Sin la Trinidad no hay un verdadero Jesús

By Marcia Montenegro

The Trinity can be considered a rather neglected doctrine in the church today, even seen as secondary by many. In this article, we will consider and evaluate some responses from Christians and non-Christians who oppose the importance and necessity of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Nontrinitarians appear to be Christians, especially in their declaration of love for Jesus, but if the subject of the Trinity comes up, they regard it as an unproblematic, pagan, evil, man-made, unbiblical doctrine, etc. All nontrinitarians deny the personality of the Holy Spirit.

The main question is: if the Trinity is not true, then who is Jesus?

There are numerous Christian scholars who have written books on this topic, with answers to both Trinity and anti-Trinitarian views. I have added a list of resources at the end for those who want to read further.

Objections to the Trinity and their responses

Objection: “Well, no one really understands the Trinity, so if people don’t accept it, that’s fine.”

It is true that no one understands the Trinity in its entirety because we are dealing with the nature of God. Since God is not created, we as created beings cannot grasp the full nature of God. However, He has revealed all of His attributes in His Word, and so we can know many things about God.

Since God is uncreated, the Trinity has no counterpart on Earth. That is why there is no analogy for it. Most analogies describe modalism (God takes on the roles of three persons), tritheism (three persons instead of one), and when examined, they break down. I do not use an analogy. I say that God is three coeternal, coequal persons who are one substance. “Persons,” by the way, does not mean a human person, but it is the proper way to describe the three in the Trinity.

Other ways to describe the Trinity are:

There is only one God.

God exists eternally in three distinct persons.

The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.

The Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit, etc. [1]

Objection: “After they believe in Jesus, that’s all that matters.”

But who is the Jesus they are believing in?

Concerning the Trinity, there are two main heresies:

Oneness or Modalism (sometimes called Sabellianism, named after the 3rd century heretic Sabellius), teaches that God is one person (a unitary view of God) who manifests as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and/or one God who has 3 roles or “functions”, such as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Arianism (named after Arius, a 3rd/4th century heretic), teaches that Jesus is a created being and is less than God.

The Modalist view includes:

Jesus is God the Father.

Jesus is God incarnate.

The Holy Spirit is part of God/Jesus.

The Father is the “divine nature,” and Jesus is the “human nature” of God.

In contrast, the Bible unequivocally says:

Jesus is the Son of God, distinct from the Father; Jesus cannot be the Son of God if God the Father is also.

Jesus spoke of his Father in several passages.

Jesus prayed to the Father.

Throughout the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus speaks of how God sent him (Jesus) to Earth.

The Holy Spirit is given the same attributes of deity as God [2] .

Illustration of the Trinity

The Holy Spirit is given personal characteristics and is referred to as a Person, and not as a mere force, power or energy [3] .

Some Oneness believers say that when Jesus prayed to God, it was human nature praying to divine nature. But natures don’t pray, individuals pray. Furthermore, it would be deceptive for God to make it appear that Jesus was praying to someone else when, in fact, he wasn’t.

The Jesus of the non-Trinity Arians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Christadelphians, Wayfarers, and other sects is a created Jesus. He has a beginning and is not equal to the Father. This is clearly a false Jesus, and is easier to refute than the Jesus of Modalism/Oneness, which is arguably more complicated and difficult to refute.

Arius (250-336) taught that Jesus was a created, finite being, and was declared a heretic by the Council of Nicaea in 325. So the real Jesus is not the Jesus of Modalism/Oneness or the Arian Jesus, and therefore belief in such a Jesus is fruitless.

Objection: “We are not saved by perfect doctrine.”

We are not saved by doctrine, but by faith, but such faith must be an informed faith. If our doctrine as to who Jesus or God is is incorrect, then we do not have faith in the right Jesus. We can get little things wrong, but not about who Jesus is, because we will have the wrong Jesus, making him unable to save.

Doctrine simply means “teachings.” The teachings of who God and Jesus are have to be true and based on God’s revelation in Scripture. Otherwise, it’s a false God and Jesus. It’s really basic. This objection is a “straw man.”

Just because the word “Jesus” is used by Oneness believers or Arians, it does not mean that it is the correct Jesus. Pay attention to statements of faith, because statements by Oneness believers can be quite misleading. They may say they believe in the “Triune God” without referring to the biblical Trinity.

Modalists can affirm the Apostles’ Creed without believing in the Trinity. They read their own meaning into who Jesus is. An example of this statement is found on the church’s website “Dan Dean’s Oneness” (Phillips, Craig & Dean). They give the Apostles’ Creed as their beliefs. There is no affirmation of the Trinity and no clarification as to the person of the Holy Spirit (because they are a Oneness Church [4] ).

Who is Jesus if the Trinity is not true?

If there is no Trinity, where does that leave Jesus? Here are the options:

He is a minor God.

It’s another God.

He is not the Son of God, but the Father.

He is just a man without divinity.

These points clearly answer the question, “If the Trinity is not true, then who is Jesus?” It leaves Jesus as a false Jesus. This should establish why the Trinity is essential to the faith and cannot be denied by anyone who calls himself a Christian. It is good to point this out to those who say that the doctrine of the Trinity is not essential or primary.

Recognized antitrinitarians

There are many well-known people who were or are antitrinitarians, dead and alive:

William Branham (Modalism), a highly influential figure in the erroneous and sectarian movements in the Church today; there are Branham teachings and followers all over the world [5] [6] .

Jakes (Modalism) [7] [8] .

Phillip, Craig & Dean (Modalism) [9] [10] [11] .

Roy Masters (Arian) [12] [13] .

Ron Dart (similar to Arianism), still heard on Christian radio [14] [15] .

The Armstrong cults (Worldwide Church of God), polytheistic (the Father and Jesus are separate gods) [16] [17] [18] [19] .

The Way (formerly called “The Way International”), Arians [20] [21] .

Some verses about the Trinity (there are many more)

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

“Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33).

“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

“But the Helper, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

“But when the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me” (John 15:26).

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Additional Resources on the Trinity

(Selected list, not exhaustive)

Arianism [22]

Modalism [23]

Oneness Pentecostalism [24]

What is Sabellianism, Modalism and Monarchism? [25]

The Athanasian Creed confessing the Trinity [26]

CANA Post, Modalism is an Attack on God [27]

Why the Trinity is an Essential Doctrine [28]

Jesus Christ Our Creator, a Biblical Defense of the Trinity [29]

Oneness Pentecostalism of NAMB (North American Mission Board of the SBC) [30]

Oneness Pentecostalism and the Trinity [31]

The Biblical Basis for the Doctrine of the Trinity [32]

Faith groups that reject the Trinity [33]

Books about the Trinity

“A Definitive Look at Oneness Theology: In the Light of Biblical Trinitarianism” by Edward Dalcour.

“Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity” by Gregory Boyd.

“Jesus Only Churches” by E. Calvin Beisner.

“Why You Should Believe in the Trinity: An Answer to Jehovah’s Witnesses” by Robert Bowman.

References

[1] Theopedia, https://www.theopedia.com/trinity

[2] The Trinity, CARM

[3] See numbers 3 and 4 at https://carm.org/verses-showing-identity-ministry-and-personhood-holy-spirit

[4] http://theheartlandchurch.com/beliefs/

[5] https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/branhamismprofile.pdf

[6] http://www.apologeticsindex.org/5870-william-branham

[7] http://www.equip.org/article/concerns-about-the-teachings-of-td-jakes/

[8] CANA article on TD Jakes’ misleading language on the Trinity http://www.solasisters.com/2012/01/td-jakes-through-glass-blurrily.html

[9] http://hereiblog.com/modalism-revisted-phillips-craig-dean/

[10] https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/2013/01/05/blurring-the-dividing-linethe-legacy-of-phillipscraig-and-dean/

[11] https://rootedinchrist.org/2008/01/01/phillips-craig-dean-and-the-united-pentecostal-church-upci-oneness-pentecostals/

[12] Walter Martin exposes Masters’ heretical beliefs in a debate with Masters https://soundcloud.com/steven-j-aronfeld/roy-masters-debates-walter

[13] CANA post in Masters, https://www.facebook.com/FormerNewAger/posts/10153497822822237

[14] http://www.soundwitness.org/evangel/ronald_dart_anti-trinitarian.htm

[15] http://watchmansbagpipes.blogspot.com/2015/07/heresy-alert.html

[16] https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/armstrongismprofile.pdf

[17] https://www.gotquestions.org/Worldwide-Church-God-Armstrongism.html

[18] https://www.gotquestions.org/Worldwide-Church-God-Armstrongism.html

[19] https://www.watchman.org/articles/cults-alternative-religions/history-of-armstrongism/

[20] https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/wayprofile.pdf

[21] https://carm.org/way-international

[22] Theopedia goo.gl/HjnvyY

[23] Theopedia goo.gl/ATjpBY

[24] goo.gl/SwZtUU

[25] Got Questions (4 articles) goo.gl/dsANZ6

[26] goo.gl/5m5Axy

[27] goo.gl/GtFbKZ

[28] J. Warner Wallace, http://bit.ly/1L8KRAT

[29] Jonathan Safarti, goo.gl/jXebGb

[30] goo.gl/ug2AQL

[31] Robert Bowman, Jr. goo.gl/5QWmtn

[32] Robert Bowman, Jr., goo.gl/ehfzUU

[33] goo.gl/nRECCC

Original Blog: http://bit.ly/2rJ1frd

Translated by JanLouis Rivera.

Edited by Maria Andreina Cerrada.