The doctrine of the Trinity (or the rejection of the doctrine) is one of the key areas where Christadelphians differ from other Christian groups. We could point out that the trinity was not adopted formally by the Church until the Council of Nicea in 325 AD and even then, there were many who opposed such a teaching. The question, of course, is “what does the Bible say?”

It has been suggested that were an individual to read the Bible from cover to cover without any pre-conceptions that they would never conclude that God was somehow One-in three and three-in-One, that the Father was God, Jesus was God and the Spirit was God. Certainly, there would be Scriptures where the new reader would be asking; “who is being spoken about here? It says “Lord” and I don’t know whether it means God or Jesus. Certainly, the new reader would find many similarities between the Father and the Son. This is to be expected. But is does not mean that Jesus and God are One.

The Bible never uses the word “Trinity”, neither does it mention three Gods; rather, it says:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord (Deut 6:4).

Therefore, we can see an immediate difference with what many churches teach. Is this the only Scripture?

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

This scripture confirms that there is only one true God and there is also Jesus Christ, who was sent by God.

“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Cor 8:6).

Again, we see the clear Bible teaching, that there is One God – the Father and also Jesus Christ, through whom the Father works.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Tim 2:5)

We could go on, but hopefully the point is made: there are many Scriptures where a clear distinction is made between the Father and the Son.

Now the Trinitarian will also search the scriptures and come up with verses that they say support their doctrine. Usually the first one “out of the traps”, is

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

At face value, this seems to be a very strong support for the trinity, despite the conflict with the other verses we have quoted. But if we look in other translations, starting with the New Living Translation, what do we find?

“Footnote:
Some very late manuscripts add in heaven--the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth.”

Similar footnotes can be found in the NIV, NASV,RSV etc. So we can see that the clearest verse in support of the trinity is only found in a few late copies of the letter. The most likely explanation put forward by the scholars is that this was placed as a margin note at some time and then later incorporated into the text by accident.

When this is pointed out to Trinitarians, the next approach is to find all the verses where Jesus has the same characteristics or roles (for instance Judge) as God. We know that God works through Jesus. We also know:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18).

The Father has given these things to the Son. This means that they were not the Son's to begin with. Likewise, God is our Saviour - through Jesus Christ; God is our Rock - through Jesus Christ; God is our Judge - through Jesus Christ, and so on.

If any of this is difficult to comprehend, let us revert to the simple words of the Lord Jesus himself:

“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)

– can God be greater than Himself?

John 8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

Jesus cannot honour himself, but his Father can honour him. Clearly we are talking about two separate Beings.

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.

Again, it is quite clear that Yahweh (God’s name) is the God and the Father of Jesus. If Jesus himself says so, why do we want to deny it?

Lastly, in the Book of Revelation, where we find the last recorded words of Jesus, we find this verse (Revelation 3:12):

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”

We can see clearly that Jesus talks about HIS God no less that four times in one verse. It really could not be any simpler. So where does the doctrine of the trinity come from, if it is not from the Bible?

In a book called “The Two Babylons”, by Rev. Alexander Hislop (NOT a Christadelphian!) and available on-line http://philologos.org/__eb-ttb/ shows that in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian religions amongst others, triads of gods were worshipped, normally father, mother and son.

It is therefore likely that as new believers were recruited from these religions, they expected to find a triad of gods at the centre of Christianity and went looking in the Bible for some evidence. Sadly, many scriptures have been twisted to support this doctrine, when a thorough reading of the whole Bible, instead of isolated verses, would never conclude that One God was three.

If you would like to know more about this subject, please contact the Dawn Christadelphians.

You can Email us at The Dawn Christadelphians