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The Holy Spirit a Person? Sor James White Writes: “We Hang a Person’S with Three Faces Representing Father, Son and Holy Spirit

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The Holy Spirit a Person? Sor James White Writes: “We Hang a Person’S with Three Faces Representing Father, Son and Holy Spirit THIS PUBLICATION IS NOT TO BE SOLD. It is a free educational service in the public interest, published by the United Church of God, an International Association. Is God a Trinity? © 2007© 2011 United United Church Church of of God, God, an International Association Association AllAll rights rights reserved. reserved. Printed Printed in inU.S.A. U.S.A. Scriptures Scriptures in thisin this publication booklet are quoted fromfrom thethe NewNew King King JamesJames VersionVersion (© 1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc.,Inc., publishers) publishers) unless unless otherwise otherwise noted. noted. 2 Is God a Trinity? Introduction 3 Contents Introduction 3 Introduction “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me . .” (Jeremiah 9:24). Even though it’s one of mainstream Christianity’s most widely accepted and revered doctrines, theologians admit that the Trinity is largely incomprehensible. ust what is the nature of the true God of the Bible? Is God a Trin- 6 Is the Trinity Biblical? ity? The Trinity is one of mainstream Christianity’s most widely accepted and revered doctrines. The belief that God is three persons Surely a teaching as widespread and popular as the Trinity is scriptural, isn’t it? Jcoexisting in one being or substance, as the doctrine is often defined, Yet time and again, theologians and researchers admit it isn’t found in the Bible. is held by millions of Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox believers alike. 11 The Surprising Origins of the Trinity Doctrine The Catholic Encyclopedia calls this belief “the central doctrine of the Christian faith” Few understand how the Trinity doctrine came to be accepted—several centu- (1912 edition). Yet, as we’ll see, it’s been a ries after the Bible was completed! Yet its roots go back much farther in history. source of much confusion. Scripture clearly talks about a God who is called the Father, 25 How Is God Revealed in the Bible? Jesus Christ who is called the Son of God, and a divine Holy Spirit. But how exactly A true understanding of God comes from only one source—God’s revelation to does the Bible define and describe the three? mankind, the Bible. What does it reveal about God the Father and Jesus Christ? A Christian litmus test for many The doctrine of the Trinity is consid- 45 How Is God One? ered so sacred and fundamental that many Scripture tells us that “the LORD our God, the LORD is one”—from which some churches and religious organizations view it believe three persons exist as one God. But is this really what the Bible reveals? as a litmus test for defining who is and isn’t This 13th-century fresco in a true Christian. a church in Perugia, Italy, For example, author and theology profes- depicts the Trinity as a being 53 Is the Holy Spirit a Person? sor James White writes: “We hang a person’s with three faces representing Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Many assume the Holy Spirit is a third divine person in the Trinity, along with the very salvation upon the acceptance of the Father and the Son. But a closer look at the Bible reveals problems with this view. doctrine . No one dares question the Trinity for fear of being branded a ‘heretic’ . We must know, understand, and love the Trinity to be 65 The Holy Spirit: God’s Transforming Power fully and completely Christian” (The Forgotten Trinity, 1998, pp. 14-15, emphasis added throughout unless otherwise noted). Contrary to Trinitarian teaching, Scripture reveals the Holy Spirit not as a person, The Teaching of Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults states: “The but as something much different—the divine power through which God acts. dogma of the Trinity is the central dogma of Catholic faith. Only with belief in it can one grasp and explicitly believe other central Christian teachings. 72 God’s Purpose for You “It is impossible to believe explicitly in the mystery of Christ without faith in the Trinity . Nor could one grasp the meaning of eternal life, Why were you born? Do you understand why you exist? The Trinity doctrine ob- or of the grace that leads to it, without believing in the Trinity, for grace scures the amazing truth, clearly revealed in Scripture, of God’s purpose for you! Wikimedia and eternal life are sharing in the Trinitarian life” (Donald Wuerl, Ronald 4 Is God a Trinity? Introduction 5 Lawler, Thomas Lawler and Kris Stubna, editors, 2005, p. 150). of the Triune God is mysterious in its origin and its content . It is a The book Catholicism makes it clear that the Roman church’s posi- doctrine that revolves about a mystery that has fascinated and challenged tion is that belief in the Trinity is a necessity for salvation: “Whoever will the minds of men down the centuries . Today it is being challenged be saved: before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. by many as unintelligible and irrelevant to modern man in its traditional Unless he keep this Faith whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall per- formulation and presentation” (The Triune God: A Historical Study of the ish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: we worship one God in Doctrine of the Trinity, 1972, p. xxv-xxvi). Trinity” (George Brantl, editor, 1961, p. 69). Author and theology professor Harold Brown writes: “It has proved impos- Another source explains: “The doctrine of the Trinity is the basis of sible for Christians actually to understand the doctrine or to explain it in any our Christian faith. Because the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be fully comprehensive way. The doctrine of the Trinity . surpasses our human abil- understood, it requires the Holy Spirit to direct our minds to believe” ity to understand and that must be respected as a divine mystery” (Heresies: (Randy Smith, Theological “ism”s, A Layman’s Reference Guide to Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church, 2003, p. 128). Selected Theological Terms, 1999, p. 90, quoted by Patrick Navas, Divine Theology professor James White, quoted earlier, says: “The [Trinity] Truth or Human Tradition? 2007, p. 21). doctrine is misunderstood as well as ignored. It is so misunderstood that a The same source quotes yet another as stating, “You cannot be saved majority of Christians, when asked, give incorrect and at times downright if you don’t believe in the Trinity.” heretical definitions of the Trinity” (p. 16, emphasis in original). This is serious business. Tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of Theology professor Louis Berkhof states: “The Church confesses the thousands—of Christians have been excommunicated, persecuted and Trinity to be a mystery beyond the comprehension of man. The Trinity is even killed over the doctrine. a mystery, not merely in the Biblical sense of what is a truth, which was Yet even as some demand that we believe in the Trinity, they admit that formerly hidden but is now revealed; but in the sense that man cannot com- it’s a mystery beyond understanding. Notice this startling statement from prehend it and make it intelligible” (Systematic Theology, 1996, p. 89). A Handbook of Christian Truth: “The mind of man cannot fully under- Millard Erickson, research professor of theology at Southwest Baptist stand the mystery of the Trinity. He who has tried to understand the mys- Theological Seminary, says of the Trinity: “This doctrine in many ways tery fully will lose his mind; but he who would deny the Trinity will lose presents strange paradoxes . It is a widely disputed doctrine, which has his soul” (Harold Lindsell and Charles Woodbridge, 1953, pp. 51-52). provoked discussion throughout all the centuries of the church’s existence. Is such a position truly reasonable or logical? Would God really deny It is held by many with great vehemence and vigor. These [advocates] salvation to us because we are incapable of understanding something that consider it crucial to the Christian faith. even the most learned theologians admit is incomprehensible? “Yet many are unsure of the exact meaning of their belief. It was the How can we square that with clear biblical instruction such as the apos- very first doctrine dealt with systematically by the church, yet it is still one tle Paul’s admonition to believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (King James of the most misunderstood and disputed doctrines” (God in Three Persons: Version), “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good”? A Contemporary Interpretation of the Trinity, 1995, pp. 11-12). Or what about 1 Peter 3:15, where the apostle Peter instructs us that we are to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason A doctrine on which to base our faith? for the hope that is in you”? How can we reconcile that with belief in a doc- These are surprising admissions about the Trinity—“an absolute mys- trine that many theologians admit is, as The Encyclopedia Americana puts tery,” “mysterious in its origin and its content,” “impossible for Christians it, “beyond the grasp of human reason”? (1980, Vol. 27, “The Trinity”). actually to understand,” “unintelligible,” “misunderstood,” “presents strange paradoxes” and “widely disputed.” Does this really sound like a doctrine on Theologians admit the Trinity is incomprehensible which to base our faith and salvation—especially when Paul clearly tells us Many authoritative sources acknowledge the difficulty of understanding in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that “God is not the author of confusion”? the Trinity doctrine. The German Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner admits, “The If scholars, theologians and religious authorities admit that we cannot dogma of the Trinity is an absolute mystery which we do not understand even understand such a major doctrine, shouldn’t that tell us something may be after it has been revealed” (The Trinity, 1986, p.
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