The Trinity and Salvation Part 5

The Son of God is a person, in the sense that He can relate to others through being sent, loving, bearing witness, and communicating. Person is used here in a theological sense, and is not the same as human or being.  Really, it is here that many non-trinitarians get hung up on the Trinity as a summary of Biblical data.  

The use of the term person in regards to God does not make Him a human being, because Trinitarians use the term in a sense that simply makes note of the capacity to relate to others.  When we say that God is three persons, we mean that God is three «Whos», not just one.  He is not one Who, playing three Whos (ala Jakes and other Oneness adherents).  He is one God that is also three Persons.  Hank Hanegraaff says that God is one «What» and three «Whos».  

The Son is a Person, distinct from the Father, because He was sent by the Father.

This is important, because the Gospel teaches us that God sent his only Son to die for those who believe.  It teaches us that this was a sacrificial act on behalf of God.  He gave up something.  God the Father watched as His Son took “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-9)  The Father didn’t take on the form of a servant, the Son did.

This agonizing experience for both the Son and the Father gives profound meaning to John 3:16.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Oneness Pentecostals say, “God so loved the world that he didn’t send someone else… He came Himself.”  In fact, I have heard Oneness Pentecostal preachers mock the idea that the Father would send someone else to die, as a form of cowardice.  This kind of mockery, though aimed at Trinitarians and not at the Bible per se, reveals how the Oneness view of God denies the Gospel.  

Let's look at the Biblical evidence of personhood for the Son of God:

All of the “sent” language of the New Testament must be read as “came Himself”, for the Oneness position to be correct.  Let’s try a few:

1 John 4:14, And we have seen and testify that the Father has “come Himself”  to be the Savior of the world.

John 3:17, For God did not “come Himself” into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through “himself”.

John 17:18, As you “came Yourself” into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life:  that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have “come Yourself.”

John 20:21  Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!  As the Father has “come Himself”, I am sending you.

The Oneness view makes utter nonsense of these passages.  

The Son is a Person, distinct from the Father, because they love each other.

To see how central this idea is to the Gospel, we can take a look a some verses that teach it and change them to match the Oneness position:

John 5:20 For the Father loves “Himself” and shows “himself” all that he himself is doing.   In fact, the Father will show “himself” how to do even greater works than healing this man.   

Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is “myself”, whom I love; with “myself” I am well pleased."

John 3:35 The Father loves “Himself” and has placed everything in his “own” hands.

The Son is a Person, distinct from the Father, because they count as distinct witnesses for the authority of Jesus' teaching.

John 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me.

Jesus clearly makes a distinction in persons evident here making a case for his authority to teach.  If Jesus was actually the Father, this argument would be no argument at all.  

The Son is a Person, distinct from the Father, because they speak to and about each other.

Trinitarians nearly always say that Oneness people make nonsense of Jesus’ prayers to the Father.  We say it makes Jesus pray to himself.  We say this because Jesus communicated with his Father, as one person to another.  If the Son is the Father in flesh, then the question must be raised, “who” is speaking to whom?  

If we say that the Son has two personalities, then we deny his absolute Deity--the human Jesus shed his blood, but not the God Jesus.  

If we say that the Son is one person with two natures, we do well, unless we say that one nature speaks to the other nature.  This is confusing categories, an error Oneness people make in order to explain how the Father and the Son are the same person.  

The simple use of pronouns in language makes reference to the distinct persons mentioned in a conversation.  But if you change the personal pronouns in Jesus' prayers to match Oneness theology, you get another helping of pure nonsense:

John 17:1-5ff, is a prayer of Jesus to his Father:  “Father, the hour has come; glorify yourself that you may glorify you, 2 since you have given yourself authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given yourself. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and the Father whom you have sent. 4 You glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave yourself to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify yourself in your own presence with the glory that you had with you before the world existed… " 

You can do this for the whole chapter and see how ridiculous and unnatural it sounds to make the Father and the Son to be the same person. 

In the next post, I will show that the Son of God took on flesh, not the Father.  Stay tuned.

The Trinity and Salvation Part 4

So far, I have established that the Son of God is God, that he has existed as God from all eternity and that he is also known as the Logos.  Now, I hope you will see that the Son of God has always been in relationship with the Father as a Son.  The term translated as “only begotten” (John 1:14; 3:15, 18; 5:18; 17:5) in English, holds the key to understanding this truth.

John MacArthur, in his article about the Eternal Sonship writes the following: 

“The Greek word translated "only begotten" is monogenes. The thrust of its meaning has to do with Christ's utter uniqueness. Literally, it may be rendered "one of a kind"--and yet it also clearly signifies that He is of the very same essence as the Father. This, I believe, is the very heart of what is meant by the expression ‘only begotten.’”

After understanding that monogenes does not have to do with time or origin, in reference to God’s Son, John MacArthur renounced «incarnational sonship» in favor of Eternal Sonship stating: 

“Careful study and reflection have brought me to understand that Scripture does indeed present the relationship between God the Father and Christ the Son as an eternal Father-Son relationship. I no longer regard Christ's sonship as a role He assumed in His incarnation.” 

So, instead of establishing that the Sonship had a beginning in time, we see that the term, monogenes (only begotten), simply and succinctly establishes the uniqueness of the Son of God.  He is the Son of God in a way unlike any other of God’s sons; he shares his Being, his essence.  The term speaks of relationship, not procreation.   God the Father and the Son relate in a father-son way.

These verses teach this truth clearly.  Read them in their most natural-sounding sense, without forcing them to fit some secret or hidden interpretation:

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The word “with” here means the same as the word “to” in the phrase “face-to-face”.  It has to do with relationship.   James R. White, in his book, “The Forgotten Trinity”, page 52, says, “...the Word was eternally face-to-face with God, that is, that the Word has eternally had a relationship with God.”

John 1:18 makes the same point even clearer:  “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

First it is in agreement with the other verses that call the Son both God and begotten.  Second, it shows the close relationship they have, as if the Son were held close by the Father.  Trinitarians understand that this intimacy has always characterized the relationship between God the Father and the Only Begotten God (the Son). 

John 17:5 shows us that the Son of God, had glory with the Father before the world was.  John 17:24 shows us that the Father loved the Son before the creation of the world.  Hebrews 1:8, God honors his Son before the incarnation, saying, 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.

“You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

And in verse 10, God praises his Son again, prior to the incarnation, and says, 

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of Your hands;

11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they all will become old like a garment,

12 And like a mantle You will roll them up;
Like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”

These passages form the basis for believing in the eternal Father-Son relationship within the Godhead.  

In the next installment, I will give the scriptural evidence for point number 3:  The Son of God is a person, in the sense that He can relate to others through love, communication, submission and Lordship. Person is used here in a theological sense, and is not the same as human or being.  

Eternal Life and Falling Down

This is an excerpt from yesterday's sermon at Casa del Alfarero in Providence:

John 13:36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. (ESV)

Jesus foretells two amazing things for Peter in this passage.  1.  You will go to heaven.  2.  You will fail miserably on the way.

Nothing could thrill me more than for the Lord Christ to say to me, face to face, you will be with me in paradise.  Peter received this promise, "you will follow afterward."  Talk about security of salvation!  It was like Jesus had just said to him, "Well done my good and faithful servant..."  No doubt, this promise of Jesus did much to comfort and affirm Peter in his Christian life and death.  

Really, the same promise Jesus gave Peter, he gave to all those who repent and believe on Jesus.  John 5:24 teaches us that if you believe what Jesus said about God and sin and forgiveness, and you trust in Him for salvation, you have the same promise Peter received... You have eternal life.  You will not be condemned.  You have passed from death to life. 

The second thing Jesus foretold in this passage, happened to involve the biggest failure of Peter's career as a disciple.  I imagine the first promise inflated Peter's heart in his chest and the second one let it go like an untied balloon.  What?!  Deny you?! Whoa! Didn't you just say I was going to follow you to heaven soon?

So in just a few verses, Jesus puts sovereign grace on display.  Jesus knows who will make it to heaven. Jesus also knows that on the way to heaven, we will experience sin and short-coming.  

Did Peter's foretold failure affect Jesus' promise of heaven to him?  Not at all!  Jesus knows all your future failures and he still chose you and washed you and set you apart to serve and love him. 

This was Jesus' way of saying, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9).

The Love of Jesus Perseveres (John 13:1)

The time for Jesus to finish his earthly ministry and return to the Father had come.  He had seen a lot with his disciples.  He had called them and they had followed him everywhere.  Together they had amassed crowds and performed miracles.  Together they had seen the same crowds disappear as the time for the crucifixion drew near.

Jesus saw all their imperfections.  He witnessed them jockey for position and bicker with each other.   He taught them and watched their confused faces as they shrugged their shoulders and exchanged glances that said "What is he talking about?"  He lamented their lack of faith when their boat was rocked by a storm.  In a few hours, Jesus would ask them to watch and pray because of what lay ahead, but they would fall asleep. And just after his arrest, they would all abandon him.   No wonder he once said to them, "How long will I be with you?"(Mt 17:14-20)

But John adds a small phrase in John 13:1--"he loved them until the end."  He never stopped loving them for a single one of their faults.  He never rejected them.  Jesus would later call them his friends.  This enduring affection and care for his disciples reflects perfectly the heart and character of God toward His children:  God is love.

Peter and Paul cultivated this same tender care in the churches through their letters.  Peter said, "make every effort to supplement your faith with... godliness and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."  Paul said, "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."  We honor God and shine with His great love when we humbly commit to care for and love each other.

Maybe it doesn't surprise you that Jesus loves in this way.  But when you add to the quality of his love the fact that he will love you until the end no matter how many times you fall along the way, then you ask, "How in the world can God love me like that?" 

God's love doesn't depend on your good behavior, but on God's promises toward those who trust in Him.  God keeps His promises.  He's not like a double-minded man.  He says he will do something and you can rest assured that's what will happen.  When you turn from sin and believe the Gospel, you are coming into a new relationship with God.  In this relationship, God never gives up.  If you are God's child, He loves you and is committed to seeing this relationship through.  

That's why Jesus said to his disciples, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world." (Mt 28:20b)

Part 3 of the Trinity and Salvation

John 3:16 is universally recognized in the Christian world as a concise expression of God’s love through the Gospel.  It teaches us that the object of our faith gives value to our faith.  If I believe on the Only Begotten Son, I will not perish, but have everlasting life.  Here are some of the passages that clearly teach the points enumerated in the last post about the identity of the Son of God, starting with 1 of 3:

1. The Son of God, being God and equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit has always existed and is also known as the Word. 

First, the Son of God is God.  In other words, He possesses all the qualities of Deity including character and essence.  In fact, the term “Son of God,” as Jesus used it to refer to himself caused the unbelieving Jews to accuse him of blasphemy, because it essentially refers to his Divinity, not his humanity or incarnation (John 10:31-39).

References in the Bible to the Son of God as God include:  Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 5:20. 

Second, the Bible passages that show that the Son of God existed as the Son before the incarnation dismantle the Oneness and Jehovah’s Witness views of Jesus Christ completely.  These verses show that Jesus’ Sonship did not begin in Mary’s womb, but is eternal and they identify the Word as the pre-incarnate Son of God.

John 1:1-3, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

For Oneness Pentecostals, the Word is an impersonal idea or plan of God.  This key observation marks the difference between the Oneness Word and the Biblical Word.  David Bernard, a Oneness Theologian, writes, “The Word was not inferior to God; it was God (John 1:1).  The Word did not emanate from God over a period of time; it was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).”  [emphasis added] Notice Bernard’s use of the impersonal pronoun “it” in reference to the Word.  

Now compare Bernard’s use of «it» with the pronouns used for the Word in John 1:2-3:  “He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  These small words communicate an important truth that translators are careful to convey in English:  the Word is a person not a thing or idea.  As a person, the Word had a relationship with the Father before becoming flesh.  This relationship continued after the incarnation, and so the personality of the Word continued in the incarnation.

Trinitarians believe that the Word is the pre-incarnate person of the Son.  According to John 1:14, the Word became flesh and his glory was as of the only Son from the Father.  The Word and the Son are the same person, Jesus Christ.

John 16:28 says, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

This passage shows us that Jesus was returning to God (think Ascension).  In order to return to God this way, he had to have been with God in the same sense prior to this moment.  John 1:1 tells us when that was:  “In the beginning, the Word was with God…”.

Reading these passages about the pre-existence of the Son of God as the Son, makes others even clearer:

John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  [emphases added]

I recommend the books, The Forgotten Trinity, by James R. White and Christ Before the Manger, by Ron Rhodes for more on this point.

In the next post I'll unpack point #2: The Son of God, has always been in relationship with the Father as a Son (not in the sense of being a created offspring, but as far as relating as family can define such a bond).

Part 2 of The Trinity and Salvation

How much do you have to know about the Trinity to be saved?

In the first entry on this topic, I examined briefly the link Jesus made between believing in his Deity and the forgiveness of sins.  Believing in the Jesus of Scripture, then, means you believe Jesus is God.  

Let’s not stop there, because the terms Jesus and God mean something very specific to Christians and something different in other religions.  Regarding the use of words, Walter Martin said, “We must scale the language barrier of the cults.”   Words carry the meaning we pour into them and we must define our words’ meanings clearly before proceeding to explain our hope to others.

The Mormons say they believe in Jesus, the Son of God.  But the meaning they pour into the name Jesus and Son of God proves that the Jesus they believe in is not the Jesus of the Bible.  The Mormon Jesus was born in heaven as a spiritual offspring to a god and goddess, as did his brother, Lucifer.  He had a beginning and became a god later.  Trinitarians do not believe this about Jesus, the Son of God.

Oneness Pentecostals claim to believe in the Jesus of the Bible, yet their Jesus did not exist as the Son of God with the Father for all eternity.  The Oneness Pentecostal Jesus is the Father.  Then, when the Father took on flesh, he became the Son of God.  The Oneness Pentecostal Son of God had his beginning in the womb of Mary.  The Divine Nature of the Oneness Son of God has always existed, not in relationship with the Father, but as the Father.  Trinitarians do not believe this about Jesus, the Son of God.

Jehovah’s Witnesses also have a Jesus the Son of God.  But Jehovah created him as Michael the Archangel and then he somehow became the Son of God, born of Mary.  Trinitarians do not believe this about Jesus the Son of God.

C. H. Spurgeon said, “...men would think it folly to deal at a shop where the bread (so called) was not bread—where the food that was given was so adulterated as to yield no nutriment… Oh, how many souls are poisoned by listening to a ministry that is not full of Christ!  This rings true especially in regard to preaching Christ.  We must believe in the Son of God of the Bible--for he alone can save from sin.

Trinitarians believe the Bible teaches these things concerning Jesus' identity:

1. The Son of God, being God and equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit has always existed and is also known as the Word.
2. The Son of God, has always been in relationship with the Father as a Son (not in the sense of being a created offspring, but as far as relating as family can define such a bond).
3. The Son of God is a person, in the sense that He can relate to others through love, communication, submission and Lordship.    Person is used here in a theological sense, and is not the same as human or being.  
4. The Son of God took on a human nature and his earthly parents named him Jesus by revelation.

In the next post, I will offer a summary of Biblical evidence for each of these items.  Please leave a comment below or repost to twitter or Facebook.

Part 1 of The Trinity and Salvation

How much do you have to know about the Trinity to be saved?

A recent discussion of this topic stemming from the participation of T D Jakes in the Elephant Room with MacDonald and Driscoll surprised me.  In the discussion, people with varying levels of theological education and from differing, albeit evangelical traditions, disagreed on whether or not one must believe in the Trinity to be a Christian.  The elements of the differing opinions seem to include whether or not:

1. one must use the word «Trinity» to describe the Christian God,
2. one must use the word «person» to describe the members of the Godhead,
3. one must believe all the planks of the doctrine of the Trinity,
4. one may be ignorant of a portion of the doctrine of the Trinity without denying it outright,
5. one may deny one of the planks of the doctrine of the Trinity and still be saved,
6. one may deny any or all of the planks of the doctrine of the Trinity and still be saved, though on his way to a full and Biblical knowledge of God.

I seem to have run the gamut of these six points as I transitioned from my Baptist upbringing to Oneness Pentecostalism and then on to a thoroughly Trinitarian, Reformed, and Charismatic family of churches.  

The doctrine of the Trinity forms the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For this reason, nearly every heretical movement in the history of Christianity has denied one aspect of the doctrine of the Trinity and as a result has denied the Gospel, as well.  As the Holy Spirit opened up the Scriptures to me in regard to the truth of each component of the doctrine of the Trinity, I could more clearly see the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the profound love the Father has for the elect.  As a part of my testimony of returning to belief in the Jesus of Scripture, I cannot overstate the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity to the Gospel and thus salvation.

The three planks of the doctrine of the Trinity come from the Bible:

1. There is one God.
2. The Father is God.  The Son is God.  The Holy Spirit is God.
3. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have enjoyed a relationship from all eternity as distinct persons.

Which of these three truths can a person not know and still be saved?  Which of these three truths can a person deny outright and still be saved?  

From Scripture, we learn that Jesus' identity as God forms part of the message that births us anew.  The “I AM” references of Jesus in the Gospel of John show that Jesus claimed to be God.  Jesus connected belief in Him as the “I AM” with forgiveness of sins saying, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24 ESV)  Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me to drink; you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)  Jesus later confirms his identity to the Samaritan woman using an “I AM” in response to her statement about the Messiah.  (v15)  

The Samaritan woman didn’t have living water to drink until she understood, to some degree, that Jesus is God.  And when she believed this, she went and shared it with her whole town.  

It seems then, that belief in Jesus as the Messiah who is also God forms part of the Good News.  Who has come to save us?  An angel?  A god?  A simple prophet?  NO!  Emmanuel has come!  God with us!  

The other parts of the Doctrine of the Trinity will be examined yet, stay tuned.