Rethinking the Trinity for the 21st Century
(or, “A Fresh View of God for 2015”)
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But how did the Trinity Doctrine originate?
Basically,
in the simplest terms, early Christians were trying to figure out the
logical answers to how there can only be One God (Deuteronomy 6:4), but yet, also honor, praise, and serve Jesus who was also called "God," (John 20:28) and then they tried to figure who or what the mysterious "Third Person” was, called the Holy Spirit or Advocate. (John 16:7-16; Matthew 28:19)
One
Christian thinker after another added their ideas and theories about
this onto the already existing ones, and eventually the Doctrine known
as "The Trinity” was developed.
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So What is the Trinity Doctrine?
- There is only one God.
- This one God exists as three distinct Persons.
- These three Persons are each co-equal, co-eternal, and fully God (Jehovah/Yahweh).
- The Son was eternally-begotten from the Father.
- The Spirit eternally-proceeds from the Father and Son.
- The 2nd Person of the Trinity (Jesus) has two distinct natures, but remains one Person, not two.
(Some Trinitarians
believe the Son has always been in subjection to the Father, while
others believe the Son only subjected Himself to the Father when He
became a Man.)
(Some Trinitarians
believe the Son was eternally-begotten by the Father before time began
in a mysterious way, as the Nicene and other creeds declare. Others
think the Son wasn't begotten until He came to earth as a Man. But
nowadays certain Trinitarians no longer believe Jesus was ever the "Only-Begotten Son," but instead was the "Unique Son.")
That is the doctrine we will be discussing here, in the attempt to update and improve it by reconciling it with the Bible.
I
still think the Trinity Doctrine and the belief that Jesus is Yahweh,
can be beautiful man-made attempts to logically harmonize and make sense
of seemingly contradictory Bible passages while giving honor and glory
to God and His Son. I
have nothing but love and respect for my Trinitarian brothers and
sisters, and they are just as saved as I am. I do not view these
doctrines as a salvation issue. All Christians should read Romans chapter 14 before condemning or judging any Christian who doesn't agree with your interpretation of the Bible.
My goal is not to convert anyone away from traditional Trinitarianism,
but rather, to promote acceptance and tolerance among all Christians
for a wider variety of interpretations of the Bible. My hope is to
inspire you to look at the Scriptures in a fresh way and let the Holy
Word of God speak the truth to you, without being obligated to believe
in the creeds and traditions of men.
Please
don't think I'm trying to downgrade or diminish the Lord Jesus in any
way. I'm attempting to let the Bible tell us who Jesus is, not the
creeds and traditions of men added centuries later.
So let's begin with...
The Trinity Doctrine (and related sub-doctrines of the Hypostatic Union and Eternal-Begetting of the Son) is correct that Jesus Christ is Divine/Deity in His nature (John 1:1; Colossians 2:9), who existed in Heaven with God before He became a Man on earth (John 1:1-2; Proverbs 8:22-23; John 8:57-58; John 6:38-42). Yes, Jesus is our Lord and He is God over us (John 20:28). The Doctrine of the Trinity is also right when it says there is only One Supreme God (Mark 12:29-33; James 2:19).
Trinitarians also speak the truth when they say that Jesus deserves an equal level of honor and praise together with God the Father (John 5:23; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:8-14). It is also true that people in the Bible prayed or made appeal to Jesus after He ascended into Heaven. (Acts 7:59; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10; 1 Timothy 1:12; Revelation 22:20; John 14:13-14)
Also, the Trinity Doctrine gets it right when it says all things were created through Jesus, the Son (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-18; Hebrews 1:2) and that the Father and Son are two different Persons (John 8:16-18).
Unfortunately,
all too often, the Trinity Doctrine has become a confusing,
contradictory stumbling block for Christians. What was originally meant
to harmonize the Scriptures and make logical sense of them, in the long
run ended up creating many contradictory ideas.
The
worst part of all, is when Christian churches, denominations, or groups
make acceptance of the Trinity Doctrine the ultimate litmus test for
whether or not you are a "true Christian."
Some
churches or church leaders simultaneously declare that the Trinity
Doctrine is a mystery that cannot be understood, yet, it is also the "most essential" or "greatest fundamental" Christian doctrine, and if you don't 100% agree with it, you'll go to Hell forever!
How can that attitude be justified after reading Romans chapter 14,
or the passage about the thief on the cross next to Jesus being saved
with very little knowledge about Jesus or the nature of God? (Luke 23:42-43) That thief on the cross next to Jesus was saved, likely without knowing anything about any kind of Trinity Doctrine or a Dual-Nature inside of Jesus.
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What Does the Trinity Doctrine Get Right?
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So What is the Problem with the Trinity Doctrine then?
1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV): "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
Christians
need to be humble too and acknowledge our ignorance on many things
that the Bible doesn't make crystal clear. For example, the Bible
says that we humans don't really know all that much about spirit
nature or spirit
beings (Jude
1:10; 1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15:35-57).
If we don't even know what spirit
being/nature is, how can
we make up complex rules about specific things we must believe about
this nature, and tell people they will go to Hell if they don't
believe all of these details?
Continue Reading More in This New "Rethinking the Trinity" Series...
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