American Creation: Jefferson Calls the Trinity a Three-Headed Monster

From his letter to Rev. James Smith, December 8, 1822:

No historical fact is better established, than that the doctrine of one God, pure and uncompounded, was that of the early ages of Christianity; and was among the efficacious doctrines which gave it triumph over the polytheism of the ancients, sickened with the absurdities of their own theology. Nor was the unity of the Supreme Being ousted from the Christian creed by the force of reason, but by the sword of civil government, wielded at the will of the fanatic Athanasius. The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of thousands and thousands of martyrs....In fact, the Athanasian paradox that one is three, and three but one, is so incomprehensible to the human mind, that no candid man can say he has any idea of it, and how can he believe what presents no idea? ...

Taken From:

American Creation: Jefferson Calls the Trinity a Three-Headed Monster

Hmmm! So much for Orthodox Christian Founding Fathers!!

Typical "Jesus Only"/Oneness statements

Here is a typical series of statements that you would generally find on
"Jesus Only"/Oneness websites.

1. Take note that if you believe in One God doesnt mean that you are Jesus ONLY believer....
2. There is only one Lord. Eph. 4:5. When Paul was struck down on the road to Damascus, he cried, "Who art thou, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I AM JESUS." Acts 9:5. Beyond a shadow of a doubt the Lord God Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament!
3. Jesus confirmed that He was not a separate Person, but God manifested in the flesh. Jesus said unto Philip, ". . .He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. . .The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the father that DWELLETH IN ME, He doeth the works...Believe me that I am in the Father, and the FATHER IN ME. . ." John 14:9-11. Jesus simply stated, "I and My Father are ONE (not two)." John 10:30.
4. Jesus emphasized the importance of His identity as He taught the people in the temple. He said, ". . .For if ye believe not that I AM HE, ye shall die in your sins. . .They understood not that He spake to them of the FATHER." John 8:24-27.
5. When Jesus was baptized by John in Jordan River, the voice of God spoke, "This is my beloved Son, IN WHOM I am well pleased."Matt. 3:17. Notice, God said, "IN WHOM" – not with whom! "To wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST, reconciling the world unto Himself. . ." II Cor. 5:19.
6. As Stephen was facing death, he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7:55. The term "right hand" does not form a part of another Person or Deity. It is symbolic of the power and authority of God. Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 28:18.
7. The question may be asked, "Is Jesus in the Godhead, or is the Godhead in Jesus?" If the Godhead is in Jesus, there can only be one Person. The Bible clearly states, "For IN HIM (Christ) DWELLETH all the FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY. And ye are COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the HEAD OF ALL PRINCIPALITY AND POWER." Col. 2:9, 10. So there is only ONE PERSON in which the Godhead is manifested, because the GODHEAD IS IN JESUS!
8. In Jesus Christ, two wills or natures are portrayed: a human will and a Divine will. He was man (flesh) and He was God (Spirit). As man He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, "O my Father.. not as I WILL, but as THOU WILT." Matt. 26:39. Also He cried out on the cross, "My God, my God. Why host thou forsaken me?" Matt. 27:46. Certainly these Scriptures do not imply that Jesus Christ is a separate Person or Deity with the Father. Far Deity does not pray to Deity! Futhermore, Deity cannot die! So as man, Jesus Christ prayed in His human nature to His Divine nature. Because, in His human nature, the flesh did not want to die, but He knew the will of the Spirit must be done. Also at Calvary He cried out in His human nature to His Divine nature; and when the Spirit left the body, He fulfilled His human role of death. As man, He was hungry, He slept, He became weary, He wept, He increased in wisdom and stature, He prayed, and He died. (See Matt. 4:2, Matt. 8:24, John 4:6, John 11,35, Luke 2:52, Matt. 26:39, Matt. 27:50.) As God, He healed the sick, He cast out devils, He raised the dead, He calmed the sea. He forgave sins, He answered prayer, and He arose from the grave. (See Matt. 4,23, Luke 8:35, John 11:43,44, Mark 4:39, Mark 2:5, John 14:14, John 2:19-21.)
   

Now what follows is my response to the above:

No. 1

Let's discuss true "One GOD Doctrine" ...

There is indeed solely ONE GOD.
But He isn't Jesus.
Jesus is the Son of GOD.
[Matt 16.16, John 20.31]

Rather, Jesus identified the Father
as the only true GOD.
[John 17.3]
So the truth of the matter is that there is solely ONE GOD, the Father.
Jesus the Messiah is the human Son of the ONE GOD;
Jesus is the one man whom the ONE GOD made both Lord and Christ.
[Acts 2.34-36]

(1 Cor 8:4) ... that there is none other God but one.
(1 Cor 8:6) 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 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;

That is "true" ONE GOD Doctrine!


No. 2: Eph 4.5, Acts 9.5; Beyond a shadow of a doubt the Lord God Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament!


ME: There is indeed solely ONE GOD, the Father. [1 Cor 8.4,6]
The "mix-up" is confusion over the word "Lord".
The word "Lord" in the Bible is used for GOD, Christ, angels and men.
One must first know the context to determine in what sense the word "Lord" is being used.
For example, the Father is the LORD GOD;
whilst His Son is the Lord Messiah
[Col 3.24, Luke 2.11]
That is, Jesus Christ is "Lord" in fulfillment of Psalm 110.1
(Psa 110:1) The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Note in our English Bibles, the word "lord" appears twice in that verse.
However, the Hebrew words have totally two different meanings.
The first word 'LORD' is in Hebrew, GOD's name, YAHWEH
(I prefer to use the name YAHWEH; as oppose to Jehovah; it is truer to the Hebrew)
This is GOD's name forever [Exo 3.15]; it has never changed.
Therefore, wherever you see the word (the) "LORD" in capitals in the OT; it is GOD's name in the Hebrew. For example, (Exo 3:15) ... YAHWEH God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Now the 2nd word, 'Lord' in Psa 110.1, is the Hebrew word adoni which is never ever used in reference to GOD Almighty; it is used in ref. to men and occasionally angels.
(We know from the first 3 chapters of the Book of Hebrews, that Jesus is not an angelic being)

So, what is Psalm 110:1 about?
One day, GOD was going to invite a special man, a man who is David's lord, David's adoni, to sit at His own right hand; a place of supreme authority.
This was fulfilled when GOD Almighty raised Jesus from the dead; glorified him and exalted him to His right hand; as stated by Peter:
(Acts 2:34-36) For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself,
The Lord [YAHWEH] said unto my Lord [adoni],
Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified,
both Lord and Christ.

Therefore, Jesus the Messiah, is the 2nd 'lord' of Psalm 110.1; he is not the LORD GOD.
Only YAHWEH is the LORD GOD.
Rather, Jesus is the 'lord' who is now at
YAHWEH's (the LORD GOD's) right hand.
Jesus is the Lord Messiah, the one and only man whom the ONE GOD has made 'Lord'
Hence, there is "one Lord"
[Eph 4.5, 1 Cor 8.6]
Jesus is the Lord Messiah, the one man whom the LORD GOD has made 'Lord of all' [Acts 10.36] second only to GOD Himself.
For more info, on the different uses of the word "lord" in the Bible please see:
LORD, Lord, lord

So context determines how the word 'lord' is used.


Concerning Acts 9.5
Now let's imagine a Mr. John Doe.
Someone such as a friend of Mr. Doe for example, would know, who Doe was! They would know him!
They wouldn't therefore ask "who are you, John Doe?"
Rather, someone who does not know John Doe, may ask "who are you, Sir?"
And so it is in Acts 9.5.

Saul/Paul was a Pharisee, touching the law blameless; [Phil 3.5-6]
He knew full well who his GOD was! He knew full well who the GOD of his fathers was!
Namely, YAHWEH the ONE GOD!

So this would be a stupid question for Saul to ask:
Who art thou, YAHWEH/Jehovah?
Saul knows his GOD and especially the name of his GOD.

Rather, in Bible times; when one would "hear a heavenly voice"; it is always assumed that an angel is speaking on behalf of GOD.
[e.g. John 12.28-29]
The word 'Lord' (Greek kurios) is equivalent to the word "Sir"; not only is this Greek word used for the name of GOD in the NT; it is also used to address angels, dignitaries, masters, and of course, the Messiah.

So because Saul did not know who was speaking to him, he asked,
Who art thou, Lord/Sir? i.e. Who art thou, kurios? ...
Seeing that he is addressing an heavenly voice.
(Like I said, it was the custom to address "an angel" as 'lord')

Then the speaker identifies himself as Jesus!

Saul thereafter addresses Jesus as Lord/kurios; this is how anyone in that era would address the Messiah
(in light of Psalms 110.1)

In Acts 9, therefore, Saul most definitely was not calling Jesus, YAHWEH/Jehovah! No!
He was calling him 'Lord'
(Compare the Gospels' usage when people who didn't even know that Jesus was the Messiah would call him 'kurios'
i.e. Sir/Lord; seeing that it is a 'term of respect'
e.g. John 4.11,15,19; 5.7; 20.15, etc)

After realizing that Jesus is the Lord Messiah, look at Saul's response:
(Acts 9:20-22) And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

Saul went about preaching that Jesus was truly
the Christ, the Son of GOD;
Not a word about him being YAHWEH/Jehovah!!!

So, the LORD GOD of the OT is the same LORD GOD of the NT.
In this regard, NOTHING has changed!

What has changed, however, is that the Messiah has been revealed!
Namely, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of GOD. YAHWEH has made him the "One Lord" of the NT; that is, the Lord Messiah in fulfillment of Psalm 110.1.
The man Messiah Jesus our Lord, is now a glorified man at the ONE GOD's right hand.

So, ONE GOD, the Father;
ONE Lord, the man Jesus Christ.

No. 3: Jesus confirmed that He was not a separate Person, but God manifested in the flesh. Jesus said unto Philip, ". . .He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. . .The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the father that DWELLETH IN ME, He doeth the works...Believe me that I am in the Father, and the FATHER IN ME. . ." John 14:9-11. Jesus simply stated, "I and My Father are ONE (not two)." John 10:30.


ME:
Jesus is indeed a separate person; as separate as any son would be from his father.
Jesus is truly GOD's son [Matt 16.16]
And yes, the ONE GOD dwells in him.
Jesus did not say to Philip, "I am the Father and the Father is me";
Rather he said: "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the FATHER IN ME."

Father and Son makes TWO! We know this!
For example:
(John 8:16-18) And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

So, of course, Jesus the Son is separate from his own Father.
However, only ONE of them is Almighty GOD.
Let Jesus tell us who?
(John 17:1) These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, ...
(John 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

So, Father and Son makes TWO!
However, ONE is GOD, the other is NOT!

Now, because Jesus is the image of the invisible GOD [Col 1.15]; and Jesus so totally represents his Father; then to see Jesus in action, was to see the invisible Father in action, performing mighty miracles through him [Acts 2.22];
thus, to see Jesus, was to "see" the Father. [John 14.9]
Not because Jesus is the Father; but rather, because he totally represented the invisible Father.

In John 10.30, Jesus is stating that he and his Father are "one" in purpose, in unity.
In fact, Jesus went on to pray that we be "one" even as he and the Father are one.
[John 17.11,21-23]


No. 4: Jesus emphasized the importance of His identity as He taught the people in the temple. He said, ". . .For if ye believe not that I AM HE, ye shall die in your sins. . .They understood not that He spake to them of the FATHER."
John 8:24-27.


ME: Let's look again at that passage, John 8.24-27.
If as Oneness imply, Jesus was stating that he was Almighty GOD in verse 24; the people would not then ask Who art thou?
i.e. Who are you? Would they?
According to Oneness, he just told them in verse 24!!!

No, Jesus was not identifying himself as the Father in verse 24.
And for one to realize that, one needs to ask this:
Seeing that verse 25 says (John 8:25) Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.

Ask yourself:
From the very beginning of his ministry ...
right up to this point in John 8:24-25.
Who did Jesus claim to be?
That is, From the very lips of Jesus who did Jesus of Nazareth claim to be, from the beginning?
Did he claim to be Almighty GOD? Or did he claim to be the Messiah, GOD's Son?

Truly, there is only one answer. He claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of GOD.
Therefore if one does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, one will die in their sins.

(BTW, v27 He spake to them of the FATHER is in ref. to verse 26: ... but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
Verse 27 therefore, is not in reference to verses 24-25!)


No. 5: Matt 3.17, 2 Cor 5.19


ME: Yep! The ONE GOD was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.


No. 6: As Stephen was facing death, he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7:55. The term "right hand" does not form a part of another Person or Deity. It is symbolic of the power and authority of God.


ME: NO & YES!
No man has seen GOD at any time.
[John 1.18, 1 John 4.12]
Stephen truly saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
Remember, the saints now knew who Jesus was and that Psalm 110.1 had been fulfilled.
They knew in light of Acts 2.34-38 that Jesus is GOD's right hand "man"
So, that is exactly what Stephen saw.
This does not make TWO Gods or TWO deities.
NO!
There is ONE GOD in Heaven; the man Christ Jesus is at His right hand.
ONE GOD, ONE man.

So yes, "right hand" is indeed symbolic of power and authority.
The man Christ Jesus has been given that power and authority; hence he is the Lord Jesus Christ who is now in Heaven, at the ONE GOD's right hand.
So, Stephen saw the glory of GOD and the Lord Jesus standing in the position of all power/authority in the presence of the ONE GOD.


No. 7: The question may be asked, "Is Jesus in the Godhead, or is the Godhead in Jesus?"


ME: "Godhead" is the old English word for "Godhood" i.e. what makes GOD, "GOD"
The fulness of the Godhead dwells in Christ
[Col 2.9]
That doesn't make Christ GOD. Rather it makes Christ, GOD's ultimate vessel, His ultimate dwelling-place, because
(Col 1:19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
So, the ONE GOD dwells in the man Christ Jesus.

No. 8: In Jesus Christ, two wills or natures are portrayed: a human will and a Divine will. He was man (flesh) and He was God (Spirit). As man He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, "O my Father.. not as I WILL, but as THOU WILT." Matt. 26:39. Also He cried out on the cross, "My God, my God. Why host thou forsaken me?" Matt. 27:46. Certainly these Scriptures do not imply that Jesus Christ is a separate Person or Deity with the Father. Far Deity does not pray to Deity! Furthermore, Deity cannot die!


ME: The two wills portrayed are rather Jesus' own will and the will of the Father his GOD.
Just like you and I, we have our own will; and yet we must follow our Master's example; and submit our own will to the will of the Father, the ONE GOD.
We don't have two natures and neither did Jesus!

Matt 26.39,27.46; of course most definitely implies that Jesus Christ is a separate person from his Father.
I know why Oneness believers struggle with this, with the plain meaning of these verses.
It is because of the way that they are taught to interpret verses such as the above

However, once you come to the realization that the Bible literally means what it says; and above all, Jesus means what he says;
you will realize, that Jesus solely called the Father "GOD"; and Jesus never ever said that he was GOD!! He claimed, rather, to be the Messiah, the Son of GOD.

Then, you will realize, why the Bible speaks the way that it does: because it is the word of truth.
The Father is the ONE GOD.
Jesus of Nazareth is His human son, a man approved of the ONE GOD. [Acts 2.22]
Therefore, the NT portrays:

GOD & His Son;
The ONE GOD & a man.
Jesus, a man totally dependent upon his GOD;
Jesus, a man who prayed always to his GOD;
Jesus, a man who died for the will of his Father and GOD.

"As man" ...
That all that Jesus ever was and is.
He is the man Christ Jesus.

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

So yes, being a man, Jesus indeed was hungry, slept, became weary, wept, increased in wisdom and stature, prayed, and above all, died for our sins.
This is something GOD could never do. GOD alone has immortality. Which means GOD cannot die!
[1 Tim 6.16]
Rather, Jesus Christ, the ONE GOD's Son, died for our sins;
the ONE GOD raised him from the dead, glorified him, made him Lord and set him at His right hand.


See:
(John 14:10) Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Also,
(Acts 2:22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by/through him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
(Acts 10:38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Jesus stated that: (John 5:19) ...Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, ...
[See also John 5.30, 8.28]
Therefore, Jesus performed no miracle of himself. He cannot do anything of himself.
Rather it was the Father, his GOD, who performed the works through him.

It was GOD the Father who healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead, calmed the sea, and forgave sins. GOD did all these things through Christ His Son.
Compare:
(Mat 9:6-8) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power/authority on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power UNTO MEN.
(Luke 7:14-16) And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

You see? The people realized that Jesus of Nazareth was a mighty man through whom their GOD was doing many wondrous things.


CONCLUSION

Oneness believers have rightly been taught that there is solely ONE GOD. AMEN! AMEN!!

Sadly, Oneness believers have also been taught that Jesus is GOD therefore seeing there is only ONE GOD, the Father; then Jesus must be the Father.

However, our gracious GOD can deliver one out of the "Jesus only" error.

Once one realizes that there is indeed ONE GOD, the Father; and Jesus is not Almighty GOD; then one will see:
there is no problem, no confusion; no need to speak of "two natures", God-man, "Jesus only" or anything like that.

Rather, ONE GOD & ONE man, GOD's Son.

ONE Person who is Almighty GOD.
And ONE Person who is NOT!!

There is the Father and the Son.
ONE is Almighty GOD,
the other is NOT!
It is that simple.

That is why Jesus said things such as:
(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.

Jesus really meant it. He never ever thought of himself as GOD and neither did his disciples.
That is why John concluded: (John 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Jesus is the Son of GOD who is now in the very presence of GOD Himself.

(Heb 4:14) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
(Heb 9:24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

(1 Th 1:9-10) For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Even now, as a glorified human being in heaven; Jesus clearly recognizes his GOD e.g.
(Rev 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.


Reader, please be Berean.
And look over all the things that I have stated.
Any questions, feel free to email me, I will do my best to answer.
(My email address is on my profile)

There Could Only Be One Jesus

Last month, I came across Mr. Afamefuna's post; where he attempts to present Jesus Christ as Almighty GOD.

The usual arguments are used; but most shocking is the fact that Mr. Afamefuna attempts to show that Jesus Christ himself claimed to be Almighty GOD!!

This is simply not true! In all that the Lord Jesus the Messiah claimed and did; he never once asserted that he was indeed GOD! NEVER!! NO NOT ONCE!!

I felt I had to reply to his post and present my case.
His site has comment moderation enabled; whereby Mr. Afamefuna must first approve my post before it becomes public.

For reasons known only to himself he has not done so. So my post was never published!! :-( :-(

Well, personally, I spent quite some time writing that reply; so I am saddened he hasn't at least published it for others to judge;
therefore I will reproduce it in its entirety here.

Here is the link to his post:-
YESHUAH HA-MASHIYACH LIVES FOREVER: There Could Only Be One Jesus

And here is my response. Enjoy!! :-

Greetings

Without a shadow of a doubt,
Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of the Living GOD.
[Matt 16.16, John 20.31]
And everything Jesus said and claimed was in line with the words that GOD his Father gave him to speak.
[John 12.48-50]
Jesus died for our sins and around 20 verses in the NT make it very clear that GOD Almighty raised him from the dead.

However, as fantastic and wondrous [John 7.46]
as Jesus' GOD-given words were,
Jesus never ever claimed to be Almighty GOD! No not once!

That is why, Ilona Afamefuna, you weren't able to supply such a claim, in all the verses you quoted;
because Jesus Christ never ever made such a claim.


1) You state: Jesus Claimed To Be God

a) John 5.17-18

In these verses there is no claim from Jesus that he is GOD!!
Rather, his accusers accused him of making himself equal with GOD; a notion which Jesus refutes straightaway beginning with:
(John 5:19) Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Think about that! What kind of GOD can do nothing of himself? These are not the words of deity! These are the words of a man, a human being, totally dependent on Almighty GOD.
And so are the rest of the words of John 5.19ff.

b) John 10:30-42

Jesus indeed made a wonderful claim to be one with his Father.
In fact, later on in his ministry, Jesus prayed that we be one even as he and the Father are one!
[John 17.11,21-23]
So again, there is no explicit claim from Jesus, of him being GOD Himself.
The Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy. They accused him of being a man who "makest himself God." Note this is their words. Not Jesus'.

What was Jesus' response? :-
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said,
Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said,
I am the Son of God?

Have a look at Psalm 82. If Jesus was indeed Almighty GOD, why would he even use this psalm???
Of all the verses in Scripture that present the awesomeness, deity and identity of the ONE GOD; Jesus rather uses a text in Scripture, which speaks of human beings who judge for and represent the ONE GOD (in this case, not with integrity); and because they represent GOD, they themselves are called " elohim/god " !!
Thus, scripturally men/humans can be called " elohim/god " in a representative sense!!
(See also Exo 4.16, 7.1, 21.6, 22.8,9.28).
What does that tell you about Jesus' usage of Psa 82.6?? Yet even here, Jesus doesn't claim that he is "God".
He claims to be the Son of GOD, the one whom the ONE GOD, the Father, hath sanctified, and sent into the world.
Again, Jesus does not say that he is Almighty GOD!!!


2) You state: Only God Could Receive Worship

a) That actually is not the case at all.
The Hebrew word for worship, shachah; is actually used in ref. to men more than it is used in ref. to GOD Almighty. Its Greek equivalent is the word, proskuneo.

Men are worshipped in Scripture in a different sense. It is called civil worship.
It is the obeisance/reverence offered to dignitaries such as prophets, patriarchs and especially kings.
This usage is shown throughout Scripture. It is the kind of worship that men such as Joseph, Moses, Saul, David, Elisha received.
So how much more, Messiah Jesus, our Prophet, Priest and King, can receive such worship!!
And so he did, as shown in the Gospels (no such example however, in the Book of Revelation. That is, proskuneo is not used in ref. to Jesus at all in the Book of Revelation. Hmmm! See also Rev 3.9)

It was simply the custom of the people to bow down before
a man of GOD, a prophet.
And when people recognized Jesus as such, they performed that custom.
This is totally different from worshiping Almighty GOD.

So, you are indeed scripturally wrong in asserting that men do not receive worship.
Scripturally they do, civil worship. Translated in our bibles
as do/make obeisance/reverence.
(Sadly, this is where the confusion comes from; because when the same words are used in ref. to Jesus they translate it as "worship"; and in our western minds, we assume one meaning of the word, "worship").

So yes, Jesus of Nazareth was indeed worshiped. But not AS GOD but rather AS a man of GOD, AS That Prophet of Deut 18, AS the Lord Messiah, AS the King of the Jews, AS the Son of GOD!
Amen!

For more details, I have listed many examples of this worship given to men in:
The Worship of Christ

See also Can we "worship" Jesus Christ?


b) John 9:35-38
That is my point. And the point of John the Apostle [John 20.31], again & again.
That Jesus is the Son of GOD. There is only ONE GOD, the Father.
[1 Cor 8.4,6]
Jesus therefore is His Son, His human Son!
Jesus therefore, is the Son of GOD not GOD.
He is the Son of the Father. [2 John 3]

Again, Jesus does not say ...
"Dost thou believe on God? ... it is he that talketh with thee." Does he???

Rather, Jesus reveals to the man that he is indeed the Son of GOD.
"Son of GOD" is equivalent to and is the synonym of
"the Messiah" AKA "the King of the Jews"
(See John 1.49)

So of course, the man who was blind but now has "his eyes opened"; gladly falls before his King and gives him, due obeisance. Because Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of GOD, the King of the Jews.
Note: like you even said, the man was cast out because he confessed that Jesus was from God! Not that he was GOD himself!!


May GOD continue to "open our eyes" so that we can see Him for who He is, and see His Son for who he is; seeing that His Son stated:
(John 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.


c) Concerning Titus 2.13
The Greek text is better translated:
(Titus 2:13) Looking for that blessed hope,
and the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
e.g. NASB, ASV, etc
Now compare that with Matt 16.27 & Luke 9.26.

Quite a different meaning, do you not agree?

Also men are called "saviours" in Scripture
[Judg 3.9,15; 2 King 13.5; Isa 19.20, Neh 9.27; Obad 21]
because GOD our Savior uses them to save;
and this is most ultimately shown in the case of Jesus of Nazareth whom GOD raised up to be a Savior
[Acts 5.31, 13.23].
The man Christ Jesus was commissioned by GOD Almighty to be
the Messiah, the Savior of the world
[John 4.42, 1 John 4.14].


3) You state: Incredible Miracles That Proved That Jesus Is GOD

a) In a verse, your claim can simply be answered by this:
(John 14:10) Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:
but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

In actuality, it is the Father that does the works!
Jesus of himself can do NOTHING!
[John 5.19,30; 8.28]
It is Almighty GOD who works through him.

Jesus performed miracles just as the prophets and Moses before him performed miracles.
By the power of GOD Himself.
And just as that neither made Moses nor the prophets, GOD Almighty; neither does it make Jesus Christ, GOD Almighty!

See also:
(Acts 2:22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by/through him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

(Acts 10:38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

GOD performed miracles and wonders and signs through Jesus; Almighty GOD was with him;
compare:
(Mat 9:8) But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power/authority unto men.
(Luke 7:16) And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

Jesus was not GOD and neither was Peter. Yet Peter walked on water! [Matt 14.29]
How? By the power of Almighty GOD.
Let's not stop there ... read on: (Mat 14:33) Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying,
Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Get it? After seeing what GOD did through this man, they are even more convinced that Jesus is who he claimed to be!
The Son of GOD!! And so they worshiped him as such!

Jesus commanded the sea storm according to the words that GOD had given him to speak.
[John 12.48-50, 14.10]
All the miracles and signs performed indeed prove that Jesus is indeed GOD's Son, a man approved of GOD
... as ye yourselves also know [Acts 2.22]
Again, no claim by Jesus that he is Almighty GOD.


b) Concerning Lazarus.

Again, this should prove that Jesus is indeed not GOD.
Firstly, listen to Martha:
(John 11:21-22) Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

Firstly, an omnipotent GOD does not need to be in a specific location to perform something does he? Martha obviously didn't think that Jesus was therefore omnipotent.
And secondly, note her words: whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

Come now, Ilona Afamefuna! Surely you can see that Martha didn't believe Jesus was GOD.
There is solely ONE GOD. So, rather, Martha believed that even now, after Lazarus had been dead 4 days, even now; if Jesus asks GOD Almighty his Father, GOD would grant Jesus' request and Lazarus would be raised from the dead.

Why did Martha believe this? (John 11:27) She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
She believed this because she believed that Jesus was indeed GOD's Son, and as such, could simply ask GOD his Father, and the miracle would be performed.
Ilona Afamefuna, please see that!!

Now note Jesus' words (and also note, that GOD has no need to pray!) :-

(John 11:41-42) ... And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

These words sound familiar. Compare:
(1 Ki 18:36) And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, YAHWEH God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

Just as Elijah before him, Jesus prayed that GOD would perform the miracle, so that the people would believe that GOD had sent him and that he does all things according to GOD's words.
(Also remember Elijah raised the dead, and he was not GOD!)

And because of the resurrection of Lazarus, many went on to believe just as Martha believed; that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Again, no claim by Jesus that he is Almighty GOD.


c) Concerning the words that Jesus spoke e.g. John 11.25-26, 14.6, etc

Again, Jesus spoke the words that GOD gave him to speak. That is why he spoke in the fashion that he did.
Way back in the time of Moses, GOD promised:

(Deu 18:15) YAHWEH thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
(Deu 18:18-19) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Jesus is That Prophet [John 6.14, Acts 3.22-23, 7.37]
And therefore Jesus spoke the very words that GOD gave him to speak.
Therefore Jesus said:
(John 12:48-50) He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

It cannot be stated much clearer than that. Jesus spoke GOD's words because he is "That Prophet" that was to come as promised by GOD to Moses.

Compare:
(John 4:25-26) The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
(John 4:29) Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
(John 4:40-42) So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

(John 7:16-18) Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Jesus never ever spoke of himself, much less claim to be GOD Almighty.
Rather he is GOD's promised Prophet, GOD's mouthpiece!


4) Other Incredible Claims Of Jesus

In conclusion then, in all that you have said, Ilona Afamefuna, you have not given one verse where Jesus claimed to be GOD. That is not surprising because there is no such verse.

The Lord Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of GOD and seeing that he is indeed who he claimed to be, therefore:

A) He claimed to be able to give everlasting life.
because GOD Almighty gave it to him to give to others

(John 5:26) For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
(John 6:57) As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
(John 17:2) As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
(1 John 5:11-12) And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.


B) He claimed to be able to forgive sins

Jesus forgave sins by the authority given him by GOD.
So rather, he claimed to have GOD-given authority to forgive sins.
And he also gave that same authority to his disciples (does that make them, GOD?) :-

(Mat 9:6-8) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath
power [AUTHORITY; Gk: exousia] on earth to forgive
[Gk: aphiemi] sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God,
which had given such power [Same word: Gk: exousia] unto men.

(John 20:22-23) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit
[same word as "forgive"; Gk: aphiemi],
they are remitted [Gk: aphiemi] unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.


C) He claimed that he would die and come back to life

Because according to Scriptures such as Psalm 16; Jesus believed his GOD, that GOD would not let him see corruption; that GOD Almighty would raise him from the dead.

And around 20 NT verses clearly state that GOD Almighty fulfilled His promise, by raising Christ from the dead.
In other words, Christ believed the promises of GOD and had faith in his GOD.
Let us do likewise. Amen!

Dear Ilona Afamefuna,
for more info on this wondrous subject;

I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus

Take a couple of hours to watch it; be "Berean" in your viewing of it and over the points made in this post; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.

Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor

The Trinity by Casey Hixon, 12 years old (in 2008)

The Trinity ["Out of the Mouth of Babes"—ed.] by Casey Hixon, 12 years old

The Trinity is a very debatable topic. Most people believe that the Trinity is the truth. Some people believe that the Trinity is not the truth. I am one of those people who do not believe that the Trinity is the truth. I am going to try to convince you that you should not believe the Trinity, because it is not true. My four points of discussion are:

1. God cannot die,
2. Jesus himself was not a Trinitarian,
3. God is unchangeable and
4. God cannot be tempted.

My first reason is that God cannot die. He is immortal, as the Bible says. If Jesus was God, then he could not have been crucified on the cross for our sins. If Jesus was the human form of God, who was doing God’s job when He was dead? The answer is, no one! If your reply is God was, then you have created two Gods. No one could have been doing His job if God was dead (which the Bible says is impossible!). If [as Modalists/Oneness say] Jesus and God are the same person, how could he resurrect himself from the dead? When you are dead, you are asleep and you don’t know anything, as Ecclesiastes 9:5 says: "For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten."

If you ask a person to explain the Trinity to you, they will say, "Well, it’s just a mystery." If you do not have an answer, then you should start looking in your Bible. But when you look in your Bible, it says nothing about the Trinity. The word Trinity is not in the Bible. It is not even hinted at in the Bible. [When the Bible says "God" it never means the Trinity. There are 12,000 instances of the words for "God" in the Bible and none of them means the triune God. — ed.]

My second point is that Jesus himself was not a Trinitarian. Jesus was a Jew. If you ask any Jewish rabbi what the word echad (the Hebrew word for one) means he will tell you it means one, not three or three forms of one, but simply one.

Jesus in the book of Mark (Mark 12:28-29) was talking to a scribe. The scribe asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Jesus answered by reciting the Shema (the creed of Israel): "The greatest commandment is this, ‘Hear O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord.’" This means that God is one Person, not three as many today believe. Jesus never even dreamed of putting himself on the same level as God. He always called God his Father. Jesus also prayed all the time to his Father, God.

My third point is that God is unchangeable. This means that God cannot change into a human. The Bible states that Jesus, right now, is sitting at the right hand of God.

My last point is that God cannot be tempted. When you look at the Bible, it says that Jesus was tempted by Satan. The Bible says that God cannot be tempted in James 1:13: "When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone." For this to be true Jesus could not have been God because he was tempted by the very evil Satan.

The problem started many years ago when two sides argued about whether God was one or a Trinity. The decision was made at the Council of Nicea that God was a Trinity. Many of the people didn’t understand the Trinity, and the priests said, "We priests understand it and you don’t need to." That gave the priests power over the people. As you now see, God cannot be three Persons. It is simply impossible. If you ask people today to explain the Trinity to you, nine out of ten simply cannot explain it. That is amazing.

It’s really not that hard.

God is one and Jesus is His only Son.

Sources

The Bible

Video – http://www.jesusishuman.com/

My daddy

http://focusonthekingdom.org/

---

The above article is taken from: http://www.focusonthekingdom.org/107.pdf

Wise words from Patrick Navas

"If the doctrine of the Trinity were true, and required to believe upon for salvation itself, it may be pointed out that it is utterly unique in the sense that all other essential Christian doctrines are taught plainly in the Bible,whereas the Trinity is somehow derived from "all of what the Bible teaches." In this regard, the Trinity (and associated concepts) would prove to be the only essential though non-articulated, unannounced doctrine of the Christian faith, based on a consideration of Scripture. But as adamant and forceful as Evangelical scholars have expressed themselves with respect to the centrality of the Trinity and the absolute necessity of its acceptance, the Bible itself never identifies the one God as the Trinity, but as "the Father"; nor does there exist one example in all of the Scriptures where the term "God" or the name "YHWH" can be proven to represent the entire "tri-unity of persons" of the "Godhead." Any kind of attempt would be an exercise in speculations at best. Unfortunately, defenders of Trinitarian dogma have failed to fully come to terms with the implications of these facts. Consider carefully: If the doctrine of the Trinity is true and essential to Christianity as is claimed, the Bible itself (the very documents upon which Christianity is based) never defines or proclaims who or what the one God is according to his (or its?) most basic, fundamental characterization -- the very meaning of "God" in its most distinguishing sense. This is altogether incredible."

Divine Truth or Human Tradition?, Author House, 2007, pp. 58-59