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The purpose of this article is not to consider whether Jesus is God. The doctrine of the
trinity is not supported by the Bible. The concept of Christ being co-equal and co-eternal
with God is quite easily proved false with just two scriptures.
Jesus had a beginning, because he was begotten of the Father
'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' (John 14:28)
- therefore Jesus is not co-eternal with the Father.
The Father is greater than Jesus -
'Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If
ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my
Father is greater than I.' (John 14:28 )
- therefore Jesus is not co-equal with the Father.
However, just to make the point clear, here are some other scriptures, that just do not make
sense, if God and Jesus are one in the same person.
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Yes, no-one has seen God at any time. We, in our imperfect natures cannot see God. Yet,
thousands of people saw Jesus. Therefore, Jesus cannot be God.
Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my
Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and
he shall be to me a Son?
This scripture clearly shows that Jesus becoming God's Son is a future event. "I will be to
him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son"
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
This shows that Yahweh is the Father and the God of Jesus Christ. Another similar verse is
as follows:-
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to
my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
The question remains, however as to whether Jesus pre-existed and if so, in what form?
The question arises from the beginning of the Gospel of John, where it states
John 1:1 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.'
Many religious authorities say that the Word (or Logos in Greek) is Jesus Christ.. Does this
scripture therefore support the doctrine of the trinity? There are several points to consider,
before coming to a conclusion.
- Jesus was not the Word but the Word made flesh (John 1:14). It was the man (or flesh)
born of Mary, who was called Jesus. The Word certainly existed before Jesus was born, but
this does not prove that Jesus pre-existed.
- The scripture does not mention the Holy Spirit, therefore, it can only represent two parts
of a trinity.
- As all Scripture is inspired of God, one scripture must harmonise with another - this verse
must harmonise with the clear statements in John 3:16 and John 14:28.
- Not all Bible versions treat this verse with the same degree of certainty - one translates it
“the Word was a god”, another “the Word was divine”. I do not wish to digress, so suffice to
say that there may be some uncertainty as to the true meaning of the Greek.
- The noun 'Logos' in Greek is masculine and although the translators have on this
occasion translated the verse 'All things were made by him', in other verses, the word
'logos' is rendered impersonal, such as 'the word which liveth and abideth for ever'. If this
was personalised, it would be 'the word who abideth for ever'. In English, we have the same
situation with items such as boats and cars. They are in some instances referred to as 'she',
but this does not mean that they really are feminine.
Another way to approach this problem is to consider another well known verse 'God is
love'. Can this be reversed to say 'Love is God', not really. Likewise, it may be missing the
point to reverse John 1:1 and say 'God was the Word'. So what does this scripture mean?
Truly, the word of God was with God from the beginning and through it, all things were
created:
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
waters
Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together
Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass.......
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the
heaven.......
Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the
moving creature......
Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature
after his kind,......
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness:..........
So at every stage, the Word of God was instrumental in the creation process. However, this
is not to says that Jesus Christ pre-existed. There is no mention of Jesus being present in
the Genesis account.
Consider the following verse as further proof that Jesus did not pre-exist:
Luke 2:52 'And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.'
How can the Son of God (let alone God Himself), be born as a baby and then have to
“increase in wisdom and stature”? Does this make sense?
Many verses call Jesus the 'First-born' and this is used to support the view that Jesus was
created first. This does not follow. Esau was born before Jacob, yet Jacob was regarded as
the first-born, after Esau sold his birth right.
In Hebrews 1:2 it states that
'God...... Hath in
these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by
whom also he made the worlds;'.
Jesus has been 'appointed heir' by God, just as Solomon
was appointed heir to David, even though he was not the literal first-born either.
(Incidentally, the Greek word here for 'worlds' is 'AION', which literally means 'ages', so
this verse is not about Creation).
Whatever scriptures are dug up to try and support the doctrine of the trinity in general or
the pre-existence of Jesus, in particular, if we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of
God, then all scriptures must be in harmony. Therefore those scriptures must harmonise
with the simple, plain and easy to understand verse quoted above.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The Dawn Christadelphians
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