those scriptures are restructed to fit the added-on dogma.
Exodus 3:14 is being referred to as alleged meaning a triune God, when in actuality, there is nothing in the scriptures about such.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-ehyeh
Acts 3:12 is being quoted, evidently with the desire to leave the impression that the holy is a person of God, whereas there is nothing in the scripture about the trinitarian idea of three persons at all. God’s holy spirit acts as God’s mouth. The Bible never reveals God’s holy spirit as a separate person of Himself.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-mouthofgod
After making reference to John 17:23, Matthew 3:17, and John 8:29, the bold addition added to what God has revealed in the Word: “Thus God speaks of Himself as Three Persons.” In reality in none of these scriptures, nor anywhere else in the entire Bible, does the only true God speak of Himself as “three persons”. What one has to do is “imagine” in their thoughts that God is speaking of Himself as three person, and then add those thoughts “beyond what has been written” (1 Corinthians 4:7), and then claim that which is not written was actually what is being said in what is written.
Regading John 17:23, Jesus here is in prayer to “the only true God” (John 17:1,3), and says that the only true God is in him. This does not mean that Jesus was declaring himself to be a person of the only true God; if it does, then he also prayed for his followers to all become persons of the only true God with him and the only true God to whom he was praying. (John 17:21) And, Jesus also stated to his disciples: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” — John 14:20.
It is claimed that: Jehovah does by those properties which are claimed and used by each Person, reveal Himself as Three in One.” While the only true God (John 17:3) did indeed give to His Son all things, including things that had only before belonged to the only Most High, the only Most High never gave to Jesus the position of being the only Most High. — Matthew 11:27; 28:18; John 3:35; 13:3; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:17-22; Philippians 2:9-11.
http://godandson.reslight.net/?p=440
God, by means of his holy spirit, reveals through the scriptures that Jesus is son of the only Most High, Yahweh. Jesus is never spoken of as the “Most High”; Jesus is not the only Most High Yahweh of whom he is the son. — Genesis 14:22; Psalm 7:17; 83:18; 92:1; Luke 1:32; John 13:16.
The claim is made: “I hope that this subject may not appear to you a mere speculation. It is not a speculation, it is a revelation.” If if is a revelation of God, then the revelation of God as in the Bible is false, since what God has never revealed Himself as three persons anywhere in the Bible.
The statement is made: “God has given in His holy Word a revelation of Himself, think of it; and on this revelation we stand.”
Yes, God has indeed given us His Holy Word as a revelation of Himself, and we should indeed stand on that revelation, and not add to another revelation that would proclaim that God is three persons. God has revealed his truths by means of his holy spirit through the apostles. God, by means of his holy spirit, especially led the apostles into all the truths concerning Christ and what he said. (John 14:26; 16:4-13; Galatians 1:12; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 2:2) The truths revealed to the apostles and made available to us are recorded in the Bible itself. (Ephesians 3:3-12; Colossians 1:25,26; 1 John 4:6) Of course, without the holy spirit, these things that are recorded will still be a mystery to us. — Mark 4:11; 1 Corinthians 2:7-10.
Part of the truth revealed by means of the holy spirit was that there was to be an apostasy, a “falling away” from the truth of God’s Word, with strong delusions. (Matthew 13:24-30; Acts 20:29,30; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:3,4) This falling away had already begun in the first century, with some receiving a different spirit and preaching “another Jesus”; the apostasy was restrained for only a short while. (2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 John 2:18,19; 2 Corinthians 11:4) The apostasy spread rapidly after the death the apostles and developed into the great “Man of Sin”, or more correctly “Lawless Man”, or “Illegal Man”, a great religious system, which claimed to have the authority to add to God’s Word since their revelation was allegedly of God’s Spirit. The central doctrine became the false teaching that Jesus had to be God Almighty in order to provide atonement for sins. With this spirit of error in mind, the writings of the apostles were totally reinterpreted to accommodate the error, and many of the Hellenic Jewish philosophies were adapted and added to and blended in with the New Testament, even as the Jews had done with the Old Testament.
Isaiah, in prophesying concerning the stone of stumbling (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:23) to both the houses of Israel (Romans 9:6,31; 11:7; 1 Corinthians 10:18; Galatians 6:16), warns us: “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20, New King James Version) The “law”, of course, is what we call the Old Testament; the “testimony” of this prophecy is the testimony of the apostles, as given in the New Testament. This the way to test the spirits. (1 John 4:1) It is to these and through these scriptures that the holy spirit today gives true direction, and anything not in agreement with these scriptures is not of the light of the day. (John 11:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) The distortion of who Jesus truly was and is — who while on earth before his death was only human, a little lower than the angels, who gave his flesh for the life of the world — is one of the greatest stumblingblocks to understanding the true Gospel revealed in scripture. Thus Jesus becomes a stumbling stone, not only to the house according the flesh which was corrupted from true doctrine (Israel after the flesh — Luke 13:25-28; Romans 9:30-33), but also the house which claims Jesus, which has also become corrupted from true doctrine through spiritual fornication. — Matthew 27:21-23; Revelation 2:13-15,20-24.
God, by means of his holy spirit, reveals through the scriptures that Yahweh (Jehovah) is the only true God, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus. Jesus has One who is the Supreme Being over him; Jesus is not his Supreme Being whom he worships, prays to, and who sent him, and whose will he carried out in willful obedience. — Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Matthew 4:4 (Deuteronomy 8:3; Luke 4:4); Matthew 4:7 (Deuteronomy 6:16); Matthew 4:10 (Exodus 20:3-5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:13,14; 10:20; Luke 4:8); Matthew 22:29-40; Matthew 26:42; Matthew 27:46; Mark 10:6 (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7,20-23); Mark 14:36; 15:34; Luke 22:42; John 4:3; 5:30; 6:38; 17:1,3; 20:17; Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 11:31; Ephesians 1:3,17; Hebrews 1:9; 10:7; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 2:7; 3:2,12.
We would not say that “everything” that proceeds from God is a mystery; much of it is indeed a mystery to those who have not been given an understanding of it; and there are indeed things about God that we cannot fully understand. However, this does not provide a basis for believing that God is three persons, some which He (singular) never claimed for Himself, nor did “He” ever reveal Himself to be.
The Attributes of Deity
The attributes of deity or one thing, and the attribute of being the Most High is another. Jesus is never attributed with the latter, but there are many in the Bible to whom the attribute of deity is given.
The “Eternal” Son
The Bible never speaks of the eternal son, at least not in the sense that trinitarians wish to think of the the word “Eternal”. The Bible never says: “God had a Son eternally,” although one can reason that as the firstborn from the dead, Jesus was begotten at that point to live eternally. It certainly would not mean that Jesus was begotten to have been alive for all eternity past. — Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-firstborncreature
http://tinyurl.com/rl-jesuscreator
Galatians 4:4
Yes, the only true God sent forth His Son. (John 17:1,3; Isaiah 61:1) This does not say that Jesus is a person of the only true God. Rather, it indicates that Jesus is not “God” who sent him.
Genesis 1:26
Again, the trinitarian finds a scripture that he can imagine represents his added-on trinitarian dogma, and into which he read the trinitarian assumptions, thereby in thoughts adding to what has been written. For some studies on Genesis 1:26:
Jeremiah 31:3
Yahweh appeared of old to me, [saying], Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you. — World English
This scripture is cited, and althought is unclear as to what is actually being claimed, it seems to be that the claim is that God has always had a love for mankind even before mankind was created. We are not sure what, if any, application can be made of such a thought, to the trinitarian dogma, nevertheless, the Hebrew word translated “everlasing” is usually transliterated as “olam”. There is nothing inate in this word that would mean that eternally in the past, so the trinitarian idea of eternity is being projected upon the word.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-olam
http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=05769
Hebrews 9:12
nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption.
Let us also read Hebrews 9:28:
so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
And Hebrews 10:10:
by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
The word “eternal” is being emphasized regarding Hebrews 9:12, although again, we are not sure why it is being referred to in relation to the trinity. The Greek word rendered “eternal” is transliterated from the Greek as “Aionios”, and corresponds with the Hebrew word “olam” used in Jeremiah 31:3, as noted above. There is nothing inate in the word “Aionios” that means eternal past, if this is what is being implied by the reference to this verse. Although many trinitarian scholars attribute the meaning “without beginning” to this word, as yet we have not found any instance where the word is used in the New Testament with such meaning; it is mostly used of the future, not an eternal past.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/grk.cgi?number=166
In Hebrews 9:12, the word Aionios is being used in comparison with the sarcifice of the goats and bulls, which, according to the Law, had to be done over and over continuously. Jesus’ sacrifice, however, is eternal, in that it has to be offered only once for all time. Jesus does not have to keep dying, nor being in a stasis for eternity of continually dying, in order to pay the ransom sacrifice for the saints and the world. Thus, having once offered himself, that offering lasts for eternity. Thus, since Jesu offered himself one for all time for sin, “there remains no more a sacrifice for sins.” (Hebrews 10:26) Jesus’ one sacrifice paid the wages of sin on behalf of all who are dying in Adam once for all eternity, thus no more sacrifice is needed to deliver anyone from the death in Adam. — Romans 5:12-19; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; 1 Peter 3:18.
http://atonement.reslight.net/
Ephesians 1:11
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;
Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us for [placement] as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved,
Ephesians 1:7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Ephesians 1:8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
Ephesians 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
Ephesians 1:11 in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;
Ephesians 1:12 to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
Ephesians 1:13 in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, — in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 1:14 [which] is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
We have included the surrounding verses to provide clarity. Evidently, the claim is that Ephesians 1:11 is speaking of “the Spirit”, whereas the context indicates that “His own will” refers to the will of the God and Father of Jesus (Ephesians 1:3) Although we are sure that God d0es use his spirit in the the works that work out the counsel of his will, such is not stated in that verse.
There is nothing the verses about an eternal past, although such seems to be attributed to the expression “having been foreordained”. Of course, God foreordained that there woud be those who would be associated with Jesus as “sons” before the foundation of the world. This could have been just before the “beginning” spoken of in Genesis 1:1, or millions, billions, of years before, according to the way we would reckon time.
“The world”, the greek word “kosmos” almost always refers to the world of mankind in the Bible.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-kosmos
Of course, God already had his purpose in place before he created man, but that does not mean that this was in “eternity” in the sense that trinitarians use that term.
So far in all the scriptures examined, we have not found any indication that the only true God is three persons, although the trinitarian would like for us to add that to the scriptures, thereby cancelling out the ransom sacrifice of Jesus.
John 8:58 is presented in connection with Exodus 3:14, with the false claim that Jesus was claiming to be Ehyeh of Exodus 3:14.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-john8-58
Psalm 40:7,8 and Hebrews 10:7 show that Jesus is not God.
http://tinyurl.com/rl-heb10-10
Hebrews 1:2,3 are referenced, but these scriptures actually show that Jesus is is not “God”, and “God” is depicted therein as one person, not three, and that One God is the God and Father of Jesus, who spoke through Jesus. See Hebrews 1:1,2.
The fasle claim is that the scriptures show God as subsisting as three persons, but no trinitarian has ever produced a scripture to show this. The scriptural conclusion is that God, through his holy spirit, is telling us that Jesus is not Yahweh whom he worships (serves as a servant, prays to) as his God. — Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20; Isaiah 42:1; 53:11; Matthew 4:10; 12:18; 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 4:8; John 13:16; 17:1,3; 20:27; Acts 4:27,30; Hebrews 1:9; Revelation 2:7; 3:12.
