Romans 114

History of the Trinity

April 267 2003

Brian Kocourek

 

 

DEUTERONOMY 6:4   Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD: Now the word Lord here is   the Hebrew word YVHU  pronounced {a-do-nahee'} And later it came to be pronounced Jehovah and It means "the existing One" or as we would call Him Elohim, or the self existing One. That is God period.

 

However, The fundamental doctrines of mainstream Christianity is the Trinity. This morning I would like to show you that this Creed is of the Devil and has done more damage to True Christianity than any other dogma throughout the ages of the Christian Church.

 

The Trinity Creed says, "There is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another 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. ... The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. ... the whole three persons are co-eternal and co-equal ..." They say that God is one in essence but three in person, indivisible, inseparable. And they draw three dots in a triangle and say that each dot represents a person while they form together a triangle of unity.

 

But this morning I wish to demonstrate to you that the origin of the trinity took place much earlier than Christianity has been in existence. The origin of Trinity goes back to when satan wanted to be co-equal with God, and elevated himself, to be God.

 

In the beginning there was God and when God brought forth a Son, His son was alone to worship Him. The understanding then was there is but One God and He had a Son. Then God brought forth all of creation through that son, and there was still one Revelation concerning God and that is there is but One God and He has a Son. God cannot change and when He spoke to Israel and said, “behold Oh Israel, the Lord thy God is One Lord.”  However, in the Book of Ezekiel we are told that Lucifer elevated himself to be equal with God, and thus the Unholy Spirit tried to take the place of the Holy Spirit. 

 

The concept of Trinity was unknown to the early Christians. Jesus, the son of God did not teach it. But several hundred years after His death, Christian leaders inculcated the Babylonian concept of  Trinity to try and explain the relationship between God and His Son. The New Catholic Encyclopedia agrees that the Doctrine of Trinity was unknown to the early Christians: "Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective."(The New Catholic Encyclopedia-1967. art. 'The Holy Trinity'-Vol. 14, P295)

 

Trinity in Christianity was first introduced as 'Trinitas' by Tertulian, a Christian writer of great repute from Carthage, Africa, in 200 AD (Ref. 25 -p15 & 77). Later it was established as Trinity by Athanesius, bishop of Alexandria, at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD In this conference Jesus The Son of God was declared to be "God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God." (Hasting's Encyclopedia of Ethics and Religion, vol. IV, p239). And thus came to be known not any longer as the Son of God, but God the Son.

 

Initially the concept of Trinity among the fallen Christians included God, Jesus the Son, and Mary the Mother of Jesus. The General Council of Ephesus, held in 431 AD, gave a ruling so as to also worship Mary as goddess, as she was the 'Mother of God Jesus. (A short history of Christianity- G. M. Robertson, p148). 'Mary as Mother of God', offended many believers and later on she was replaced by the 'Holy Ghost' (Ref. 25 -p80).

 

The controversy of Trinity continued when in 451 AD the Council of Chalcedon made the Nicene Creed as authoritative. Constantine lent his power to the church in order to uphold this new doctrine. There after no dissent was tolerated but suppressed brutally by mutilation and death.

 

In the following portion of this teaching, I will show that The basis of Trinity is said to be the following verse, and I will use comments to show the fallacy of their rationale. My comments will be in bold print so as to not confuse the reader.

 

I John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. But the earliest Greek manuscripts of New Testament of fourth century (Codex Sinaiticus) and the fifth century (Codex Vaticanus) do not contain this verse. It is only found in the Greek manuscripts of 15th and 16th centuries, which means it has been added later. (Ref. 25 -p78) Even the Lamsa Bible which was taken from the ancient eastern texts, says, "And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth." 1 John 5:7.  Also the Rotherham Bible takes the original texts and thus says the same thing, And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth, The NIV which takes for its texts the Mazoratic text also says, And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is Truth. And the Amplified Bible says, And it is the [Holy] Spirit who bears witness, because the [Holy] Spirit is the Truth.

 

Jesus himself did not teach Trinity. Rather he proclaimed unity of God. He said: "The first of all commandments is 'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord'" (Mark 12:28-29).

 

In the Book of Isaiah 44:6 we God said: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god" .

 

To make matters more clear, there are No Prophets that ever uttered the word 'Trinity'.

No Prophet ever preached that there is more than one God, and in fact if a prophet did arise who taught such he was to die.

 

In the Book of Deuteronomy we are told how to test whether a prophet was genuine or not. God said,...

 

DEUTERONOMY 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19    And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him. 20    But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21    And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22    When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

 

No Bible Prophet ever claimed to be God or equal to God.

 

The word 'Trinity' is neither found in the Holy Bible, nor in the Bible dictionary.

According to those who teach and profess the so-called Holy Trinity, all the three in the Godhead are Gods and co-equal. So Jesus and Holy Ghost must also be equally worshipped by the followers. But they don't.

 

If they are equal, and can not be separated as one entity, then when Mary is the mother of one of them she must by the same reasoning be the mother of all three. And yet how can a woman who is finite be the mother of that which is infinite?

 

If in fact as they teach, the three Godheads are co-equal, only one of them, the God Jesus, is seen to pray to 'God the Father' and not to the Holy Ghost. The other two ('God the Father' and 'God the Holy Ghost') do not pray at all. Further, 'God Jesus' never claimed equality with 'God the Father'. He said "Father is greater than I" (which means that they are not equal) (John 14:28).

 

They also teach that these three persons (Gods) in the Holy Trinity are also co-eternal. This means that the Son of God could not have been begotten of the Father, for had he been begotten he would have had a beginning.  This also would have to mean that existence or absence of one of them makes it mandatory for the existence or absence of the other two. So when one of them died on the cross the other two also died.

 

The fact is the Trinity belief system was much older than the one set up in Nicea Rome. If you got o Hysslops Two Baylons, you will find that there were many Triadic beliefs among the ancient peoples, all which were considered heathen by the Monotheist Jewish believers in the One and True God.

 

There is a Hindu Trinity which consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Each of them is a God, but combined together they make one God.

The Persians has a triad of Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd), Ahriman, and Mithra.

 

There was a Babylonian triad of Anu, The chief God and father of the Gods Enlil, who represented the wind or spirit, and Enki or ea who was the Son of the Anu and represented wisdom. Enki was the god of wisdom, and of the seas and rivers. If we think of Enlil as the Chairman of the Board, Enki was the Chief Executive Officer. Enki was the one who got things done on earth.

 

The Egyptian triad was Osiris, Isis, and Horus;

The Roman triad was Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva;

 

But God Himself said, in Deuteronomy, 6:7 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

 

The Trinitarian apologists say the Hebrew word for “God” is “Elohim” which is a plural.  The Biblical Hebrew word for “one” in the above passage is “echad” which is a corporate oneness, not merely a numeric count.  So they say, God is a plural number of persons yet one.  I guess then, that God to them must be a committee.

 

They teach that the Biblical doctrine of the oneness of God expresses His corporate unity. Thus they say Jesus is one God with His Father, and they teach that is what Jesus meant when he said, "I and my Father are one." (John 10:30). But then that same logic would have to hold true for all of us, for the same Jesus said, JOHN 17:11   And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we [are].

 

Another famous verse they use is 1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" but we have already proven that that verse was not even in the original text, but inserted sometime around the 15-16th century.

 

The earliest Greek manuscripts of New Testament of fourth century (Codex Sinaiticus) and the fifth century (Codex Vaticanus) do not contain this verse. It is only found in the Greek manuscripts of 15th and 16th centuries, which means it has been added later. (Ref. 25 -p78) In most Bible version which have stayed true to the original manuscripts, this verse has been replaced by "And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

 

1. God Has no father or mother. 1. Jesus had both a father (a God) and a mother (a human).

2. God Had a begotten son . Jesus had therefore a beginning and could not have been eternally existent with the father.

3. God is Spirit while the Son took on flesh.

4. The Son came forth in the Image of the Father, and an image is not the same as the one it is an image of.

5. God has sons and daughters, Jesus had brothers and sisters.

6. God never prayed to God but Jesus Prayed to God.

7. God has no God, but the Son of God has a God

God is sovereign and thus needs no one and is independent from all. Jesus needed God’s help and called out to God and had to answer to God and was dependent upon God. (Luke 22:44); also accused God # 1 for forsaking him (Mark 15:34).

8. God incarnated His son, and thus the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in the Son. Jesus was not the fullness but the fullness dwelt in Him because the Father incarnated Him.

9. God is the only immortal King and thus could not die on the cross. 9. Jesus died on the cross.

 

 

From the differences mentioned above, it is clear that these two individuals are not the same one. One is God while the other was the Son of God. Therefore they are not the one and the same in the sense that they are one like your finger is one. Common sense will tell that they are two different beings, and that one is God and the other is not. If one brings the third component of Holy Trinity (the Holy Ghost) into consideration along with these two, then he will have three distinct Gods in Christianity. It is difficult to see how any juggling of words or of definition of divinity, will make these three Gods into one God to any person who is willing to use common sense.

 

The concept of three distinct and separate Divine Persons and each one them being God, is incompatible with the concept of unity of God. The church recognizes the impossibility of it and declared: "The Most Holy Trinity is a mystery in the strictest sense of the word. ... it remains impossible for the human intellect to grasp." (Ref. 24 -p30). This means that Trinitarian Christianity is a religion whose principal doctrine is impossible to be understood by human beings.

 

The Holy Bible says in Deuteronomy 13:6-9"If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known, ... you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him; but you shall kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people".

 

John 17:20-22Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: -

 

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.  I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.  - John 8:17-18

 

If God the Father and His Son Jesus are not two persons, neither can they be two witnesses.  It is clearly seen from the above words of God's Son Jesus that He and the Father are two persons.  But again this speaks of one that is God while the other is the son of God, not God the Son. Show me one scripture where God the Son is used. Then why change the order of the wording.  To do so you are not rightly dividing the word of Truth.

 

They use the scripture: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  - Genesis 1:26

 

Now, although this is a good argument against the oneness teaching where God is one like your finger is one, it does not speak of the two both being God. It speaks of one that is God and the other is the Son of God. But the Trinitarians teach it as thus: Who is the “us” here? God did not create the world with assistance.  Neither does God have a pronoun problem.  The “us” is the Godhead, the Holy Trinity, of whom the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all were responsible for creation.  Someone does not refer to Himself as "us" unless other persons are there also, hence, first person plural.  Here is another passage where you see the same speech from our Lord…

 

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.  Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. – Genesis 11:6-7

 

Comment: again we see that they use the plural let us to say that there are three. I do not see three here but two, and I do not see where there are two Gods, but the one talking is God, but there is nothing that says what the other one being talked to is. For all we know it could be angels.

 

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.Isaiah 6:8

 

Comment: The same reasoning applies here. Not three, but One that is God speaking to another being, of which we are not told who it is. It could be the Son of God or it could be talking to an angel.

 

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.Isaiah 6:3

 

Comment: This would be like me say, ha ha ha, and that means I am laughing once for me, and once for myself and once for I, and that makes three persons, Me, myself and I, and that is three persons.

 

They say: Notice the repetition, it was not in vain.  It was to glorify the Father, Son and Spirit.

 

The doctrine of the Trinity is taught using the following Scriptures, and in fact this is the way it is taught according to their own teachers. It boggles the mind that anyone could throw away their salvation for a doctrine that they can not even explain. I will try to withhold my commentary seeing that many of these scriptures are so baseless that a child would laugh at their assumptions.

 

Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. – Isaiah 34:16

 

my = God, the Father

mouth = God, the Son (The Word)

spirit = God, the Holy Spirit                           Comment: Yes they actually teach this!

 

And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.  - Exodus 3:15

 

God of Abraham = revelation of God, the Father

God of Isaac = revelation of God, the Son

God of Jacob = revelation of God, the Holy Spirit

The three are one God.                                            

 

Comment: It is hard to believe that anyone in their right mind would use this Scripture as an example, but they do. I guess that means if I say the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph I am referring to four Gods. And what about the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Which one is He? And what about the God of Paul, is this yet another? You see where the Logic leads to? A pantheon of Gods.

 

They do the same with Exodus 3:16, Exodus 4:5, Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26, Luke 20:37 and other places in Holy Scripture.

 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. – Matthew 3:16-17

 

Jesus = God, the Son

saw

Spirit of God = God, the Spirit

and heard

a voice saying “my” = God, the Father

All are Deity, there are three persons, not just one person.

 

Comment: I heard a very famous radio preacher doctor _,  say last week, that the Trinity is made up of three individual persons who are distinct only in the roles they play out. He said, these three are different persons and yet make up one God. He also said, that each is co-eternal, co-existent, and sovereign. Now, how in the world is this when the Scriptures tells us that the Son of God was obedient to the Father in all things, and could do nothing unless the Father showed Him first.

 

Let us not forget this passage they use…

 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: - Matthew 28:19

 

Comment: why is it that Jesus said Peter had the keys and yet that same man said you  must be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And why then was not one person baptized in the titles of father, son and holy ghost in the entire scriptures. All references of baptisms in scripture show the Name of Jesus Christ being used.  The reason is because father, son and holy ghost are not names but titles. The Name is Jesus Christ.

 

Again they use: And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost 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 1:35

 

Highest = God, the Father

Son of God = God, the Son (Jesus)

Holy Ghost = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Comment: This would mean that the Holy Ghost held down Mary while the Highest consummated the act. To have two persons perform this act would be called gang rape, and is such a lurid teaching that these men surely blaspheme the Holy Spirit in breaking down the scripture in this manner.

 

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.  - John 3:34

 

God = God, the Father

he, him = God, the Son

Spirit = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Comment: They just do not understand that Jesus, the Son of God was not God the Son, but the Son of God, and that the Father indwelt that Son without Measure, when He entered the son at the Jordan river.  

 

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. – John 14:26

 

Father = God, the Father

my, I = God, the Son

Comforter, Holy Ghost = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Comment: It is very evident that the comforter is a role that God plays out when he imparts His God Life, His own Spirit into the believer. That does not make it another person.

 

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.  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 ye now see and hear.  - Acts 2:32-33

 

God, Father = God, the Father

Jesus, he = God, the Son

Holy Ghost = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Comment: If God raised him up then how could he be co-eternal with God? Again the way they try to insert the Holy Ghost as a person here is stretching the matter so much, it has no basis with a rational mind. Receiving the promise of the Spirit does not make the Spirit a person. I had many promises from my earthly father, for a bicycle, and for Christmas presents and for birthday presents, and that did not make any of these things a person.

 

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  - Romans 8:11

 

him, he, his = God, the Father

Jesus, Christ = God, the Son

Spirit = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Comment: Now they are really stretching here because if you read this right it speaks of the Spirit of God being in you and if His own God-life is in you then it will do for you what it did for His only begotten son. To stretch it to another being or person is not an honest reasoning. Notice how they will use the words his and Spirit in two different colors, identifying them as different persons and then make them the same person? Is anyone home?

 

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.1 Corinthians 12:3

 

God = God, the Father

Jesus, Lord = God, the Son

Holy Ghost = God, the Holy Spirit

 

“Lord” here shows that Jesus is master and that he is God, but not that he is Godhead.

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Comment:

 

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

 

God = God, the Father

Lord = God, the Son

Spirit = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.  Amen. – 2 Corinthians 13:14

 

God = God, the Father

Lord Jesus Christ= God, the Son

Holy Ghost = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Ephesians 4:5 below is a favorite quote among U.P.s which says "One Lord, one faith, one baptism". United Pentecostalists take these words completely out of context and meaning when saying that the "One Lord" is the Godhead.  Let us read it in its proper context…

 

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  – Ephesians 4:4-6

 

One God and Father = God, the Father

One Lord = God, the Son

one Spirit = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. – 1 Peter 1:2

 

God the Father = God, the Father

Jesus Christ = God, the Son

Spirit = God, the Holy Spirit

One God, yet Three Divine Persons

 

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. – Revelation 4:8

 

Comment: To be consistent then, If I say, hahaha that makes me three persons.

 

They do say, : It is true that the word “Trinity” is not present in the Bible but the doctrine is there, just as the doctrine of “Monotheism” is in the Scriptures without the actual word being present in the text.

 

And again they will admit it was an unknown theology, but then come around and say it must have been taught. They say: Although the word “Trinity” was not coined until later, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity was nevertheless present in the early church and was the belief of Christians as it is has been the doctrinal faith of Christians throughout the centuries and today.

 

In closing I ask you, are the Trinitarian believer rightly dividing the scripture? Are they being open and honest with themselves? Then why do they so readily buy off on a false doctrine that they cannot explain and then resort to saying that it is a mystery, and cannot be understood. Is not that heathen? Did not Jesus Himself say, the gentiles worship what they know not? Did not Paul tell the Greeks on Mars Hill that they had a marker for the unknown God? Then when we can take you to the understanding of the Godhead and lay it out so plain by Scripture why would you choose any other understanding? I tell you it is because those who do so are not honest people. And they are willfully ignorant. Anyone who says, it is a mystery and then are willing to worship a mystery have opened themselves up to worshipping satan.