Another Undeniable Proof by Keith Dyer

Another Undeniable Proof

"yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him" (1 Cor 8:6)
[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

It is interesting that, in defense of the Trinity, this verse is sometimes offered as a proof. Yet, it proves no such thing, because it makes a clear distinction between God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Lord. Also, there is no mention of the Holy Spirit here, so how can it be said to support a doctrine of "three in one"? At best, it might be a proof text for a Binity, but certainly not a Trinity!

But it appears much more likely that Paul knew nothing at all of a Trinity, or a Binity. Rather, Paul makes reference here of one, single, unitary God, and one Lord, Messiah.

In verses 4 and 5, Paul's language is clear. He speaks of only One God (v4); and though there be many lords (v5), yet for us (Christians) there is only one Lord Messiah (Christ), and that is Jesus.

This is so clear, I don't know how it can be mistaken, or misconstrued to mean that the one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, is One God but two co-equal Persons of the same essence within the one godhead. Keep in mind that it is not Paul's objective here to make a theological statement about the nature of God; he is not even making a philosophical observation about the nature of God. What Paul is doing is drawing attention to the fact that although pagans may recognize many gods and many lords, real or imagined,

Christians worship the One True God and follow the one Lord, Messiah Jesus.

The "so called" gods of the pagans, are no gods at all. In other words, although the world may worship many different gods, for the Christian there is only one God, and He is the Father. Although the world may recognize many lords (masters), for the Christian there is only one lord, the one sent by God, and that is Jesus Christ.

God is directly referred to as "the Father" about 70 times in the New Testament, and many more indirect references are made; but Jesus is never called God with the correlative "Son"; ie. God, the Son. Jesus is, of course, the Son of God, and the Christ (Messiah), neither of which is the same as God.

...

One of the most quoted Old Testament Scriptures found in the New Testament is Psalm 110:1

"The LORD says to my Lord,
sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

The word LORD, in all capital letters, is not a true translation of the Hebrew text. It is a well known fact among scholars that in order to preserve the holiness of God's name, and because of their literal adherence to the command about taking God's Name in vain, scribes replaced the sacred Name with four letters -... YHWH - known as the tetragrammaton. These four letters are representative of God's actual Name, ... Yahweh.

Remember, this is a Psalm of David; it is David speaking here, in the Spirit.
The LORD (Yahweh, Almighty God), speaks to someone that David calls "my Lord". God is not speaking to Himself.
This is a clear reference to Messiah.

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary says of the phrase "to my Lord"

According to Jesus’ interpretation of the passage (Matt. 22:41-45; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44), this is a reference to the Son of God in heaven in the presence of the Father. David himself confesses the Son to be his Lord, that is, his master or sovereign. --Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ps 110:1). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

The point in all this is to say that Paul surely understood Jesus to be the human Lord, Messiah, and in no way, God Almighty.

This, in fact, is what he argued for with all who would listen (Acts 18:5; 18:28). The word "Lord" is used here in the sense of governor, master, or king. The idea is that Christians acknowledge only one ruler over their lives, the one who God sent to be the Christ. Whether, as some suggest, Lord does not necessarily indicate an inferior status than God, is irrelevant. There is no question that God "gave" all authority to Jesus, both in heaven and in earth (Mat 28:18). What we must recognize is that the titles Lord and Christ do not indicate shared essence;
i.e. to call Jesus Lord or Christ is not the same as saying he is true God
(as the creed says, "very God of very God").

Honestly, I don't think these arguments would even be necessary if a mystical, incomprehensible, doctrine such as the Trinity had not been introduced and subsequently embraced by the Christian Church many years ago. To me, a simple reading of the text, and the very fact that Paul makes a distinction between the One God and Father, and the one Lord, Jesus Christ, is undeniable proof that he does not recognize a Trinity. Certainly, he could have worded his letter differently, had he intended to suggest anything other than One, singular Person God, and one Lord who is His Messiah!

The above article was taken from:

http://neweyesfaith.blogspot.com/2010/04/another-undeniable-proof.html

Three Undeniable Proofs by Keith Dyer

Three Undeniable Proofs

The Scriptures are literally full of texts which declare God as the Father, and the Only God. Nothing changed in the New Testament regarding the revealed nature of God, as Father and as Almighty.

Nevertheless, the centuries old doctrine of the Holy Trinity has turned plain language and simple, direct, concepts into an unintelligible mystery. I have a solution to that problem... ditch the unbiblical doctrine and replace it with the clear teaching of Scripture!

It's time for another reformation!

There are many undeniable proofs throughout the Bible, but in this article I want to highlight only three texts that reasonably prove Jesus is NOT God, sharing essence in a multiple Godhead, or equal with God in any way. They are John 17:3, Matt 16:16 , and Ephesians 1:17

Undeniable Proof #1

John 17:3

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Any person can read this text and clearly see that Jesus delineates Himself from "the One True God". In order to hold to the doctrine of the Trinity, one must explain away Jesus' own words. Remember, it is Jesus who said this; the same Jesus all Christians claim to be Lord and Master!

In order to attain eternal life, one must know the only true God, and the one that God sent (commissioned).

The "True God" is obviously a reference to "the Father" to whom Jesus prayed. The Father is the only true God!

All verses following must be interpreted within the context of Jesus declaration about the identity of the true God. For example, look at the continuation of Jesus prayer in verse five.

"And now, glorify Me together with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

There are several ways to understand this verse. First, if we take it literally, Jesus pre-existed his earthly life and shared glory with God. He is now requesting to have that glory again and to return to his pre-existent state. This is apparently how trinitarians interpret what Jesus is saying here. But even if it is true, we must deal with his statement about the only true God.

If the Father is the "true" God, then Jesus is not... there cannot be two "true" Gods! There is no co-equality here, as the doctrine of the trinity teaches.

In addition, it may be argued that if Jesus gave up glory in order to become a man, then he couldn't have been God during that time. This plays into the theory of "kenosis" from Phil 2:7 where it says he "emptied" himself. But the problem with kenotic theory is that Jesus was always conscious of His Godhood, according to the trinity doctrine. Giving up glory he had, would be tantamount to giving up divinity.

Another problem with this understanding is that asking God to restore glory which He previously had, makes him totally cognizant of His Deity at this time, when he doesn't seem to remember that he is fully God at other times. This "sporadic" awareness of Deity does not seem to be consistent with a divine being... and certainly not consistent with humanity. At least, I've never had the experience of realizing that I'm actually God! What about you?

There is, of course, another way to interpret this verse while adhering to Jesus statement about the One True God, and staying in agreement with his complete humanity, as well as other Biblical texts. First, look at 2 Tim 1:9...

"who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began..."

Paul says that we received grace according to His purpose in Christ BEFORE time began. Notice the past tense of the verbs. How could we be called before we existed in time? And further, no one suggests that we were around before time to receive His grace! It's obvious, and everyone acknowledges, that Paul refers to God's plan from before time. Also, in Eph 1:4 Paul makes a similar reference. How is it possible for us to have been chosen before the foundation of the world? Only in God's mind, His eternal plan!

Given these comparisons, and removing any bias towards a trinitarian theology, can we really prove that Jesus was Deity from John 17:5? Jesus was also in God's mind, His plan, before time, and that is precisely how we should understand John 1:1. The word - the plan - was with God in the beginning, but it did not become Jesus until He was born in Mary.

What Jesus is asking here is for the Father to fulfill Scripture concerning the glory that was promised to the Messiah; Jesus' glory was in God's mind before time and He prays that it now be made manifest. I believe this to be an honest assessment of the text without twisting or stretching it in any way.

Finally, we should not miss the import of 1 Pet 1:20-21.

"He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

I really don't think I have to say anything more, but in case you missed it,

• to be "foreknown" is not the same as pre-existing!
• God "gave" him glory, He didn't return it.
• God's purpose in Jesus is that our "faith and hope are in God"

Jesus himself is not the True God, but the one who was "sent" (commissioned) by the True God, to reveal the True God (17:3).

Just read through the remainder of John 17 and see how Jesus spoke the words that God gave him (17:8,14); that God has given Jesus [disciples who are kept in] His Name (17:11,12); that we are not of the world just like Jesus is not of the world (17:14,16); that we are sent as he was sent (17:18); that we may be one even as Jesus and the Father are one, and that they (Jesus and the Father) may be in us even as Jesus is in the Father and the Father in Jesus (17:21-23).

Undeniable Proof #2

Matt 16:16

"Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

This confession is found also in Mark and Luke (Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20), but here, in Matthew's account, Jesus responds with a telling statement. He says: "Blessed are you...for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father..." (Matt 16:17).

It is amazing to me how often I've heard people use this verse to make their claim that Jesus admitted to being God; yet, he makes no such claim for himself here, or anywhere else for that matter! He claims only that Simon's assessment of his identity is "revealed" by the Father and that he (Simon) is "blessed" for his spiritually attuned judgment. This means only that Peter recognized Jesus as God's Messiah for which Israel had long been waiting.

Luke's use of the term "Christ of God" (Luke 9:20) qualifies Matthew's "Son of the living God".

"Son of God" is a title of agency in the Bible, as well as the whole of the Greek-Roman world. Israel is called "the son of God", angels are called "sons of God", and even Christians are "sons". What we all have in common is that we "represent" God in some way. Angels were sent to relay God's messages and do His bidding, Israel is the nation God used to bring Messiah to the world, and Christians are the means by which the gospel is to be preached to the world. We are, in that sense, agents of God. ... I don't mean to put Christ on the same level as angels, ... I'm simply making the point that the term "son of God" refers to agency.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the True God's authorized Agent - His Vice Regent. He was given this title at birth, as announced by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:35), as a direct result of the miraculous begetting by the power of God. To be "Son of God" in the Bible means you are not God! In the same way, being my father's son means that I am not my father.

There are many other things we could discuss here. For example, in the trinity doctrine the Father, Son, and Spirit share "essence" which supposedly reconciles the validity of three persons yet only one God. However, the idea of "essence" uniting more than one person into one being breaks down upon further scrutiny. My father and I share the same essence, and so do my brothers; i.e. we are all human. But we are not one human, we are still three separate persons - three separate beings.

The bottom line is this: Jesus did not correct, adjust, or try to tweak Peter's answer in any way. If Jesus was "God the Son", as the trinitarian doctrine has it, this would have been the perfect opportunity for Jesus to make it clear. Wouldn't it have been more honest, more forthright, to say "well Peter, you're partly right, but you have much to learn yet." What nails this truth down for me is that Jesus commends Peter, calls him "blessed", and acknowledges that God the Father "revealed" this to him! What was revealed? Not that Jesus was the 2nd person in a triune God, but that:

Jesus is the Christ of God; i.e. Son of God.

Jesus is the Messiah, and I can find no indication anywhere in the Bible denoting that Israel expected the Messiah to be a God-Man. The Son of God is not the same as God the Son, which is a term nowhere found in Scripture. This is undeniable proof for me.

Undeniable Proof #3

Ephesians 1:17

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him"

In trinitarian teaching, Jesus is called Lord because he is equated with the Lord GOD of the Old Testament. Since there is only one God who is called The LORD, and since there is only one Lord Jesus Christ, He must be God.

But apparently Paul did not understand this reasoning because he calls the Father of glory, "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ". Notice that it is not just "Father" of our Lord Jesus, but THE GOD (ho theos in the Greek)! How is it that God can have a God? And this is not an isolated text. (Compare Eph 1:3). Even Jesus himself recognizes the Father as his God according to the following Scriptures:

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matt 27:46)

And after his resurrection, having been immortalized with a glorious new body.

"Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (John 20:17)

And again, many years after having ascended into heaven, he still holds to the same understanding.

"Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God." (Rev 3:2)

'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name." (Rev 3:12)

Dear readers, I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, don't you? If it is, in fact, God's word, written by men who were moved by God to record His thoughts, then we must take it seriously - and I do. The plain, unavoidable, fact is that Jesus nowhere claims the designation "God" for himself, but everywhere - even after his resurrection and ascension into heaven - submits himself to, and acknowledges that he himself has a God. Certainly, if Paul believed, and taught his converts, that Jesus was the 2nd person of a trinity, he would have been more careful in how he worded his prayer.

These are, in my mind, undeniable proofs that the trinity is not a sound Biblical doctrine. Instead, it is inspired by man, handed down, and accepted virtually without question by the majority, even in the face of clear texts such as we have presented in this article.

I encourage you to research these facts for yourself. There is great freedom and joy in discovering truth!

The above article was taken from:

http://neweyesfaith.blogspot.com/2010/03/three-undeniable-proofs.html

A Man Under Authority by Keith Dyer

A Man Under Authority

Luke 7:1-10; Matthew 8:5-13

This passage of Scripture is very instructional and enlightening. Most bible translations give it a pericope heading of "The Centurions' Faith", or something similar. But perhaps it should be given the heading "A Man Under Authority." The Centurion had great faith to be sure, and Jesus commends him for it. However, I think the central truth found here is not so much in the fact of the Centurion's faith as the cause of his faith!

Notice in [Matthew 8] verse 9 that he says, "for I too am a man under authority..."

In the past, for me, the focus of this passage has been on [Luke 7] verse 7 where the Centurion says, "...but say the word, and let my servant be healed." Invariably, when I would read this, I thought to myself, wow, what a testimony to this man, and a gentile besides. He had the distinction of one whose faith had surpassed that of any Jew! He really got it! He knew that Jesus didn't have to be present or have to lay his hands on the servant in order for him to receive God's healing mercy. All Jesus had to do was "say the word" and it would be done!

Of course, what I didn't understand is WHY he only had to "say the word" and the actual reason for which he commended the Centurion! Somehow, I always related the authority to the spoken word, but the reason Jesus could simply speak the word and get results is because he was under God's authority. Now you may think I am rather thick headed not to have seen this before, and you could be right. But my previously held belief, that Jesus is also God, hindered my appreciation of the facts, and the truth of the Centurion's insight and understanding.

Time and again Jesus affirmed that he only did what the Father told him to do, and he only said what the Father told him to say. The Centurion understood this perfectly because he himself was a man "set" under authority! As a man under authority, he understood the power of one in that position. His words carried the full backing of Rome and, for all practical purposes, when he spoke, it was as if the words came from the Emperor of Rome himself. It was this very fact, that he understood Jesus as a man under the authority of God, that produced faith in him!

Luke points out that "when Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him"! This word "marvel" means to wonder, to be in awe of something. To get the gist of the word "marvel" you might picture someone scratching their head, as if in wonderment; or dropping their jaw after hearing something they didn't expect or that didn't quite register. It's interesting to note that Jesus was said to be in this state of mind only one other time, and that was in Mark 6:6 when "he marvelled because of their unbelief"!

Here in Luke's gospel, Jesus simply follows up with the statement that "... I have not found so great faith, no, not in all Israel." But in Matthew's account, he adds a rebuke saying "...the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness." (Matthew 8:11-12). This rebuke to Israel and commendation of the Centurion, I suggest, is not just because a gentile demonstrated great faith, but because he recognized Jesus as a man commissioned by God and vested with His full authority! How else could he expect a spoken word to carry such power, not even being within hearing distance of the servant? Unless, the Centurion recognized Jesus as God ... but his words exclude that possibility! (...I also am a man ... [Luke 7] v8)

Here is yet another example of how my "faith eyes" have been made new! Understanding Jesus as fully human, without the need to see that he is at the same time God, has allowed me to see Scripture in a different way.

Should we not join with the multitudes in Jesus day who were "awe-struck... and ascribed the glory to God who had entrusted such power to a man." (Matthew 9:8 - Weymouth Version)

The above article was taken from:

http://neweyesfaith.blogspot.com/2009/05/man-under-authority.html

Jesus is NOT a Trinitarian! By Keith Dyer

Jesus is NOT a Trinitarian!

It still amazes me that for so many years it never really occurred to me that God was not a trinity, or that Jesus was not God. The fact is though, I had lots of help with that particular mindset. Now that I have discovered the truth that has been right in front of me all these years,
I can see it everywhere. Jesus did not believe in the trinity!

While reading through the gospels recently, I came across a passage of Scripture that jumped out at me in this regard. Mark 12:28-34 reads as follows:

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. --Mark 12:28-34 (ESV)

In verse 29, Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy chapter six;
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
This is called the "shema" and to this day you will hear it recited in every Jewish synagogue, and hear it on the lips of every sincere Jew. It is now, and was in the days of Jesus, the creed of Israel. It is the thing which made the nation of Israel stand out from the other nations; the belief in ONE God. But more than just one God with regard to those whose practice was to worship multiple gods, the shema is a declaration that God is a singular Being!
Notice in verse 32 that the scribe agreed with Jesus by saying
"You have truly said that he is one..."
But then he adds "...there is no other besides him."

The shema acknowledges, that Yahweh alone is the God of Israel AND that He is ONE; i.e. not multiple in any sense. If this was the creed of Jesus, should it not be the creed of any and all who claim to follow Jesus?
Should not every Christian declare, along with Jesus, that God is ONE?

The practicality of seeing that Yahweh alone is God, and Jesus is not;
is immense.
Belief in the trinity requires a philosophical outlook that is not supported in the plain language of the Bible. It requires us to love and trust a God we cannot possibly hope to understand or relate to in any way. It reduces our knowledge of God to a philosophical concept, and it's difficult to love and trust a philosophical concept! On the other hand, Jesus teaches us that God is a singular being - a person - worthy of our love and trust.

Jesus, quoting Hebrew Scripture, affirmed that the greatest of the commandments is to "love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." When I believed in God as a trinity, I generally always associated God with Jesus and therefore unwittingly gave him the glory that was due to God alone. By following the example of Jesus and affirming that God is ONE, we can love and trust God in the way that Jesus taught us. At the same time, we can give Jesus all the praise due to his name without confusing him with God.

If the Bible is God's message to mankind, and I believe it is, then it honors Him when we take Him at his word. Jesus never claimed to be God, but he did worship, pray to, and teach about a personal God; a God Who he called "the only True God" (John 17:3); a God with Whom he was intimately acquainted. It was also Jesus' prayer that as he and the Father were one (unity of purpose), that we would also be one (John 17:11). And, that as he was in the Father and the Father in Him, that they would also be in us and we in them (John 17:21-23).

This is a call for the Church to awaken from the stupor of Greek philosophy and tradition.

Let God be God, and let Jesus be who he said he is...
the Messiah... the anointed one... God's chosen servant.

Jesus is not a trinitarian!

The above article was taken from:

http://neweyesfaith.blogspot.com/2009/05/jesus-is-not-trinitarian.html