15 Scriptural Reasons for the Biblical Unitarian Position by Kegan A. Chandler

15 Scriptural Reasons for the Biblical Unitarian Position

by Kegan A. Chandler

1) Scripture Always says
God is One, Never says God is Three or Three-In-One


Jesus says the greatest commandment is to understand that God is one and to love Him.
Nowhere does any Scripture attest that God is three.

HEBREW TESTIMONY
Deuteronomy 4:35
YHWH, He is God; there is no other besides Him.

Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me.

Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O’ Israel,YHWH is our God, YHWH is one.

Isaiah 46:9
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.

Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are YHWH…
Malachi 2:10
Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created us?

JESUS’ TESTIMONY

Mark 12:29
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord."

John 5:44
"…you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God."

APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY

Romans 3:30
… Since indeed God is one.

1 Corinthians 8:6
…for us there is but one God, the Father.

Galatians 3:20
Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.

James 2:19
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder



2) Jesus Says The Father is the Only One Who is Truly God

We are instructed to believe in two distinct individuals, one of which is God, the other is not.

JESUS’ TESTIMONY

John 17:1-3
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, "Father… This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

John 14:1
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; Believe also in me."

John 8:17-18
"I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other."

APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY

1 Corinthians 8:6
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, through whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

3) Jesus Has a God


How can Jesus be God and have a God?

JESUS’ TESTIMONY

John 20:17
Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"

Revelation 3:12
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Mark 15:34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"


 
APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY

Ephesians 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:17
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Romans 15:6
…so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort…

4) God is Not a Man – Jesus is a Man


If God tells us plainly that He is not a man, how can we say there is a man who is God?

WHO GOD IS NOT:

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Hosea 11:9
I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath.

1 Samuel 15:29
Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.

Job 9:32
"For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, that we may go to court together."

WHO JESUS IS:

Acts 2:22
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.

Acts 17:31

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:15
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man (Adam) how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

5) Jesus Prayed to God


Why would Jesus pray to God if he is God? If Jesus was praying to himself, or another part of himself, then it was just a game and not real, desperate supplication to a higher power. The Bible says Jesus prayed to "God" not just to "the Father".

Luke 6:12
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

Hebrews 5:7
In the days of his flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his piety.

Mark 1:35
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Matthew 11:25-26
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth"

Matthew 14:23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.

John 12:27
"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"

6) God Cannot Be Tempted, But Jesus Was Tempted in Every Way As We Are


The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus was tempted and had to be tempted in every way. If Jesus is God, and since God cannot be tempted, then Jesus was not really tempted and it was all a farce. To be tempted means there is the possibility that evil may be chosen, which is impossible for anyone that is supposedly 100% God Almighty.

GOD CANNOT BE TEMPTED IN ANY WAY

James 1:13
"… for God cannot be tempted by evil".

JESUS WAS TEMPTED IN EVERY WAY

Hebrews 4:15
"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."

Luke 4:2
… for forty days, being tempted by the devil.

7) God Cannot Die, Jesus Died


God alone has inherent immortality. If God died, the universe would collapse.
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus died. It does not say that only a part of Jesus died.

GOD IS IMMORTAL

Romans 1:23
"and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." -- Romans 1:23

1 Timothy 6:16
"God, who alone possesses immortality…"

JESUS DIED

Mark 15:44-45
Pilate wondered if he was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether he was already dead. And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

1 Corinthians 15:3
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.


8) Jesus is Subordinate to God

The Trinity says that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
are co-equal.
The Bible says Jesus is not equal with God, rather it says that God is Jesus’ boss

John 14:28
… The Father is greater than I.

1 Corinthians 11:3
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.


9) Jesus Does Not Do His Own Will


If Jesus is God, how can Jesus not seek his own will, and yet be always seeking his own will?

Luke 22:42
… not my will but Yours be done.

John 5:30
… I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.

10) Jesus Does Not Have Inherent Power or Authority


If Jesus is God Almighty, how is it that he so often claims to have no power, no authority, no initiative? How is it that the Apostles even claim Jesus was not the origin of Christ’s power and works

JESUS’ TESTIMONY


John 8:28
"I do nothing of my own initiative."

John 5:30
"By myself I can do nothing…"

John 5:27
"and He gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man."

John 14:10
"…the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works."

APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY

Acts 2:22
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--

Acts 17:31
For He (God) has set a day when He (God) will judge the world with justice through the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead."

Romans 10:9, Acts 13:30, 2:24, 10:40, etc.
But God raised him from the dead…


11) Everything Had to be Subjected


If Jesus is God from all eternity, how could it be that there was a time when things were not subjected to him? The New Testament says that there was a time when Jesus was subjected beneath the angels and did not have authority over all. This could never be of someone whom the Trinitarians claim never experienced a single moment where he was not fully God Almighty. God can never be put beneath His creations. Furthermore we see that it was not Jesus who subjected the world to himself, rather it was God that did it for him.

Ephesians 1:22
And He (God) put all things in subjection under his (Jesus) feet, and gave him (Jesus) as head over all things to the church, which is his body.

1 Corinthians 15:27
For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that He (God) is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.

Psalm 110:1
YHWH says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

Hebrews 2:9
but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

12) Jesus Was Given a Name Higher Than the One He Had


The Bible says Jesus was given a name above every name because of his obedience. This obviously means that beforehand his name was not above every name. He had to die so that he could become the Lord of all creation, meaning he wasn’t beforehand.

Phillipians 2:8-11
… He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason God also highly exalted him, and bestowed on him a name which is above every name, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 1:4
So he has become as much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.

Romans 14:9
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

13) Jesus Hands the Kingdom Over to God


If Jesus is God come to rule the world in the Kingdom, why would he hand the Kingdom over to God in a final act of submission so that "God" may rule over everything including Jesus?

1 Corinthians 15:24-28
then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For "He has put all things in subjection under his feet". But when he says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that he is excepted who put all things in subjection to him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.

14) Jesus, the Second Adam


The New Testament constantly refers to Jesus as the Second, or the Last Adam, saying that Adam was a prototype of the Messiah. The Biblical Unitarian position clearly and perfectly explains this comparison: Jesus was ontologically exactly like Adam, who was the first human son of God. Adam was the human son of God who failed, Jesus is the one who is victorious. God’s solution to the problem of sin and death: another Adam, God’s only legal option according to Romans 5:12-19.
The Christian story is essentially the tale of two Adams, one who disobeys and loses the Kingdom, the other who obeys and reclaims the Kingdom.

Luke 3:38
…who was the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam, who was the son of God.

Romans 5:14
Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

1 Corinthians 15:21 and 22 (NRSV)
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.

15) Jesus, Exactly Like His Brothers


The Bible says that Jesus is like me in every way, and actually had to be in order to atone for my sins. But if Jesus has two natures, two wills, or anything of the sort, then he is not like us in every way. Furthermore, God doesn’t have brothers or fellows, so how is it that the Bible says Jesus has these things?

Hebrews 2:17
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Romans 8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

Psalm 45:7
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.



This article was taken from a set of Articles to be found at the Kingdom and Glory Fellowship

"You Must Believe that I Am He" by Kegan A. Chandler

"You Must Believe that I Am He"

by Kegan A. Chandler

Matthew 16:13-20 (NASB) --

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking his disciples, ¹⁴ And they said, say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.¹⁵ He said to them, ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, the Christ, the Son of the living God.¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.²⁰ Then he warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ.

 
All Christians are asked this question by Jesus:
Who do you say that I am?

Like Jesus’ disciples reported, there are many people who have many different views about Jesus. As C.S. Lewis, MacDowell, and other popular Trinitarians have rightly claimed, it is impossible to simply accept Jesus as a “good and moral teacher” because to do that one would have to accept that his teachings were good, including his teachings about himself and his claims to be extraordinary. However, Lewis and MacDowell famously put forth this unfortunate argument to people when they are considering Jesus: He must be either God, a Liar, or a Lunatic. They claim that these are our only options when trying to understand Jesus: He was either God, a liar who claimed he was God when he knew he was not, or a lunatic who thought he was God when he really wasn’t. However, this is an extremely shallow and fallacious argument. They are excluding the other possibility regarding Jesus’ identity, silencing Jesus and His Apostles! Jesus is neither God, a liar, or a lunatic.

Rather, Jesus is exactly who he says he is: the Christ.

It is the sad reality that the majority of Christendom has been taught that they must believe that Jesus is God to be saved. This mandate carries absolutely no Scriptural authority, but what it does carry is 500 years of Orthodox debate behind it. It would not be until the formation of the Athanasian Creed circa 400-500AD that Christianity at large would begin to profess the belief in Jesus as God as the only way to salvation. But did Jesus ever claim this? What about his disciples?

I recently purchased a copy of the New Inductive Study Bible (Updated NASB) from Harvest House Publishers. While a wonderful Bible and certainly the most literal of the mainstream translations, I found some curious statements in this edition’s preface to the Gospel of John. Upon reading it, I realized just how deeply the Trinitarian teaching that one must believe Jesus is God to be saved had consumed Christianity:



"God in the flesh! What would He be like? What would He do? [ . . . ] And how would people know He was God?
[ . . . ] What about those who refused to believe He was God?"
As I read this I thought to myself, "Indeed, how would people know that Jesus was God? Maybe Jesus should tell them! It’s a shame that he never did." And what about those who refuse to believe in the Trinity even though Jesus never explained it to them? The opinion of the Trinitarian remains to be seen. Let us read on:
"God in the flesh. The incarnation would be hard for some to believe, but their belief or unbelief would be a matter of life or death"
Apparently, your life depends on a belief in Jesus as God incarnate. But if this is the essential truth, if holding this belief is the only way to salvation, why do neither Jesus nor his disciples talk about it? If we believe that acceptance of the Trinity is absolutely necessary for escaping damnation, then we must also believe that though Jesus had countless opportunities to tell us how to be saved, he felt he had more important things to talk about. Throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we do not receive an explanation from Jesus that he is God, much less the impression that God is three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal persons. Neither does he tell us about any of the necessary components of the Trinity; his dual natures, his two wills, etc.

In Harvest Houses’ preface to John, we find this proposition in the section entitled "Things to Think About":
" 1. Do you believe that Jesus is God and live accordingly? And what if you don’t? (John 8:24) "
They reference John 8:24 to show us what will happen to us if we don’t believe that Jesus is God. So by all means, let us go there and find out!
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." -- John 8:24 (NASB)
What does Jesus say here? Be careful not to put words in his mouth. Jesus says unless we believe that he is someone, we will die. In this statement, he does not tell us who that someone is, therefore the burning question still remains:
Who is he?! Jesus, in this particular verse, has not answered any questions about who he is, he has simply said that you must believe that he is. In the very next verse, the people will even ask him: "Who are you?" Clearly, nothing was explained in verse 24, because the people are still asking the question in verse 25! But the Trinitarian proudly leaves this solitary verse on the table as if it were the ultimate doubt-crushing proof about Jesus’ divinity. In keeping with the Trinitarian tradition, this verse has been wantonly extracted away from the rest of the passage which gives it life. John 8:24 has been cut off from it’s life-support and left dangling in the open air like a deflated balloon; incredibly useless on it’s own and miserably abused to "support" whatever cause the extractor desires.

We cannot neglect the rest of the passage for therein lies the answer to the question of who we have to believe that Jesus is. Harvest House has either disingenuously not referenced the following text or they have ignorantly missed it, like most Christians. This is the unhappy effect that our modern translations (with their verse and chapter divisions) can achieve when coupled with a teacher willing enough to recklessly isolate statements to gain the upper hand in doctrinal debates. Let us read John 8:24-28:
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. So they were saying to him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I speak to the world." They did not realize he had been speaking about the Father. So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me."
-- John 8:24-28 (NASB)
Who is Jesus? The Son of Man. Son of Man is the title of the Messiah. So what exactly does Jesus say we must believe about him in order to be saved? Did he say we have to believe he is God in the flesh? A Trinity of co-equal persons? No. We must believe that Jesus is the Messiah or we will die in our sins. This is the truth! Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God just as Peter confessed at Caesarea Philippi:
"He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."" – Matthew 16:15-16
This is exactly what the Bible says we must believe about Jesus. This is what the disciples believe, because it is what was affirmed to them by Jesus. This is what Jesus claims because it is the truth. Why should we not, as Christians, cling to the claims of the Bible regarding how to be saved?
"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him." -- 1 John 5:1
"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."
—1 John 4:15
"do you say of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because
I said, 'I am the Son of God '?" – John 10:36
"Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said,
"Truly this was the Son of God!"—Matthew 27:54
"Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
– 1 John 5:5
None of these verses concerning Jesus’ claims about himself and about what people need to believe about him to be saved contains anything related to Jesus being God, or anything related to the Trinity. Instead, they contain the simple message: in order to be saved you must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Belief in the Trinity as necessary for salvation is expressly absent from the teachings found in the chronicles of the Early Church. Peter, when preaching to the thousands of Jews gathered on the Day of Pentecost, told them exactly what they needed to do to be saved. This is the birthday of the Church—the beginning of the Jesus movement amongst the people of Israel. One would think that if the Trinity were necessary to receive salvation, Peter would tell them about it. Here is the Church’s inaugural sermon, void of the Trinity, which men believed and were saved:
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. "But God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. "For David says of him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.' "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."' "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-- this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. [ . . . ] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
-- Acts 22-41, 47
This is the debut message of the Church of Jesus Christ. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Peter to tell the people how to be saved through belief in the Trinity. If we adhere to the profession of the Athanasian Creed, that if you don’t believe in the Trinity you are damned, then we also should say that no one in the Early Church was saved. What’s worse, they apparently thought they were saved, but they really weren’t! It says that three thousand people were saved on that day through the content of this message, and many more were saved daily… what a tragedy that Peter was such an inept Apostle that he failed to communicate the most essential truth of Christianity: that Jesus was God incarnate and that there was another person called the Holy Spirit that was God too. Too bad for these poor Christians, their salvation was fraudulent and thank goodness for us that we had those philosophers in Alexandria to guide us to true salvation! What a farce.


This article was taken from a set of Articles to be found at the Kingdom and Glory Fellowship

An excellent point made by David Montgomery

"Good morning everyone. Why is it that the Quran says Jesus didn't die in crucifixion and christians easily refute that lie by pointing to Jesus own words, yet when men say Jesus is God they can never find Jesus' words to support what they are saying??

 If any christian is trying to guide a muslim to the truth of the Bible, it behooves you to stop saying things about Jesus that he himself never said OR at the least, give concrete and unambiguous scriptures that agree with what you are saying.

The testimony of the true church of Jesus is that he is the Messiah, Son of the living God. Adding to that by saying he is God is in essence adding to the word of God and not trusting in what Jesus himself said."

A most excellent point indeed!
Using Jesus' own words, one can see that Jesus was crucified and that he is, who he always claimed to be "The Son OF GOD."
Thus our Lord and Master's own words can be used to show not only that did he died, was buried and was raised from the dead;
his own words also show that he never ever testified to be God Almighty!
Christ's words work both ways! Amen!

David Montgomery went on to say:
 

"John 17:3 will be the heartbreaker for many. Jesus told us, but many listened to other shepherds and went astray from the living Lord and Rabbi! ... 

Jesus the Son of God, talking about his God, made it plain…there is only ONE God and that one God is the Father. Jesus is the Son. This is biblical. Whether you choose to believe it or not is your decision but I can only go by the word I claim I believe in."

(I found his quotes on Facebook)
 

Sympathizing With Our Weakness by Keith Dyer

Sympathizing With Our Weakness

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." -- Heb 4:14-15 RSV

This verse has always been meaningful to me, but all the more powerful since coming to the revelation that Jesus is not God. As a "recovering" Trinitarian (LOL), I always believed Jesus to be fully human and therefore capable of temptation, but I never thought too deeply about the deity of Christ co-existing with his humanity because doing so inevitably led to questions I couldn't answer. Any attempt to answer those questions and still retain the belief that Jesus was both God and man, just led to more confusion. And so, I just accepted it without trying to explain it.

But God has created us with the wonderful ability to think, to analyze, to discern, and when exercised positively, light is shed regarding some serious weaknesses in the doctrine of Christ's "dual nature". After all, how difficult could it have been for a "God-Man" to overcome temptation? Is it even possible for a God-Man to have been tempted at all, as other human beings experience temptation?

'Yes', people say, 'He was a man, but He was also God... no wonder He could be sinless... no wonder He could exercise such virtue and self control... how else could he have done all those miracles?' Without even realizing it, adhering to the Trinity doctrine, and consequently, the dual nature of Christ, places a barrier between Jesus and man. We take comfort in the humanity of Christ because we can relate to weakness and temptation, but at the same time, we separate ourselves from Him by believing him to be God!

It has been said that virtually all Trinitarians are practicing Monotheists, because it is impossible to hold a rational thought of three persons in One God without being guilty of worshiping three Gods. The fact is, we can think of, and focus on, only one Divine Person at a time. And it is likewise impossible to hold a rational thought of a God who became fully man, yet is still no less God. That is mysticism, and no Scripture supports it.

It is Jesus' genuine humanity that the Bible writers want us to see! (Acts 2:22; Rom 5:14-15 RSV; 1Tim 2:5) It is that very humanity that allows him to be a high priest who can really "sympathize with our weaknesses," because he truly is one of us! (Heb 4:15) Think of it! While it is claimed that the orthodox Jesus is fully human, if he is also fully God, then he can be neither one nor the other! A God-Man would be a very different creature from any human I know. He would be in a class all by himself, and for that very reason he could never possibly sympathize with our weaknesses!

The main function of a High Priest was to be a mediator between God and man. The book of Hebrews is clear that the High Priest must be a man in every way (Heb 2:17-18) [see also Heb. 5.1,4-5], and Paul complies when he explicitly states:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;...” 1Tim 2:5). The high priest of the Aaronic priesthood entered into the “holy of holies” on the day of atonement to offer sacrifices for the nation. He was required to mediate in this way once each year. But Jesus “passed through the heavens” to enter into the literal holy of holies - the presence of Almighty God - to offer himself, once and for all, a worthy sacrifice for the sins of men. This, he could only accomplish as a real human being.

Let's be honest, no man has a clue what it is like to be God. If Jesus was truly both God and man, he could not possibly be a qualified mediator, and how then would it be possible for him “sympathize with our weaknesses"? And yet, IF the Scriptures plainly stated a human/divine dual nature, if they unequivocally declared the Trinity as taught by orthodoxy, then I would believe it.

But the truth is: there are no such Scriptures that plainly state it, and not one that makes any such unequivocal declaration! 

What the Bible does say clearly is that he was "born" of a virgin - he had a beginning (Luke 1:35; 2:7 RSV); he grew in every way like any normal human being, developing and cultivating his relationships (Luke 2:52); and he related to Yahweh not only as his Father, but as his God (Mat 27:46; John 20:17; Rev 3:12; Eph 1:3; 1Pet 1:3).

Jesus prayed to his God and Father constantly, sometimes rising early and at times all night. I suggest that it was this intimate relationship he held with his Father, along with a revelation and understanding of his life's mission and purpose, that strengthened him to always make the right decisions and to keep him from sinning (Heb 2:10; 12:2). The impressive truth is that we are likewise expected to pray and keep ourselves from sinning! Most christians, I think, are keenly aware of the high moral standard to which we are called. But is it in vain that these demands are placed upon us? Are we actually supposed to obey the Scriptural injunctions literally or should we just "'give up" and forget about ever living without sinning?

The fact is, Scripture demands that we strive to make right choices and keep ourselves from willful sin. [1 John 2.1] But this is only possible so long as we BELIEVE it is possible; and it is much easier to believe it possible when we understand that Jesus is authentically human, and not also God.

Let's read the Bible for what it actually says instead of reading through the lens of tradition. And let's give the highest praise to God, the Father, for His "unspeakable gift" through Jesus Christ, His highly exalted Son (2Cor 9:15; Phil 2:11).

The above article was taken from "Sympathizing With Our Weakness"

The Thief on the Cross by Keith Dyer

The Thief on the Cross

“And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” --Luke 23:43 (NET)

This passage is considered a strong proof of the immateriality of the soul, and is typically cited to support the teaching that, upon death, the souls of the redeemed go directly to heaven. In this bible account the thief [1] on the cross says to Jesus “remember me when you come into your kingdom." Clearly, he believed Jesus would indeed come into a kingdom at some future time. The prevailing interpretation understands Jesus' answer as a promise of something which far exceeded the petition. In effect Jesus said to him, "there is no need for you to wait until that day, you will be with me this very day."

This interpretation seems clear-cut, but we must ask: is that how the thief understood Jesus' words, and more importantly, is it the meaning Jesus intended? If Jesus had something different in mind, what would it be, and how would one justify it based on the text? Virtually every mainstream bible resource supports the traditional view. In fact, pick up any bible commentary and you'll find pretty much the same thing. They unequivocally declare that in using the word 'today' Jesus defines the specific time in which the thief would be with him in paradise. The meaning of the text seems unmistakable!

But there IS another way to read the verse. It is a fact that the punctuation of a bible translation is left to human design and is not considered inspired. If one simply places the comma after the word 'today', the meaning is dramatically altered. The adverb, semeron (today), would then modify the verb 'I say' rather than 'to be', and so read:
 “I tell you the truth today, you will be with me in paradise.

It has been argued that it would be nonsensical for Jesus to use the phrase "I say to you today" because it is already obvious that He was speaking today! But this argument is merely an attack on the intelligence of those who support that reading. Of course we realize that Jesus was speaking 'today'!! But it is not unheard of for one to preface a statement with the phrase “I'm telling you right now...”, in American vernacular. It's simply a way of pointing emphatically to what is being said. Similarly, could not Jesus have responded to the thief's request in such a way?

In a book by Anthony Buzzard, reference is made to a German translation which renders Luke 23:43 as “Truly I give you my assurance today: You will one day be with me in Paradise.” In a note, the author adds “Jesus does not wait until the last day, but promises the thief even now that his request will be granted.”
(Our Fathers Who Aren't in Heaven, Buzzard, p.242).

Consider also, that a similar grammatical construction is found in Acts 20:26 where Paul says to the Ephesian elders "I declare to you THIS DAY that I have been faithful". [2] Some argue that if Jesus meant “I tell you the truth today”, semeron would need to precede the verb, but that isn't necessarily true. It is clear what Paul means here. THIS DAY translates semeron, just as in Luke 23:43, and here, as in Luke 23:43, 'today' does NOT precede the verb. Should it then read "I declare to you, this day I have been faithful"? Obviously, that is NOT what Paul meant to say!

So then, we can see that moving the comma in Luke 23:43 is plausible. But we must still answer the question: why would we want to alter the the traditional understanding? The answer, in short, is that the traditional interpretation is based on faulty Biblical understanding of the human soul, and what happens at death.

Consider the following arguments...

1. What is meant by “paradise”? The word paradeisos is found three times in the Bible.

• In 2Cor 12:2-4, Paul equates “the third heaven” with “paradise”. Evidently, it is God's abode, where Christ ascended after God raised him from the dead. [3] It was there that Paul heard things which, he said, cannot be repeated or, simply could not be uttered.
• In Revelation 2:7 we read of the “paradise of God” wherein is the tree of life which is promised to the one who conquers. Many scholars equate this with the garden of Eden and may also be the same paradise that Paul visited in 2 Cor 12.
• Then, of course, in our text Jesus refers to a place called paradise which, apparently is the same paradise as described in 2 Cor 12 and Rev 2. But this is problematic; which brings us to the next argument.

2. Where in Scripture can it be shown that Jesus entered heaven that very day? According to Acts 1:3 Jesus did not ascend into heaven until at least 40 days after his resurrection. The bible clearly tells us that Jesus died, was buried, and then resurrected on the third day. Luke had previously recorded Jesus as saying “and after they have scourged him, they will kill him; and the third day he will rise again." -- Luke 18:33 (NASB).There has been much speculation on how Jesus spent those three days, but according to Matt 12:40, Jesus said of himself that he would "be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Many assert that by “heart of the earth” is meant Hades, the place described in Luke 16 in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). But it should be observed first that paradise is not mentioned in that story, only “Abraham's bosom” or “Abraham's side”. Heaven is never referred to in any other bible text as Abraham's bosom. Secondly, since it is a parable there is no reason to believe that Jesus was giving a factual account of the afterlife. In fact, the parable was not designed to teach about heaven or hell. Jesus was using a popular idea of the time to figuratively “poke a finger in the eye” of the self-righteous Pharisees. It was really about the Pharisee's attitude concerning rich and poor and of misinterpreting the Law of Moses for their own gain. The more accurate understanding of “the heart of the earth” is, idiomatically speaking, in the grave or, the tomb. Some translations read “in the lower parts of the earth”. Any explanation that has Jesus going somewhere or doing something during those three days fails or refuses to acknowledge the plain sense of Scripture that Jesus was dead and in the tomb for three days.
   
   
3. Third, as noted above, being in the earth for three days is a picture of being dead and in the grave! If Jesus, the whole person, was not actually dead, it would render his resurrection pointless, for what need would he have for a glorified body if he could already go anywhere and do anything he wanted without one?! For Jesus to be dead he must have ceased from all activities associated with life, including consciousness. In numerous passages of Scripture, we are informed that the dead are unconscious.

• “For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In the grave who shall give thee thanks?” Ps. 6:5.
• “The dead praise not YAHWEH, neither any that go down into silence.” Ps. 115 :17.
• “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146:4.

Further, he must have been truly dead in every way in order for resurrection to maintain it's literal meaning as restoration of life, not merely revivification of a dead body.

4. Fourth, Acts 2:29-36 clearly shows that David was in the grave and did NOT go to paradise [nor did he ascend to] heaven when he died? If David, a man after God's own heart, did not go to paradise or heaven when he died, why would Jesus proclaim that the thief would accompany him to paradise that very day?
5. Fifth, that the thief would not immediately go into [either] paradise or heaven is in agreement with the rest of Scripture regarding what happens after death, not the least of which is the fact that Paul calls death "an enemy" in 1Cor 15:26. If it were true that we go directly to heaven at the time of death, we should then welcome it as a friend, not refer to it as the last enemy to be conquered! Not only so, but other Scriptures put our union with Christ “at his appearing”, which means either rapture or resurrection, not at death!

6. Finally, interpreting Luke 23:43 as “..., today you will be with me” does not prove the existence of a soul existing independent of the body, but presupposes it. In other words, one must already have in mind a view that man is made up of parts, such as soul and body, or body, soul, and spirit, and then read it into the text, including the placement of the comma. But numerous scholars, going back at least as far as Eusebius, and more importantly, the Bible itself, sees man as a whole being; a single unitary person.
   
   Note the following quotes from various scholars:

• Lake 2009, pp. 586–97: ‘The English translation of nepeš by the term “soul” has too often been misunderstood as teaching a bipartite (soul and body—dichotomy) or tripartite (body, soul, and spirit—trichotomy) anthropology. Equally misleading is the interpretation that too radically separates soul from body as in the Greek view of human nature. (See body; spirit.) N. Porteous (in IDB, 4:428) states it well when he says, “The Hebrew could not conceive of a disembodied nepeš, though he could use nepeš with or without the adjective ‘dead,’ for corpse (e.g., Lev. 19:28; Num. 6:6).” Or as R. B. Laurin has suggested, “To the Hebrew, man was not a ‘body’ and a ‘soul,’ but rather a ‘body-soul,’ a unit of vital power” (BDT, 492). In this connection, the most significant text is Gen. 2:7, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [nišmat hayyîm], and the man became a living being [nepeš hayyâ]” (the KJV rendering “living soul” is misleading). … It is this essential soul-body oneness that provides the uniqueness of the biblical concept of the resurrection of the body as distinguished from the Greek idea of the immortality of the soul.’
• Vogels (1994), "Review of "The Garden of Eden and the Hope of Immortality", by James Barr", Critical Review of Books in Religion 7: 80, ^ "It is generally accepted that in biblical thought there is no separation of body and soul and, consequently, the resurrection of the body is central. The idea of an immortal soul is not a Hebrew concept but comes from Platonic philosophy. It is, therefore, considered a severe distortion of the NT to read this foreign idea into its teaching.".
• Dixon (2000) [9.2.1968], "What Is Man?", Emmaus Journal, "Several Evangelical theologians suggest that the concept of man possessing an “immortal soul” is not the teaching of the Word of God. Clark Pinnock argues that its source is Plato (or Greek philosophy in general), and not the Bible.".

One last thought. There are several accounts of people being resurrected from the dead in the bible, both Old and New Testaments. With the exception of Jesus, all resurrection accounts were to normal physical life and not immortality. In no case do we have anything written about their experiences while in the realm of the dead. There are no protests by anyone about having to leave paradise to come back to physical existence in the earth! It seems clear that death was an experience of complete insensibility. Although this is an argument from silence, it is, at least, worth considering.

In light of all the above facts, it would not be likely that Jesus was alive and in Paradise on that very day, much less, promise the same to the thief on the cross? By saying to the thief, “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise”, Jesus associated paradise with the coming kingdom of God on earth and affirmed that the thief would have a place in that kingdom when he comes again to establish it.
And so it is with us. When we die, we sleep until Jesus returns and awakens us. At that time, and only then, “...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Cor. 5:10

The above article was taken from "The thief on the cross"

Some editing has been done on the above article including the following footnotes:

[1] Although strictly speaking, Luke does not describe him as a thief. Luke calls him a criminal (NASB, NKJV), a malefactor (KJV) [Luke 23.32,39]

[2] Compare also Deut. 11.8; 30.16,18,19.

[3] Alternatively and more consistent with the meaning of 'paradise' (taken from the Greek word paradeisos which always refers to an earthly garden); the paradise that Paul was caught away to (in vision) is called the third heaven, because the Bible speaks of three 'heavens'. That is, 2 Peter 3 describes the heavens which were of old and the world that perished (verses 5-6), the heavens and earth which are now (verse 7), and a new heavens and new earth (verse 13), wherein dwelleth righteousness. Paul was caught away to 'see' that future heaven, and given a vision of the coming Kingdom.

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Also please note:

The saints whether dead or alive, are not destined for Heaven.

The dead in Christ as well as those who are alive at Christ's Appearing/Coming/Parousia will be caught up to meet Christ in the air (this event is commonly called the rapture) and shall be with Christ from that moment. Henceforth, Christ will continue his descent (1 Thess. 4.15-18) to the earth whereby he will establish God's Kingdom on the earth. God's Kingdom is otherwise known as Paradise (i.e. Luke 23.42-43.)

All true believers in Christ will therefore reign with Christ upon the earth (Rev. 5.9-10)