The Trinity: Three Persons In One God
The Roman Catholic View of the Trinity Doctrine
- God the Father is separated from the Son and the Holy Spirit
- God the Son is separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit is separated from the Father and the Son
- There are three different persons who are called God and God is their surname
- The Father created the Son Jesus Christ (generate, produce). John 3:14 The origin of creation.
- The Father and the Son breathed the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit became a person. John 20:22 i.e. The Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son.
- The Son and the Holy Spirit are not from eternity as the Father is.
Many of the Adventist pioneers and Christian ministers from different denominations during the 1800`s believed in Arian`s doctrine which denied the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Arian`s doctrine comes from a priest named Arius who lived in Alexandria from AD 250-336.
- Arian’s View of the Trinity Doctrine
- Only the Father is God.
- God the Father had created His Son, Jesus Christ.
- The son is not eternal, but he is a person.
- The Holy Spirit was created by God the Father with the help of the Son.
- The Holy Spirit Is Not a Person
- The Holy Spirit is a servant of the Father and the Son
- The Holy Spirit is not eternal.
Joseph Bates an Adventist pioneer
- “Respecting the trinity, I concluded that it was an impossibility for me to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, was also the Almighty God, the Father, one and the same being.”[1]
- N. Loughborough an Adventist pioneer
- “It is not consonant with common sense to talk of three being one, and one being three . . . If Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost are each God, it would be three Gods; for three times one is not one, but three.”[2]
Trinity Teachings from E.G. White which was in opposition to Arian`s doctrine
There was not a time when Jesus was not in fellowship with the eternal God.[3]
In Christ is life, the original, unborrowed, underived.[4] (Those words mean that he is equal to God the Father).
When the voice of the mighty angel sounded at Christ’s tomb, saying, “Your Father is calling you! Ascended the Savior from the grave by the life that was in himself.”[5]
Sin could only be resisted and overcome by the mighty help of the third person of the Godhead.[6] (The Holy Spirit).
From the days of eternity our Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father.[7]
There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.[8]
The Word existed as a divine being even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with his Father.[9]
Ellen G. White’s View of the three persons in the Godhead after 1890.
- The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are God’s surnames.
- The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three persons in the Godhead.
- All three are not separated from each other.
- All three share their name and power.
- All three are one in power, prediction, knowledge, wisdom and creation.
- All three come from eternity and continue to all eternity.
M.L. Andreasen was from Denmark and a pioneer in the Adventist Church.
He was born in Copenhagen in 1876, as Milian Lauritz Andreasen, and emigrated to the United States. He was baptized into the Adventist church in 1894, and in 1902 he was ordained as a minister in the Adventist church.
Andreasen gave a speech at the Loma Linda Hospital small church hall in 1948. He spoke of the time when he was conference president in Greater New York conference and Ellen G. White lived in Elms Haven, California. It was just a few years before she died. He wanted to visit her and ask her if the quotes about the Trinity doctrine were from her or from her secretary or from another well-trained individual, conversant not only with theological niceties but also with beautiful English. He did not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity along with many other Adventist preachers of that time. Andreasen called this doctrine “The New Theology”.
He spent three days with E.G. White, and she showed him all the papers she had written with her own writing on the doctrine of the Trinity from the book, The Desire of Ages. After he had read them all, he was convinced that the teaching came from God and not from her secretary or another individual.[10]
Was Jesus Christ born or created by God in heaven?
Colossians 1: 14.15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Revelation 3:14. And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, write, “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.”
The words “firstborn” and “beginning” can have several meanings in the Bible.
- Luke 2:7. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger. (It was Mary’s first son Jesus. It literally means firstborn).
- Psalm 89:20,27. I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed Him. Verse 27. Also, I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. (Firstborn means the highest of the kings of the earth in this text).
How can David be the firstborn when he had 7 older brothers?
1 Samuel 16:10.11.13. Then Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” (to be king over Israel).
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
How can David be the firstborn when he had 7 older brothers?
This is because the word firstborn in this context means the greatest or supreme among all in God’s eyes. It does not mean literally firstborn of a woman.
Colossians 1:15.16.18. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence.
How could Jesus be the firstborn of the dead when Moses was dead and was resurrected up to heaven (Matthew 17:3) before Jesus died on the cross? This is because the word firstborn in this text means preeminence, as it says in verse 18.
Conclusion
The word firstborn has different meanings in the Bible. It can mean the literal birth of a woman, or preeminence and the highest of the kings of the earth in God’s eyes.
How can Jesus be God and the Father be God at the same time?
- Ephesians 4:5.6. There is only one Lord and one God.
- Isaiah 45:5. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides me.
This is because it is written in the Bible that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God. Where?
Genesis 1:26. Let us make men in our image, that they may be like us. (God in this text is Elohim in the Hebrew and means a plural God + the Holy Spirit at creation Genesis 1,2).
God consists of three persons as a family in heaven: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God is like a surname. We have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three persons of the Godhead.
Psalm 90:2. The Father is from eternity to eternity. Even from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (The word everlasting in the Hebrew is olam and means no beginning or ending).
Micah 5:2. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose going forth are from old, from everlasting. (Olam in the Hebrew).
Jesus is from the days of eternity, Olam in Hebrew. If Jesus was created, why does it say that he is from everlasting? i.e. no beginning. Olam in all the texts in the Old Testament when related to the Godhead always means from eternity.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus is the Father and uses the name of the Father. This is something we cannot understand or explain. But Christ tries to explain his relationship to the Father in the New Testament.
John 14:8.9. Philip said to him, “Lord show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; so how can you say, `show us the father`?”
John 10:30-33. I and my Father are one. (Jesus made himself equal to God the Father in this text, that is why the Jews wanted to stone him, because they thought this was blasphemy.)
Exodus 3:13.14. God (Elohim) said to Moses, ” I am, have sent me to you.” (Whenever the Elohim God in the Hebrew is written in the Bible it can mean anyone of the three persons in the Godhead).
John 8:57-59. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM. (In this text Jesus made himself equal to God. That is why the Jews wanted to stone him to death).
Mark 2:5. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
Mark 2:6.7. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak blasphemy like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone? (Jesus made himself equal with God here in this text).
Matthew 1:23. Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which is translated,” God with us.” (Jesus was “God with us” and not just a man on earth).
Isaiah 43:11. The Lord says in this text: I, even I, am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.
Acts 4:11.12. There is no other name for salvation than Jesus. (The Bible names both the Lord and Jesus Christ as the only savior because they belong to the Godhead).
In the book Revelation Jesus Christ and the Lord God, the Father share the same title.
Revelation 1:8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,” says the Lord.
Revelation 22:13. Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
The teachings from the pioneers on the Holy Spirit from the early Adventist church
They had inherited their beliefs from the Arian view of the doctrine of the Trinity which was widespread amongst all the Christian denominations at that time.
- Arian’s View of the Trinity Doctrine and the Holy Spirit
- Only the Father is God.
- God the Father had created His Son, Jesus Christ.
- The son is not eternal, but he is a person.
- The Holy Spirit was created by God the Father with the help of the Son.
- The Holy Spirit Is Not a Person
- The Holy Spirit is a servant of the Father and the Son
- The Holy Spirit is not eternal.
Uriah Smith 1878
What is the Holy Ghost?
In word it may, perhaps, best be described as a mysterious influence from the Father and the Son, their representative and the medium power.[11]
J. H. Waggoner 1877
From it (the Word of God) we learn that the Spirit of God is that awful and mysterious power which proceeds from the throne of the universe, and which is the efficient actor in the work of creation and redemption.[12]
D. M. Canright 1878
The Holy Spirit is not a person, and not man, but an influence proceeding from God.[13]
Ellen G. White’s View of the Holy Spirit After 1890
Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. John 16:13. (The Bible uses personal pronouns in grammar for the Holy Spirit).
The Comforter is called the “Spirit of Truth.” His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the comforter.[14] (Ellen G. White uses the personal pronouns to describe the work of the Holy Spirit).
Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead,[15] e.g. the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, in Christ`s name. He personifies Christ yet is a distinct personality.[16]
There are three living persons who belong to the heavenly trio: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.[17]
We need to realize that the Holy Spirit who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds.[18]
The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits, that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person . . .[19]
Is the Holy Spirit God and a person, or a power and energy that emanates from God, as the charismatic Christians believe?
What is written in the Bible and the Bible alone?
Acts 5:1-4. (Ananias and his wife Sapphira). But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? — Verse 4. You have not lied to men but to God.”
Is the Holy Spirit like God, proceeding from eternity?
Hebrews 9:13, 14. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall 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?
The word eternal, which is Αίωνιου (aionio) in Greek, means that the Holy Spirit is from eternity to eternity, having no beginning and no end.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned as the Holy Spirit or the Spirit in the New Testament. Here in this text, it says eternal Spirit, and it is written without a specific article, i.e. the Spirit. This does not mean that the text itself proves that the Eternal Spirit is the Holy Spirit, but when we examine all the texts regarding the divinity of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, we can see that it does.
Is the Holy Spirit a person?
There are many scriptures in the New Testament that prove that the Holy Spirit is a person when you look at the grammar.
In many texts of the New Testament where the Holy Spirit is mentioned as the Spirit, i.e., πνευμα in the Greek, it is not masculine or feminine, but it is neuter, i.e., no gender. But there are four places where there are exceptions.
They are found in John 14:26, John 16:8, and 13:14, 1 John 2:1.
In these scriptures, the Holy Spirit is described as “he” έκεινος ekainos in the Greek. i.e. έκεινος is masculine and is a pronoun or a personal pronoun. This means that the Holy Spirit is a masculine person in grammar.
The helper/comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. John 14:26
He (έκεινος-masculine) will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all the things that I said to you. John 14:26. (A person can teach another person but an object like the wind or force cannot).
John 16:7.8. For if I do not go away, the helper/comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he (έκεινος-masculine) will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. (A person can convict another person of sin, of righteousness, and the judgment, but an object like the wind or force cannot).
John 16:13, 14. However, when he (έκεινος- masculine), the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth; for he will not speak on His own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will tell you things to come. He (έκεινος-masculine) will glorify me; for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. (Here the Holy Spirit has many attributes of a person like he can guide you unto all truth, he can speak, he can hear, he can tell you things, he can glorify, he can take and declare).
The Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ share the same name, i.e. helper/comforter
John 14:26 But the helper/comforter (Παρακλητος-paraklaitos), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He (έκεινος-masculine) will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all the things that I said to you. (Here the Holy Spirit can teach and bring into remembrance all things Christ has said to us).
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate/helper/comforter (Παρακλητον-paraklaiton) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (In this text Jesus is using the same title as the Holy Spirit uses and that is advocate/helper/comforter- paraklaitos in the Greek).
Acts 13,1.2.4. Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (The Holy Spirit is referred to in this text by the grammar of speech: a personal pronoun: me and I, which refers to a person). So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. (A person can send out another person, but an object like wind or force cannot send out).
Mark 3:29. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation. (Why? The only one who can convince us of our sinful lives is the Holy Spirit. If we do not listen to the Holy Spirit, we cannot come to understand salvation through Jesus Christ).
John 16:8 When He comes, He (the Holy Spirit- έκεινος-masculine) will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
[1] Joseph Bates, The Autobiography of Elder Joseph Bates (Battle Creek: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Pub., Assoc., 1868), 205.
[2] J. N. Loughborough, Questions for Bro. Loughborough (Adventist Review
& Sabbath Herald 18, November 5, 1861), 184.
[3] Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington D.C.: Review & Herald Pub., Assoc., 1946), 615.
[4] Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Pub., Assoc., 1898), 530.
[5] Ibid., 785.
[6] Ibid., 671.
[7] Ibid., 19.
[8] Evangelism, 615.
[9] Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, 5 April 1906.
[10] Virginia Steinweg, Without Fear or Favor (Washington D.C.: Review & Herald, 1979), 74-76.
[11] James White & Uriah Smith, The Biblical Institute: A synopsis of Lectures on the Principal Doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventists (Oakland, CA: Steam Press of the Pacific S.D.A. Pub., House, 1878), 184
[12] J. H. Waggoner, m.egwwritings.org/en/book/1561.22#22. J. H. Waggoner, Spirit of God SGOM 9.1.
[13] D. M. Canright, The Holy Spirit (Signs of the Times, July 25, 1878), 218.
[14] Desire of Ages, 671.
[15] Ibid., 671.
[16] Ellen G. White, Letter and Manuscript Vol. 8, MS 93, Par 8. 1893.
[17] Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies B (1905), page 63, No 7.
[18] Ellen G. White, Manuscript 66, 1899. From a talk to the students at Avondale school, Australia.
[19] Ellen G. White, Letters & Manuscripts Vol. 21, Par. 32. 1906.