Most Christ-professing people believe God is an unfathomable MYSTERY; a “Trinity.” This doctrine, proposed and accepted more than three hundred years after Christ, is held by the Roman Catholic church and dozens of Protestant denominations. Millions seem to accept it without question; singing songs like “Holy, Holy, Holy….Blessed Trinity,” each Sunday. WHY is the “Trinity” mentioned nowhere in the Bible? WHO, or WHAT is the Holy Spirit? Is God “One in ‘three Persons?’” Is He an “hypostasis,” or does the Godhead consist of Father and Son? You will be astonished to see what your Bible says!
Never did Jesus Christ use the word “Trinity.” Never did any one of the apostles speak or write about a “Trinity.” Never did Jesus Christ speak of “three in one,” or speak of the Godhead as a triumvirate of three persons.
The word “Trinity” is found nowhere in the Bible. Not one of the “ante-Nicene fathers,” such as Arnobius, Polycarp, Justyn Martyr or Eusebius used the term “Trinity.”
One hundred and eighty years had passed after the ascension of Christ before an obscure Latin writer used the word “trinitas.”
WHY? Could it be because the concept of the “Trinity,” which is viewed today as the virtual cornerstone of the nominal “Christian” religion, was not known by God’s early church in the days of the apostles, nor those of the first century, AD?
You will be surprised to see what your Bible says about the nature of God, and about the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Father. You will be astonished to find that your Bible does not teach the doctrine of the Trinity!
Is your religion any good if you understand it? Or is it more comfortable for most people to cling to a religion which makes God into an unfathomable mystery?”
Tens of millions of superstitious heathens worship animals, trees, rocks, the sun and moon, the stars, or their ancestors. Others worship “spirits” they think inhabit “sacred mountains,” “sacred” forests, or man-made temples. Still others worship idols; imaginary creatures with humanoid forms, or combinations of animals, such as eagles, hawks, jackals, crocodiles, or cows.
Ironically, space-age nations, possessing nuclear arsenals, are populated by hundreds of millions who still worship cows. Superstition is everywhere. Ignorance among illiterate savages in the Brazilian rain forest is understandable, perhaps, but when superstition is organized into a “mystery religion,” it is another thing, entirely.
God’s word predicted this world would be totally deceived in the last days; held in the clutches of a great arch-demon called Satan. He is said to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9), and is called the “god of this world.”
Paul wrote, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4).
A deceived person can be the nicest person you ever met. Deception, by its very meaning, implies sincerity. The deceived individual does not know he or she is deceived, or there would be no deception. Deception has nothing to do with honesty, integrity, or sincerity.
For example, during World War II, millions were deceived by Hitler. They worshiped the man, believing his lies about the “super race,” and joyfully accepting his racist hatred against Jews. Tens of millions died as a result of one man’s ability, empowered by Satan himself, to deceive. There are hundreds of such examples in both politics and religion.
Could you have ever been deceived about some of your religious beliefs?
Is God An Unfathomable “MYSTERY?”
God’s word prophesied there would come in the last days a great false religion, presided over by a great false prophet. That man, claiming to actually “be god” (2 Thessalonians 2:4) will be worshiped by millions! He will be in direct collusion with the military dictator of ten nations, called the “Beast.” He will cause millions to worship the beast, or a ten-nation military dictatorship! Notice the prophecy: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon [he appears Christ-like, yet speaks as Satan].
“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast…” (Revelation 13:11-14).
This great false religious leader heads a church which is pictured as a great WHORE, who makes all nations “drunk,” spiritually, with her false doctrine. The entire seventeenth chapter of Revelation is given over to describing this false church, and the effects of her false doctrine. John wrote, “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
“With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication [she is a political church; sending ambassadors to the nations; having concourse with other states], and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk [metaphor for spiritually deceived] with the wine of her fornication.
“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour [the color of prostitution], and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:1-5).
But Babylon had been destroyed many centuries earlier, in 538 BC! Yet, the MYSTERY RELIGION of ancient Babylon, originally begun by Nimrod and his mother/wife Semiramis, would remain, and would be extant at the time just prior to God’s intervention in human affairs, and the second coming of Christ. Semiramis and Nimrod were the first “Madonna and child,” as Satan paved the way for the adoration of the Madonna (The Two Babylons, Hislop, p. 21, 143-4).
By means of symbolism, imagery, elaborate ritual, and spectacular pageantry, the heathen were mesmerized into accepting the “MYSTERY” religion!
Even today, literally BILLIONS of human beings believe that God is an unfathomable “MYSTERY,” to be worshiped by chants, candles, repetitive prayers, beads, and intricate rituals. Ceremony; the acting out of prescribed ritual, is extant in many of the world’s major religions.
Millions pray to “saints” they suppose are still alive, but in heaven; or to various
“virgins” they see depicted on glorious altars. Millions believe they should pray to Mary, Joseph’s wife, and the mother of Jesus Christ. Millions more pray to the “Holy Trinity,” as they call it, a kind of spiritual triumvirate which is unfathomable, virtually impossible to define. But is God the Father a “mystery?” Is Christ the Son “mysterious?” Does the Godhead consist of One, Two, or Three “Persons?” Some say one must not refer to God as a “person” at all, making the concept of God even more remote.
Then WHY did Jesus Christ come to REVEAL the Father? Why did He continually speak of His Father, pray to Him, encourage His disciples to pray to the Father, and say that the Father dwelt IN Christ?
Those who preach about a “trinity” are fond of quoting Christ’s Great Commission to His church, found in Matthew 28:18 and 19: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” The Catholic Encyclopedia admits that the word “trinity” is nowhere in the Bible, and says that the Greek word from which the Latin “trinitas” is derived “…is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180. He speaks of ‘the Trinity of God, His word and His wisdom.’ Ad. Autol. II, 15, P.G., VI, 1078). Ibid. Vol. XV. P. 47).
But it is very doubtful Theophilus (not the person known of Luke, but a much later individual by the same name) was remotely referring to the later concept of “God in three Persons” set forth by the Athanasian Creed. He said nothing about Christ directly, unless one is to assume the expression “His word” referred to Christ. This would be speculative, for he may well have meant the Bible itself, and not Christ as the “Logos.” It would require a vast quantum leap to believe that Theophilus was referring to a third person of the Godhead when he wrote the word, “His wisdom.” In any event this obscure writer in Antioch in AD 180 is hardly to be viewed as an “authority” on the most central building block of Christian faith, as if he supercedes Christ, Peter, James, John, Paul, and all the rest.
Obviously, the writer of the article in the Catholic Encyclopedia diligently searched all available historical manuscripts, vainly trying to find the word “Trinity” somewhere, and the best he could come up with was the vague statement of Theophilus about God, his word, and his wisdom.
By no stretch of the imagination should this be taken to mean the doctrine of the Trinity was taught by Christ, the apostles, or the writers of the New Testament.
The Athanasian Creed And The “Trinity”
When the second century ended and the third century after Christ began, the church which emerges to our view through the literature of the period is an entirely different church from that of the apostles. It is as if a curtain were drawn down over the century following the death of John. There is a paucity of literature in the following years.
By the time that curtain is lifted, God’s true church was scattered, persecuted; many had been martyred and driven underground. The church which emerges was busily engaged in impugning everything “Jewish,” while adapting purely pagan idolatry and ritual into “Christian” garb. Large numbers of gentiles had come into the early church, bringing with them their idolatrous heathen customs.
On the one hand were Jewish zealots who could not bring themselves to abandon such things as circumcision (The Jerusalem conference was called to deal with this widening dispute. See Acts 15), and on the other hand there were the pagans who brought in their heathen holy days, such as “Ishtar” (silent “h,” pronounced “easter”, the Saturnalia and Brumalia, and other pagan orgiastic feasts.
Paul specifically said that the “MYSTERY of lawlessness;” of sin, was at work within the church during his time. He warned the church in Thessalonika, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
“Let no man deceive you by any means [manner, or method]: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
“And now ye know what withholdeth [held back the wave of paganism infiltrating the church] that he might be revealed in his time.
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [restrains; holds back] will let [will continue to restrain], until he be taken out of the way’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-7). Clearly, Paul was speaking of how he had striven to keep the church free from heresy!.
Paul was used to write fourteen books of the New Testament. Study his rejoinder to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28-30); his impassioned pleas to Timothy and Titus concerning false teachers; his continual references to evil men who were perverting the gospel.
Whole books could be written (and many have been) about Simon Magus and those who “called themselves apostles” (Revelation 2:2) but were wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Paul warned Timothy, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [demons];
“Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
“Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3). One cannot help but be impressed by the imposition of such things as “no meat” days, and celibacy.
By the early 3rd century, increasing division over the weekly Sabbath, the annual Sabbath, the Passover, and the concept of Who, or What, was God caused the Emperor Constantine to convoke the “Council of Nicaea.”
This council, called not by the pope, but by the Emperor, who may or may not have consulted the pope, was attended by more than two hundred fifty “bishops,” mostly from the east. While primarily called for the purpose of condemning “Arianism” (see the Catholic Encyclopedia article on the subject), major statements were adopted concerning “Easter” (a pagan holiday which was grafted onto the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread) and celibacy.
The so-called “Trinity” is entirely a Roman Catholic dogma. To reject it is tantamount, in the Catholic religion, to be condemned to hell fire. While the so-called “Athanasian Creed” was apparently not known until the fourth century, it nevertheless forms the fundamental statement of the Roman Catholic Church on the subject of the Trinity. The protesting daughters of the Catholic Church have, as if with one voice, adopted the doctrine of the Trinity. They label any church which rejects the Trinity a “cult,” and insist they are not even “Christian,” even if such churches or groups fervently believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving grace; in God the Father, and in the Holy Spirit which proceeds from Him.
Under the article “Trinity” in the Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol. XV, p. 47), one reads, “THE DOGMA OF THE TRINITY. — The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion—the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons [note: some modern adherents to the Trinity doctrine assert that one must not refer to any member of the Godhead as a “person”], the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another.”
The Catholic Church says of the Trinity doctrine: “This, the Church teaches, is the revelation regarding God’s nature which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came upon earth to deliver to the world: and which she proposes to man as the foundation of her whole dogmatic system.”
Yet, after making this statement, the article continues to say that there is not one word in the Bible which can be found which conveys to our mind the concept of the Trinity! “In Scripture there is as yet [sic] no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together” (ibid. P. 47). “There is as YET no single term” in scripture? What does such a statement imply — that they intend adding such a term later? Shockingly, this is precisely what was done about the time of the invention of printing, as you shall soon see!
The “Athanasian Creed” says, “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father Uncreate, the Son Uncreate, and the Holy Ghost Uncreate. The Father Incomprehensible, the Son Incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incomprehensible. The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost Eternal and yet they are not Three Eternals but One Eternal. As also there are unto Three Uncreated, and One Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties but One Almighty. So the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God…” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 33, emphasis mine).
Thus, with these obviously self-contradictory and admittedly “incomprehensible” terms, the doctrine of the “Trinity” became firmly established.
The term “substance” means “matter, material, solid body; of what a thing consists. The Athanasian creed seems to say the concept of “three in one” requires that all three are indivisible, inseparable from a “material” point of view, as if all three are joined into one “substance.”
To the human mind, this is not only impossible, but, just as Athanasias himself admitted “incomprehensible.” To him, God was completely incomprehensible — a fathomless mystery.
“Incomprehensible?” But Jesus Christ said He came to REVEAL the Father, and plainly said those who had seen Him had “seen the Father.” Repeatedly, He insisted that He and His Father in heaven were “one,” which plainly meant to those who heard Him that they were one in agreement, in purpose, in doctrine, in character, and one in spiritual purity! Yet, Christ was on the earth; able to be seen, handled, experienced, and His Father was invisible, in heaven.
Nothing incomprehensible here whatsoever! Certainly, on has no problem seeing that the two “substances” were separate; Christ on earth, and the Father in heaven!
By the time one reads the language of the “Athanasian Creed,” one is thoroughly confused! God is made into an “incomprehensible mystery,” thus opening the way for God to be interpreted to people, NOT by the Bible, the Word of God; NOT by the plain statements of Jesus Christ about His Father, but by a human priest, and through ritual and man-made religious artifacts.
God’s Holy Spirit Is Not A “Ghost!”
To millions, the “third member of the Godhead” is a “ghost.” Because of a very poor and erroneous mistranslation into English from the Latin, the term “Holy Ghost” has been printed in millions of copies of the “Authorized King James” Bible.
Today, Pentecostal preachers continually refer to the “Holy Ghost,” and bridle at those who dare to write or speak of the “Holy Spirit.” But the Greek word, “pneuma” means “spirit,” or breath, or wind. We recognize the word in our English language in such words as “pneumonia” and “pneumatic.”
To millions, The Holy Spirit is perceived as wraith-like; a kind of “spiritual essence,” as a hooded apparition, hovering about Father and Son. While Christ plainly said “…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9), and Christ is described in both human and glorified form; there is no mention of the visage, shape, form, makeup or image of the “third member of the Trinity.” God is described as having eyes, ears, arms; a body. Christ appeared in glory to John in vision, with His head, body, eyes and entire appearance described (Revelation 1:13-16). We know that we are made in the “image of God” (Genesis 1:26,27).
There is no such description anywhere of the Holy Spirit. Never is the Holy Spirit described as having feet, legs, arms, hands, torso, eyes, or face.
The German word “geist” is the origin of our English word “ghost.” But the common understanding of the word “ghost” is, according to the World Book Encyclopedia Dictionary, “The spirit of a dead person. It is supposed to live in another world and appear to living people as a pale, dim, shadowy form: ‘the ghost of the murdered man haunted the house’.”
As synonyms, the dictionary lists “Specter, apparition.”
Some have blasphemously referred to the Holy Spirt as a “spook.”
But the original languages of the Bible, primarily Hebrew and Greek, do not remotely intend to convey to your mind the concept of a haunt, ghost, spook, or a specter! Neither do they convey to your mind a “person” distinct from the Father and the Son.
The Hebrew word is “ruwach,” and is translated in various forms, especially wind.
Of “ruwach,” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says, “wind; by resemblance, breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; fig. Life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extens. a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only as a rational being (includ. Its expressions and functions):– air, anger, blast, breath, cool, courage, mind, quarter, side, spirit (ual), tempest, vain, (whirl)wind, or windy.”
The very first place in the Bible where the Hebrew word “ruwach” is found is in Genesis 1:2: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit [Ruwach]of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
The term for God is “Elohim,” which is PLURAL, meaning more than one! Notice, ” And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…” (Genesis 1:25). Obviously, One of the Divine Persons implied in “Elohim” said to the other member of Divine Elohim, “Let US…” Now, WHO did the speaking, and to WHOM did He speak?
The GOD Of Creation
What you are about to read is so simple, sp PLAIN, yet so ASTONISHING that you will scarcely be able to believe it! If the hundreds of denominations believed this astonishing passage of scripture, it would profoundly affect all their doctrines, and totally change their concept of Who, or What, is God!
There are two places in the Bible which tell us about remote origins — the very beginning of all things. The most important of these two is found in John’s gospel, the first chapter! John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word [Greek: “Logos,” meaning “Spokesman”], and the Word was with God [Greek: “Theos: synonymous with “Elohim,” meaning more than one], and the Word was God” (The Logos was Theos).
“The same was in the beginning with God.
“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Plainly, the divine member of the Godhead (Elohim) who did the speaking; who said, “Let there be light,” and who said, “Let US make man in OUR image” was the one described by John as the “Logos,” or the Word! This is none other than the Person of the Godhead who became Jesus Christ of Nazareth, born of the virgin Mary!
Notice that ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM! He is the CREATING AGENT by whom all material things came into existence! And who WAS this “Logos?” He became Christ! Notice further proof:
“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
“He came unto his own [Christ was a Jew, and came unto the Jews], and his own received him not.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
“Which were born [Greek: “gennao,” translated either “begotten,” or “born”], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [Greek: “tabernacled;” dwelt temporarily] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:9-14).
What you are reading is the truth of God. It is the inspired WORD of God. No would-be spiritual guru can misinterpret it, twist, deny, it, without bringing upon himself/herself a great CURSE from God (Revelation 22:18,19).
The meaning is as plain as the nose on your face! Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the One who was “made flesh” and dwelt, or “tabernacled” among humans on this earth. He was the “first begotten of the Father” among all mankind. He came to His own, and His own received him not.
Notice, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
“John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me [John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ].
“And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:14-18).
John introduces Jesus Christ as the “Spokesman,” the “Logos,” who was the CREATOR of all things! He was in the beginning with God the Father; and He was the One who did the speaking; who said, “Let the dry land appear,” and who dealt with Adam and Eve; with the patriarchs; with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and with the prophets.
Millions have mistakenly assumed that the FATHER is the “God of the Old Testament,” while Jesus Christ is the God of the New! Many years ago, I received a letter from a lady who told me, “I could never worship that ‘God of the Old Testament!’ Why, to command those bears to kill those boys just because they had made fun of Elisha — why, I could NEVER worship a God like that!”
She, like millions of others, indeed, like dozens of churches and denominations, falsely assumed that Jesus Christ was a completely different personality; that it was the Father who dealt with the patriarchs and prophets, but that Jesus Christ came to overthrow the “harsh old laws” of His Father! Millions falsely assume Christ was like a “reformer,” who came do overthrow everything His Father had imposed upon ancient Israel! Nothing could be farther from the truth!
Jesus Christ IS the “God of the Old Testament!”
He told the Jews, “Before Abraham was, I AM!” (John 8:58). They knew He was saying HE was the One who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush; that HE was the one who wrote the Ten Commandments! Outraged, and not willing to accept this truth, they tried to kill Him! (See John 8:58,59).
Notice, “God [Theos; meaning more than one], who at sundry times and in divers manners spake [the “Spokesman was Christ] in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
“Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3).
The plain truth is, Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind, is the Member of the Divine family called “Elohim” who did the commanding; who was the Spokesman of His Father at the moment of creation! He was also the Spokesman of His Father during His earthly sojourn, and is the Divine Word of His Father even today!
Yet, there is not one in a thousand of church-going, professing “Christians” today, who knows, or believes, that Jesus Christ of the New Testament is the CREATOR, and the God of the Old Testament!
Thousands of nominal Christian pastors avoid this scripture like the plague, for they know it would be the death knell of their “no law” doctrines, and they would be forced to admit the Ten Commandments are in full force today!
Father And Son — A FAMILY Relationship
Jesus Christ is called the “first begotten” of the Father! Continually, He referred to God the Father! Notice only a few examples: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Fathersealed” (John 6:27).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
“For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” (John 6:32,33).
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (John 6:38,39).
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
“It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
“Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father” (John 6:44-46).
“When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:28,29).
This expression of familial relationship is not the invention of some cleric who thought it would be nice of Christians spoke of one another as “brother” or “sister.” Instead, it is part of the divinely revealed word of God, showing the relationship between Christ’s Father, and OUR Father, once we have been begotten by His Holy Spirit!
Continually, Jesus Christ spoke of His FATHER in heaven.
Whose Son is He?
Why, the Son of the FATHER! None of the Trinitarians confuses the Father of the Bible with the Holy Spirit, insisting they are distinct, for otherwise the whole concept of “three persons” disintegrates!
But wait! Notice the following, “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:30-35).
If the Holy Spirit is the “third person of the Godhead;” a member of a “trinity,” then Christ is the Son, NOT of God the Father, but of the Holy Spirit!” Clearly, the archangel told Mary that the “Holy Spirit” would come upon her; that the Holy Spirit was the begetting agent!
But Christ continually asserted that He was the Son of God, the Father! NEVER did He refer to a “third Person” of the Godhead!
Certainly, He NEVER called the “Holy Ghost” HIS FATHER!
There is no ambiguity in this scripture. Unless the Holy Spirit to which this scripture refers is NOT a “person” but is, instead, the life-giving power; the begetting agent; the life, mind, nature, character and Spirit of God, the Father! Did Jesus Christ pray to the WRONG FATHER? Christ was begotten BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! If the Holy Spirit is a PERSON, then Jesus Christ could NOT have been the “son of God the Father,” but was, instead, the “Son of the Holy Spirit!” But since the Bible plainly says God the Father IS a spirit, and that the spirit life, mind, nature, character and power which proceeds from Him is therefore Holy, it refers to the spirit which issues forth from the Father as “The Holy Spirit!”
The Father has a SPIRIT. Christ has a SPIRIT. Does the “Holy Spirit” (IF a member of a so-called “Trinity”) have a spirit? Does the bible ever speak of the “spirit of the Holy Spirit?”
No, of course not!
“God IS A SPIRIT,” said Jesus Christ, “…and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
The Father is clearly distinct! Not one of those who believe the false doctrine of the “trinity” denies this. All know that Christ’s dozens of references to His FATHER in Heaven make it very clear that the Father is supreme; that Christ came to this earth to do the will of His Father!
The Athanasian Creed declares that neither one of the so-called “Trinity” is superior, or supreme. Yet, Jesus Christ of Nazareth declared, “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Who are you going to believe, an obscure scribe who wrote contradictory, confusing words, making God into a “mystery” who is “incomprehensible,” or Jesus Christ? Will you believe man-made church traditions, adopted centuries after Christ, or your own Bible, and Jesus Christ Himself?
The SPIRIT OF THE FATHER
The word “spirit,” as mentioned above, comes from the Hebrew “ruwach,” and the Greek “pneuma.” It is used not only of God, but also in many other ways; even of an evil spirit. The word “pneuma” occurs 385 times in the received text. It is translated “Spirit” 133 times; “spirit” 153 times; “spiritual” once, “ghost” [not erroneously in these cases] twice; “life” once; “wind” once; “spiritually” once; and with the Greek word “hagion,” meaning “holy” four times.
It is erroneously mistranslated “Holy Ghost” 89 times.
Twice, the word “breath” is given in marginal references for “pneuma.” The scripture quoted above, “God is a Spirit…” uses the word “pneuma.” Technically, there is no indefinite Article in the Greek, and the phrase should read, “God is Spirit.”
Pneuma is used of God the Father; of Christ; of the Holy Spirit; of the work or operations of the Holy Spirit; of the “new nature of the children of God;” of man [psychologically]; of man [physiologically]; of character, and other invisible characteristics, such as feelings or desires; of angels, or spirit-beings; of demons, or evil spirits, and of the resurrected body.
Always, it is the context in which the word is used which conveys the sense.
Dr. Bullinger’s Companion Bible, Appendix 101, says, “Pneuma hagion,= holy spirit, and is so printed in The Companion Bible. This usage (without Articles) occurs 52 times in the N.T., and is always wrongly rendered “the Holy Spirit” (with the definite Article, and capital letters). Consequently there is no stronger rendering available when there are two Articles present in the Greek (to pneuma to hagion), which means “the Spirit the Holy [Spirit]”. Hence, the English reader can never tell which of the two very different Greek expressions he is reading.
“Pneuma hagion” (without Articles) is never used of the Giver (The Holy Spirit), but only and always of His gift. What this gift is may be seen by comparing Acts 1:4,5 with Luke 24:49, where “the promise of the Father” is called (in the former passage) pneuma hagion and in the latter is called “power from on high.”
The Hebrew word for “spirit” is “ruach” (The Exhaustive Concordance spells it “ruwach” to aid in pronunciation). Never does it connote a “third member” of the deity. Primarily, it is used in the sense of “an invisible force,” or “power from on high.” Bullinger says, ““Ruach, in whatever sense it is used, always represents that which is invisible, except by its manifestations. These are seen both externally to man, as well as internally within man. As coming from God, it is the invisible origin of life. All apart from this is death.
It is used of God, of the Holy Spirit, of Invisible Divine Power, of the invisible part of man (psychologically), as breath, spirit, mind, courage, anger, blast, the whole person, invisible spirit-beings, angels, cherubim, and even as invisible manifestations of our atmosphere, such as air, wind or winds, whirlwind, windy, tempest, and “sides, ” meaning the “four quarters” from whence the winds blow.
The word itself, as can be seen from the wide range of usages, never connotes a “third person” of a “Trinity.”
We use the English term in everyday speech. “You’re in a wrong spirit,” means a wrong attitude; a wrong frame of mind. “Her spirits were lifted by the sound of music” means her attitude, or mood was improved. “Mean spirited” is a term politicians continually use to describe their opponents. A “spirited” horse is one which is lively, full of energy. “His spirits are down” describes disappointment; dashed hopes.
By the same token, vague references to evil spirits are found in the expressions, “I wonder what came over him?” or, “What has gotten into you?”
The first place in the Bible where the term “ruach” is used is found in the account of creation: “In the beginning God [Elohim]created the heaven and the earth.
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1).
Refer back to the wide usages of the word “ruach” above. Obviously, we should not take this to mean “winds,” or “rage” or “breath.” The context makes it plain when we understand the meaning of the word “moved.” which is “rachaph,” a primary root word which means “to brood,” as in a relaxed manner, or to “flutter, move, shake.”
Some margins render it “The Spirit of God brooded…” Clearly, it is the MIND of Elohim; their THOUGHTS as they prepare to recreate the world after its destruction by Satan.
Remember, the Member of the Divine Family we know as “Elohim” (the Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1:1) is the “WORD” which was “made flesh!”
Elohim means MORE THAN ONE. The One who did the speaking, according to John’s gospel, was the “Logos” or the “Spokesman.” That BOTH the Father and the “Logos” Who would become the Son are involved in the creation is clear, for “Let US make man in OUR image” is clearly expressed!
Man, Made In The Image Of God
The Creation reveals the Creator! We know an architect by the buildings and designs he has created; an artist by his paintings; a musician by his music. God’s word tell us we can KNOW about the Divine Creator; about God, by looking at what He has MADE!
We need not be in ignorance about God.
Paul wrote, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [Greek: “kataballo,” meaning supress, or hold back] the truth in unrighteousness;
“Because that which may be known of [about] God is manifest in [to] them; for God hath showed it unto them.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world [by looking at all the creation; the universe, the solar system, our earth, and all life upon it] are clearly seen, being understood [what one understands is not a “mystery!”] by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…” (Romans 1:18-20).
Consider what God has MADE!
He said “Let US make man in OUR image.” Did God make man with THREE eyes, or two? Does man have THREE nostrils, or two? Does man have THREE arms, or two? Has he THREE hands, or two? Does man have THREE legs, or two? Does man have THREE feet, or two? Are there THREE sexes, or two? Does the male have THREE testicles, or two? Does the female have THREE ovaries, or two? Does each have THREE breasts, or two?
Like an architect or a sculptor, God (Elohim) used His own image and likeness as the MODEL for the creation of man! He then took Adam’s rib, and made a SECOND member of the human family, Eve. He did not make THIRD! There was no “mister in between” in the first family, but TWO persons, joined together in God-sanctioned marriage, making ONE family!
Are there THREE sexes, or two? God MADE them “male and female” and said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The TWO then become “ONE,” which is a picture of the Divine Elohim, or Godhead! This closest of all possible human relationships, marriage, is like a type of the Divine family of God! It is analogous to God’s “marriage agreement” with Israel under the terms of the Old Covenant! God said, “I was an husband unto them.”
Marriage is not a triumvirate, but TWO separate individuals becoming “ONE FLESH” physically and spiritually.
There are TWO great lights (Genesis 1:16), and TWO parts of every day; the daylight part, and the nighttime part.
There are TWO magnetic poles, not three.
There TWO states of being; life or death, not three.
Throughout the animal kingdom, there are TWO sexes, not three!
Everywhere in God’s creation, there is DUALITY.
Paul wrote, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit [a life-giving spirit].
“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
“The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
“As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:45-48).
Again, duality! There is not the first, second, and third “Adam,” but the first and second; TWO. There are not THREE states of being, but TWO, earthy, and heavenly!
When Jesus Christ was born of God (Romans 8:29), called the “FIRSTBORN” of the world, He did not become a tripartite Person! He became glorified, and appeared in human-like form, yet with great, brilliant, radiant glory, like the sun shining in its strength!
There was no “mystery” about what John saw! John wrote, “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
“And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
“And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore…” (Revelation 1:12-18).
Again, Christ appeared with two eyes, two feet, a right and a left hand. He was the “First and the Last” and there was NO “MISTER IN-BETWEEN!” No “Trinity” here, but Father and Son, TWO members of the Divine Family called “Elohim!”
A Lying, Spurious Verse DELIBERATELY Inserted Into The Bible
Trinitarians are fond of quoting 1 John 5:7 which says, ” For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
This verse appears in NONE of the early manuscripts, but was deliberately inserted by some unknown scribe after the invention of printing!
The King James Bible has the entire passage thus: “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one [the italicized words are those which were deliberately inserted into the text, and are not in the original manuscripts]
“And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (1 John 5:5-8).
Notice carefully the difference between the King James version and the “New International” Bible: ” Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
“This is the one who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
“For there are three that testify:
“the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” (1 John 5:5-8, NIV)
Do you notice the difference? Verse 7 in the KJV is missing in the NIV for the simple reason that even superficial Biblical research proves that the 7th verse is spurious; false; a deliberate insertion!
Now, notice the New Revised Standard Version: “Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
“This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
“There are three that testify:
“the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree” (1 John 5:5-8, NRSV).
The Diaglott has it thusly: “And who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
“This is He who came by water and blood, — Jesus the Anointed One; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood; and the Spirit is that which testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
“For there are three which testify;
“The Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three are of one” (1 John 5:5-8; Diaglott).
In a footnote, the Diaglott says, “This text concerning the heavenly witness is not contained in any Greek manuscript which was written earlier than the 15th century. It is not cited by any of the Greek ecclesiastical writers; nor by any of the early Latin fathers. Even when the subjects upon which they treated would naturally have led them to appeal to its authority. It is therefore evidently spurious; and was first cited (though not as it now reads) by Virgilius Tapsensis, a Latin writer of no credit, in the latter end of the 15th century; but by whom forged is of no great moment, as its design must be obvious to all.”
This deliberate forgery; this willful falsification of the Bible by some unknown scribe nearly one thousand, six hundred years after Christ will merit the individual who stooped to the chicanery a terrible curse from God!
The obvious meaning of the passage in 1 John 5:5-8 is that salvation is through the acceptance of the shed blood of Jesus Christ as an atonement for sin, then receiving water baptism, and the Holy Spirit!
Notice the language the ORIGINAL verses 7 and 8: “For there are THREE which testify; the SPIRIT, and the WATER, and the BLOOD; and the three ARE OF ONE!”
It does NOT say “the three are one!” Even if it did, it is not speaking of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but of the SON ONLY, for it says “…the three are of one,” meaning of, and from, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Christ underwent water baptism to set us an example. He was “baptized” by His blood sacrifice; shedding His life’s blood to atone for the sins of all mankind! He responded to Peter and the disciples, “… Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
“And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father” (Matthew 20:22,23).
Desperate to find at least SOME faint shadowy reference to “three” somewhere in scripture, a dishonest copier, nearly one thousand six hundred years after Christ, inserted a spurious verse into a manuscript.
Notice that the footnote in the Diaglott stresses that early Latin writers, all of whom were no doubt Roman Catholics, and therefore eager to find some reference in scripture to a “trinity,” DID NOT cite this “verse” since it simply did not exist during their day!
Nowhere is the Holy Spirit referred to as “the blood.” The true original verses in 1 John 5:5-8 do not remotely indicate a trinity, but rather the rite of water baptism, Christ’s shed blood, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, which helps the Christian overcome the world (1 John 5:4).
The Greek Word For “He”
Many assume that the language of Christ (recorded by John) concerning the “Other Comforter” is referring to a third person of the Godhead.
Christ said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
“Of sin, because they believe not on me;
“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
“He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
“All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 16:7-15).
God the Father is masculine, not feminine. Like the Latin languages, the Greek has gender. In Spanish, “el” is masculine, while “la” is feminine. Hence, “el techo” is masculine, for “the roof,” and “la casa” is feminine for “the house.”
The Greek word translated “he” in this lengthy passage is from “ekeinos.” Of this word, the exhaustive concordance says, “that one (or [neut.] thing); often intensified by the art. Prefixed:–he, it, the other (same), selfsame, that (same, very), x their x them, they, this, those.”
Notice carefully that “ekeinos” can just as easily be translated “it” as “he.” It can also be used to indicate “that one” or “that thing.”
“He” in any language is a reflexive third-person pronoun, and can be applied in many, many ways. In the Greek, it is “autos,” and is used in the following ways: “her, it (self), one, the other, (mine) own, said ([self], the] same, ([him, my, thy]) self, [your] selves, she, that, their (s), them ([selves]), there [at, by, in, into, of, on, with], they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance,Greek Dictionary, No. 846).
Because one or another of these two words are used in connection with the Holy Spirit which issues forth from the Father, they are used in the masculine “He” in the passages appearing in John 16.
However, notice, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:15-17).
The word “itself” comes from the Greek “autos,” and is a reflexive pronoun.
It is quite appropriately translated “itself” in this passage.
Notice the awesome MEANING of these beautiful words!
When we receive the Holy Spirit of God following repentance, accepting the shed blood of Christ, water baptism, and the laying on of hands, we are begotten of God, the Father!
Our spiritual FATHER is the FATHER; the same Father to Whom Jesus prayed, and the Father to Whom He returned!
We are NOT the “children of the Holy Spirit,” as if a third person of a triumvirate had begotten us, but the children of God, the Father. Christ is the first begotten of the Father, and He is the FIRSTBORN among many brethren (1 Corinthians 15:23; Romans 8:29).
This clearly shows that being “born of God” means exactly what it says; that we are eventually to be BORN AGAIN as a SPIRIT being, in the Divine Family of God!
The word “adoption” should be rendered “sonship,” for it means much more than mere legal adoption. It means becoming the actual begotten child; the BORN child of the parent!
Paul says this is why we cry “Abba,” which means “FATHER.”
Your human father is your literal, actual, real father, not some vague, shadowy, ghost-like “mister in between.” It was your FATHER whose life-giving seed united with your mother to produce YOU.
In like fashion, the life-giving HOLY SPIRIT OF THE FATHER unites with your human spirit (erroneously called “the soul” by most) which produces a ‘new creature in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ is now our elder Brother, for He was the FIRST begotten of the same Father!
God’s Holy Spirit witnesses with our human spirit that we are now the “children of God!”
There is no “third person” active in this scenario!
The Biblical Analogies For The Holy Spirit
Had the Bible been written in our day, the analogies used to convey to our minds the truth about the Holy Spirit might have included electricity, radio and television waves, or nuclear energy. Instead, the analogies used in the Bible are air, wind, light, power, and water!
Never is the Person of the Father, or the Person of the Son spoken of as being “poured out.” But notice, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
“And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:28, 29). One pours water out of a vase. Pouring is obvious reference to liquid, as water!
When Peter referred to this prophecy, the Holy Spirit had been manifested in at least four different ways; as a “roaring, mighty wind;” as “fire,” as the gift of speaking with foreign languages, and as liquid, as if being “poured out!”
Notice what Luke wrote, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
“And there appeared unto them cloven [flickering flames, or “tongues” of fire, equally divided] tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them utterance.
“And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
“Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language…14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
“For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
“And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 1:1-18).
Here, the Holy Spirit is analogous to sound, or noise; to water, to powerful wind, and to fire! Water is the substance of LIFE! Without water, there could be no life on earth. You are mostly composed of water.
Baptism is a type of being “washed” free of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit!
Notice, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26). The word of God “washes” the human mind free from sin, even as one washes dirty laundry. Water, that greatest of all solvents over a period of time; that life-sustaining substance, is used as an analogy of God’s Holy Spirit.
When Peter had to learn that God was opening the way to salvation to the Gentiles, he rehearsed how the house of Cornelius and other Gentiles had repented, and been begotten of God: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
“Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
“Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?” (Acts 11:15-17).
Expressions such as “falling upon,” or “clothed with,” or “poured out,” or “baptized with” are used of the Holy Spirit in order to convey the invisible POWER of God; His mind, His purpose, His life-giving power; His nature; His Divine Character!
Notice that each Christian is said to be “begotten of the Holy Spirit!”
None of the adherents to the false doctrine of the Trinity argues that the Father is anyone other than the Father of Christ, the distinct FATHER of their so-called “Trinity!”
Then, notice what Christ said about our Father in heaven: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 5:5-10).
Buy by Whom, or by what POWER were we begotten of God? IF the Holy Spirit is a “PERSON” then each Christian is praying to the WRONG FATHER!
The Father is the Great God of the Divine Elohim, of Whom Christ said, “My Father is GREATER than I!”
Christ prayed to His Father. We are to pray to the same Father!
Christ is said to have been like a “Replica,” or the “stamped impress”; a perfect COPY of the Father! He said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”
Notice, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
“Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
“Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
“For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? {Hebrews 1:1-5).
Who said he had begotten Jesus Christ? Why, the FATHER said this!
Then the SPIRITUAL AGENCY by which such a miracle occurred was that of the Holy Spirit! NOT a “separate person” of the Godhead at all, but the life-giving POWER OF ALMIGHTY GOD THE FATHER!
Jesus Christ did not come to make His Father a darkened, incomprehensible MYSTERY!
Christ came to REVEAL the Father. The FALSE doctrine of the trinity sees a CLOSED Godhead, and denies that you or I can become the children of God the Father!
The “incomprehensible MYSTERY of the so-called “trinity” makes millions of people assume “God” is unknowable; unapproachable except through elaborate ritual, “way off” somewhere in the blackness of space.
But Jesus Christ came to REVEAL God the Father; to explain the purpose of life, and to offer salvation to all those who will believe what He said!
Christ cried out, “Why call ye me, ‘Lord,’ ‘Lord,’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Christ commanded, “REPENT ye, and believe the Gospel!” The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS of the soon-coming world-ruling Kingdom of God! The Gospel is the very BEST news you could ever hear!
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