When it comes to the doctrine of God, That is the doctrine of the trinity, I affirm Deuteronomy 6:4 "hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one." But I also affirm Acts 7:54-60. Stephen is about to be the first martyr of the Church and as he's coming to a close with his rebuke of the religeous of his day he looks upwards and sees an incredible sight.But he (Stephen)
full of the HOLY SPIRIT, gazed into heaven
and saw the glory of GOD,
and JESUS standing at the right hand of GOD.
and he said,
"Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of GOD."
Notice Stephen is full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is standing at God's right hand. All three are independently mentioned at the same time... Here you see a clear picture of the three persons of the Trinity, yet brining in Deut. helps to balance this. Three persons who are one, just like the old creeds of the Church confessed. Coming from a oneness background who only believed in different modes of God: Father, Son and H.S. they were all the same just different manifestations of God (like an actor putting on a different costume). Yet this chapter in the book of acts wont allow for it. You see Three at the same time.
A Theologians job isn't to make up ideas, their job is to explain what they read in the scriptures. "I see three persons in the one God." this isn't something man made, and godly men of old grappled with the text to fit the revelation of God in the O.T. with the further revelation of God in the N.T.
1 comment:
Greetings Jason
I commend you on the fact that you can see the fallacies in the Oneness doctrine.
Amen to that!
But please don't stop there ... have a closer look at the orthodox doctrine of the trinity.
It too is very questionable.
You see ... Jesus was no trinitarian.
No Jews of Biblical times were!
Especially in light of the Shema, Deut 6:4.
ECHAD simply means ONE!
Therefore, the Jews including Jesus the Messiah, solely believed in ONE Single GOD, ONE Single Being/Person, who is Almighty GOD, namely, YAHWEH.
(BTW, the Hebrew of Deut 6:4 basically reads
Hear O Israel,
YAHWEH OUR GOD, YAHWEH IS ONE)
Jesus affirmed this strict monotheism in
(Mark 12:28-34) ... Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ... 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: ...
It is obvious therefore, that neither Jesus nor the scribe, were trinitarians.
They both recognized solely ONE Person
who is YAHWEH GOD ALMIGHTY!
Now on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached in fulfilment of Psalm 110:1 ...
(Acts 2:22-36) Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, ... 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord [YAHWEH] said unto my Lord [adoni], Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
The Jews know of solely ONE Person who is Almighty GOD.
Peter was proclaiming that the man Jesus of Nazareth was approved by the ONE GOD, was raised from the dead by the ONE GOD; and is now immortalized, exalted and seated at the ONE GOD's right hand in view of Psalm 110:1.
Thus, this man has been made both Lord and Christ by YAHWEH GOD ALMIGHTY!
He is thus both David's lord and our lord
[the word 'my lord' in Psa. 110:1 is the Hebrew word adoni; which is solely used in ref. to human (as well as angelic) lords. This word is never used in ref. to ALMIGHTY GOD!]
Being this exalted lord, the man Messiah Jesus as shed forth the promise of the holy spirit.
So we have ...
ONE GOD, the Father
[1 Cor 8.4,6]
ONE man whom the ONE GOD has made 'Lord',
namely, the man Messiah Jesus,
the Son of GOD
And the holy spirit is simply the operational power and presence of both the Father and the Son.
Nothing has changed from the OT to the NT in view of who the ONE GOD is.
He is still the invisible, eternal, Almighty GOD;
and He alone is Almighty GOD;
there is no other GOD besides Him!
(See 1 Cor 8.4,6)
What has indeed changed is that there is now a man in Heaven even at the right hand of the ONE GOD;
whom the ONE GOD has made,
Lord of all!
[Acts 2.36, 10.36, Phil 2.11]
Hence,
ONE GOD, the Father!
ONE Man, the Lord Christ
[Col 3.24]
Therefore, Stephen saw the fulfilment of Psalm 110:1
He saw the glory of YAHWEH the ONE GOD;
and he saw the man Messiah Jesus at YAHWEH's right hand.
(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
(Phil 2:11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Find out more by watching the video at
The Human Jesus
May the ONE GOD bless you, Jason, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
as you see the fallacies of the doctrines of both the trinity and oneness;
and embrace the truth of the ONE GOD and His human son, Jesus the Messiah our Lord.
Amen!
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