Taken from: www.JOHN17-3.ORG - Some editing has been done
The Book of
Acts
The book of Acts is a total embarrassment to those wanting to make Jesus into God, as will soon be obvious.
Pentecost – Acts 2
Act 2:22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders
and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know--
Do you ever hear Trinitarians talk about Jesus this way? I sure don’t.
Peter simply describes Jesus as a man that God did mighty works through. He then
says God raised him from the dead fulfilling God’s promise to David that he
would raise up his (David’s) descendant to sit on his throne.
He then quotes another Messianic prophesy mentioned earlier…
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Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
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Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
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Act 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, -
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
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Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.
Peter didn’t teach a trinity. Peter didn’t teach Jesus is God. Peter taught that Jesus was a man that God did miracles through and that God raised him from the dead and God has seated him at his right hand. Peter said Jesus received the promise of the holy spirit and that God made him both Lord and Christ. This sermon, while no mention of Jesus being God was ever made, was enough to lead to thousands of souls being added to the Church! Is believing in a trinity/Jesus is God necessary for salvation? Not according to the book of Acts.
Peter and John in the temple - Acts 3
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Act 3:12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
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Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
After Peter heals a lame man, they walk into the temple together and people gather around. Peter then says the man was healed by faith in Jesus’ name. Before saying that however he COMPLETELY, TOTALLY AND EXPLICITLY REFUTES THE TRINITY by utterly distinguishing Jesus between the God of the Hebrews.
The God that identified himself to Moses from the burning bush as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is completely distinguished from Jesus. Jesus is the servant of that God. Jesus is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is not a member of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is the SERVANT of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It couldn’t be more plainly stated than how Peter explained it to the Jews in the Temple. Peter then goes on to quote Deut 18 mentioned earlier about Jesus being the prophet Moses spoke of that God would raise up in response to their fear and desire to not hear directly from God. Again this is the exact opposite of what we would expect to hear if Peter was Trinitarian.
Peter and John before the Sanhedrin and High Priests – Acts 4
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Act 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders,
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Act 4:9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
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Act 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man is standing before you well.
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Act 4:11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
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Act 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Again not a whiff of Trinitarian rhetoric, Jesus is said to be the Christ/Messiah whom God raised from the dead. Another opportunity missed by the Apostles to tell the world about their 3 person God and that Jesus is God!
Peter and John’s Prayer – Acts 4
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Act 4:24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
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Act 4:25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, 'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
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Act 4:26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against YAHWEH and against his Anointed'--
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Act 4:27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
Notice the apostles pray to God not to Jesus,
secondly they distinguish Jesus from
the Sovereign Lord God Creator that
they are praying to in verse 27 when they describe Jesus as his holy servant
whom he anointed.
The Apostles before the Sanhedrin - Acts
5
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Act 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men.
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Act 5:30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
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Act 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
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Act 5:32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.
Notice Peter again distinguishes Jesus from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying “The God of our fathers raised Jesus,”. Again there is no hint of Jesus being God, no hint of a trinity. These absences are totally unexplainable for those that believe the apostles were Trinitarians. The reality is they weren’t Trinitarians and never believed Jesus is God, which is why they constantly distinguish him from God in their preaching for their entire lives.
Act 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Paul’s Conversion - Acts 9
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Act 9:20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God.
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Act 9:21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?
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Act 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
After Jesus spoke to Paul and he was healed from his blindness. Luke records that Paul went into the synagogues preaching “He is the Son of God.” He goes on to say Paul proved “Jesus was the Christ/Messiah”. Note Paul did not rush into the synagogues preaching a trinity or preaching that Jesus is God.
Peter preaching to the Gentiles - Acts 10
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Act 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
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Act 10:39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,
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Act 10:40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,
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Act 10:41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
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Act 10:42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
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Act 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
Peter says simply God anointed Jesus with the holy spirit and power, God was with him, God raised him from the dead and God appointed him to be judge of the living and the dead. Again Peter plainly distinguishes Jesus from God. How obvious does it need to be? Why do the apostles always forget to mention their precious trinity? Why do they always forget to mention “oh by the way Jesus is God and you need to believe that to be a Christian”.
Paul preaching in a Synagogue – Acts 13
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Act 13:22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'
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Act 13:23 Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised…
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Act 13:32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers,
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Act 13:33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.' ….
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Act 13:38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you
Paul, like Peter, quotes from Psa 16:10 about the resurrection of the Messiah [in verse 35]. He also quotes Psa 2 about Jesus being the Messiah, Son of God and Son of David. Note verse 38. He says THROUGH THIS MAN FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS PROCLAIMED. Paul, like Peter, didn’t believe Jesus was God, he didn’t believe in a trinity. He believed Jesus was a man who God raised up through David’s line to be the Savior. There is no such thing as a godman in true Christianity. An eternal member of a 3 person god couldn't possibly be called a man in any genuine sense.
Paul in a Synagogue – Acts 17
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Act 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Act 17:2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
Act 17:3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.
Paul taught Jesus was the Christ/Messiah, not God.
Paul on Mars Hill – Acts 17
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Act 17:23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
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Act 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
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Act 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
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Act 17:31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Paul preaches to the Athenians about the Creator God of the Jews, he then says this God commands them to repent because “he fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness BY A MAN WHO HE HAS APPOINTED!” What a reoccurring theme, Paul speaks about Jesus as a man appointed by God again. Paul plainly distinguishes Jesus from the God and Creator of all things, just as Peter plainly distinguished Jesus from the God of the Fathers. This evidence is absolutely devastating for Trinitarians. The apostles went with Jesus message to the world and they forgot to bring the trinity!
Apollos — Acts 18
Act 18:28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by
the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus
Apollos was teaching Jesus is
the Messiah, not God.
Paul in Jerusalem - Acts 21-22
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Act 22:12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there
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Act 22:13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him
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Act 22:14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth
Paul recounts his conversion before his Jewish accusers. Notice Ananias plainly distinguished Jesus from the God of the Fathers in verse 14 as Peter and Paul themselves did. Paul tells how Jesus sent him to Gentiles and the Jews have heard enough.
Paul before Governors Felix, Festus and King Agrippa – Acts 23-26
Paul makes his case for his beliefs and actions after being arrested in Jerusalem by the Romans to prevent the Jews from killing him. Paul talks about his belief in the God of the Fathers and faith in the resurrected Messiah. Nowhere is there any hint of Jesus being God, or God being a trinity.
Paul in Rome – Acts 28
Paul is finally brought to Rome and he speaks to the Jews there about the accusations against him which they had no awareness of. They set a day for Paul to tell them about the Christian movement…
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Act 28:23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
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Act 28:24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.
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Act 28:30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,
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Act 28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Paul apparently forgot to tell these Jews about the trinity and that Jesus is God.
An examination of the Apostles' preaching in the Acts of the Apostles has yielded no evidence of a trinity or Jesus being God. To the contrary, it has shown that the Apostles consistently and explicitly distinguished Jesus from the God of the Fathers.
They describe Jesus as a man in the line of David, that God anointed, appointed, ordained, exalted, sent and raised from the dead. They repeatedly show Jesus is not God.
