Trinity DebateA few simple questions about the concept of the TrinityThere is not a single Scripture that states Jesus sits on God's throne. We are told Jesus sits and stands at the right-hand of God and that Jesus will sit on the throne of His father David.
Now, lets take a look at the creeds accepted by most (if not all Trinitarians). The oldest creed is what is known as the Apostles Creed and dates to about the 2nd century. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting. Amen
This is based on Biblical truth. However keep in mind the word "catholic" means "universal" and is not a reference to the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome, which did not exist as an organized hierarchy until Constantine established the 5 Patriarchies that fought among themselves for supremacy.
The next creed and the one that introduced the concept of the Trinity was formulated in 325 AD at the Council of Nicea, was modified by the Council of Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, and again by the western church in 589 A.D.. We believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
Here we see error being introduced into Christianity since Scripture does not teach the Son is "God from God" or "true God from true God". Also the Bible does not teach the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and that the Son will send the Holy Spirit (John 15:26).
The last creed and the one that introduces the concept of each member of the Trinity as being co-equal and co-eternal is the Athanasian Creed, which is believed to date to the 4th century. Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian Faith. Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever.
Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.
The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.
In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.
For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made not created, nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.
It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation truly to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh. Now this is the true Christian faith: We believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and Man. He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh, equal to the Father, as to his deity, less than the Father, as to his humanity; and though he is both God and Man, Christ is not two persons but one, one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God; one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person.
For just as the reasonable soul and flesh are one human being, so God and man are one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people will rise again with their own bodies to answer for their personal deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, but those who have done evil will go into everlasting fire.
This is the true Christian Faith. Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.
These creeds and the doctrine of the Trinity were developed over time by men who lacked any real understanding of the Hebraic roots of Christianity. Eventually in order to establish this doctrine in Christianity any professed Christian who denied the Trinity was declared a heretic and blasphemer and put to death.
In our time any Christian who denies the Trinity is automatically labeled a heretic or dismissed as deceived. However, no Trinitarian can explain away those Scriptures that plainly state God is one not three, that there is only one true God whose name is Yehovah (Jehovah) and is referred to as "my Father" without focusing only on those Scriptures that are ripped out of context, and assuming words that refer to God's plural of majesty mean God is a compound unity and do not understand the cultural background of those who the Holy Spirit inspired to pen the Scriptures.
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