Let’s now look at some passages which clearly show that Jesus Christ was and is a man, the greatest man who ever lived.
Old Testament statements
Before looking at some verses from the Old Testament, we should note II Timothy 3:15:
“And from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
When Timothy was a child, the New Testament had not yet been written. So without even reading the New Testament, the message of the Old Testament is clear and concise and is able to make us wise unto salvation. The reason is that God’s plan of salvation was in place from the beginning, and the scriptures have a uniform message concerning it from start to finish.
When we look at the Old Testament, we find no statement of the trinity. Where are the verses clearly explaining to the nation of Israel, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and others of the godhead as a trinity? What we read is:
“Hear, 0 Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD” (Deut. 6:4).
Is it possible that Timothy was able to become wise unto salvation without knowledge of the doctrine of the trinity? The Jews, who use only the Old Testament, do not believe in the trinity and who can blame them? There is no teaching in the Old Testament that can be advanced to support the doctrine of the trinity.
The coming Messiah a human being
Consider these prophecies about the Messiah. Moses prophesied of Jesus:
“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me” (Deut. 18:15).
These words are applied to Jesus in Acts 3:22 and 7:37. Do you believe Moses understood this coming prophet to be a co-equal with God or did he expect the prophet would be a man when he said “of thy brethren, like unto me?”
King David was told the following:
“And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men” (II Sam. 7:12-14).
Do you believe David understood Jesus to be God when he was told that the seed would proceed out of his lineage? Do you honestly believe that David understood the trinity? David certainly understood, as Christadelphians do, that Jesus was born in the flesh, not incarnated. We read:
“Therefore being a prophet [David], and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne” (Acts. 2:30).
The child born was indeed David’s descendant, born of Mary according to the flesh. The opening verse of the New Testament confirms that Jesus was the son of David:
“The book of the generation [genealogy] of Jesus Christ, the sea of David, the son of Abraham.”
If Christ was the co-equal of God from eternity, how could he possibly be the son of David and Abraham?
Descriptions of Jesus’ conception
We believe that Jesus first existed in Mary’s womb, as the scripture states:
“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great. and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:31-32).
The angel says that Jesus “shall be great” and “he shall be called.” If Jesus pre-existed would he not have been great as co-creator? Would he not already have been called the Son of God or “God the Son” (remember that the term “God the Son” is not found in scripture)? The Bible description is clear. Jesus was conceived in Mary; the Holy Spirit, or power of God, was involved in the fertilization of Mary’s womb.
“The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
“When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman” (Gal. 4:4).
Being “made of a woman” does not read as if the person was incarnated into Mary’s womb and carried there for nine months.
Jesus had to grow in knowledge
If Jesus was incarnated from God to man in Mary’s womb, he should have retained his knowledge, but he did not. He should also have retained favor with his previous co-equal, but he did not.
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
The theory of the trinity falls apart when we read this passage, as it refutes the idea of a co-equal, co-eternal son. Can you imagine “God the Son” losing all his previous knowledge and having to learn it all over again? Can you understand “God the Son” losing favor with God the Father at birth? The above passage only makes sense when we understand Jesus to be born a human being who had to learn and gain favor with God. He certainly was not like any ordinary man, because he had special aptitudes from his Father including his ability to rapidly learn and understand God’s ways. This was demonstrated when he was 12 years old at the temple in Jerusalem. But, like all men, he had to learn.
Even though he learned at a rapid rate, there were some things he never did know until he was at the Father’s right hand such as when he would return to the earth as noted in Mk 13:32.
“Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
And consider what he says about his teaching:
“My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me” (John 7:16).
Why would he ever have said this if he had been co-equal with God the Father from eternity? If he were part of the trinity, the doctrine he taught on earth would surely have been what he originated before coming to earth. But he clearly disclaims being the originator of his own teaching!
Jesus completely dependent on God
Jesus looked to the Father for direction in everything that he did. Any teaching he set forth, any principles he explained, all came from his Father; none of it was from the imagination of his own heart.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things so ever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19).
This had to be the case because, just like every human being, Jesus could not rely on any inherent goodness to guide his steps. Consider his response to a rich young ruler who tried to praise Jesus:
“Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied: “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:17-18).
According to the doctrine of the trinity, what is Jesus trying to say? Do you think that the rich young ruler understood Jesus, the man standing in front of him, was God? Jesus was telling the rich young ruler that all goodness comes from God, and any goodness any man has, including himself, originates from God.
When Jesus was coming to the moment of his betrayal, he prayed to the Father:
“0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39).
When I examine the above verse, I can’t possibly imagine “God the Son,” allegedly co-equal with an identical will to that of the Father, going on to possess a different will once he was incarnated into a man.
Jesus has the same God as we do
Likewise, while Jesus was on the cross in tremendous agony, if he were God, how could he possibly say:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Mk. 15:34)?
Obviously, Jesus was a human being crying out to his God. As he said to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection:
“I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God. and your God” (John 20:17).
This was after his resurrection and makes it perfectly clear that he is not part of a triune godhead. Our God is the same as his God. Also consider the words spoken to Christ after his ascension to heaven:
“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Heb. 1:9 citing Psa. 45:7).
Jesus Christ has a God, the same God we have. This passage is also
clear that he is a glorified human being having been exalted over every other human being.
Jesus’ salvation was not automatic
Why has Jesus been exalted? Because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Later in Hebrews, we read that Jesus was not saved because of his status; he was not saved just to complete the plan that was originated in heaven by God; Christ’s salvation was not automatic. Jesus had to gain salvation by his obedience to the Father:
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Heb. 5:7-8 RSV).
God cannot be tempted with evil as recorded in James 1:13, but Christ was. He was tempted in all points like we are:
“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted. ..[he] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15-16).
In his temptations, he developed in wisdom, stature and character. And because he proved to love righteousness, “therefore” God anointed him and exalted him above all others.
Jesus is now a human being
Even though Jesus has been glorified and now sits at the right hand of God, he is still termed a man. He is a glorified human being, which is something that we all look forward to becoming.
He is pleased to call his followers “brethren” because he, too, is of the human race:
“For both he that sanctifieth [Jesus] and they who are sanctified [believers] are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb. 2:11).
Again we are told:
“We are the children of God: And, if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:16,17).
In referring to Christ in his great work on behalf of mankind, Paul says this to Timothy:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5).
You told me that Jesus is both man and God in heaven. How is that possible? What does it mean? It does not make any sense in the above verse. God is not the author of confusion. Surely, the Bible is clear that Jesus is now a glorified human being. Yes, the word “God” is sometimes applied to him, but we have already seen the Bible language in that regard (see Tidings 12/94).
You also told me that Jesus is again co-equal with the Father in heaven. If he is, why is God still the head of Christ?
“The head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (I Cor. 11:3).
And why is Christ still receiving instruction from the Father as we read in the opening verse of Revelation?
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Rev. 1:1).
Even at the end of the future Millennial age, Christ will be subject unto the Father:
“And when all things shall be subdued unto him [Jesus], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [God! that put all things under him [Jesus!, that God may be all in all” (I Cor. 15:28).
The trinity is of human invention
It is not satisfactory to me to say that the complexity of the doctrine of the trinity is a mystery and therefore we should not try to understand the Bible. Christadelphians are confident that the doctrine of the trinity is foreign to the scriptures and that verses have been taken out of context to try to justify a false doctrine.
We wanted to know why this was done. Since the terms “trinity” and “God the Son” are not biblical, we also wanted to know when and where the doctrine began to appear in early Christian writing. A study of early Christian writings have given us the answers. Here is a summary of what was found.
A.D. 120 The Apostle’s Creed says, “I believe in God the Father Almighty.”
A.D. 150 Justin Martyr begins to corrupt Christianity with the philosophy of the Greeks.
A.D. 170 The word “Trias” first appears in Christian literature.
A.D. 200 The word “Trinitas” is first used by Tertullian.
A.D. 260 Sabellius teaches: Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three names for the same God.
A.D. 300 No trinitarian forms of prayer yet known to the church.
A.D. 310 Lactantius (orthodox teacher) writes: “Christ never calls himself God.”
A.D. 325 The Nicene council agrees to call Christ, “God of God, the God of very God.” ‘
A.D. 350 Great conflicts in the church concerning the doctrine of the trinity.
A.D. 381 The Council of Constantinople gives the finishing touch to the doctrine of “three persons in one God.”
A.D. 383 The Emperor Theodosius threatens to punish all who will not believe in and worship the trinity.
A.D. 519 The Doxology is ordered to be sung in all the churches.
A.D. 669 The Clergy commanded to commit to memory the Athanasian Creed incorporating the doctrine of the trinity.
A.D. 826 Bishop Basil orders the clergy to repeat this creed every Sunday.
The Encyclopedia Britannica backs up this outline concerning the development of the trinity:
“The propositions constitutive of the dogma of the trinity were not drawn directly from the New Testament, and could not be expressed in New Testament terms. They were products of reason speculating on a revelation to faith…They were only formed through centuries of effort, only elaborated by the aid of the conceptions and formulated in the terms of Greek and Roman metaphysics.”
In other words, the multiplicity of Greek and Roman gods that was so appealing to the people, was working its way into Christianity in order to convert the heathen.
Thus we can see the development of the doctrine of the trinity from New Testament times where Christ quoted, “Hear, 0 Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord,” to the perversion of the present-day doctrine of the trinity.
Christadelphians believe that the apostle Paul’s warning was fulfilled with the doctrine of the trinity as is written in II Timothy 4:3,4:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
I would like to hear from you again and discuss this matter at your convenience. My name and address:
Joe Cooper,
Box 60, RR #1,
Little Current, ONT, Canada POP 1K0
(705)368-3445.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One