THE DOCTRINE OF GOD:
ANTI-TRINITARIANISM-
AN ANSWER TO TRINITARIANISM AMONG PRESENT SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
Introduction
I
salute you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, may the mercy and grace and peace that
proceeds from our God and Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ flow towards you,
and may the communion of His Holy Spirit be with you always, amen. In this 80
pages manual I summarise what I have found to be the truth and the only one
based on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy and the Pioneers faith. I am a
student of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and wish to express my sincere
faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as He has revealed Himself through His
Holy Scriptures. I chose to use the question and answer method, or the Socratic
method as we call it us who are in the educational industry, because I find it
to be the most convinient one to use, and the method in which I can make myself
clear. I write this partly due to the pressed request on part of you for me to
respond to the trinitarian documents which you availed to me for my timely
response. I also chose the English language because we both understand it and
the Spirit of Prophecy quotes are originally in English but also the King James
Version of the Bible and other reputable ones are used along side the quotes. I
am open to new God-given-light that does not contradict scriptures. But as for
me my faith is founded on the old prophets, apostles and our pioneers. May God
keep you and enlighten you as you go through this manual, amen.
1.
What was the pioneers of the SDA Church position
on the doctrine of the Trinity?
R.F. Cottrell, Sr., and Jr.,
D.T. Bordeau, D.M. Canright, J.N. Andrews, Loughborough, John Matteson, A.C.
Bordeau, A.T. Jones, W.W. Prescott, E.G. White, James White and Uriah Smith,
were all in agreement that it was that “old Trinitarian absurdity” perpetrated
from Rome. Adventist P.S. Cottrell wrote in the July 6, 1869, issue of Review
and Herald, “To hold to the doctrine of the Trinity is not so much an evidence of
evil intention as of intoxication from that wine of which all nations have
drunk. The fact that it was one of the leading doctrines, if not the very
chief, upon which the bishop of Rome was exalted to the popedom, does not say
much in its favor ... This should cause men to investigate it for themselves,
as when the spirits of devils working miracles undertake the advocacy of the
immortality of the soul.”
2. What
did the SDA Pioneers previously believe about God?
“You are mistaken in supposing
that S. D. Adventists teach that Christ was ever created. They believe, on the
contrary, that he was “begotten” of the Father, and that he can properly be
called God and worshiped as such. They believe, also, that the worlds, and
everything which is, was created by Christ in conjunction with the Father. They
believe, however, that somewhere in the eternal ages of the past there was a
point at which Christ came into existence. They think that it is necessary that
God should have antedated Christ in his being, in order that Christ could have
been begotten of him, and sustain to him the relation of son. They hold to the
distinct personality of the Father and Son, rejecting as absurd that feature of
Trinitarianism which insists that God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit are
three persons, and yet but one person. S. D. Adventists hold that God and
Christ are one in the sense that Christ prayed that his disciples might be one;
i. e., one in spirit, purpose, and labor. See “Fundamental Principles of S. D.
Adventists,” published at this Office.”(RH April 17, 1883)
3.
Did Ellen G. White endose pioneers non-trinitarian
position and their understanding of scriptures?:
“God has given me light
regarding our periodicals. What is it? -- He has said that the dead are to
speak. How? -- Their works shall follow them. We are to repeat the words of the
pioneers in our work, who knew what it cost to search for the truth as for
hidden treasure, and who labored to lay the foundation of our work. They moved
forward step by step under the influence of the Spirit of God. One by one these
pioneers are passing away. The word given me is, Let that which these men have
written in the past be reproduced.” — (E.G.
White, Review and Herald, May 25, 1905, 'The work for this time',
address at the 1905 General Conference, May 16)
4.
What does the Spirit of Prophecy through
Ellen G. White says about the established truth? And what are the warning
against changing the established truth?
“Those who seek to remove the
old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not
remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in
theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning
the sanctuary orconcerning the personality of God or of Christ, are
working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the
people of God adrift without an anchor.” {E. G. White, Manuscript
Release No.760, p. 9} 1905
“Many of our people do not realize how firmly
the foundation of our faith has been laid. My
husband, Elder Bates,Father pierce, Elder
[Hiram] Edson, and others who were keen, noble, and true, were among those who,
after the passing of the time in 1844, searched for the truth as for hidden
treasure. I met with them, and we studied and prayed earnestly…. light was
given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, His
mission, and His priesthood. A line of truth
extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was
made plain to me, and I gave to others the instruction that the Lord had given
me. . . What influence is it that would lead men at this stage of our history
to work in an underhand, powerful way to tear down the foundation of our
faith–the foundation that was laid at the beginning of our work by prayerful
study of the Word and revelation? Upon this foundation we have
been building for the past fifty years.(Selected Messages bk.1, p.
206-7 1904)
When men come in who would move one pin or pillar from the
foundation which God has established by His Holy Spirit, let the aged men who
were pioneers in our work speak plainly,
and let those who are dead speak also, by the reprinting of their articles in
our periodicals. Gather up the
rays of divine light that God has given as He has led His people on step by
step in the way of truth. This truth will stand the test of time and trial.
Ms 62, 1905, p. 6. ("A Warning against False Theories," May 24,
1905.) {1MR 55.1}
Undermining Pillars of Faith The truths that have been
substantiated by the manifest working of God are to stand fast. Let no one presume
to move a pin or a foundation stone from the structure. Those who attempt to
undermine the pillars of our faith are among those of whom the Bible says that
"in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." Letter 87, 1905, pp. 2, 3. (To
Elder and Mrs. S. N. Haskell, February 25, 1905.) {1MR 55.2}
The enemy of souls has sought
to bring in the supposition that a great
reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this
reformation would consist in giving up
the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a
process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would
result? (1)The principles of truth
that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. (2)
Our religion would be changed. (3)The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted
as error. (4) A new organization would
be established. (5) Books of a new order would be written. (6) A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced.
(7) The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful
work. (8)The Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who
created it. (9) Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new
movement. (10)The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but (11)
God being removed, (12) they would place
their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. (13)Their
foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away
the structure. {1SM 204.2}
5. What
does the SDA corporate or conference church say today about the doctrine of
God? Are present day SDA
theologians accepting the literal sonship of Christ?
Adventist
beliefs have changed over the years under the impact of ‘present truth’.
Most startling is the teaching regarding Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord……
the Trinitarian understanding of God, now part of our fundamental beliefs, was
not generally held by the early Adventists.” – Adventist Review, Jan 6, 1994.
p.10.
“Most of
the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would not be able to join the church
today if they had to subscribe to the denomination’s Fundamental Beliefs.
More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief number 2, which
deals with the doctrine of the trinity.” – Ministry, October 1993, p. 10.
Note that Angel Manuel Rodriguez
is a Seventh-day Adventist theologian and is the “director” of the Adventist
BRI (Biblical Research Institute). In the November 2015 issue of
“Adventist World” on page 42 he wrote the following:
“The Son is not the natural,
literal Son of the Father. ... The term “Son” is used metaphorically when
applied to the Godhead.”
“While no single Scripture
passage states the doctrine of the Trinity, it is assumed
as a fact... only by faith can we accept the existence of the Trinity.” — (Adventist Review, Vol. 158, No. 31,
p. 4)
6.
What do
present day SDA trinitarian theologians say about the trinity?
The well-known Adventist Trinitarian Jerry Moon who was a co-author of
the book “The Trinity” wrote,
“That most of the leading SDA pioneers were non-Trinitarian in
their theology has become accepted Adventist history,”He goes on to say, “either
the pioneers were wrong and the present church is right, or the pioneers were
right and the present Seventh-day Adventist Church has apostatized from
biblical truth.” — (Jerry Moon, The Trinity, Chapter, Trinity
and antitrinitarianism in Seventh-day Adventist history, p. 190)
7.
What does The Catholic Church says about its
Trinity doctrine?
“The mystery of the trinity is the central doctrine of the Catholic
faith. Upon it are based all the other teachings of the church.” — (Handbook for Today's Catholic, p. 11).
So this doctrine is essential for unification
of all Churches under Rome. As Roman
Catholic Graham Greene wrote, “Our opponents sometimes claim that no
belief should be held dogmatically which is not explicitly stated in scripture
. . . But the Protestant Churches have themselves accepted such dogmas, as the
Trinity, for which there is no such precise authority in the Gospels,” — (Assumption of Mary, Life magazine, October 30, 1950, p. 51)
8.
Who were the first, second, and third
highest beings in heaven before the fall? And What were the positions in heaven Before
the fall?
God
is a moral governor as well as a Father. He is the Lawgiver. He makes and executes His laws. Law that has no
penalty is of no force. {12MR 208.2}
The
Son of God was next in authority to the great Lawgiver.
He knew that his life alone could be sufficient to ransom fallen man…He was in the express image of his Father,
not in features alone, but in perfection of character. {2SP
9.1 in Lift Him Up, page 24}
Satan
in Heaven, before his rebellion, was a high and exalted angel, next in honor to
God's dear Son. His countenance, like those of the other
angels, was mild and expressive of happiness. His forehead was high and broad,
showing a powerful intellect. His form was perfect; his bearing noble and
majestic. A special light beamed in his countenance, and shone around him
brighter and more beautiful than around the other angels; yet Jesus, God's dear
Son, had the pre-eminence over all the angelic host. He was one with the Father
before the angels were created. Satan was envious of Christ, and gradually
assumed command which devolved on Christ alone.
{1SP 17.1}
“Satan’s
position in heaven had been next to the Son of God. He was first among
the angels.” (Ellen White, Selected Messages, book 1, page 341)
“Satan, the chief of the fallen angels,
once had an exalted position in Heaven. He was next in honor
to Christ.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, February
24, 1874)
“Speaking of Satan, our
Lord says that “he abode not in the truth.” He was once the covering cherub,
glorious in beauty and holiness. He was next to Christ in
exaltation and character. It was with Satan that self-exaltation had
its origin. He became jealous of Christ, and falsely accused him, and then laid
blame upon the Father. He was envious of the position that was held
by Christ and the Father, and he turned from his allegiance to
the Commander of heaven and lost his high and holy estate.” (Ellen White, Review
& Herald, October 22, 1895)
9.
Who were the first, second, and third
highest beings in heaven after the fall? And What were the positions in heaven After
the fall?
It
was Gabriel, the angel next in rank to the Son of God, who came with the divine
message to Daniel. It was Gabriel, "His angel,"
whom Christ sent to open the future to the beloved John; and a blessing is pronounced
on those who read and hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things
written therein. Revelation 1:3. {DA 234.2}
10. How
does God reveal Himself? And, were there any other prophet that was shown the
Trinity light? Is there danger in putting theories about God without his
express revelation?
"The Lord God will
do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants and prophets."
While "the secret things belong unto the Lord our God," "those
things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever."
Amos 3:7; Deuteronomy 29:29. God has given these things to us, and His blessing
will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures. {DA
234.3}
When
men feel free to choose their own way, they are in controversy with God. There
is no place for gods in the heaven above. God is the only true God. He
fills all heaven. Those who now submit to his will shall see his face; and his
name will be in the foreheads of all who are pure and holy. {1888
1633.2}
11. How
many beings were there since eternity? Two or three beings?
Christ
the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,—one in
nature, in character, and in purpose,—the only
being in all the universe that could enter into all the counsels and purposes
of God. By Christ, the Father wrought in the
creation of all heavenly beings. “By him were all things created, that are in
Heaven, . . . whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers;” [Colossians 1:16.] and to Christ, equally with the Father, all Heaven
gave allegiance. {GC88 493.1}
From
eternity there was a complete unity between the Father and the Son. They were
two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in
spirit, and heart, and character. {YI,
December 16, 1897 par. 5}
In
the beginning the Father and the Son had
rested upon the Sabbath after Their work of creation…..Heaven
and earth will unite in praise, as "from one Sabbath to another"
(Isaiah 66:23) the nations of the saved shall bow in joyful worship to God and
the Lamb. {DA 769.2}
The
Father and the Son alone are to be exalted. {YI,
July 7, 1898 par. 2}
“The Scriptures clearly indicate the relation
between God and Christ, and they bring to view as clearly the personality and
individuality of each. [Hebrews 1:1-5 quoted.] God is the Father
of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has beengiven an
exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels
of God are opened to His Son.” (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church,
vol. 8, page 268)
I
saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son.
I gazed on Jesus' countenance and admired His lovely person. The Father's
person I could not behold, for a cloud of glorious light covered Him. I asked
Jesus if His Father had a form like Himself. He said He had, but I could not
behold it, for said He, "If you should once behold the glory of His
person, you would cease to exist." Before
the throne I saw the Advent people--the church and the world. I saw two companies, one bowed down before
the throne, deeply interested, while the other stood uninterested and careless.
Those who were bowed before the throne
would offer up their prayers and look to Jesus; then He would look to His
Father, and appear to be pleading with Him. A light would come from the Father
to the Son and from the Son to the praying company. Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from the Father to the Son,
and from the Son it waved over the people before the throne. But few would
receive this great light. Many came out from under it and immediately resisted
it; others were careless and did not cherish the light, and it moved off from
them. Some cherished it, and went and bowed down with the little praying
company. This company all received the light and rejoiced in it, and their
countenances shone with its glory.
{EW 54.2}
I
saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy
of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and the most of those who were
bowed down arose with Him. I did not
see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after He arose,
and they were left in perfect darkness. ….Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by
angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to
the holiest, where the Father sat…..Those
who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and
pray, "My Father, give us Thy Spirit." Then Jesus would breathe upon
them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and
peace. {EW 55.1}
12. What is the all time ambition of
Satan? How does Satan want to occupy the position of God?
For thou hast said in thine heart, I
will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will
sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
(Isa 14:13-14)
I
turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne; they did
not know that Jesus had left it. Satan
appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the throne, and pray,
"Father, give us Thy Spirit." Satan would then breathe upon them
an unholy influence; in it there was light and much power, but no sweet love,
joy, and peace. Satan's
object was to keep them deceived and to draw back and deceive God's children.
{EW 56.1}
“I
saw that Satan was working through agents, in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers, who have rejected the truth,
and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie that they might be
damned. While they were preaching, or praying some would fall prostrate and
helpless; not by the power of the Holy Ghost, no, no; but by the power of Satan
breathed upon these agents and through them to the people. Some professed
Adventists who had rejected the present truth, while preaching praying or in conversation
used Mesmerism to gain adherents, and the people would rejoice in this
influence, for they thought it was the Holy Ghost. And even some that used
it, were so far in the darkness and deception of the Devil, that they thought
it was the power of God, given them to exercise.” — (E.G. White, Review and Herald,
August 1, 1849)
13.
Is Jesus Chirst the literal and only begotten Son
of God? Or is He(Christ) acting as the Son of God? Or is He a Son of God
because He was born of a woman on Earth?
“God so loved the world,
that he gave his only-begotten Son,”--not a son by creation, as were the
angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a SON BEGOTTEN in
the express image of the Father's person,” — (E.G. White, Signs of the
Times, May 30, 1895)
“The
dedication of the FIRST-BORN had its origin in the earliest times. God had
promised to give the FIRST-BORN of HEAVEN to save the sinner.” — (E.G.
White, Desire of Ages, p. 51)
“O what a gift God has made to our world! The
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. God SENT HIS OWN SON in the likeness of
sinful flesh, liable to physical infirmities, tempted in all points like as we
are. HE WAS THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. His personality did NOT begin with His
INCARNATION in the flesh.” — (E.G. White, Lt77, August 3, 1894)
“All this holding to sentiments of infallibility
is a specious device of the angel that was so exalted in the heavenly court.
His beauty was so highly exalted that he thought he should be as God, and
Christ must be second to him; but the Lord informed Satan this could not be
possible. CHRIST WAS HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON” — (E.G. White, Lt157-1910)
14. Did Ellen G. White believe on the
Trinity Doctrine? Did she support the anti-trinitarian views of her co-pioneers
and founders? Did God support the views and position of pioneers as regards to
their anti-trinitarian postion? Or Did she progressively change from being
anti-trinitarianism to trinitarianisms as some claim to be? Is truth changing
over time? Was God changing from what He revealed to them as truth to
trinitarianism?
Did Ellen White believe in the trinity? Not
one of the Adventist pioneers believed in the trinity. Her husband James
White denounced the trinity as “unscriptural”. Why did Ellen White never
correct her husband if she was a trinitarian? All of the pioneers of the
early Seventh-day Adventist church were non-trinitarian and strangely enough
she never reproved them of their beliefs and none of them reproved her or said
she was teaching error. This is strange indeed. What did Ellen believe
regarding the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit? Her writings will be
our witness.
“Like our Saviour, we are in this world to do
service for God. We are here to become like God in character, and by a life of
service to reveal Him to the world. In order to be co-workers with God, in
order to become like Him and to reveal His character, we must know
Him aright. We must know Him as He reveals Himself. A
knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education
and of all true service. It is the only real safeguard against temptation. It
is this alone that can make us like God in character.This is the
knowledge needed by all who are working for the uplifting of their fellow men.
Transformation of character, purity of life, efficiency in service, adherence
to correct principles, all depend upon a right knowledge of God. This knowledge
is the essential preparation both for this life and for the life to come.“The
knowledge of the Holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10. Through a knowledge of
Him are given unto us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2
Peter 1:3.“This is life eternal,” said
Jesus, “that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3.” [Ministry of Healing Page
409-410]
The basis and standard of our faith is to be the
word of God [Rom 10:17]. It is recommended of course to study the word of
God, and then test the prophets to see whether they speak according to that
word [Isaiah 8:20]. Plenty of scripture is quoted in this study.
“Despise not prophesying, prove all
things, hold fast to that which is
good” [1 Thess 5:19-21]
There are
a few statements in Ms. Whites writings that seem to suggest she was
trinitarian. She spoke regarding the subject of God and his personality
saying:
“There are some, who upon accepting erroneous
theories, strive to establish them by collecting from my writings statements of
truth, which they use, separated from their proper connection and perverted by
association with error.” .[—Letter 136, April 27, 1906,
to Brethren Butler, Daniels, and Irwin.]
This statement was in reference to the book “The
Living Temple” written by John Harvey Kellogg which contained Pantheistic
teachings. The teaching of pantheism is that God was in everything and was
everything; an impersonal being.
Why is the truth about the personality of God so
important? Because “this is the first and great commandment that the Lord
our God is one Lord”. [Mark 12:29] This is eternal life that
we might know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent [John
17:3-5] And that Jesus Christ is the son of God; and this is the
rock[statement] upon which the true church is built [Matt 16:13-18]. The
foundation of our faith. The foundation of the church. The first
and great commandment, eternal life to know him and his son. [John 17:3]
This is a subject which needs “study to shew
thyself approved unto God” [2 Tim 2:15]. We need to be sure we are not
teaching “the commandments and doctrines of men” [Col 2:22]. This
doctrine is an important doctrine. It is the foundation of our
faith.[Matthew 16:13-18]
We are told:
“In the future, deception of every kind is to
arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the
building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord
has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as
the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which
there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it
be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?”
(Ellen White, Review & Herald,May 25, 1905)
There are many pillars of our faith, there is
also a solid platform of truth to rest our feet on. A rock on which to
rest; a foundation. Please notice this was written in 1905. She
said that the last 50 years [1855-1905] would be accounted as error. She
also said that books of a new order would be written and that the pioneer’s
books would be lightly regarded.
“Let Pioneers Identify Truth.—when the power
of God testifies as to what is truth that truth is to stand forever as the
truth. No after-suppositions, contrary to the light God has given
are to be entertained. Men will arise with
interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth.
The truth for this time, God has given us as a
foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will
arise, and still another, with new light which contradicts the light that God
has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit.
A few are still alive who passed through the experience gained in the establishment
of this truth. God has graciously spared
their lives to repeat and repeat till
the close of their lives, the experience through which they passed even as
did John the apostle till the very close of his life. And the standard-bearers, who have fallen
in death, are to speak through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus their voices are to be
heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for
this time. Preach the Word,p. 5.” (Ellen White, 1905, Counsels
to Writers and Editors, pages 31, 32)
Many today tell us that “Ellen White accepted the
trinity doctrine late in her life”. That she brought the doctrine into
the church privily. Is that how Ellen White rebuked error? Did she
rebuke her husband and the rest of the pioneers by bringing the trinity
teaching into the church privily? Anyone who has read her writings should
know this is not the way of Ms. White. Let us see what Ellen White says
about doctrines that are brought into the church privily.
“Modern spiritualism, resting upon the
same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon
worship that God condemned and prohibited of old.… Peter, describing the
dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as
there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false teachers,
“who privily shall bring in
damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them.… And many shall follow their pernicious ways.” 2
Peter 2:1, 2. Here the apostle has pointed out one of the marked
characteristics of spiritualist teachers.
They refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God.
Concerning such teachers the beloved John declares: “Who is a liar but he that
denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son,
the same hath not the Father.” 1 John 2:22, 23. Spiritualism, by denying
Christ, denies both the Father and the Son, and the Bible pronounces it the
manifestation of antichrist.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets,
page 686)
Spiritualism denies the “Father and Son” or “God
and Christ.” Our pioneers identified the doctrine of the trinity as
spiritualism. Her husband James White himself said “The way
spiritualizers have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus
Christ is first using the old unscriptural Trinitarian creed.” (James
White, January 24, 1846, The Day Star)
15. Where did the Trinity come from then if our
pioneers didn’t believe in it and Ellen White didn’t accept it?
“Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room.
God does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble
mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of
evidence.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, page 255)
Let’s examine her writings and then decide from the weight of the
evidence.
16. Are
there three beings in heaven that are to be exalted?
“Let the brightest example the world has yet seen
be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who
know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The Father and the
Son alone are to be exalted.”
(Ellen White, The Youth’s Instructor, July 7, 1898)
Note: That there are only 2 beings ALONE
that are to be exalted. She uses a key word “Alone” in quoting here from
[John 17:3-5]. Another significant note
is the fact that it was written in 1898 which is three years after the release
of the book “Desire of Ages”. Many believe that she was trinitarian by
this time, because of the use of the phrases “third person” and Christ having “unborrowed,
original and underived life” and there by these some try to deny the fact that
Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God or that he was begotten or born of the
Father for that matter. We shall explain the meaning of these phrase as we
proceed and show clearly from scripture that they cannot be used to support
trinitarianism.
17. Some
say there were three persons in the work
of creation because the Hebrew word for “God” which is “elohim” is a plural
word. And many use Genesis 1:26 to say that the title “God” is referring to
three indiviaduals or beings in this verse. Were there 3 in the work of
creation?
“After the earth was created, and the beasts upon
it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose,… And
now God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image.” “(Ellen
White, The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pages 24, 25)
Note: The words spoken by Elohim were
spoken by the Father to his Son. The Father and Son carried out their
purpose. So the title “God” in this verse refers to the Father alone. And
the Father is speaking to His Son.
And if the Holy spirit is a third being where was
he in this matter? This is quite different than what is taught by many
today. Note and this is very significant if you real want to know that
God is not the trinity or three beings, that, the
title “God” is used to refer to the Father alone almost entirely throughout
scripture, and there is not a single verse in the bible where the title God is
used to refer to three beings. Here is a few verse to support this argument.
“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.”
(1Co 8:6)
“For there is
one God, and one
mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus;”
(1Ti 2:5)
For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
(Joh 3:16)
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up
his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the
hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as
thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
(Joh 17:1-3)
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope
of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one
baptism, One God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in you all.”(Eph 4:4-6)
In almost all
epistles or letters in the new testatment, the apostles started with the
salutaion that indicated that there is only one God who is the Father and
almost everywhere in scripture when they say God they are refering to the
Father. We shall, however notice later notice that Christ is also God as He is
so correctly called by God the Father Himself in Heb. 1 and Joh. 1. But in what
sense is He fully God? Well we shall see.
18.
Were
there three people to lay the plan of salvation?
“The plan of redemption was arranged in the
councils between the Father and the Son.” (Ellen
White, Review & Herald, May 28, 1908 par. 12)
“Even the angels were not permitted to share the
counsels between the Father and the Son when the
plan of salvation was laid. “(Ellen White, Ministry of Healing,
page 429)
“The plan of salvation devised by
the Father and the Son will be a grand success.” (Ellen
White, The Signs of the Times, June 17, 1903 par. 2)
“Before the fall of man, the Son of
God had united with his Father in laying the plan of salvation.”
(Ellen White, Review & Herald, September 13, 1906 par. 4)
“The great plan of redemption was laid before the
foundation of the world. And Christ, our Substitute and Surety, did not stand
alone in the wondrous undertaking of the ransom of man. In the plan to save a
lost world, the counsel was between them both; the
covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son.”
(Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, December 23, 1897, par. 2)
“And speak unto him, saying, Thus
speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and
he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and
shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne:
and the counsel of peace shall be
between them both.”
(Zec 6:12-13)
Note: Both means 2, not 3.
Why were the angels mentioned but not a third divine being?
19. Who
was the only co-worker who entered the counsel of God ?
“By Christ the work upon which the fulfillment of
God’s purpose rests, was accomplished. This was the agreement in
the councils of the God-head. The Father
purposed in counsel with his Son that the human family should be
tested and proved,…” (Ellen White, The Gospel Herald, June 11,
1902, par. 6)
“In order that the human family might have no
excuse because of temptation, Christ became one with them. The
only being who was one with God lived the law in humanity,
descended to the lowly life of a common laborer, and toiled at the carpenter’s
bench with his earthly parent.” (Ellen White, The Signs of the Times,
October 14, 1897 par. 3)
“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone
in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who
could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to
created beings. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ John 1:1, 2.
Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the
only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. ‘His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6. His
“goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. And the
Son of God declares concerning Himself: “The Lord possessed Me in the
beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from
everlasting.… When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I
was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing
always before Him.” Proverbs 8:22-30.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and
Prophets, page 34)
Jesus is refered in the Sriptures as “The
everlasting Father” because He came in the name of His Father, to reveal the
Father. She refers to Christ’s Father as “the Sovereign of the universe”. Ellen
G. White does not state that Christ is the Sovereign with him. She also
quote Proverbs 8:22-30 attributing this to Christ. Christ says of
himself. “When there were no
depths, I was brought forth; when there were no
fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the
hills was I brought forth:…When he prepared the heavens, I was there:…Then
I was by him, as one brought up with him:
and was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;”
(Pro 8:22-25) ”
And he is daily our Father’s delight. This
is his “beloved Son in whom he is well pleased” [Matt 3:17].
“By the power of His love, through obedience,
fallen man, a worm of the dust, is to be transformed, fitted to be a
member of the heavenly family, a companion
through eternal ages of God and Christ and the holy angels.…”
(Manuscript 21, Feb. 16, 1900. Ellen White, The Upward Look, page
61)
“Let the brightest example the world has yet seen
be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who
know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The Father and the
Son alone are to be exalted.” (Ellen White, The Youth’s
Instructor, July 7, 1898)
Note: There is not a third spirit being
called “God the Holy Spirit” nor is
there a second being called “God the
Son”. Only one being in this universe could enter into the purposes
and counsels of God and God is “The Father”. Christ is
the only begotten Son of God. “To us there is one God the father”
[1 Cor 8:6]. Jesus Christ entered his counsels.[Zech 6:13] 2Jn 1:9
says “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the
Father and the Son.” Both mean
two not three. Nowhere in scripture does it say “trinity”. The bible
does not say “One God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”, because
that is what the Trinity states. John says the Father and Son dwell in us “and
truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
[1 John 1:3]
20. A
doctrine is pervading in the church today that Christ became the begotten son
when he took on humanity and not before that. Was he begotten before
taking human nature?
“A complete offering has been made; for “God so
loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten
Son,”—not a son by creation, as were
the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son
begotten in the express image of the Father’s person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and
glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him
dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Ellen White, The
Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895)
Compare this with the following:
“Before Christ came in the likeness of men, he existed
in the express image of his Father.” (Ellen White, Youth’s
Instructor, December 20, 1900)
“The dedication
of the first-born had its origin in the earliest times. God had promised to give the
First-born of heaven to save
the sinner.” {Ellen White The Desire of Ages, p. 51}
“The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave
his only begotten Son, tore from his
bosom Him who was made in the express image of his person, and sent him down to earth to reveal how
greatly he loved mankind. “(Ellen White, Review and Herald, July
9, 1895, par. 13)
“Christ is the Son of God in deed and in truth and
in love, and is the representative of the Father as well as the representative
of the human race.” (Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 14,
page 83)
“Modern spiritualism, resting upon
the same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon
worship that God condemned and prohibited of old.… Peter, describing the
dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as
there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false
teachers, “who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them.… And many shall follow their pernicious ways.” 2 Peter 2:1, 2. Here
the apostle has pointed out one of the marked characteristics of spiritualist
teachers. They refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God.
Concerning such teachers the beloved John declares: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist, that denieth the Father and the
Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not
the Father.” 1 John 2:22, 23. Spiritualism, by denying Christ, denies both
the Father and the Son, and the Bible pronounces it the manifestation of
antichrist. “(Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 686)
Note: what
does denying the father mean? What could it mean other than attributing
theories to the Father and the Son which are not theirs? For instance, the
trinity doctrine denies the Father in that it assumes that there is One God who
is (all three in one entity/being) Father,
Son and Holy Spirit,this theory denies the individuality of the Father and
the individuality of the Son, But
the Bible declares that God is the
Father (1Cor 8:6, 1 Tim 2:5, John 3:16, 17:3, Eph 4:4-6). The trinity
theory futher assumes that the Son of God was not actually and literally born
of God who is the Father, it assumes that the Son of God is role playing Son
ship and that the Father is role playing Fatherhood, now that is trying to make
God and His Son liars, that is saying that they are not actually Father and Son.
That is denying the Father and the Son. That is the spirit of the antichrist.
The Son of God is God because of His Father, that is, He is born of the Father.
The Jews quickly knew what he was saying when he said that He was the Son of
God.
Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father;
for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For
a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 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?
(Joh 10:32-36)
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son
of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He
was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring
homage of the angels was received by him as his right. This
was no robbery of God. “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his
way,” he declares, “before his works of old. I was set up from
everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no
depths, I was brought forth; when
there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were
settled, before the hills was I brought
forth; while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the
highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon
the face of the depth.”” {E. G. White, Review and Herald, April
5, 1906 par. 7}
Note: Christ was in the express image of
God before an angel was created. He was begotten before the world
was. Set up from everlasting. Many say the words from
Proverbs 8:22-30 were spoken by “wisdom” [Pro 8:1]. Ms. White said
Christ spoke those words. The bible says “Christ is the wisdom of God” [1
Cor 1:24, 30]. He was the only begotten of God, therefore the conclusion
is He is the only one who can say that he was “brought forth” by God. And to deny
this is antichrist doctrine. [1 John 2:22] And it also demeans
the love of God [John 3:16, 1 John 4:9]. Did God send his only
begotten son, or a co-eternal, co-equal being who was only playing the part of
the son. I believe that if God said he sent his only begotten Son that He really
means He did it. Do we want to imagine that one of three beings
only took the role of the Father? And another the Son? And
another role-played a spirit being? That sounds like 3 co-eternal actors in the
greatest show in history. It makes God a liar. To see the Son is to see
the Father. The devil was the first to propagate doubt and spread lies that
Jesus Christ is not the Son of God. He twice started out: “If thou be the Son
of God” (Mat 4:3 & 4:6) theologians and the laity at large are making
similar mistakes instead of acknowledgening: “they feared greatly, saying,
Truly this was the Son of God.” (Mat 27:54)
Think about this. If I sent my friend to
die for you. How much love would that be? Not very much. On
the other hand my Son, who I look at, who is my express image, a little
me. Who adores me, who looks at me with his eyes and willingness to
learn, and says abba, father, daddy, and is daily my delight. For me to
send him to die for you. Would you then begin to picture my love for
you? Think about how a trinity demeans God’s love. It is very
subtle but it greatly demeans his love. And the love of God draws men to
repentance. “This is love that he gave his only begotten son” [1 John
4:9]. He did not send His co-eternal friend.
“Satan is determined that men shall not see the
love of God which led Him to give His only-begotten Son to save a lost race;
for it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance.” {E. G. White,
Selected Messages Book 1, p. 156}
21. Was
Christ equal with God? Was He made equal with God? In which sense is He equal
with God or is God?
“The great Creator assembled the heavenly host,
that he might in the presence of all the angels confer special honor upon his
Son. The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng
of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made
known that it was ordained by
himself that Christ should be equal with
himself; so that wherever was the presence of his Son, it was as his own
presence. His word was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the Father. His
Son he had invested with authority to command the heavenly host.” (Ellen
White, The Signs of the Times, January 9, 1879; also in Spirit
of Prophecy, vol. 1, pages 18, 19)
Note: Make no mistake. Christ was
MADE equal. “All power and authority” in not just earth but heaven as
well, “was given by the Father to Jesus
Christ”. He was ordained by the Father that he
should be “equal”. This takes nothing away from Christ. Christ was in all things partaker of the
Godhead. Some say for some reason that we by saying he was given
authority demean the son because they believe he was co-equal and possessed all
power and authority of his own self. We should let scriptures be the
judge of that.
“The
Scriptures clearly indicate the relation between God and Christ, and they bring
to view as clearly the personality and individuality of each. [Hebrews
1:1-5 quoted.] God is the Father of
Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given an
exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the
counsels of God are opened to His Son.” (Ellen White,Testimonies for the
Church, vol. 8, page 268)
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so
long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the
Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
(Joh 14:9)
Which in his times he shall shew, who
is the blessed and only
Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour
and power everlasting. Amen.
(1Ti 6:15-16)
The Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
(Joh 3:35)
For as the Father hath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
(Joh 5:26)
Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go
away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because
I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
(Joh 14:28)
God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word
of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high; Being made
so much better than the angels, as he
hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto
which of the angels said he at any time, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten
thee? And again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world,
he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he
saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto
the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
(Heb 1:1-8)
Note: He has been MADE equal by
His Father, with His Father. When Christ speaks it is as though his Father
is speaking (John 14:9, Col 2:9). Hebrews 1:3 says “by inheritance has he
obtained a name” as she quoted above. Like the Son will inherit his Father’s
name. So is Christ able to speak on behalf of the only true God the father
[John 17:3-5]. “He has declared his fathers name” [John 17:26]. By inheritance he possesses the very nature
and form of God, Spirit of Spirit,
Rock from Rock, just as any human by inheritance possesses the very nature and
form of human. Thus he us able to say: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty.” (Rev 1:8) Why? You would think for a moment, wait! Is Jesus now the
Alpha and Omega? Where is the Father in all this statement? Its right there He
came in the name of His Father, He is the person and express image of His
Father, He is given to have life in Himself, He inherited an excelent name,
therefore God calls Him God. He is able to say so because he is given all….i
mean all in heaven and on earth.
22. Does
Ellen White speak out about misunderstandings about God?
“There were those who were active in
disseminating false ideas in regard to God. Light was given me that
these men were making the truth of no effect by their false teachings. I was
instructed that they were misleading souls by presenting speculative
theories regarding God… This is
only one of the instances in which I was called upon to rebuke those who were
presenting the doctrine of an impersonal God pervading all nature, and similar
errors.” (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pages 292, 293)
Note: Ellen White knew who God
was. In many instances she had to rebuke those presenting false doctrines
on this subject. If her husband or the other pioneers were speaking out against
the trinity or “three in one or one in three God” she would have rebuked it,
just as she did with John Harvey Kellogg. Ellen White would never bring in such
an important doctrine quietly or privily as is being taught in the church
today.
23. Christ
possessed original, unborrowed, underived life. Does that mean he was not
begotten?
“In Him [Christ] was life,
original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in
man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot
earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as His
personal Saviour.” (Ellen White, Signs of the Times, April 8,
1897; also in Selected Messages, book 1, pages 296, 297)
Note: Please note that we also will possess original,
unborrowed, underived life. This does not mean that we are not
adopted sons of God. And this does not mean Christ was not the only
begotten, nor does it mean he was not given it by his father.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in
himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in
himself.
Original, unborrowed, underived life was given to
him by his father. And we also can possess original, unborrowed,
underived life through Christ. It is amazing how these quotes that have
been used to support a Trinity doctrine were pulled from there natural
connection to support the trinity when there is so much evidence that she did
not believe in a trinity.
“All things Christ received from God,
but He took to give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created
beings: through the beloved Son, the Father’s life flows
out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of
love, to the great Source of all.” {E.
G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 21}
Note the river of life. Rev 22:1 And he shewed me
a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the Lamb. God >>>to the lamb>>> to us.
And we receive that original unborrowed, underived, life. Again
notice the source, the channel, the river.
1Co 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.
God is the “Of Whom” Christ is the “By
Whom”. The life flows from God, by Christ it is given to us.
24. Did
Christ have any special power on earth? Was he a man?
“Those who claim that it was not possible for
Christ to sin, cannot believe that He really took upon Himself human nature.
But was not Christ actually tempted, not only by Satan in the wilderness, but
all through His life, from childhood to manhood? In all points He was tempted
as we are, and because He successfully resisted temptation under every form, He gave man the perfect example, and
through the ample provision Christ has made, we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption which is in the world through lust.” (Ellen White, S.D.A.
Bible Commentary, vol. 7, page 929).
“Christ’s overcoming and obedience is that of a
true human being. In our conclusions, we make many mistakes because of our
erroneous views of the human nature of our Lord. When we give to
His human nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his
conflicts with Satan, we destroy the completeness of His humanity.”
(Ellen White, S.D.A. Bible Commentary, vol. 7, page 929)
Note: Jesus Christ walked on water.
He had access to the same power we do. Some say that he came here as God,
that he had power we do not. He was in the form of God. He was God
in nature, character, and purpose. But made like his brethren in all
points. And if Christ can overcome temptation, we certainly can.
Anyone who denies this denies Christ came in the flesh and this is the spirit
of Antichrist [1 John 4:3].
“The obedience of Christ to His Father was the
same obedience that is required of man. Man cannot overcome Satan’s temptations
without divine power to combine with his instrumentality. So with Jesus Christ;
He could lay hold of divine power.He came not to our world to give the
obedience of a lesser God to a greater, but as a man to obey God’s holy law,
and in this way He is our example. The Lord Jesus came to our world, not
to reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do, through faith in God’s
power to help in every emergency. Man is, through faith, to be a partaker in
the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset.”
(Ellen White, S.D.A. Bible Commentary, vol. 7, page 929
Note: Make
no mistake. Jesus was not a lesser God, he is the son of the
only true God. He was not “God the son” like trinitarians believe.
Nowhere in scripture or the spirit of prophecy is that written. He was as
much a man as me and you in respect to his human nature. We can partake of
the divine nature [2 Pet 1:4] and are told to “Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give”.
[Matt 10:8]. And this can only happen when we know God and Christ,
and who and what the holy spirit is; as well as it’s power, and we accept
the fullness of it by faith. We read that “The same obedience of Christ to his
father is REQUIRED of man”; “For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” [1 John 5:3]
“When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He
was in perfect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear
was in His heart. But He rested not in the possession of almighty
power. It was not as the “Master of earth and sea and sky” that He reposed
in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, “I can of
Mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. He trusted in the Father’s might.
It was in faith—faith in God’s love and care—that Jesus rested, and the
power of that word which stilled the storm was the power of God.” (Ellen
White, Desire of Ages, page 336)
Note: We can do nothing of
ourselves. He is our example and if we have the faith of Jesus [Rev
14:12] we will be able to calm the storm as well with the power that is
from the Father alone. Note the words of Peter who had seen all in Jesus “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 him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know” (Act 2:22)
25. Was
Jesus Christ divine and human when he came to earth?
“Divinity and humanity are blended in him who has
the spirit of Christ.” (Youth’s Instructor, June 30, 1892 par. 3; also
in Sons and Daughters of God, page 24)
Note: Please understand that yes he
possessed divinity when human, the Holy
Spirit is the fullness of His divinity, yet that Spirit was placed in a human body. We also are to be partakers
of divinity. We have his spirit. He did not have a power that we
didn’t have as many today teach. Divinity and humanity are to be blended
in those who have the spirit of God.
The
Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty them that are bruised,
(Luk 4:18)
26. Did
Christ die? If Christ is the immortal God he cannot die.
“He humbled himself, and took mortality upon him. As a
member of the human family, he was mortal.” (Ellen White, Review
& Herald, September 4, 1900)
“Men need to understand that Deity suffered and
sank under the agonies of Calvary.…” (MS 153, 1898). (Ellen White, S.D.A.
Bible Commentary, vol. 7, page 907)
A divine
being died. However, it is important to understand that God is immortal, therefore the only way
in which Christ could die is to come here as a man, and trust only in the power
of His Father alone.
“Jesus said to Mary, “Touch me not; for I am not
yet ascended to my Father.” When He closed His eyes in death upon the cross,
the soul of Christ did not go at once to heaven, as many believe, or how could
His words be true —“I am not yet ascended to my Father”? The spirit of
Jesus slept in the tomb with His body, and did not wing its way to heaven,
there to maintain a separate existence, and to look down upon the mourning
disciples embalming the body from which it had taken flight. All that
comprised the life and intelligence of Jesus remained with His body in the
sepulcher; and when He came forth it was as a whole being; He did not have
to summon His spirit from heaven.” (Ellen White, S.D.A. Bible
Commentary, vol. 5, pages 1150, 1151)
Note: Many think that only part of Christ
died. And the other part was in heaven because God cannot die. The
truth is that if the only true God the Father [John 17:3-5] could die; he would
have been first to lay down His life. He is life, and it was only His
only begotten son who could come here, who could give his life back to the
Father. Christ has to go and die because His Father could not die, but He could
die. If the Father could die, he would come to die instead, but He is not
capable of dying, thus the only thing He could do is send His only son, the one
who could die for us.
“The Lord
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, is truly
God in infinity, but not in personality.” (Ellen White UL
367)
In other words there is only ONE being who is God in personality. Christ and God are
distinct personages.
“Christ is
one with the father, but Christ and God are
two distinct personages”(RH June
1, 1905)
A quick survey of the following verse
will prove that sister White was inspired and was right all along in that she
states that “(Christ is) not (God) in
Personality”, that would mean the personality he possesses is that of God
His Father. That is true because He came in His Father’s name and to reveal His
Father. He is the image and express image of His Father, wisdom and strength of
His Father, the brightness of His glory of His Father. But one asks, in what
sense is Jesus God, sister White states “(He)
is truly God in infinity”. Now it even make sense when the Bible states
that there is one God who is the Father and Christ as the Mediator, Lord and
Son of God begottern of the Father.
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so
long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;
and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 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.” (Joh
14:9-10)“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. “(Col 2:9)
“To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” (2Co 5:19) “In
whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2Co 4:4) “Who is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of every creature:” (Col 1:15) “And have put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him: (Col 3:10) “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Heb 1:3)“But
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1Co 1:24) “Beware
of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your
transgressions: for my name is in
him.” (Exo 23:21) “I am come in my
Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own
name, him ye will receive.”(Joh 5:43)
Now the image of the Father is the image
of the Son. In Genesis God speaking to His Son says “And God (who is the Father) said,
Let us (Father and Son) make man in our
image, after our likeness:
….So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he
them.” (Gen 1:26-27). As you can see, the IMAGE or likeness is in singular not
plural, which means there is only ONE image of God. That is why in Rom 8:29
Paul talks about the image or person of Christ which is the person or image of
God. Jesus came to restore the image of God His Father in us, so that we may be
able like Christ to reflect the image of the Father, because we were created in
the image of God to begin with, we lost that image of God since our first
parents sinned. Chirst came to restore that. So when we when scripture talks
ONE TRUE GOD it is in that sense that God is ONE (Yoh 17:3). Thus, there is ONE
personality of God, that of the FATHER ONLY.
Jesus and His Holy Spirit manifest the
personality of God His Father. So than whenever there is Jesus there is the
Father (John 14:9-10) and where there is the Spirit of Christ or the Holy Spirity
there is the personality of Christ which is of God the Father. Thus God is ONE.
Note that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and it is the manifestation
of God’s personality. Thus Ellen White is able to say there are “three
personalities”—the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that would not be
in terms of “personalities of God as if God has three different quality of
being God” But in terms of manifestations. But at the same time you need to
realise that the Father and the Son are two different personages, that is
Beings, but having the same image of “Personality of being God”, that of the
Father. It is in the same sense that we are “Partakers
of the Divine Nature” that we reflect to God, because He Christ lives in
Us, the same way His Father lived in Him. That way we are partakers of His
divine nature, without actually becoming gods in a sense He is God, but His
temple.
“According as his divine power hath given unto
us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given
unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust.” (2Pe 1:3-4) “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Co 3:18)“ And as we have borne the
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly.” (1Co 15:49) “For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
(Rom 8:29)
Now, its Satan’s cheaf object to corrupt
the image of God, the second commandment is rightly there to state that to be a
sin. Thus, trying to use the Trinity theory to reflect the personality of God
is no less than chaning the glory or image of God our Father. That is why
sister White charges J.H.Kellogg with destroying the personality of God, which
she states further that is “everything to us”.
And changed
the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted
beasts, and creeping things.
(Rom 1:23)
“When Jesus had opened before his disciples the
fact that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the chief
priests and scribes, Peter had presumptuously contradicted his Master, saying,
“Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee.” He could not
conceive it possible that the Son of God should be put to death. Satan
suggested to his mind that if Jesus was the Son
of God he could not die.” (Ellen White, Spirit of
Prophecy, vol. 3, page 231)
Note: Satan suggested to Peter that Christ
could not die. He has also suggested it to many in the churches today.
27. Who is the
Holy Spirit?
As the divine endowment--the power of the Holy
Spirit--was given to the disciples, so it will today be given to all who seek
aright. This power alone is able to make us wise unto salvation and to fit us
for the courts above. Christ wants to give us a blessing that will make us
holy. "These things have I spoken unto you," He says, "that My
joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:11. Joy
in the Holy Spirit is health-giving, life-giving joy. In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself a
fountain of divine influences, to give health and life to the world. {7T 273.1}
28. It
is not essential for you to know and be able to define just what the Holy
Spirit is. Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and the
Comforter is the Holy Ghost, "the Spirit of truth, which the Father shall
send in My name." "I will pray
the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you
for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you" [John 14:16, 17]. This refers to the omnipresence of the
Spirit of Christ, called the Comforter. Again Jesus says, "I have
yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He,
the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth" [John 16:12, 13]. {14MR
179.2}
29. "I will not leave you
comfortless; I will come to you." The divine Spirit that the world's
Redeemer promised to send, is the presence and power of God.
He will not leave his people in the world destitute of his grace, to be
buffeted by the enemy of God, and harassed by the oppression of the world; but
he will come to them…. {ST, November 23,
1891 par. 2}
30. “Christ gives them the breath
of His own spirit, the life of His own life.
The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind.”
— (Desire of Ages, p. 827)
31. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place
personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father,
and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth.
The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent
thereof. He would represent Himself
as present in all places by His Holy
Spirit, as the Omnipresent…….{14MR
23.3}
32. “While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary
above, He is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth. He is
withdrawn from the eye of sense, but His parting promise is fulfilled, “Lo, I
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28:20. While He
delegates His power to inferior ministers, His energizing presence is still
with His church.” — (Desire of Ages, p. 166)
33. What
does the phrase “another comforter mean according to Ellen G. White?
That Christ should manifest Himself to them, and yet be invisible to the world, was a mystery to the disciples. They could not understand the words of
Christ in their spiritual sense. They were
thinking of the outward, visible manifestation. They could
not take in the fact that they could have the presence of Christ with them, and
yet He be unseen by the world. They did not understand the meaning of a spiritual
manifestation. {SW, September
13, 1898 par. 2}
As we can see, Jesus Christ has two
manifestations, the “visible manifestations” which is the “man” Jesus (Acts
2:22), the “personality of humanity” and the “spiritual manifestation” where
Jesus Chirst is the Holy Spirit (1Cor 15:45, 2 Cor 3:16-18). Thus, he is
properly called IMANUEL which means “GOD with US” (Math 1:23, John 3:13 margin
KJV). Thus the two manifestations of Christ are adding to the first
manifestation of the Father, thus making three manifestations.
The great Teacher longed to give the
disciples all the encouragement and comfort possible; for they were to be
sorely tried. But it was difficult for
them to comprehend His words. They had yet to learn of that spiritual life that could give them the spiritual power they needed. {SW, September 13, 1898 par. 3}
The promise of a Comforter presented a rich truth to them. It assured them that they
should not lose their faith under the most trying circumstances. The Holy Spirit sent in the name of Christ
was to teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance. The Holy Spirit was to be the representative of
Christ, the Advocate who is constantly pleading for the fallen
race. He pleads that spiritual power may be given them, that by the power,
mightier than all the enemies of God and man, they may be able to overcome
their spiritual foes. {SW, September 13,
1898 par. 4}
34. According
to Ellen White who is the comforter? And what does the phrase “another
comforter” means?
“The Saviour is our Comforter. This I have
proved Him to be.” (Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol.
8, page 49)
“The nights are long and painful, but Jesus
is my Comforter and my Hope.” (Ellen White, Manuscript
Releases, vol. 19, page 296)
“Christ is everything to those who receive
Him. He is their Comforter, their safety, their healthfulness.
Apart from Christ there is no light at all.” (Ellen White, Manuscript
Releases, vol. 21, page 372)
“There is no comforter like Christ,
so tender and so true. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. His
Spirit speaks to the heart.… The influence of the
Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul.” (Ellen
White, Review & Herald, October 26, 1897)
If the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ
then, it is Himself, separating “His life” from Him is trying to kill him, that
would be absurd and an impossibility, but that’s what at least the devil is
trying to do through the trinity doctrine, that keeps Christs away from the
mind of believers
“Sin could be resisted and overcome only through
the mighty agency of the Third Person
of the Godhead, who would come with
no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.… Christ has
given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated
tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.”
(Ellen White, Desire of Ages, page 671)
Note: Ellen White used the words “third
person of the Godhead”. This must be understood in the context and
language of her time. And with the words used around her quotes.
Christ is that spirit [John 14:18, 1 Cor 3:17]. But he is obviously
“Another comforter”. This is what Ellen White says.
“Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in
every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that
He should leave them, go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His
successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of
the personality of humanity and independent
thereof. He would represent Himself as present in
all places by His Holy Spirit, as
the Omnipresent.” (Ellen White, Manuscript
Releases, vol. 14, pages 23, 24; written February 18 and 19, 1895)
The word “person” can be also understood to refer
to manifestation. The word “Godhead” means divinity. The meaning of
the saying can be understood the “third manifestation of divinity (the
Godhead)”. The term “God” does not mean “Godhead”. The bible tells
us that God has a Godhead. “His…Godhead.”
(Romans 1:20). He is singular; ONE
Being; and He has a “Godhead”. He is the Father; and He is well
pleased that in His Son should all the
fullness of His Godhead (divinity) dwell. [Colossians 2:9]
If you consider the Holy Spirit to be a different
being other than Christ Himsef, as the doctrine of the Trinity assumes, then
you are robbing Jesus of His Deity, because then He cannot be the Omnipresent,
Omnipotent and Omnscient (James 2:26), but His Holy Spirit is His Divinity,
because as we shall see later, the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of the
Father. As you can see the trinity destroys the “personality of God or quality
of being God.”
Note: He is represented by the Holy Spirit,
which is Christ in you, Christ in the angels, it is Jesus Christ Himself. Not a
third divine holy spirit being that was a co-equal with the Father and
Son. Sister White said the Holy Spirit is Christ Himself, divested (stripped)
of humanity. “Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ came in the flesh
is the “spirit of truth” [1 John 4:1-6] “He [Jesus] would represent Himself by His Holy Spirit.” She did not
say that he was another being. She said person. And the word person
was used in a much different way. The
intent of the word is “personality” or “presence” or “power”. And the spirit is “another” different
personality (manifestation) of the Godhead. But it is none other than
Christ in you himself. Not a literal being possessing you but it is
Christ is in you. Let us go with the weight of the evidence. He represents himself. Joh 14:18
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Note the careful
wordings sister white uses in this particular instance, she does not say “the
Holy Spirit (as a different person) represents Chirst” or “Christ is
represented by (another person) the Holy Spirit” but she says “He (Christ) represents himself.”
Note: On
June 11, 1891, Ellen White wrote to Brother Chapman in regard to his
belief that the Holy Spirit is a separate being from Christ, namely, the angel
Gabriel. She wrote, in part:
“Your ideas of the two subjects you mention do
not harmonize with the light which God has given me. The nature of the
Holy Spirit is a mystery not clearly revealed, and you will never be able to
explain it to others because the Lord has not revealed it to you. You may gather together scriptures and put
your construction upon them, but the application is not correct.… It
is not essential for you to know and be able to define just what the
Holy Spirit is. Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is the
Comforter, and the Comforter is the Holy Ghost, “the Spirit of truth,
which the Father shall send in My name.” “I will pray the Father, and He shall
give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the
Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not,
neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you” [John 14:16, 17]. This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of
Christ, called the Comforter.… There are many mysteries which
I do not seek to understand or to explain; they are too high for me, and too
high for you. On some of these points, silence is golden.… I
hope that you will seek to be in harmony with the body.… You need to come into harmony with your brethren.” (Ellen White, June 11, 1891, Manuscript
Releases, vol. 14, pages 175-180
Thus, we see clearly that sister White is arguing
brother Chapman to teach what the other brethren like James White, Waggoner
etc, were teaching at the time, that is God is not a Trinity. The Holy Spirit
is Christ Himself, the Spirit of Chirst. Note: Christ is the comforter.
This she proved him to be. Ellen White was in harmony with her brethren
in 1891.
35. What
does Satan want to do in regards to the comforter?
“The reason why the churches are weak and
sickly and ready to die is that the enemy has
brought influences of a discouraging nature to bear upon trembling souls. He
has sought to shut Jesus from their view as the
Comforter, as one who reproves, who warns, who admonishes
them, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” (Ellen White, Review
& Herald, August 26, 1890, also in Reflecting Christ,
page 21)
Note: The comforter is Christ himself and
the enemy is seeking to keep us from knowing who our comforter is. Many
pray for the Spirit, but they do not know him. So they pray but they
cannot receive. They have a misunderstanding of it. Ellen White called the spirit a part of a “heavenly trio”. It is a trio of
power. The father is the only God, the son is the one by whom all
things are created. The firstborn, the only begotten son of God, and the
spirit is the mind, power, presence and will of our creator which proceeds from
God and is the spirit of the Son, and we also have the spirit of God.[1 Cor
2:12-14] for it flows forth from God. It is the power of God.
Which is the mind of Christ [1 Cor 2:16]. Christ in you is the hope of glory [Col 1:27]. With the seed of God in you, you will no
longer commit known or willful sin, because he cannot commit sin [1 John
3:9], and Christ is that seed.
So let us worship God the creator of heaven
and earth [Rev 14:7], the only true God [John 17:3], the one God the father[1
Cor 8:6] and honor and worship his son for in so doing you honor and worship
the father.[John 5:23] because he came in his fathers name [John 5:47] and has by inheritance obtained a name [Heb
1:3] And as the word, came forth from God as the only begotten, declared God,
and therefore was God in substance, form, nature [John 1:1-18, Phi 2:5-8, Heb
1:1-8]. He was brought forth by his father before the world began [Pro
8:22-30] and before anything made was made. He was not created, but all creatures were made by him [Col
1:15-16] Was ordained to be made equal
to his Father in heaven and earth. [Matt 28:18]. And dwells in us with his Father by their spirit. [John 14:23] And
freely gives us that Spirit that we can
partake of the divine nature. [2 Pet1:3-4]. You are invited to have
fellowship with us, and truly our
fellowship (companionship/ company/ friendship/ partnership/ association) is
with the Father and his Son [1 John 1:3]. And the communion we have is the communion (spiritual union/ unity/
relationship) of the Holy Spirit. A trio of power. The Father
God, His Word, the Only Begotten Son, the one who was made flesh, and His
Spirit which proceed forth from Him. [1 John 5:7] And these three bear
record in heaven. And many “Believeth not the record that God gave
his son” [1 John 5:10]
Whosoever abides in the doctrine of Christ has
two. Both the father and son. [2 John 1:9]. Truly “There are
certain men who crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this
condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,
and denying the only Lord God, and our
Lord Jesus Christ. [Jude 4]. Ellen White was not one of them.
“The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the
supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists,
and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand
as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization.
Werethis reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of
truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be
discarded. Our religion would be changed. The
fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years
would be accounted as error. A new organization would be
established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual
philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would
go into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath of course, would be
lightly regarded, as also the God who created it.
Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders
would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God
being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their
foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.” [Selected Messages
Book 1-Page 204, 205]
The pillars of our faith that were sustained by
the pioneers over the 50 years before 1905 are now accounted as error.
Books of a new order have been written. A new organization
established. And it is definitely
a system of intellectual philosophy to believe that 1 equals 3 or 3 equals 1.
Because it is not common sense.
The foundation of this new organization and movement is built on sand as you
can see denying the rock on which God’s church is built, and leaving the
foundation; the true God is removed and another stands in his place. They cannot have His spirit because they
don’t know what it is. So their dependence is on human power alone, and
philosophically speculative theology. And many do not like to
talk about this doctrine because Satan has sought to destroy any chance at a
true understanding and “knowledge of Him” which would give us “all things that
pertain unto life and godliness”. [2 Pet 1:3, 4] “This is eternal
life to know the only true God and Jesus Christ”.[John 17:3]
36. Answering Evangelism Page 615-617
Leroy Froom's seemingly Trinitarian Collection of EGW writings. Did she really
mean what Leroy want us to believe?
How many times have we seen these quotes.
All apparently Trinitarian. All these quotes are actually
non-trinitarian.
37. Where
does the phrase “Eternal Dignitaries of the Trinity”
in the book evangelism comes from?What does the original statement mean?
Quote:"The Eternal Dignitaries of the Trinity.--The
eternal heavenly dignitaries--God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit--arming them
[the disciples] with more than mortal energy, . . ." {Ellen White Evangelism
616}
Firstly "the
eternal dignitaries of the trinity" looks nice, it's all capitalized
but it is totally uninspired. It is not the words of Ellen G. White. That is a
phrase or subtittle that was added by compilers, specifically Leroy Froom,
since Evangelism is not one of her original books; it’s a compilation of her
writings to try to mislead believers that she taught the trinity theories. Let's
re-read the quote.
"The eternal heavenly dignitaries--God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit--arming
them [the disciples] with more than mortal energy, . . ." {Ev 616.4}.It
would be great to see the entire context of this quote outside of the book Evangelism.
However just from what we can see it refers to "God",
"Christ" and "the Holy Spirit". "God" is distinct
from His son, and His spirit in this quote or list, Paul also wrote a list
which is quite the same list as that of sister White except this one is both
detailed and stated in the reverse order. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling; One Lord,
one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph 4:4-6) This to me indicates
that the title "God" in her quote refers to the father alone. The title
God refers alone to the father in her quote and as far as can be seen is not
Trinitarian at all. As we have seen from previous discusions, there is nothing related
to the trinity in this phrase or statement.
Note, she states the word “diginitaries”
in plural, but according to the trinity that word should be singular, “Diginitary
that is God”, but also she name “God” first in the list implying that to be the
Father, but to a trinitarian, God (singular, Diginitary) would be different
from “God the Father” because to them, God the Father does not make up the
totality of the Goadhead (Divinity) but instead they need to add other beings
vis are “God the Son” and “God the Holy Spirit” to make up God, which she does
not do, neither her statements warrant for such a conceptualization. I don't
think that we can read into this quote "God the Father, God the Son and
God Holy Spirit. Thus, from this very statement, she is not teaching the
trinity, or even if she were trying which is not the case by any means, she
would have failed 100% in stating the trinity doctrine using that phrase,
because that is not a proper statement to represent the trinity. A proper
statement of the trinity should be able to state that “God is one, who is God
the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit” that is “three gods in one
god” or “three persons in one person” or even numerically 1+1+1=1 which is a
lie, because 1+1+1=3. To try avoid this impossibility trinitarians have tried
to draw pictures or even images of three faces fused into one body or head, or
even three heads into one body thus making God a monster. That is what is
called in the bible “corrupting the image of God” and in Spirit of Prophecy
“destroying the personality of God”.
38. Is
the Holy Spirit is a Person different from Jesus Christ and God?
Quote:
Personality of the Holy Spirit.--"We need
to realize that the Holy Spirit, who
is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds."--Manuscript
66, 1899. {Ellen White Evangelism 616}
This quote says "God is a
person". This seems to be non-trinitarian as well. Since Trinitarians
teach that "God is three persons". However, let me go further. Let's
say "Paul is a person as much as
his spirit is a person." Would we then say Paul's spirit was someone
separate and distinct from Paul? This is the same with our father in heaven. He
is spirit the bible says. “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour
cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know
not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour
cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (Joh 4:21-24). And
the bible further closes other posibilities of misunderstanding God by stating:
“There is one body, and one
Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;” (Eph 4:4), thus
if God is a Spirit and there is one Spirit how could God and His spirit be two
different beings. It is imposible both logically, numerically and even
spiritually.
These verses talk about our father who is spirit,
and we are to worship him in spirit and in truth. Many think that our God is a
"mystery" which they call a Trinity. The words of Jesus "Ye know
not what ye worship" would apply if our God is a mystery. When we get to
heaven, God will not then say "Meet my spirit". We will see God face
to face, and we will know him. The father of Jesus Christ. Eph 1:17 That the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: Eph 1:18 The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
thus it is true that, “The spirit is as
much a person as God is a person.” Thus, the Holy Spirit is God Himself
manifesting Himself through His Spirit. Thus, God can say for instance: “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is
flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” (Gen 6:3)
39. What
does the phrase “The Three Great Powers of Heaven” –by Ellen G. White mean?
Does it mean God is a Trinity?
Let’s look at this carefully, then answer my
questions. I believe we are to co-operate with the "three great
powers" however only one of those three entities is the eternal God. Read
carefully then answer the question below.
"It is the fulfillment of the covenant that God has made with those who bind
themselves up with Him, to stand
with Him, with His Son, and with His
Spirit in holy fellowship. Have you been born again? Have you become a
new being in Christ Jesus? Then co-operate with the three great powers of
heaven who are working in your behalf. Doing this you will reveal to
the world the principles of righteousness. {Signs of the Times, June 19, 1901
par. 4}
It says "GOD" binds us to him by
"his SON". Who does the title "God" refer to?
The answer is God the father binds us to himself by his son. 1Co 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. “Let the brightest example the world has yet seen be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The Father and the Son alone are to be exalted.” (Ellen White, The Youth’s Instructor, July 7, 1898)
The answer is God the father binds us to himself by his son. 1Co 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. “Let the brightest example the world has yet seen be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. The Father and the Son alone are to be exalted.” (Ellen White, The Youth’s Instructor, July 7, 1898)
40.
Does the phrase the “Heavenly
Trio” by Ellen G. White teaches or was meant to teach the trinity doctrine?
As you shall see below sister White was
rebuking those who were trying to explain God in a fashion different from the
position they were holding then, that is a non-trinitarian position. Some erred
by comparing God, His Son and His Spirit to One element that changed into
different forms, viz LIGHT, DEW, VAPOUR/CLOUDS/RAIN, which are created things,
but also they were trying to make God look like how the modalist defined him,
that God only changed forms from Father to Son to Spirit, thereby denying the
individuality of Christ. In her instructions it is clear that she makes a
definitive distinction of who God is, who Christ is and who is the Holy Spirit.
Note she indicates that (this is a short version) Father is the Godhead
(Divinity) bodily, the Son manifest this Godhead (Divinity), and the Spirit is in the Godhead (Divinity). Or a much shorter
version would be; the Father is God, the Son reveals Him, the Spirit is in the
Father. Thus she is not trying to describe any trinity doctrine here, she
finally simply, instead of listing them only she sums the list by using the word
trio, because trio is simply three, which is not different from listing them as
she does there after. “There are three living persons of the heavenly
trio; in the name of these three
great powers--the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit--"{SpTB07 62-63} Note again, she does not say
there are three God, neither is she saying that these three persons are each
God, or even that they make up ONE God. But she is emphatic in her language
that God is the Father. Christ manifests God. The Spirit dwells in God.
"I am
instructed to say, the sentiments of those
who are searching for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such
representations as the following are made: "The
Father is as the light invisible; the Son
is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the
light shed abroad." "The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of life."
Another representation: "The Father is
like the invisible vapor; the Son is
like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is
rain fallen and working in
refreshing power."
All these spiritualistic
representations are simply nothingness.
They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken
and diminish the Majesty which no earthly likeness can be compared to. God can not be compared with the things His hands
have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God
because of the sins of man. The Father
can not be described by the things of earth. The
Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight.The Son
is all the fulness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be "the express image of His
person." "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." Here is shown the personality of the Father.
The Comforter
that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fulness of the Godhead, making manifest
the power of divine grace to all
who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the
heavenly trio; in the name of
these three great powers--the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-- those who receive Christ by living faith
are baptized, and these powers will
co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the
new life in Christ. . . ." {SpTB07 62-63}
The son is the expression of God's
"person". The father's person is seen in his son Jesus Christ
as well as the Holy Spirit which is manifest through more than just the father
and son. The Father is God here and he gave his only begotten Son
according to this quote. This teaches us that we have one God. If
you look carefully here is what you see this:
God the father, the only true God is invisible to
mortal sight. No man has seen God. The son made manifest the father's Godhead (divine
nature). And the Holy Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead has manifest
God the father’s POWER and DIVINITY (Godhead) [Rom 1:20] or Divine grace to all
who receive Christ the comforter.
Brackets are added on this for clarity as so many
today did not know that the Godhead is the father's divinity, which the father
gave to his son.(Col 1:19) and was well pleased that in his Son should all the
fulness of the Godhead (Divine Nature) dwell which is the manifestation of the
fathers's spirit. Note: No one dwells "In the Godhead but the Spirit does, because
she states that the Comfoter (Spirit) is the Spirit in the Godhead”.
But also the Godhead dwells in Christ,
His Son, and all who partake of the divine
nature since the Spirit is fullness of the Godhead manifesting the father's
POWER and DIVINITY. In all of these quotes the term God refers to the
father alone. Jesus Christ is referred to as the son of God.
41. Is
there a difference between the beliefs in the "Godhead" vs. "the
Trinity?
Many today are using the term "godhead"
to mean "God" or “Trinity”. Some have tried to replace the term
"trinity" with "godhead". But the truth is: God has a "Godhead".
“The Godhead” is a characteristic of “God” or His Divinity. Notice in the
following verse that his "Godhead" is clearly seen in the things
made.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead;
so that they are without excuse:
Now if the term "Godhead" is the new
replacement word for "Trinity" or "three in one God" then
the verse is saying "God's “three
in one God” is clearly seen in the things made" or "God's trinity is clearly seen in
the things made". Logically we can conclude that “Godhead” does not mean a “three in one God” or trinity, because it
does not make sense.
I'd like to propose to you that the term
"Godhead" actually means "divinity" or "divine
nature". Here is what Ellen White wrote once. She quotes this same verse
Romans 1:20. But notice that the word "Godhead" is translated
"divinity". She quotes it from the American Standard Version Bible.
"The invisible things of Him since the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that
are made, even His everlasting power and
divinity." Romans 1:20, A.R.V."(Ellen White Ministry of Healing
410).
So the term "Godhead" refers to a
characteristic of God himself. God is the father if we read the context. He is
not a three in one God. Rom 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God,
called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ. So if we read that carefully we see that God the father
has a "Godhead" which is his "divinity". His divine nature
was given to His Son. Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.” Col 1:15 “Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:” Col
1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;”
All things proceed from God and are given to
Christ. Now most Trinitarians today have renamed the "Trinity" and
now call it the "Godhead". It's like calling a cat a dog. It's still
a cat. But in order to escape comparison to Rome they misuse the term
"godhead". But as you can see "godhead" means
"divinity" and not "trinity". God's divinity is clearly
seen in the things made, not God's trinity.
42. And
who is the comforter?
“The Saviour
is our Comforter. This I have proved Him to be.” (Ellen
White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, page 49)
“The nights are long and painful, but Jesus is my Comforter and
my Hope.” (Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, page 296)
“Christ is everything to those who receive
Him. He is their Comforter,
their safety, their healthfulness. Apart from Christ there is no light at all.”
(Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, page 372)
“There is no
comforter like Christ, so tender and so true. He is touched with the
feeling of our infirmities. His Spirit
speaks to the heart.… The
influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul.”
(Ellen White, Review & Herald, October 26, 1897)
“Cumbered
with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it
was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father,
and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested
of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would
represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the
Omnipresent.” (Ellen White,Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, pages 23, 24; written
February 18 and 19, 1895)
2Jn 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
43. What were Ellen G. White response toTrinity views of John H. Kellogg?
These quotes were written in regards to the book
Living Temple by John Harvey Kellogg. Kellogg had misunderstood Ms. White’s
words especially the phrase “the third person” as used by her and started
teaching the Trinity. Ms. White tells
him God is a father, not a trinity. Read this heavenly trio quote in it’s
context.
“I am instructed to say, the sentiments of those
who are searching for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such
representations as the following are made: “The Father is as the light
invisible; the Son is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the light shed
abroad.” “The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew
gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of
life.” Another representation: “The Father is like the invisible vapor; the Son
is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is rain fallen and working in refreshing
power.”
All these spiritualistic representations are simply nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty which no earthly likeness can be compared to. God can not be compared with the things His hands have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because of the sins of man. The Father can not be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. The Son is all the fulness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be “the express image of His person.” “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Here is shown the personality of the Father.
The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fulness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit– those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ. . . .” {SpTB07 62-63}
Note the statements: where the statement “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”
comes from Col 2:9. She makes it plain that the Father is not only the Godhead,
because that is what he possess “called His Godhead (divinity) Rom 1:20”, but
that the Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Contrary to what
trinitarians says, that the Godhead is the Trinity, here scriptures is clear
that the “fulness of the Godhead bodily is the Father”
Compare her definitions of the three persons and
decide for yourself who is cited here as being God. You will notice that God
here is the Father. The Father dwells in Christ (Col 2:9), Christ manifest God,
who is the Father. The Holy Spirit is in God that is the Father who is “all the fullness of the Godhead”.
a) The Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
b) The Son is all the fulness of the Godhead manifested.
c) The Comforter… is the Spirit in all the fulness of the Godhead, making
manifest the power of divine grace
That simply means that there is one
Godhead (divinity), that Godhead or divinity is the divine personality (or
quality of being God (Rom 1:20)) of the Father, and that God dwells in Chirst
(Col 2:9) and the Spirit is in God (Jame 2:26, 1 Cor 2:10-11). Thus trying to
separate the Holy Spirit from God and call him another God a being called God
the Holy Spirit is trying to destroy God’s personality. Sister White quotes the
bible thus: “the express image of His person.”(Heb 1:3), indicating that
Jesus Christ being the imahe of the Father, is manifesting the personality
of the Father which is His Divinity (Godhead). That is why he is able to
say, “…Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then,
Shew us the Father? 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. (Joh 14:9-10). How is that
possible? Christ in the Father and the Father in Chirst? It is only possible
through their Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9). It is in that sense Christ is able to say
that:” I and my Father are one”. (Joh
10:30). And the same “oneness (unity)” is possible among the believers: “that
they may be one, as we are”. (Joh 17:11 margin)
Now as you may have noted above, Sister
White uses the words “person and personality” interchangeably to mean the “three
manifestations (plural) of the personality (singular) of God”. She calls them
powers. Thus, there are two beings the Father and the Son, and there are three
manifestations (called by sister white “persons”). Thus when the “third person”
comes to us, it is not a different being as some would like us to believe, but
rather, it is the coming of the Father and the Son in the heart of the
believers (John 14: 17-20, Rev 3:20). This is further confirmed by Sister
White’s own testimony where she says: "That
Christ should manifest Himself to them, and yet
be invisible to the world, was a mystery to the disciples. They could not understand the words of Christ in their spiritual sense. They were
thinking of the outward, visible manifestation.
They could not take in the fact that they could have the presence of Christ with them, and yet He be unseen by the world. They
did not understand the meaning of a spiritual
manifestation." E. G. White, The Southern Work, September
13, 1898 par. 2.
Check
also the Bibel passage itself, it is very clear: Even the Spirit of
truth; whom the world cannot receive,
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you (present tense, Jesus Himself),
and shall
be in you (future tense, Holy Spirit). I will
not leave you comfortless (remember Jesus is the Comforter): I (Jesus
Himself) will come to you. Yet a little
while (how long is that?), and the world
seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day
ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (Joh 14:17-20). That is
plain as it can get. Jesus was to come again at Pentecost in a spiritual
manifestation. “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as
the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” Christ comes as
the rain, the Holy Spiritin our hearts. (Hos 6:3). So one can say there are two
beings, the Father and the Son, and there are three manifestations of God the
Father, through Himself, His Son and His Spirit. And that these three are three
great powers.
But, one asks, how that is so. Read John
3:13: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (Joh 3:13). Now mind you,
Chirst is standing on earth with Nicodemus, and He is saying, in the margin of
the verse” that “the Son of Man, that is Jesus Himself is in Heaven”, how can
that be possible? Well, the answer is good enough, Jesus as the Son of God
operates on two levels or two offices semoultaneusly. When He was on Earth, His
Holy Spirit was in Heaven, and When He ascendend to heaven the Holy Spirit came
on earth at pentocoste. That is why sister white says: “While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above, He is still by
His Spirit the minister of the church on earth. He is withdrawn from the eye of
sense, but His parting promise is fulfilled, “Lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28:20. While He delegates His power to
inferior ministers, His energizing presence is still with His church.”
— (Desire of Ages, p. 166) “In
giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself a fountain of
divine influences, to give health and life to the world.” Testimonies
vol. 7, p. 273 “It is through the
Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received
into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal.” Desire of
Ages, page 388 “They are two in individuality, yet one in spirit” Youth’s
Instructor Dec 16, 1897 " 'The words that I speak are spirit and
life' John 6:63. Christ is not here referring to His
doctrine, but to His person, the divinity of His character.” 1Selected
Messages p. 249. The only reason we now (that is after the cross) have
three manifestations (called persons by Sister White) is only due to the fact
that, Jesus took upon Humanity, adding to himself the Human personality on His
Divine personality. Thus Christ has two personalities, the human person (Acts
2:22) and the Divine person (Acts 1:8). The two persons makes one being called
Jesus Christ (Luke 4:18), while God the father’s person is invisible to mortal
beings, he reveals himself through His Son and His Holy Spirit.
Now read it again with the Trinitarian
view added……
Is this Heavenly trio quote
really Trinitarian? Brackets added.
“All these spiritualistic representations are
simply nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the
Majesty which no earthly likeness can be compared to. God (The father, son, and
holy spirit) can not be compared with the things His (The father, son, and holy
spirit’s) hands have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the
curse of God (The father, son, and holy spirit) because of the sins of man. The
Father (Hmm, I thought he was a trinity) can not be described by the things of
earth. The Father (Hmm, I thought he was a trinity) is all the fulness of the
Godhead (The father, son, and holy spirit) bodily, and is invisible to mortal
sight.
The Son is all the fulness of the Godhead (The
father, son, and holy spirit) manifested. The Word of God (The father, son, and
holy spirit) declares Him to be “the express image of His (The father, son, and
holy spirit’s) person.” “God (The father, son, and holy spirit) so loved the
world, that He (The father, son, and holy spirit) gave His (The father, son,
and holy spirit’s) only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.” Here is shown the personality of the
Father (Hmm, I thought he was a trinity).
The Comforter that Christ promised to send after
He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fulness of the Godhead (The
father, son, and holy spirit), making manifest the power of divine grace to all
who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living
persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers–the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit– those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers
will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live
the new life in Christ. . . .”{SpTB07 62-63}
I have searched Ms. Whites writings and the
scriptures and have yet to find a single instance where the title “God” is used
to refer to “the father, son and holy spirit”. My faith comes by the word of
God, and God expects us to believe nothing outside of that word. Therefore I
cannot believe in the holy trinity. It destroys the personality of our God and his son Jesus
Christ as quoted from Ms. White. It destroys the love of the father
and everything he gave to his son, and to us. It makes him an actor, pretender,
liar, hypocrite and selfish since he really gave nothing to his son, and he’s
not even really a father if the trinity is real, so he didn’t even give a son.
1Jn 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his
Son Jesus Christ.
JS Washburn on the Trinity 1939 Letter
Letter by J. S. Washburn
The doctrine of the Trinity is a cruel
heathen monstrosity, removing Jesus from his true position of Divine Savior and
Mediator. It is true we can not measure or define divinity. It is
beyond our finite understanding, yet on this subject of the personality of God
the Bible is very simple and plain. The Father, the Ancient of Days,
is from eternity. Jesus was begotten of the Father. Jesus speaking
through the Psalmist says: “The Lord (Jehovah) has said unto me, Thou art my
son, this day have I begotten thee.”—Psalm 2:7.
Again in Proverbs (where Jesus is spoken of under
the title of wisdom, See 1 Cor. 1:24), we read: “The Lord (Jehovah) possessed
me in the beginning of his way”.—v. 22 “Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills was I brought forth.”—v. 2
44. Who
is Our Comforter?
Jesus promised to send us a most precious gift
after his glorification. He said. “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
(John 16:7)(See also John 7:39).
“The comforter which is the holy spirit” (John
14:26) was not sent until Jesus was glorified. However in John 14 Jesus
speaks of this comforter. Jesus said:
Joh 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you.
Jesus when speaking of the comforter said “he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Here we find a seeming
contradiction since the comforter could not be sent until Jesus Christ was
glorified. We just read in John 16 that the comforter’s coming was
dependent on Jesus going away.
How is it that the comforter who was yet to be
sent “dwelleth with them” in John 14? This passage explains itself.
Jesus didn’t leave off in verse 17. He continues in the next verse
by saying:
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless:
I will come to you. Jesus the Comforter Christ was dwelling with them and he was going
to come back as the comforter and dwell in them. Christ is the comforter
himself.
The greek word for comforter is
“parakletos”. John uses this word 5 times in scripture. The 5th
time it is used is 1 John 2:1. It is translated “Advocate”
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Christ is the “parakletos”.
45. But
Christ said “another“ so doesn’t that indicate he is speaking of someone else?:
The same word in Hebrew for “another” is used of
Saul in the Old Testament. Notice what it says:
1Sa 10:6 And the Spirit of the LORD will
come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
Saul was about to be turned into another
man. Saul had been through an experience. He had received the Holy
Spirit which also was available to those in the Old Testament. That
spirit was Jesus Christ living inside of Saul.
1Pe 1:10-11 Of which salvation the prophets
have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the
glory that should follow.
Saul was still Saul, but yet after his experience
he was now “another” man.
In the same sense the Holy Spirit was still the
holy spirit, but yet it was now after Christ’s glorification called “another”
comforter. Jesus had to first endure an experience in order that he
was much more able to say “I have been there, I have done that”.
The greek word
used here is “Allos” which means”else” that is “another of the same kind”
And I will pray the Father, and he shall
give you another
(allos)
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (Joh 14:16)
Another instance that can help
illustrate this point of difference is Paul’s use of the word “another” in
Greek. For instance Gal 1:6-7, Pauls says:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed
from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another (heteros) gospel: Which is not another
(allos); but there be some
that trouble you, and would pervert the
gospel of Christ. (Gal 1:6-7)
Now this verse if read without reviwing
the original language is not clear, but if you know what were the original
words (supplied in the brackets) the meaning comes clear. Here is actually
telling the Galatians that, they are now following a “different gospel” other
than that of Christ, by using the words another (heteros) gospel. But he as the same
time does not want to be misunderstood; he stresses what he means using the
words Which is not another (allos); he
is practically saying: that gospel they are now receiving which he called “another (heteros)
gospel” is infact not “another Gospel of the same kind” that is another (allos) gospel, for instance the gospel or mark, john, mathew and
luke may be considered “allos gospels” but are they different (heteros)
gospels? No, not at all, actually they are preaching the same gospel in
different styles. That is why Paul in his explanations hastens to say that it
is not “another of the same kind” supposedely he is leaving rooms for other
appostles gospel preaching to also be called “another of the same kind”
and not “another of a different kind”.
So, the words “another (allos) Comforter” could
not mean another person coming, but the same Jesus in a different
manifestation. It could not mean another comforter of a different kind, which
is God the Holy Spirit. It could only mean another comfoter of the same kind
that is Jesus Christ in His Spirit form. Now, as in the Galatian passage, Paul
contrasts between same Gospel having different styles versus different Gospels.
Similarly Jesus talks of the same Being (Hmself) in two different
manifestations; the visible human manifestation of Jesus and the invisible
spiritual manifestation of Jesus.
Let’s say that you had just been through an
experience. Your family just died in a plane crash. Your wife and
your beautiful children. And I came to you and said “Well brother,
I know exactly what you are going through” even though I had never been through
that experience. That wouldn’t be very comforting would it?
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath
suffered being tempted, he is able to succor(help) them that are tempted.
The bible says that now that Jesus has been
through the experience he can now say to you and me “I’ve been through it, I’ve
been tempted in all points like you have and I will help you overcome, I will
come to you, I will help you”.
There is only one being in this universe who can
truly “comfort” us like that. Only one who is able to “succor” them that
are tempted. It is a great comfort to me to know that Jesus himself will not
leave me comfortless, but comes to me himself and dwells in me by his spirit
whereby I can truly cry “abba, father”(Galations 4:6). Only a son can cry
“Abba, father”.
1Jn 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew him not.” Does that sound familiar? Who did Christ say the world
knew not in John 14:17, it was the Spirit of Truth. “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in
him. And hereby we know that he
abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” (1Jn 3:24) “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”
(1Jn 4:13) “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us
an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is
true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This
is the true God, and eternal life.”
(1Jn 5:20)
46. Didn’t
Jesus call the comforter a “he” and speak of the spirit in the third person?
Yes, it was very common in those days to speak of
yourself in that sense. Notice the following passage where Christ
speaks of himself as “the son” and also calls himself “he, him, and himself”.
Joh 5:19-23 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. For the Father loveth the Son, and
sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he
will shew him greater works than these, that ye may
marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even
so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the
Son: That all men should honour the
Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the
Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
So it was very common for Jesus to speak of
himself in the third person.It was in the same sense Ellen G.White calls the
Spirit, “the third person”
So who is the Holy
Spirit?
The bible says “The comforter which is the holy
spirit” (John 14:26) is that spirit. And we just learned that it is Jesus
who said that he wouldn’t leave us comfortless, that he would come to us and
comfort us. He says further in John 14:
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that
I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
The father is the source of that spirit.
When we look at the sanctuary in heaven we see that the father is the source of
living water and all things come through his son Jesus.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of
water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb. So that river of living water flows from the source. Water sysmbol of
Holy Spirit
Joh 7:38-39 He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (But
this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for
the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not
yet glorified.)
That living water that flows from the throne of
God is the spirit. It flows through his son Jesus Christ and out through
all of the children of God. As Jesus said it will even proceed out of
you. But the source is none other than the father.
1Co 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.
All things proceed from our “One God the father”
and come by his son and our “Lord Jesus Christ”. And Paul says we have
“One Lord”(Eph 4:5).
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is
that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Christ is that spirit and he has come to deliver
the captives and give them liberty and freedom from the bondage and captivity
to sin.
47. What
is the spirit?:
Many today have come to believe that the spirit
is a body less phantom or ghost that flies around and takes possession of
others. This concept of the spirit however is not correct and is actually
very deceptive. Gods children are given free will to accept his spirit and
the only service that they will give is a willing service of love and not of
forced will.
So what is the spirit? Let me ask
you: If I said to you “Hi, my name is David, I’d like you to meet my
spirit, he is standing over there, let me get him”. Would you think that
I had an incorrect understanding of my spirit? Yes, right. My
spirit is not someone else separate and distinct from me. My spirit is me, it’s my personality, my mind my character.
Same with God. God has a spirit. The
bible calls it “the holy spirit of God”(Eph 4:30). His spirit is
described by the adjective “Holy”. His spirit is not someone
distinct and separate from him, his spirit is him, it is his personality, his
mind, his character.
Notice the following verses:
Rom 11:34 For who hath
known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his
counsellor?
Isa 40:13 Who hath
directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his
counsellor hath taught him?
The words “spirit” and “mind” are often
interchanged. Notice how the following verse from Ezekiel uses the same
Hebrew word “Ruwach” but translates it in one instance “mind” and the next
instance “spirit”.
“And the Spirit [Hebrew: j^Wr –
ruwach #7307 in Strong’s Concordance] of
the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have
ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind
[ruwach],every one of them.” (Ezekiel 11:5)
The holy
spirit is the mind of Christ. We are
to receive the mind of Christ. Look at the following passage and
notice how it is speaking of the spirit, then finally closes with receiving the
mind of Christ.
1Co 2:11-16 For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God
knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but
the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we
speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the
Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But
the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto
him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is
judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord,
that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Who hath
known the spirit of the Lord? Who
hath known the mind of the Lord? The same words and question as asked
in the previous verses from Romans 11:34 and Isaiah 40:13 which we just read,
however in this instance Paul clarifies that the “Spirit of the Lord” is the
“mind of Christ”.
Now let me ask you. Would you say that the
mind of Christ is a separate and distinct being from Christ himself. I
don’t believe Christ will say to us when we meet him “I’d like you to meet my
mind, he’s standing over there”.
Notice in the above passage from 1 Corinthians 2
that it compares God’s spirit to man’s spirit. Man has a spirit that is
in him. In the same sense God has a spirit that is in him. Man is
not divided into co-equal beings called the man and his spirit.
48. Does
the spirit has a personality different from the person himself?
Many people have come to the understanding that
the spirit is someone other than Christ because it has characteristics and
personality.
For instance the spirit can be grieved.
Dan 7:15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in
the midst of my body, and the visions of my head
troubled me.
Daniel was
grieved in his spirit in the midst of his body. Daniel was
sorrowful. He had the spirit of Christ (1 Pet 1:11) which is also the
spirit of God. (Romans 8:9). And he was grieved, but it was not someone
else particularly, but it was he himself who was grieved in the midst of his
body. Daniel’s spirit belongs to Daniel, just as Gods spirit
belongs to God.
The spirit can perceive things.
Mar 2:8 And immediately when Jesus
perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he
said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Notice, Jesus perceived things in his
spirit. Again Jesus is not perceiving
things in someone else who is separate and distinct from him. His
spirit is his mind.
The spirit can be troubled.
Dan 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have
dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Nebuchadnezzar’s
spirit was troubled. This is not teaching us that someone else
separate and distinct from Nebuchadnezzar was troubled. This is teaching
us that he himself was troubled. If I said to you “meet Nebuchadnezzar, he has
a wonderful spirit” you would not think that I was talking of someone separate
and distinct from Nebuchadnezzar.
The spirit serves
Rom 1:9
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of
his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
The spirit can be overwhelmed
Psa_77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I
complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
The spirit can make dilligent search
Psa_77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I
commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
The spirit can seek
Isa_26:9
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek
thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the
inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
The spirit can pray
1Co_14:14
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my
understanding is unfruitful.
The spirit can be refreshed
1Co_16:18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours:
therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
The
spirit can be restless and so does a man
2Co_2:13
I
had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but
taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
The spirit is the part of someone including God
and Christ themselves that can be troubled, it also refers to the person
himself, it can perceive things, it can be grieved and it has
personality. The bible teaches us that “there is one spirit”
(Eph 4:4). As we have learned that spirit is the mind of Christ. It
is also the spirit of God. Notice how the “spirit of God” and the “spirit of Christ” are interchanged in
the following passage. Also note that this spirit is actually “Christ in you”. That one spirit is the “Holy Spirit”.
Rom 8:9-10 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead
because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness.
“Greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). “It is…Christ who liveth in me…” (Gal
2:20) “..Christ in you, the hope of
glory”(Col 1:27)
Jesus said in John 14 that it was “the father that dwelleth in me (Christ)” (John
14:10). He also said when speaking of his father “I speak not of myself” (John 14:10). Jesus is
explaining that his father dwells in him by his spirit. He continues this
chapter by saying that “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto
him, and make our abode with him.”(John
14:23).
Christ states that in the same sense that his
father dwells in him, he and his father will come and dwell in us. They
will come spiritually. The spirit of God is the spirit of Christ.
And so the father and son share a kindred spirit. In the same sense we
are to share of that spirit and be “partakers
of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4).
The father anointed the son with
his own spirit. (See Heb 1:9, Luke 4:18).
Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh
the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him.
Now we
understand that the father has a spirit. We also know that son has a
spirit. Does the Holy spirit have a spirit? We know the
father has a throne and also that the son has a throne, does the holy spirit
have a throne? The Bible
mentions several different types of Spirit. We
read about “foul spirit,” “evil spirit,” “unclean spirit,” “dumb spirit,”
“excellent spirit,” “humble spirit,” “wounded spirit,” “broken spirit,”
“haughty spirit,” “faithful spirit,” “good spirit.” All these spirits are
distinguishable by the adjective that describes them.
The father has a name. His name is “Jehovah”
or “Yahweh”. The son has a name. His name is “Yahshua” or
“Jesus”. What is the name of the Holy spirit?
49. The
father and son alone are to be exalted
Joh 5:23 That all men should
honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son
honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
In reading the bible we find
many times where the father and son are exalted.
Php 2:10-11 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.
Every knee will confess that Christ is “Lord” to
the glory of “God the father”. The bible speaks to us about “One God the father, and one Lord Jesus Christ”.
In fact almost all of the epistle salutations start with a greeting similar to
this:
Gal 1:3 Grace be to you
and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
2Pe 1:2
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Jn 1:3
Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the
Father, in truth and love.
Now why is it that only two beings are mentioned
in this passage. One of which is called God and that is the father of
Jesus Christ. There is no mention of any third divine being in any of the
greetings whether it be Paul, Peter, James, John, or Jude.
John stated:
1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with
the Father, and with his Son Jesus
Christ.
John knew only of the father and his son Jesus
and he invites us to have fellowship with him and them. Surely he
wouldn’t leave out the Holy Spirit if it was a third divine being. Jesus
when speaking of those who could testify of him said:
Joh 8:17-18 It is also written in your law,
that the testimony of two men is true. I
am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Where in this passage is the mention of the Holy
Spirit if the spirit is a separate and distinct divine being aside from God and
Christ.
Regarding the cousel in heaven which took place
before the foundations of the world it is written that there were two beings
involved in this counsel of peace.
Zec 6:12-13 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The
BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the
temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall
bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a
priest upon his throne: and the counsel of
peace shall be between them both.
Jesus
Christ is the only being who entered the counsels of God. He was
equal with God and in all points like his father. When Jesus spoke of the
Jews who hated him, he spoke also of his father.
Joh 15:23-24 He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among
them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have
they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
If the spirit is a divine being why would Jesus
leave him out here? Wouldn’t the Jews hate all three of them? Why
does he only mention “both me and my father”.
Paul called all heaven to witness a solemn charge
to Timothy.
1Ti 5:21 I charge thee before
God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe
these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by
partiality.
God is mentioned, Christ and the elect angels
even, but yet no mention of a third
divine being. The bible talks about the father and his love for us in
giving his only begotten son having his beloved son torn from his bosom because
we sinned. It also tells us of the love of Jesus Christ in counting it
not a thing to be equal with his father, but giving this up and leaving this
behind and being made in the likeness of men, in all points made like unto his
brothers.
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own
blood.
Interestingly, the bible tells us that the Holy
Spirit purchased us with his own blood. The bible teaches us that
we have “One Lord Jesus Christ” (1
Cor 8:6) and “The Lord is that spirit”
(2 Cor 3:17). Christ is that spirit and he shed his own blood to purchase
us at the cross of calvary.
A perusal of the following verses which
serve as a summary of the call of Paul and his call to ministry will indicate
that Jesus called him, but which confirms the fact that when the Holy Spirit
called him it was Jesus himself who called him and not a different person.
For I
(Jesus) will shew him how great things he
(Paul/Saul) must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and
entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in
the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and
be filled with the Holy Ghost. (Act 9:16-17)
And he (Ananias) said, The God of our
fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that
Just One (Jesus), and shouldest hear
the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be
his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. (Act 22:14-15)
And saw him
(Jesus) saying unto me (Paul), Make haste, and get thee quickly out of
Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me (Jesus). (Act
22:18)
And he (Jesus)
said unto me, Depart: for I(Jesus)
will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. (Act 22:21)
As they ministered to the Lord, and
fasted, the
Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work where unto
I have called
them. (Act 13:2)
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. (2Co 3:17)
The comforter is none other than Jesus Christ
himself and Satan is doing everything he can to keep us from realizing our
“hope of glory which is Christ in you”(Col 1:27).
A perusal of the warnings and
admonitions that Christ gave to the seven churches, it is interesting to note
that, it is Christ who is speaking but it is the Spirit that is said to have
said what Christ said. That clearly indicates the Spirit is Christ Himself
speaking and not another being.
First
chruch: Ephesus
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus
write; These things saith he (Jesus) that
holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks; (Rev 2:1)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches;
To him that overcometh will I (Jesus) give
to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev
2:7)
Second
church: Smyrna
And unto the angel of the church in
Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last
(Jesus), which was dead, and is alive; (Rev 2:8)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches;
He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Rev 2:11)
Third
church: Pergamos
And to the angel of the church in
Pergamos write; These things saith he (Jesus) which hath the sharp sword
with two edges; (Rev 2:12)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I (Jesus) give to eat of the hidden
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written,
which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Rev 2:17)
Fourth
church: Thyatira
And unto the angel of the church in
Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and
his feet are like fine brass; (Rev 2:18)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Rev 2:29)
Fifth
church: Sardis
And unto the angel of the church in
Sardis write; These things saith he (Jesus) that hath the seven Spirits of
God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou
livest, and art dead. (Rev 3:1)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Rev 3:6)
Sixth
church: Philadelphia
And to the angel of the church in
Philadelphia write; These things saith he (Jesus) that is holy, he
that is true, he that hath the key
of David, he that openeth, and no
man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; (Rev 3:7)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Rev 3:13)
Seventh
church: Laodiceans
And unto the angel of the church of the
Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the beginning of the creation of God;
(Rev 3:14)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Rev 3:22)
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. (2Co 3:17)
Rev 3:20-22 Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him,
and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with
my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches.
Jesus wants to come into you and comfort
you. Hear what the spirit is saying to this seventh church in
Laodicea. He wants to grant you the opportunity to sit on a throne with
him even as he sits on a throne with his father.
50. What
was Kellogg's New Theology of God? And what were the responses from Ellen G.
White?
During the life of Ellen G. White, John Harvey
Kellogg began entertaining new ideas about the nature of God.
He emphasized the indwelling
nature of God, not only as Spirit but power; and not only in humanity, but all living
cells in nature.
We get a glimpse of these concepts within the
book he later published, the Living Temple. Some of Kellogg's ideas
indeed realized the presence of God in everything and drifted toward an impersonal universal power.
Sunlight is divine energy and the presence of God
because John said "God is light." p. 64, 87.
God is the very substance of the food we eat; we absorb from our food the very substance of His body. p. 88
The Creator is himself present in our blood because He is life, and the life of the flesh is in the blood. p. 252
The divine Intelligence thinks and wills within the white blood cells of our body. p. 261
God is ever present within us acting through our instincts which way we should go. p. 437
The great Designer is a personal being yet an all-pervading, all-controlling personality within nature. p. 451
There is a universal unity of being, an infinite indwelling presence. p. 459
Every meal is a sacrament, a partaking of God's substance sacrificed for our sustenance. p. 459
But he also presented a theology that equated the
indwelling Spirit of God with Christ:
Because the Creator dwells in our body temple He
bears all the pain, sorrow that we suffer. p. 441
The Spirit of God is the Lord, the Christ, that made us and dwells in us (Job 33:4; 32:8; 2Cor 3:16,17) p. 457
We must put our wills into harmony with God's ever-present intelligence and will. p. 485
We can believe that God is ever present within us and feel a mighty power working within. p. 486
Ellen White would later point out that some of Kellogg's expressions and sentiments were
in harmony with her writings. But she refused to allow this alone to
support all the teachings in the book:
"I am compelled to speak in denial of the
claim that the teachings of Living Temple can be sustained by statements
from my writings. There may be in this book
expressions and sentiments that are in harmony with my writings. And there
may be in my writings many statements which, taken from their connection, and
interpreted according to the mind of the writer of Living Temple, would
seem to be in harmony with the teachings of this book. This may give apparent
support to the assertion that the sentiments in Living Temple are in
harmony with my writings. But God forbid that this sentiment should
prevail." EGW, 1SM 203
She does not here identify which expressions and
sentiments were at fault and which were in harmony. In 1881, however, Ellen
White was forced to send him a warning
"Those theories are wrong. I have met
them before." Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 278, 279.
Which theories was Ellen White referring to?
Was she objecting to the view that God Himself dwells within us? This is the teaching of Scripture.
Or to the conclusion that the Spirit of God is Jesus Christ? The Bible speaks of the Spirit of Christ, and that the Spirit is the Lord, that is Jesus. This is the teaching of Scripture and her own writings.
Or, more likely, to the pantheistic notions that God was in sunlight, in water, in food, in our blood?
In 1897 Kellogg began to express his ideas
publically.
"What a wonderful thought, that this mighty
God that keeps the whole universe in order, is in us! ...What an amazing thing
that this almighty, all-powerful, and all-wise God should make Himself a
servant of man by giving man a free will-power to direct the energy within
his body!" General Conference Daily Bulletin 1897, p. 83.
God in us. Sounds biblical. The Holy Spirit
dwells in us; Christ in us, the hope of glory. But these sentiments are
different: Not a personal indwelling, abiding,
Spirit of Christ, but the focus is on a "power" an "energy"
within. This was actually the precursor of
what has become present day New Age spiritualism. More than this, Ellen
White objected to the thought that God would dwell in the sinner.
"In Living Temple the assertion is made that
God is in the flower, in the leaf, in the sinner." Ellen White, Sermons
and Talks, Vol. 1 Manuscript 46, 1904, MR 900, p 343.
"But God does not live in the sinner.
The Word declares that He abides only in the hearts of those who love Him and
do righteousness. God des not abide in the heart of the sinner; it is the enemy who abides there." Sermons
and Talks, Vol. 1 Manuscript 46, 1904, MR 900, p 343.
"If God is an essence pervading all
nature, then He dwells in all men: and in order to attain holiness, man has
only to develop the power that is within him." Testimonies, Vol. 8, p.
291, 1904.
Mrs White continued sending warnings from
Australia. But when the Battle Creek Sanitarium burned down in early 1902, Dr.
Kellogg proposed to sell 500,000 copies of the book he was writing on health
called the Living Temple to finance the rebuilding of a new facility.
General Conference President, A.G.Daniels,
counselled Kellogg to not include any of his "new ideas" in the book.
"Now look here, Doctor, that book must not
contain a single argument of this new theory
you are teaching, because there are a lot of people all over the States who
do not accept it. I know from what they say, and
if it has any of what they consider pantheism
they will never touch it." (Arthur L. White, The Early Elmshaven
Years Vol. 5 chapter 21 page 288)
However, Kellogg introduced a considerable amount
of his fanciful ideas anyway-- ideas on the all pervasive nature of God which
he saw in every aspect of creation: light, clouds, rain, circles, sound, etc,
etc. Ellen white responded by forcefully expounding the Personality and Personhood of God and His Spirit.
Person or Personalitiy
Ellen White explained the nature of her objections:
"I have been
instructed to say, the sentiments of those who are searching
for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such representations as the following are made: 'The Father is as the light invisible: the Son is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the light shed abroad.' 'The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of life.' Another representation: 'The Father is like the invisible vapor; the Son is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is rain fallen and working in refreshing power.' All these spiritualistic representations are simply nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty which no earthy likeness can be compared to. God cannot be compared with the things His hands have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because of the sins of man. The Father cannot be described by the things of earth." Evangelism p. 614
for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such representations as the following are made: 'The Father is as the light invisible: the Son is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the light shed abroad.' 'The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of life.' Another representation: 'The Father is like the invisible vapor; the Son is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is rain fallen and working in refreshing power.' All these spiritualistic representations are simply nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty which no earthy likeness can be compared to. God cannot be compared with the things His hands have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because of the sins of man. The Father cannot be described by the things of earth." Evangelism p. 614
Notice, she cites various analogies used to
illustrate the Trinity, but concludes "God
cannot be compared…The Father cannot be described by the things of earth."
Two issues appear to be addressed: 1) the
notion of a trinity, and 2) "spiritualistic
representations" of God. She did not denounce the truth that God dwells
within us by His Spirit nor that the Spirit of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. She
is, in fact, taking issue with the characterization
of the Godhead by then popular Pentecostals
such as William Boardman.
Popular in England during the 1870's was the 'Higher Life' movement. William
Boardman, who teamed up with Dwight
L. Moody, wrote a 100,000 copy best-seller called "The Higher
Christian Life" in 1858. Coincidentaly, He had used the same examples
cited above by Ellen White to illustrate what he called "the triune
God."
"The Father is as the light
invisible. The Son is as the light embodied. The Spirit is as the light shed
down." "The Father is like the dew in invisible vapor. The Son
is like the dew gathered in beauteous form. The Spirit is like the dew fallen
to the seat of life." "The Father is like to the invisible vapor.
The Son is as the laden cloud and palling rain. The Spirit is the rain — fallen
and working in refreshing power." (W. Boardman, The Higher Christian
life, part 2, chapter 1, pp. 201-203)
Sound familiar? Ellen White was essentially
quoting Boardman, rejecting his examples as "untrue"
"spiritualistic representations." But then Boardman continued.
"They may also illustrate the truth that all
the fulness of Him who filleth all in all, dwells in each person of the
Triune God." Ibid.
Ellen White was thus rejecting the physical world
metaphors used by both Boardman and Kellogg to promote belief in a "Triune
God."
Boardman also wrote another famous trinitarian
statement:
"The Father is all
the fulness of the Godhead invisible.
The Son is all the fulness of the Godhead
manifested.
The Spirit is all the fulness of the Godhead
making manifest.”
(William Boardman, The Higher
Christian Life, part ii, chapter 1)
Ellen White took Boardman's
statement and corrected it point by point.
"The Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal
sight.
The Son is all the fulness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be “the express image of His person." "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Here is shown the personality of the Father.
The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour."
(Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies Series B No.7, page 62 1906) (Ev 1946 p. 615) (In Heavenly Places 1967 Chapter 330) (SDABC 1970 Vol 7A p. 441) (Bible Training School March 1, 1906)
While
Boardman concludes with three
"persons of the living God"
i.e., three personalities united in one indivisible God.
i.e., three personalities united in one indivisible God.
Ellen
White changes it to three
"living personalities of the heavenly trio." i.e She does not treat them as a
single Being.
Boardman's living
God is composed of three persons--an orthodox trinitarian statement. White's Godhead is a trio of three living
personalitiess--clearly nontrinitarian as of 1906.
Those who note that Ellen White's printed
statement is "three living persons" not "personalities"
will shortly see that her handwritten edited and thus corrected version was
indeed "personalities." While she was making a conscious effort to
quote Boardman, she did not do so exactly, but rather to correct the errors in
his version. Boardman's statement is "living persons," and although
Ellen initially wrote this, she appears to see in this expression room for
improvement and adjusted in her own handwriting the word to "personalities."
An official photocopy of the original Ellen White
manuscript obtained from the E.G.White Estate shows that many words in the
original were adjusted by Mrs White herself: Significantly, "persons"
was changed to "personalities." APPENDIX E.
It seems to follow nearly the same structure as
the Boardman quote, but it diverges with the third stanza:
"The Father is all the
fullness of the Godhead invisible...
The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested...
The Spirit....is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead making manifest"
The expected symmetry would have been "The
Spirit is all the fullness of the Godhead..." This awkward expression is
the result of changing an initial thought. In this middle section we see that
the original wording was: "The Spirit, the Comforter whom Christ promised
to send after he ascended to heaven, is Christ." This would have avoided
the circular redundancy of the subsequent correction.
Boardman summarizes by using the standard
trinitarian construct--three persons of the one God:
"The persons are not mere offices, or modes
of revelation, but living persons of the living God."
(William Boardman, The Higher
Christian Life, part ii, chapter 1)
Ellen modifies this statement as
well, replacing
the one God with a trio:
There are three
living personalitiess of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers-the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit-those who receive Christ by living faith are baptised, and
these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their
efforts to live the new life in Christ." (Ellen G. White, Special
Testimonies Series B No.7, page 62 1906) (Ev 1946 p. 615) (In Heavenly
Places 1967 Chapter 330) (SDABC 1970 Vol 7A p. 441) (Bible Training
School March 1, 1906)
Her change of "persons” to
"personality" is significant. However, for whatever reason, the
adjusted reading in her own handwriting was not captured in the printed
version. If it had, then it would have provided consistency with the other
statements that clearly express the personality of the Father and the
Son.
"The Father
and the Son each have a personality.
Christ declared, "I and My Father are one." Yet it was the Son of God
who came to the world in human form." Evangelism p. 614 T9 p. 68 (1909)
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for
them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be
one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in
us." These words present God and Christ
as two distinct personalities. (Notebook Leaflets, p. 124)
"On Sabbath, April 27, many of our brethren
and sisters from neighboring churches gathered in the parlors with the
sanitarium family, and I spoke to them there. I read the first chapter of
Hebrews as the basis of my discourse. This chapter clearly indicates the individual
personalities of the Father and the Son. (R&H, Aug. 1, 1907)
"In this Scripture [John 1:1-4, 14-16:
3:34-36] God and Christ are spoken of as two
distinct personalities, each acting in their own individuality. (MR
760, p. 18)
But when speaking of the Holy Spirit she appears
to interchange the use of words person and personality
"The Holy
Spirit is Christ's representative, but divested of the personality of humanity,
and independent thereof." DA p. 669
"The Holy
Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our
spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a
divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in
the mind of God. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but
the Spirit of God. [which is in Him]" Manuscript 20, 1906. Evangelism
p. 617
"The Holy Spirit is a person, for He
beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. When this
witness is borne, it carries with it its own evidence." Evangelism
p. 616;
This last quote, originally found in Manuscript
20, pages 64-69 and written in 1906, is shown below. APPENDIX F
Only a few words were changed in
the final published text.
The Holy Spirit has no personality, and has a
personality, and is a person.
If the identity of the Spirit, however, is understood to be Christ Himself, the confusion is resolved.
If the identity of the Spirit, however, is understood to be Christ Himself, the confusion is resolved.
The Holy Spirit is Christ without (divested of)
His [Christ's] human personality.
Christ is the only divine being with a human personality. Thus, the Spirit of Christ has a divine personality and is a divine person--Christ. This perspective is also consistent with the following statement regarding God's designated channel of communication with the fallen human race:
Christ is the only divine being with a human personality. Thus, the Spirit of Christ has a divine personality and is a divine person--Christ. This perspective is also consistent with the following statement regarding God's designated channel of communication with the fallen human race:
"To Adam in his innocence was granted
communion, direct, free, and happy, with his Maker. After his transgression,
God would communicate to man only through Christ and angels." Signs
of the Times, Jan. 30, 1879
“All the communion between heaven and the
fallen race has been through Christ." Patriarchs & Prophets p. 366
The Holy
Spirit is a distinct personification of
Christ, but not distinct from
Christ.
"The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, in
Christ's name. He personifies Christ, yet is
a distinct personality." 20MR p. 324.2 Taken from Manuscript
93, 1893.
“After His ascension He [Jesus] was to
be absent in person; but through the Comforter He would still be
with them, and they were not to spend their time in mourning." Desire
of Ages p. 277
“The Saviour is our Comforter. This I have
proved Him to be.” 8MR p. 49 July 16, 1892
“As by faith we look to Jesus, our faith pierces
the shadow, and we adore God for His wondrous love in giving Jesus the
Comforter.” 19MR No. 1405 Preston, Melbourne, July 26, 1892 p. 297; Sons
and Daughters of God p.124
“There is no
comforter like Christ, so tender and so true. He is touched with the
feeling of our infirmities. His Spirit speaks to the heart.” Review
and Herald Oct 26, 1897
“He
(Jesus) is coming to us by His Holy Spirit today. Let us
recognize Him now; then we shall recognize Him when He comes in the
clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” Review and Herald, April
30, 1901
"While Jesus
ministers in the sanctuary above, He is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth." Desire
of Ages p. 166
He
gives them His Holy Spirit, the manifestation
of His presence and favor.” Testimonies Vol 9, p. 230 1909
"Before the disciples could fulfill their
official duties in connection with the church, Christ breathed His Spirit
upon them." Desire of Ages p. 805
“Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all his
disciples, and give them the inspiration of his sanctifying spirit,
and transfuse the vital influence from himself to his people… Christ is to live in his human agents.”
Signs of the Times Oct 3, 1892
“The Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the only
begotten Son of God, binds the human agent, body, soul, and spirit, to the
perfect, divine-human nature of Christ." Review & Herald April
5, 1906
" 'The words that I speak are spirit and life' John 6:63. Christ is
not here referring to His doctrine, but to His person, the
divinity of His character.” 1Selected
Messages p. 249
Romans 8:9
speaks of the Father and Son as sharing the same Spirit referred to as the
Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ.
“It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells
in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is
the beginning of the life eternal.” Desire of Ages, page 388
“They are two in
individuality, yet one in spirit” Youth’s Instructor Dec 16, 1897
“What saith our Saviour? ‘I will not leave you
comfortless; I will come to you.’ ‘He that hath my commandments and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my
Father; and I will love him and will manifest
myself to him’ When trials overshadow the soul, remember the words
of Christ, remember that He is an unseen presence in the person of the Holy Spirit, and He will be the peace
and comfort given you, manifesting to you that He is with you, the Sun
of Righteousness, chasing away your darkness. 'If a man love me,' Christ said,
'he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto
him, and make our abode with him'” Letter 124, 1897 (Daughters of
God p.185), John 14:16, 18, 23 Review and Herald Sept 23, 1902
“In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself a fountain of divine
influences, to give health and life to the world.” Testimonies vol. 7,
p. 273
"That He [the Father] would grant you,
according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His
Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith." Ephesians 4:14-17
"God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into your hearts." Galatians 4:6
"For I know that this shall turn to my
salvation, through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:19
"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the
throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as
it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." Revelation 5:6 (NOTE:
The seven Spirits are organs (horns/eyes) of the Lamb)
"And unto the angel of the church in Sardis
write; These things says he that has the seven Spirits of God."
Revelation 3:1 [note: Jesus possesses the omnipresent Spirit of God]
“The reasons why the churches are weak and sickly
and ready to die is that the enemy has brought influences of a discouraging
nature to bear upon trembling souls. He has sought to shut Jesus from their
view as the Comforter” Review and Herald, August 26, 1890
“Let them study the seventeenth of John, and
learn how to pray and how to live the prayer of Christ. He is the
Comforter. He will abide in their hearts, making their joy full.” E.G.
White, Review and Herald, January 27, 1903
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is a distinct (real,
not different) personality because it is Christ himself personified, but not a
being other than Christ.
51. What
are issues in John H. Kellog's Living Temple?
But despite Ellen White's words of caution, Kellogg persisted undeterred and the Review and Herald printing house, which was printing his book, burned to the ground in December that same year.
Kellogg claimed to have had a conversion
experience in the months following this disaster. He felt that he had been
rejected because of his treatement of the Holy Spirit as a "force"
rather than a person. So he now plainly indicated that he has accepted a
belief in the trinity which others pioneers did not. Writing to
G.I.Butler, then President of the Southern Union Conference, Kellogg said,
"As far as I can fatham (sic), the
difficulty which is found in the Living Temple, the whole thing may be simmered
down to this question: is the Holy Ghost a
person? You say no." "I had supposed the Bible said this for the
reason that the personal pronoun he
is used in speaking of the Holy Ghost. Sister White uses the pronoun he and has
said in as many words that the Holy Ghost is the third person of the
Godhead." "How the Holy Ghost can
be the third person and not be a person at all is difficult for
me to see." (Letter, Kellogg to G. I. Butler, October 28, 1903)
The last statement on the quote indicates the
problem Kellogg had, he failed to understand why the Holy Spirit is not
considered by Ellen White and Others as a different person/individual separate
from the Father and the Son and yet be called “a third person” this is the same
problem that is haunting many today. Kellogg was essentially saying that the
church did not share his new conviction that the Holy Spirit was an individual
person separate from the Father and Son. Technically, he was proposing three
gods, or tritheism. He did not emphasize or insist on the typical trinitarian
"oneness." However, he felt justified in taking this position because
"Sister White uses the pronoun he" and referred to the Holy Ghost as
"the third person of the Godhead." She indeed had made such
statements 5-6 years earlier:
"…the third person of the Godhead, the
Holy Spirit." Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 10, p. 37. (1897)
Evangelism p. 617
"The Spirit was to be given as a
regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have
been of no avail...Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency
of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified
energy, but in the fullness of divine power." DA p. 671
1898
Subsequent editions of The Desire of Ages
demonstrate a capitalization of the words "Third
Person" which is further evidence of intentional efforts to legitimize
a trinitarian position.
In fact, Ellen White had originally written this
phrase two years before the initial publication of The Desire of Ages in
a letter dated February 6, 1896 from Sunnyside Cooranbong, Australia and
addressed 'To my brethren in America.' Again, no capitalization for the 'third
person.'
“Evil had been accumulating for centuries, and
could only be restrained and resisted by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, who
would come with no modified energy, but in the fulness of divine power."
The
following day A.G. Daniells, then GC president, confronted Kellogg with the
"objections" in his material:
"He [Kellogg] then stated that his former
views regarding the trinity had stood in his way of making a clear and
absolutely correct statement; but that in a short time he had come to
believe in the trinity and could now see pretty clearly where the
difficulty was, and believed that he could clear the matter up satisfactorily.
He told me that he now believed in God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; and his view was that it was God the Holy Ghost, and not God the Father, that
filled all space and every living thing. He said that if he had believed
this before writing the book, he could have expressed his views without giving
the wrong impression the book now gives.
I placed before him the objections I found in the
teaching, and tried to show him that the teaching was so utterly contrary to
the gospel that I did not see how it could be revised by changing a few
expressions." Letter: A. G. Daniells to W. C. White. Oct 29. 1903, p1.2.
Six months
later G.I Butler again attempted to convince Dr. Kellogg of his error.
"God dwells
in us by His Holy Spirit, as a Comforter, as a Reprover, especially the former.
When we come to Him, we partake of Him in that sense, because the Spirit comes
forth from him; it comes forth from the Father
and the Son" "It is not a person
walking around on foot, or flying, as a literal being, in any such sense as
Christ and the Father are--at least, if it is, it is utterly beyond my
comprehension or the meaning of language or words." (G. I Butler, letter
to J. H. Kellogg April 5th 1904)
This was the prevailing view of the Holy Spirit
among Seventh-day Adventists in the early 1900s, contrary to the now popular
revisionist teaching that Ellen White by this time had "matured" into
a full trinitarian understanding of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit at this late
date (6 years after the publication of The Desire of Ages) was still believed
to be the personal presence of the "Father and the Son" because it
comes from them both.
The
following month Ellen White commented on her dismay regarding the teachings
presented in Kellogg's The Living Temple:
"I am
so sorry that Living Temple came out as it did, and was circulated, and the
worst of it -- that which struck right
to my heart -- was the assertion made regarding the book: 'It contains the
very sentiments that Sister White has been teaching.' When I heard this, I felt so heartbroken that it seemed as if I could not
say anything. Had I said anything, I would have been obliged to speak the
truth as it was." "Living
Temple contains the Alpha of these theories. The Omega would follow in a little
while. I tremble for our people. These beautiful representations are
similar to the temptation that the enemy brought to Adam and Eve in Eden."
(Ellen G. White, Talk given on May 18th 1904, Sermons and talks, Volume
one, page 341, Manuscript 46, 1904, ‘The Foundation of our Faith’)
Kellogg
was promoting the trinity and now embraced the trinitarian
formula of "God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost." And Ellen White urged caution in this
matter.
"Our
ministers must be very careful not to enter into controversy in regard to the
personality of God. This is a subject that they are not to touch. It is a
mystery, and the enemy will surely lead astray those who enter into it. We know that Christ came in person to
reveal God to the world. God is a person and
Christ is a person. Christ is spoken of
in the Word as "the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express
image of His person." Ibid p. 343
Just two months later, Ellen White wrote "To Leading
Physicians":
"Be not deceived; many will depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines
of devils. We have now before us the alpha
of this danger. The omega will be of a most
startling nature.” (Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies Series B, No. 2
page 16, ‘To Leading Physicians’, ‘Teach the Word’ Nashville, Tennessee, July
24th 1904)
While many have debated what "the
omega" would be, in the context of the prevailing controversy over the
identity of the Holy Spirit between Dr. Kellogg and the Adventist leadership
including Ellen White, the "alpha" should be clearly recognized.
Kellogg was promoting a three person trinity and it was causing a
denominational crisis.
Kellogg's conception of the Holy Spirit remained
dramatically different from the rest of the Seventh-day Adventist leadership at
that time. He swung from God being in
everything to God being three persons
with "God the Holy Spirit" being in
everything. But bringing two more gods into the picture and confessing a
fully developed belief in the trinity did not address Daniells' objections nor
Butler's counsel.
Kellogg's error lay in making the regenerative
power of the Holy Spirit to transform our characters into the image of God,
simply an all pervasive energy field that could restore the physical body,
change gray hair back to its youthful color, and even grant men the prospect of
never dying! See General Conference Daily Bulletin 1899, pp. 53-58, 119,
120; Gilbert M. Valentine, The Shaping of Adventism (Berrien Springs,
MI: Andrews University, 1992), pp. 159-163,
To counter Kellogg's aberrant teachings, Ellen White began to emphasize the Spirit as a real
person (as Christ is a real person) to offset the temptation to view
"it" as a mystical, spiritualistic force. After the Living
Temple was finally printed, she pronounced her own critique on Dr.
Kellogg's masterpiece:
"The new theories in regard to God and
Christ as brought out in 'The Living Temple', are not in harmony
with the teaching of Christ. The Lord Jesus
came to this world to represent the Father. He did not represent God as
an essence pervading nature, but as a personal
being. Christians should bear in mind that God has a personality as verily as has Christ." Letter 212
to teachers at Emmanuel Missionary College, 1903 in SpM p. 324
"Ministers
and people are deceived by these sophistries. They lead to making God a
nonentity and Christ a nonentity. We are to rebuke these theories in
the name of the Lord." Manuscript 70, 1905 'To the delegates at the 1905
General Conference', pp. 3,4 "A Message of Warning."
This period of crisis dealing with Kellogg's Living Temple theology climaxed with the 1905 General Conference. Ellen White, now nearing age 78, having been God's messenger for over 60 years, reminded the delegates during her pre-conference address on May 16 that God had directed the "light" of their understanding in regards to "Christ, his mission and his priesthood." The faith given to them would extend until "the time when we shall enter the city of God."
"God has given me light regarding our
periodicals. What is it? -- He has said that
the dead are to speak. How? --
Their works shall follow them. We are to repeat the words of the pioneers in our work, who knew what it cost to
search for the truth as for hidden treasure, and who labored to lay the
foundation of our work. They moved forward step by step under the influence
of the Spirit of God. One by one these pioneers are passing away. The word
given me is, Let that which these men have
written in the past be reproduced.
"Let the truths that are the foundation of
our faith be kept before the people. Some will depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
"We are now to understand what the
pillars of our faith are, -- the truths that have made us as a people what
we are, leading us on step by step.
"I
would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had
been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to
labor and teach effectively. Thus light
was given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, his
mission, and his priesthood.
"During this
whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not comprehend the meaning of the
scriptures we were studying. This was one of the greatest sorrows of my
life. I was in this condition of mind until
all the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony
with the Word of God. The brethren knew
that, when not in vision, I could not understand these matters, and they
accepted, as light directly from heaven, the revelations given." EGW, Review
and Herald May 25, 1905
The
following day, in a message entitled "A Warning Against False
Theories," she counselled her listeners to keep the pillars of faith, the
landmarks that made us what we are.
"Let not any
man enter upon the work of tearing down the foundations of the truth that have
made us what we are. God has led His people forward step by step, though
there are pitfalls of error on every side. Under the wonderful guidance of a
plain "Thus saith the Lord," a truth has been established that has
stood the test of trial. When men arise and attempt to draw away disciples
after them, meet them with the truths that have been tried as by fire."
"Those
who seek to remove the old landmarks
are not holding fast; they are not
remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in
theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the
sanctuary or concerning the personality of
God or of Christ, are working as blind
men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of
God adrift without an anchor." (Manuscript Releases 760)
Certainly by this time, now 7 years after the
publication of the Desire of Ages, if Ellen White was now fully informed by God
of His triune nature, she would not recommend the reprinting of the pioneer's
words so universally anti-trinitarian. Today, the general concensus is that
these "misguided" pioneers actually taught error regarding the
Godhead, that Ellen White in her advanced years came to a "mature"
and "correct" understanding of the trinity.
Only a few months earlier, in March of 1905 she said
"We are God's commandment-keeping people. For the past fifty years [1855-1905] every
phase of heresy has been brought to bear upon us, to becloud our minds regarding
the teaching of the word,--especially concerning the ministration of Christ
in the heavenly sanctuary, and the message of heaven for these last days,
as given by the angels of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation.”
"Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord."
"Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord."
"But the way-marks which have made us
what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has
signified through His word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to
hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are
based upon unquestionable
authority." (Ellen White, Letter 95, 1905, To Dr. and Mrs. Daniel
Kress, March 14, 1905, sea also Special Testimonies Series B. No. 2 page 59)
If The Desire of Ages was really the
"continental divide", "paradigm shift" exposition of Ellen
White's new trinitarian understanding as some theologians claim to be, then why
would she maintain that for 50 years Seventh-day Adventists have preserved the
truth, the way-marks that had been established point by point by prayerful
study?
In fact,
the General Conference Yearbook for 1905
contained (the first time since 1889) a statement of fundamental beliefs.
"Seventh-day Adventists have no creed but
the Bible; but they hold to certain well-defined points of faith, for which
they feel prepared to give a reason" to every man that asketh" them.
The following propositions may be taken as a summary of the principal features
of their religious faith, upon which there is, so far as is known, entire
unanimity throughout the body.
1. That there is one God, a personal,
spiritual being, the Creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and
eternal; infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy;
unchangeable, and every where present by his representative, the Holy Spirit.
Ps. 139: 7.
2. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of the Eternal Father, the one by whom he created all thing's, and by whom
they do consist;"
If these sound familiar, it is because they are
entirely unchanged from those first published in 1874. They were reprinted
without change every subsequent year until
1914. Ellen White died in 1915. They were not printed again until 1931 when for the first time in our church history the term
"trinity" appeared.
In 1905 it was the trinitarian conversion of John
Harvey Kellogg and his need to make the "all pervasive Spirit"
acceptable to the brethren that threatened the foundations of Adventist faith.
Later she identified the satanic nature of these pillar-threatening
"theories" that rendered God and Christ as "nonentities."
"Again and again we shall be called to meet
the influence of men who are studying sciences of satanic origin, through which
Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and of Christ."
Testimonies Vol 9 p. 68, 1909.
It should be noted that she does not feature the
need to include the Holy Spirit "as a personal being" nor among those
that are made "a nonentity." This silence strongly indicates her
understanding that the Holy Spirit is not a separate person like the Father and
Son.
"You are not definitely clear on the
personality of God, which is everything to us as a people. You have
virtually destroyed the Lord God Himself." Letter 300, 1903.
"We need to realize that the Holy Spirit,
who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these
grounds." Manuscript 66, 1899. (From a talk to the students at the
Avondale School.) Evangelism p. 616 compiled
post-humously by LeRoy E. Froom.
This selectively edited excerpt when seen in its
full context demonstrates that it is "the Lord God" who knows, who
hears, who is our Keeper and Helper, who walks unseen by human eyes:
"The Lord says this because He knows it is
for our good. He would build a wall around us, to keep us from transgression,
so that His blessing and love may be bestowed on us in rich measure. This is
the reason we have established a school here. The Lord instructed us that this
was the place in which we should locate, and we have had every reason to think
that we are in the right place. We have been brought together as a school, and
we need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is
as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds, unseen
by human eyes; that the Lord God is our Keeper and Helper. He hears
every word we utter and knows every thought of the mind." EG White, Sermons
and Talks Volume Two, pp. 136, 137 Also in Manuscript Releases Vol.
7, p. 299
Even though the Lord God is unseen, He is
personally present in His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person because He is the
personal presence of Jesus Himself. The messenger didn't say "they"
she says "He". She is speaking of only one person, the Lord God,
Jesus Christ.
We may notice that the section from which this
and other quotes are take is titled "The Trinity." Just remember, the
unauthorized subheadings added to compilations such as the book Evangelism are
just one example of the direction Ellen White warned would happen:
"There will be those once united with us in
the faith who will search for new, strange doctrines, for something odd and
sensational to present to the people. They will bring in all conceivable
fallacies, and will present them as coming from Mrs. White, that they may
beguile souls." EG White, Selected Messages Book 1, p. 41
Who, then, is it that walks
unseen among us?
"Christ walks unseen through our
streets. With messages of mercy He comes to our homes. With all who are seeking
to minister in His name, He waits to co-operate. He is in the midst of us,
to heal and to bless, if we will receive Him." E. G. White, The
Ministry of Healing, p. 107
"Remember that Jesus is beside you
wherever you go, noting your actions and listening to your words. Would you
be ashamed to hear his voice speaking to you, and to know that he hears your
conversation?" EG White, The Youth's Instructor, February 4, 1897
par. 3
"The Lord Jesus standing by the side of the
canvasser, walking with them, is the chief worker. If we recognize Christ as the One who is with us to
prepare the way, the Holy Spirit by our side
will make impressions in just the lines needed." E. G. White, Colporteur
Ministry, p. 107
This is the same thought also expressed in The
Desire of Ages page 671 where the "third person of the Godhead" is
clearly identified:
"It is the Spirit that makes
effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. It is by the
Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer
becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as
a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil,
and to impress His own character upon His church."
Thus the
two positions have been presented and are contrasted thus:
Trinity-Tritheism
Christ is eternal by himself Christ is one of three divine Beings Christ is equal to the Father |
Biblical
Christ is eternal through divine inheritance Christ as the Son of God receives all authority and power from His Father Christ is equal in nature with the Father but not in position or person |
To destroy the personality of God
has to do with making the Father as a non-entity and making the Son a
non-entity, which is done through the trinity doctrine, the three in one and
one in three doctrine.
"Again and again we shall be called to meet
the influence of men who are studying sciences of satanic origin, through which
Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and of Christ."
Testimonies Vol 9 p. 68, 1909.
The mystery of God is not that there
is a three-in-one God, but that God can be a personal being yet invisibly with
us:
"That
Christ should manifest Himself to them, and yet be
invisible to the world, was a mystery to the disciples. They could
not understand the words of Christ in their spiritual sense. They were thinking
of the outward, visible manifestation. They could not take in the fact that they could
have the presence of Christ with them, and yet He be unseen by the world.
They did not understand the meaning of a spiritual manifestation." E. G.
White, The Southern Work, September 13, 1898 par. 2
Ellen White described not a Trinity but a heavenly trio of three living personalities, eternal heavenly dignitaries, the three highest powers in heaven:
"The
Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit gave themselves to the working out of the
plan of redemption." Amazing Grace 1906; Review and Herald,
May 2, 1912
"The
work is laid out before every soul that has acknowledged his faith in Jesus
Christ by baptism, and has become a receiver of the pledge from the three
persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." (MS 57, 1900
in SDABC V6 p. 1074).
"The
eternal heavenly dignitaries-God, and Christ, and the Holy
Spirit-arming them [the disciples] with more than mortal energy" Manuscript
145, 1901; Ev 616
"We
are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven-the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost-and these powers will work through us,
making us workers together with God." Special Testimonies, Series
B, No. 7, p. 51. (1905); Evangelism p. 617
"Christ
made baptism the entrance to His spiritual kingdom. He made this a positive
condition with which all must comply who wish to be acknowledged as under the
authority of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...Baptized into the
threefold name." 6SDABC p. 1075.
Things
that we need to note from these quotes are that 1) Ellen G. White does not try
to say the trio are one God as the trinitarian claims 2) she does not say that
these three are co-eternal as the trinitarian claims them to be 3) she does not
say that these three are each Gods as the trinitarian would like to claim 4)
she does not say that these three are one as the father and Son and Holy Spirit
are one God 5) she does not say that the Godhead is the trinity, as trinitarian
claims. It is however important to note what she is saying, which is biblical,
that 1) the Godhead which is the Divinity, not God
himself, is made up of God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 2)
she is saying that the Godhead is the trio, a trio is a group of three, and not
three in one 3) she calls the three living, a trio or group of three: personalities,
persons, highest powers and diginitaries in plural 4) the threefold name may be
equated to the Godhead or Divinity (Rom 1:20) (this is my opinion) 5) she
characterises these three as heavenly. 6) she identify them as eternal but not
co-eternal 7) She does not in any sense teach the trinity. She does not say the
three are in one and one in three as the trinitarins claim.
54. Did
Ellen G. White use the terms Persons and Beings
interchangeably? Did she make any distinctions?
Mrs White demonstrated a distinction between the words "person" and "being". She did not use them interchangeably. While Ellen White speaks of multiple personalities in the Godhead or Divinity, she consistently identifies only two beings: The Father and His Son. Notice the years in which these quotes were writen by her.
"The Scriptures clearly indicate the
relation between God and Christ, and they bring to view as clearly the
personality and individuality of each. [Hebrews 1:1-5 quoted] God is the
Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given
an exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the
counsels of God are opened to His Son." EGW, 8T 268.3, 1904
"The only being who was one with God
lived the law in humanity, descended to the lowly life of a common laborer, and
toiled at the carpenter's bench with his earthly parent." EGW, Signs of
the Times, October 14, 1897 par. 3
"Christ the Word, the Only Begotten of God,
was one with the eternal Father-one in nature, in character, and in purpose-the only being in all the universe that could enter
into all the counsels and purposes of God." EGW, Great Controversy
493. 1888, Patriarchs and Prophets, p.34
"There is a personal God, the Father; there is a personal
Christ, the Son."
Review & Herald, Nov. 8, 1898.
Review & Herald, Nov. 8, 1898.
"God so loved the world, that he gave his
only-begotten Son,"-- not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son
by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person,
and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in
authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In
him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Signs of the Times,
May 30, 1895
This is mentioned in Scripture:
Even he shall build the temple of the
LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and
he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between
them both. (Zec 6:13)
How
can such statements as these be consistent with a belief in the trinity?
This is blasphemy to trinitarians. And when the Spirit is identified it is the Spirit of Christ.
This is blasphemy to trinitarians. And when the Spirit is identified it is the Spirit of Christ.
"Let
them be thankful to God for His manifold mercies and be kind to one another. They have one God and one Saviour; and one
Spirit-the Spirit of Christ-is to bring unity into their ranks." EGW,
9T 189 1906
Again,
notice there is only one relationship between two beings: that of Father and
Son:
"Christ
is one with the Father, but Christ and God are two distinct personages.
Read the prayer of Christ in the seventeenth chapter of John, and you will find
this point clearly brought out.” (Ellen G. White to the delegates at the
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Takoma Park Washington D. C., May
19, 1905 in Review and Herald, June 1, 1905)
"By
the power of His love, through obedience, fallen
man, a worm of the dust, is to be transformed, fitted to be a member of the heavenly family, a companion through eternal ages of God and
Christ and the holy angels.…-Manuscript 21, Feb. 16, 1900. (The Upward
Look, page 61).
"The
Father and the Son alone are to be
exalted." Youth's Instructor, July 7, 1898, par. 2.
"The
human family cost God and his Son Jesus
Christ an infinite price." Special Testimonies On Education,
p. 21
"No man, nor even the highest angel, can
estimate the great cost; it is known only to
the Father and the Son." E. G.
White, The Bible Echo, October 28, 1895 par. 4.
Did we not cost the Spirit anything? Is this
great cost not known to the Spirit? There is only one apparent exception to
Ellen White's consistent use of persons/personalities and beings. The following was not actually written by Ellen
White, but reported by someone listening to a sermon which she gave in Oakland,
California, Sabbath afternoon, October 20, 1906:
"You are born unto God, and you stand under
the sanction and the power of the three holiest beings in heaven, who are
able to keep you from falling . . . When I feel oppressed, and hardly know how
to relate myself toward the work that God has given me to do, I just call
upon the three great Worthies, and say; You know I cannot do this work
in my own strength." 7 Manuscript Release 267.2
Even if you take this for granted and call the
three as three beings or three individuals and existing each on their own
seperately, that does not make such statements trinitarian, but rather simply
complecate her writings for those who do not want to take the weight of evidence in account.
Anyhow, for her statement to be trinitarian she would have to say that the
three are not only beings but God, and that all three make the one God. But she
does not say so. She simply identify them as beings.
The use of the term "beings" differs
from all her other published statements where she uses "persons". The
fact that this isolated comment alleged to have been made by her contradicts
her other written and published statements, makes it applicable to the
following words of caution from Ellen herself:
"And now to all who have a desire for truth
I would say: Do not give credence to unauthenticated reports as to what Sister White
has done or said or written. If you desire to know what the Lord has
revealed through her, read her published works." 5T 696.1
Note: It
is interesting that this statement of "three
holiest beings" was only revealed very recently. The date of release
is noted by the White Estate as "Released
March 16, 1976." 7MR 273.
Ellen
White emphasized the threeness of the Godhead in terms of thinking persons with
manifested personalities (not impersonal force fields). She explained the
oneness of the Godhead in terms of having the same divine nature, character,
purpose and love. But she never speaks of three in one person; she recognizes
only two beings.
Because of these changes in Ellen White's
explicit statements after 1888, some contend that an understanding of the
Godhead was a late development that matured over time into a fully orthodox
doctrine of the Trinity. But Ellen White stood firm on maintaining the original
"pillars of the faith" established in those early years after 1844.
"When
men come in who would move one pin or pillar from the foundation which God has
established by His Holy Spirit, let the aged men who were pioneers in our work
speak plainly, and let those who are dead speak also, by the reprinting of
their articles in our periodicals." EG White, Manuscript Releases Volume 1, p.
55
Ellen White's sons followed her advice and did
not change their belief in either the literal Sonship or the separate
individuality of the Spirit:
"Christ
is the only being begotten of the Father."
James Edson White, Past, Present and Future, p. 52. 1909
Her son
Willie C. White wrote as late as 1935:
"As I read the Bible, I find that the risen
Saviour breathed on the disciples 'and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost.' The conception received from this Scripture, seems to be in harmony
with the statement in 'Desire of Ages', page 669 [The Holy Spirit is Christ's
representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent
thereof.], also Gen. 1:2 [the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters];
with Luke 1:4 [that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein
thou hast been instructed]; with Acts 2:4 [and they were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak] and also 8:15 [Peter and John prayed for those in
Samaria that they might receive the Holy Spirit] and 10:44 [while Peter spoke
the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word]. Many other texts might
be referred to which seem to be in harmony with this statement in 'Desire of
Ages.'
"The statements and the arguments of some of
our ministers, in their effort to prove that
the Holy Spirit is an individual as are God the Father and Christ, the eternal
Son, have perplexed me, and sometimes
they have made me sad. One popular teacher said 'We may regard Him, as the
fellow who is down here running things.' My perplexities were lessened a little
when I learned from the dictionary that one of the meanings of personality, was characteristics. It is stated in such
a way that I concluded that there might be
personality without bodily form which is possessed by the Father and the Son.
There are many Scriptures which speak of the
Father and the Son and the absence of Scripture making similar reference to the
united work of the Father and the Holy Spirit or of Christ and the Holy Spirit,
has led me to believe that the spirit
without individuality was the representative of the Father and the Son
throughout the universe, and it was through the Holy Spirit that they dwell
in our hearts and make us one with the Father and with the Son." Letter,
W. C. White to H. W. Carr, April 30, 1935
55. What does the phrase “the Father and Son” are
ONE mean? Are they one God with two persons, or one in two and two in one? Does
God mean Father and Son combined?
The 1905 General Conference dealt with the crisis that new theology in Kellogg's Living Temple presented to the separate personalities of Christ and his Father (see Spirit Personality 3a). In that context she spoke of theories that threaten the "pillars of our faith" such as the personality of God" and making Christ "a nonentity."
"Those who
try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning
the sanctuary or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as
blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people
of God adrift without an anchor." Ellen G. White to the delegates at the
1905 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Takoma Park, Washington D.
C., May 24, 1905, "A Warning against False Theories," MR 760
"All through the Scriptures, the Father
and the Son are spoken of as two distinct personages. You will hear men
endeavoring to make the Son of God a nonentity. He and the Father are one, but
they are two personages." "Wrong sentiments regarding this are
coming in, and we shall all have to meet them." Ellen G. White to the
delegates at the 1905 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Takoma Park
Washington D. C., May 25, 1905 Review and Herald July 13, 1905, 'Lessons from
the first Epistle of John'
These statements were being made after John
Harvey Kellogg confessed his new found belief in the Trinity. Ellen White urged
the church to remain faithful to their original beliefs about the Father and
Son. Note the year in which it was writen.
"He who
denies the personality of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, is denying God and
Christ. "If that which ye have
heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the
Son, and in the Father." If you continue
to believe and obey the truths you first embraced regarding the personality of
the Father and the Son, you will be joined together with him in love.
There will be seen that union for which Christ prayed just before his trial and
crucifixion." Ellen White, Review and Herald, March 8, 1906
Ellen White's use of "denies the personality
of God and of his Son Jesus Christ" is actually borrowed from a statement
James White made nearly 50 years earlier.
"Here we might mention the Trinity, which
does away the personality of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ, and of
sprinkling or pouring instead of being " buried with Christ in baptism,"
"planted in the likeness of his death:" but we pass from these fables
to notice one that is held sacred by nearly all professed Christians, both
Catholic and Protestant [the Sabbath]." James White, Review and Herald,
December 11, 1855
This was the conviction of many early Adventist
pioneers. The Trinity was viewed as directly contradicting the distinct
personhood of the Father and Son. The consubstantial, indivisible mystical
three-faced concept of the orthodox Trinitarians rendered the Godhead but an
amorphous, inconceivable Deity without form.
"The doctrine of the Trinity which was
established in the church by the council of Nice A. D. 325. This doctrine
destroys the personality of God and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. The
infamous, measures by which it was forced upon the church which appear upon the
pages of ecclesiastical history might well cause every believer in that
doctrine to blush." (J. N. Andrews, Review and Herald, March 6th 1855,
'The Fall of Babylon')
"It is not very consonant with common sense
to talk of three being one, and one being three. Or as some express it, calling
God "the Triune God," or "the three-one-God"."
"If Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are each God, it would be three Gods; for three times one is not one, but three. There is a sense in which they are one, but not
one person, as claimed by Trinitarians. It is contrary to Scripture. Almost
any portion of the New Testament we may open which has occasion to speak of the
Father and Son, represents them as two distinct persons." John
Loughborough, Review and Herald, November 5, 1861
"That God is an infinite and eternal Spirit,
without person, body, shape, or parts; is everywhere and nowhere present; or,
is everywhere as a Spirit, and nowhere as a tangible being. I ask, Is not this
making God almost a mere nothing?" "That Jesus Christ is God himself;
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are one identical being; hence in describing
one, we describe the other. Certainly this is doing no better by the Son than
by the Father." "Is this not spiritualizing away God, Christ, angels,
saints, and Heaven?" A. C. Bourdeau, Review and Herald, June 8, 1869
56. How was the Formation of the Heavenly Trio
happened?
The Father is Spirit. He is eternal. His Spirit
is eternal (John 4:24; Heb 9:14).
His Spirit is life (His Spirit gives us life- Job 33:4; John 6:63) As the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in himself (John 5:26) The Father has given all things to His Son (Matt 11:27; 28:18; John 3:35; Heb 1:2; 1Cor 15:24,27) The Father's life dwells within His Son (John 6:57; 14:10) The Father begets the Son (both have the same divine Spirit, from the Father to the Son). They are one. God and the Son of God are a heavenly duo.
His Spirit is life (His Spirit gives us life- Job 33:4; John 6:63) As the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in himself (John 5:26) The Father has given all things to His Son (Matt 11:27; 28:18; John 3:35; Heb 1:2; 1Cor 15:24,27) The Father's life dwells within His Son (John 6:57; 14:10) The Father begets the Son (both have the same divine Spirit, from the Father to the Son). They are one. God and the Son of God are a heavenly duo.
In order to save us from sin and restore in us
the image of God, God must both take upon himself the consequences of sin
(eternal death and separation)
and remove sin from our lives so we can live in His presence. So...The Son lays aside his divine immortal-omnipotent-omnipresent life (the form of God - Phil 2:6)
but keeps his holy "mind of Christ" (Phil 2:5) which is one with his Father
and empties Himself (Phil 2:7) to become flesh (John 1:14), in order to live and die for us.
and remove sin from our lives so we can live in His presence. So...The Son lays aside his divine immortal-omnipotent-omnipresent life (the form of God - Phil 2:6)
but keeps his holy "mind of Christ" (Phil 2:5) which is one with his Father
and empties Himself (Phil 2:7) to become flesh (John 1:14), in order to live and die for us.
The Son sacrifices his purely divine form in
order to become one with fallen humanity. The Son's sacrifice was made
"before the foundation of the world" Eph 1:4 & Rev 13:8. But in
the fullness of time (Gal 4:4) The Son of God becomes a unique human being, the
Son of man. The Family in heaven (Eph 3:14,15) now has a new person who never
existed before. The Son becomes the third "person" of the heavenly
trio.
The Spirit (power of the most High - Luke 1:35)
comes upon Mary and conceives Jesus. Son retains his original
mind/character/soul (psuche life) and now a human (bios) life. Son receives the
Spirit from the Father (without measure).
The indwelling of his Father's Spirit is how he could live a perfect life without sin.
The indwelling of Christ's Spirit is how we can overcome sin as Jesus overcame.
Father is in the Son (Father's Spirit, omnipotence, omniscience)
Father speaks (omniscience), and works (omnipotence) through the Son (Matt 10:20, Acts 2:22) Son performs mighty miracles by power (omnipotence) of the Father's Spirit (Acts 2:22) Son offers his holy, sinless Spirit (commends it into his Father's hands) on the cross (Luke 23:46) Son pours out his soul (psuche) unto death. Without the Spirit, the Son dies (human bios life) Son sacrifices his purely divine form irrevocably, an eternal sacrifice for us.
The indwelling of his Father's Spirit is how he could live a perfect life without sin.
The indwelling of Christ's Spirit is how we can overcome sin as Jesus overcame.
Father is in the Son (Father's Spirit, omnipotence, omniscience)
Father speaks (omniscience), and works (omnipotence) through the Son (Matt 10:20, Acts 2:22) Son performs mighty miracles by power (omnipotence) of the Father's Spirit (Acts 2:22) Son offers his holy, sinless Spirit (commends it into his Father's hands) on the cross (Luke 23:46) Son pours out his soul (psuche) unto death. Without the Spirit, the Son dies (human bios life) Son sacrifices his purely divine form irrevocably, an eternal sacrifice for us.
Father raises his Son giving back his immortal (zoe)
life (Gal 1:1; Acts 13:37)
and divine powers (Matt 28:18) Son ascends to the Heavenly Sanctuary to pray for the Gift of his divine soul (psuche life - Acts 2:32,33) This is represented by the living bird of Leviticus 14:4-8. Two birds are presented in the sacrifice for the cleansing of leprosy, the symbol of sin. One bird is slain and one bird is set free to live on. The Son (slain bird) brings his blood, that the soul of his life, the living bird, may be given to us. Father sends the Son's divine Self, his soul/character, the Spirit of His Son to dwell in us (Gal 4:6).
and divine powers (Matt 28:18) Son ascends to the Heavenly Sanctuary to pray for the Gift of his divine soul (psuche life - Acts 2:32,33) This is represented by the living bird of Leviticus 14:4-8. Two birds are presented in the sacrifice for the cleansing of leprosy, the symbol of sin. One bird is slain and one bird is set free to live on. The Son (slain bird) brings his blood, that the soul of his life, the living bird, may be given to us. Father sends the Son's divine Self, his soul/character, the Spirit of His Son to dwell in us (Gal 4:6).
The original Holy Spirit-living bird life of
Christ bearing his blood is set free.
His Spirit, the Comforter, is Christ's soul (psuche life), the mind of Christ, dwelling in us. Father and Son come and abide in us through in Spirit form (omnipresence of Christ and God - John 14:23) Son's Spirit empowers us to overcome sin (omnipotence of Christ) Because only the Son has been touched with the feeling of our infirmaties (Heb 4:15) Son will be re-united with his Spirit in us at the marriage supper of the Lamb."They have one God and one Saviour, and one Spirit--the Spirit of Christ" 9T p. 189, The Son returns to receive us unto himself and give us his eternal life (zoe immortality) Christ who is "our life" appears and we "also appear with him in glory" Col. 3:4, Lamb forever divested of his original divine self is made whole in his Bride. Lamb again has omnipotence (7 horns), omniscience (7 eyes - Rev 5:6). Bride has the omnipresence of his Spirit in them.
Lamb and the Bride are one flesh, and sit together on the throne. (Rev 3:21)
Father and Son (God and the Lamb) are restored to the original heavenly duo.
But now, Christ has brought "many sons into glory" with him.
His Spirit, the Comforter, is Christ's soul (psuche life), the mind of Christ, dwelling in us. Father and Son come and abide in us through in Spirit form (omnipresence of Christ and God - John 14:23) Son's Spirit empowers us to overcome sin (omnipotence of Christ) Because only the Son has been touched with the feeling of our infirmaties (Heb 4:15) Son will be re-united with his Spirit in us at the marriage supper of the Lamb."They have one God and one Saviour, and one Spirit--the Spirit of Christ" 9T p. 189, The Son returns to receive us unto himself and give us his eternal life (zoe immortality) Christ who is "our life" appears and we "also appear with him in glory" Col. 3:4, Lamb forever divested of his original divine self is made whole in his Bride. Lamb again has omnipotence (7 horns), omniscience (7 eyes - Rev 5:6). Bride has the omnipresence of his Spirit in them.
Lamb and the Bride are one flesh, and sit together on the throne. (Rev 3:21)
Father and Son (God and the Lamb) are restored to the original heavenly duo.
But now, Christ has brought "many sons into glory" with him.
57. What
was the Eternal Sacrifice of the Everlasting Covenant?
Christ was born twice:
1. Once in eternity, coming forth from the Father as the Son of God, and
2. At the incarnation when he was born in human flesh as the Son of man
So also Christ died twice:
1. Once at the incarnation (when?) when he died to his former purely divine existence, laying aside his own personal Holy Spirit life into the hands of his Father;
2. and again on the cross when he accepted the cup of eternal separation from his original purely divine existence, a second death from which there was no return. (Heb 9:14, Rev 13:8, Eph 1:4, Zech 6:12,13).
The Trinity doctrine only acknowledges a single
atonement: Christ's death on the cross. There
is no appreciation of the sacrifice made before the foundation of the world
when Christ laid aside his Holy Spirit life, so that the Word could become
flesh, God with us, and then make his second sacrifice, to die for us.
58. What
was the significance of The Two Birds?
Leviticus 14 describes the offering for the cleansing of Leprosy, the symbol of sin. It involves two birds. Christ indeed died on the cross to atone for our sins, but he lived a perfect life through the indwelling of his Father's Spirit to overcome sin "to condemn sin in the flesh" (Rom 8:3) that we may be cleansed by his blood sacrificed for us as typified by the slain bird of Leviticus 14.
Jesus returned to heaven to present his blood
(life) "who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God"
his Father (Heb 9:14, Rev 13:8, Eph 1:4, Zech 6:12,13). It was only through
the indwelling of his Father's eternal Spirit that Jesus could live a life "without spot" This spotless life he offered to God
his Father, so that the Father can give it to us.
This is typified by dipping the live bird in the
blood of the slain bird. The living bird is then set free, bearing the blood, the
life of the slain bird. So also, the Spirit life powers which Christ agreed to
lay aside in the counsel of peace (Zech 6:12,13). while his Spirit life mind
learned obedience by depending on the power of his Father (Heb 5:8,9) he commended again into the hand of his Father at
his death on the cross, and was then sent from the Father bearing the
overcoming life, the character and soul, of the Lamb, empowered (the Lamb's 7
horns) and enabled (the Lamb's 7 eyes) to "transform" our minds, and
cleanse our soul temples
because the Father "has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" Gal 4:6.
because the Father "has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" Gal 4:6.
"In the twelfth chapter of Romans we read,
'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.' Much is comprehended in this." E.G.
White, Review and Herald, 01-07-1902, par. 2.
Jesus presented himself a living sacrifice.
Before his death on the cross, before his coming to this world, he gave up his
divine body for us. His sacrifice began in heaven long before his death.
"Here the apostle beseeches us to reach the
high standard that it is possible to attain. Christ made it possible when He
laid aside His royal robes, His royal crown, stepped down from His royal
throne, clothed His divinity with humanity that humanity might touch humanity.
He could not with His glory and majesty take His position among men." Ibid.
Jesus made our redemption possible when he laid
aside his royalty: robes, crown and throne, so that he could be clothed with
humanity and take his position among men. He laid aside his omnipresence,
omniscience, and omnipotence.
"The glory must be laid aside.
He must take the rude garments of humanity that He might be afflicted with all
the afflictions of humanity, that He might understand their temptations.
He would become a faithful judge of how much they had to contend with in the
conflict with satanic agencies. Through this experience Christ was enabled
to give power to His people, for to 'as many as received Him, to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His
name.' See where our power is. It is not in ourselves." Ibid.
Jesus volunteered to lay aside his glory. But it
was necessary in order to save us. God had to become one of us in order to “understand”
and experience the human condition. This experience enabled him to give power
to us so that we might become sons of God. The power that he gives is his very
own life, his Spirit, his soul.
"The Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual
life in the soul. The impartation of the
Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues
the receiver with the attributes of Christ. Only those who are thus
taught of God, those who possess the inward working of the Spirit, and in whose
life the Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as representative men,
to minister in behalf of the church." Desire of Ages, p. 805.
"Christ gives them the breath of His own
Spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth
its highest energies to work in the heart and mind." Desire of Ages, 827.
"Christ declared that after his ascension,
he would send to his church, as his crowning gift, the Comforter, who
was to take his place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul
of his life, the efficacy of his church, the light and life of the world. With
his Spirit Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes
away [cleanses] sin. In the gift of the
Spirit [the soul of his life], Jesus gave to man the highest good that
heaven could bestow." E.G. White, Review and Herald, May 19,
1904, vol. 5, p. 42.
Jesus overcame sin in human flesh (Rom 8:3). He
"learned obedience by the things that he suffered" (Heb 5:8). He was
"in all points tempted like as we are" so that he can give us
"mercy and grace to help in time of need" Heb 4:15,16. He gives us
his life, his Holy Spirit, because only he knows how to live a perfect life as
a human being.
"The Spirit was given as a
regenerating [cleansing] agency, and without this the sacrifice of Christ
would have been of no avail." Ibid.
Jesus' death on
the cross was not enough; he must also give
up his divine life, and give it to us, to dwell in us, to transform our
minds, to change us into his image. Without receiving this power from him, we
can never become the sons of God. His death on Calvary would have been of no
avail, of no benefit to us. It was, however, the manifestation of God's love
that secured forever the affections of all heavenly beings who had never
sinned. But we, sinners, need more.
"It is by the Spirit that the heart is made
pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the
divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power to overcome
all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress his own
character upon the church." Ibid. (Desire of Ages p. 671)
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
Jesus cleansed the temple in Jerusalem twice.
Only he could restore it. He demonstrated a clean temple within his own human
body; and he will demonstrate a clean temple within his people "that he
might present it [the church he loved] to himself a glorious church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish." Eph 5:27.
Only Christ can cleanse our temples. While he is
still cumbered with our humanity in heaven serving before his Father, the
"one God" as the "one Mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus" 1Tim 2:5, he is also dwelling in us "in the person of
his Holy Spirit" to be the Source of our power to overcome sin.
"Christ is the source of every right
impulse. He is the only one who can arouse in the natural heart, enmity against
sin. He is the source of our power if we would be saved." E.G.
White, Review and Herald, April 1, 1890.
"The prince of the power of evil can only
be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the
Godhead, the Holy Spirit.--E.G. White, Evangelism, p. 617.
His first "death" is like our "dying" to sin. It was dying to a way of life. He gave
up his omnipresence, his omnipotence, his omniscience to become a man.
"Cumbered with humanity" he no longer had these attributes of
divinity. He gave these powers, his former way of life, into the hands of his
Father for safe keeping. He "laid down" his life as a commandment
which he received from his Father (John 10).
And like our first death, he could have returned
to his first life. But like the Hebrew slave, he found a wife and children, and
chose to be a slave forever. To save us from sin, the wages of which is eternal
death, Christ forfeited his Spirit life forever. Jesus said the Comforter that
his Father would give will "abide with you forever" John 14:16 His
sacrifice is an eternal sacrifice. He will forever remain the Lamb of God.
Since divinity cannot die, the Son of God became the Son of man in order to
die. He didn't just die for three days after living 33½ years as a human being.
Being dead for only three days in a tomb was not the penalty for sin. He chose to forever die to his first life as
Michael the Archangel, the purely divine Son of God uncumbered by the
limitations of humanity.
He was able to die for us because of what
he was: the human Son of man;
He made an infinite sacrifice because of who he was: the divine Son of God.
He made an infinite sacrifice because of who he was: the divine Son of God.
He then later was able to give this life, the
breath of his soul, to us.
In the upper room after his resurrection, he breathed on the disciples his own Holy Spirit. This is the fulfillment of the New Covenant which is tied inseparably to the Everlasting Covenant and the Ten Commandment Law of God. As Christ wrote the Ten Commandment Law with his own finger of tables of stone, So he writes his law, his character on the tables of our hearts with his own finger, and the finger of God is the Spirit of God. 2Cor 3:3 We are the epistle of Christ, written with the Spirit of the living God. 2Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit.
In the upper room after his resurrection, he breathed on the disciples his own Holy Spirit. This is the fulfillment of the New Covenant which is tied inseparably to the Everlasting Covenant and the Ten Commandment Law of God. As Christ wrote the Ten Commandment Law with his own finger of tables of stone, So he writes his law, his character on the tables of our hearts with his own finger, and the finger of God is the Spirit of God. 2Cor 3:3 We are the epistle of Christ, written with the Spirit of the living God. 2Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit.
Scripture and inspiration clearly identify who the
Holy Spirit, the Comforter is.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:23 My Father (and I) we will come and make our abode with you.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:23 My Father (and I) we will come and make our abode with you.
The issue at the end will be over worship. To
misidentify the Holy Spirit, the life and soul of Christ, as someone different
from Christ is to worship another god, different from the Son of God. Satan's
aspiration is to be worshiped as God. Isa 14. He tried to get Christ to bow and
worship before him in his third and final temptation.
The last church, Laodicea, cannot see its condition. It is blind and poor and naked. Satan, "the god of this world, has blinded the minds of them which believe not" 2Cor 4:4 He has transformed himself into an angel of light (2Cor 11:14), a heavenly imposter, masquerading as another third person of the Godhead, so that "he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2Thes 2:4 "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in you?" 1Cor 6:19.
The last church, Laodicea, cannot see its condition. It is blind and poor and naked. Satan, "the god of this world, has blinded the minds of them which believe not" 2Cor 4:4 He has transformed himself into an angel of light (2Cor 11:14), a heavenly imposter, masquerading as another third person of the Godhead, so that "he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2Thes 2:4 "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in you?" 1Cor 6:19.
When we open the door of our heart, we must be
extremely careful. Do we know who it is we are inviting in? Jesus says he
stands at the door and knocks.
If we open the door for him, Jesus says he will come in. Rev 3:20
Jesus said he would not leave us comfortless orphans, "I will come to you" John 14:18.
If we open the door for him, Jesus says he will come in. Rev 3:20
Jesus said he would not leave us comfortless orphans, "I will come to you" John 14:18.
Thank you!
Ev. Saganga Kapaya
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