(The rapid distortion of the apostle’s doctrine in the early years of Christianity is a continuing testimony to how quickly the Truth can be lost. In the following comments, Bro. Phillips reviews some of the highlight points regarding the departure from true teaching about God.)
God’s manifesting Himself in Christ is an intriguing area of Bible study. In trying to understand the subject, many people have ventured down a wrong path concerning the unity of the Father and the Son. Following is a consideration of how a major part of Christianity changed from worshiping the monotheistic deity to worshiping a polytheism of gods.
Rapid change
In less than two hundred years from the New Testament era, trinitarianism had replaced monotheism as the dominant concept of God in Christian circles.
There were two bishops who were key personalities in this issue: Theophilos, bishop of Antioch who died in 181 A.D. and Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea who died in 340 A.D.
Theophilos coined the term “trinity” when he taught that God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit shared a trinity of attributes. Later, other bishops boldly announced that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were of equal power and authority within a Godhead.
By the year 300 A.D., this concept had assumed credibility in the minds of many church leaders. In 311 A.D., Eusebius (religious mentor of Emperor Constantine) persuaded the Emperor to convene a council of bishops at the city of Nicaea for the purpose of unifying Christianity under one creed which was to become the official religion of the empire. The Nicene Creed finally emerged in 325 A.D. to fill that requirement.
The Nicene Creed
This reads as follows: “We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God…Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence he cometh to judge the quick and the dead” (History of the Christian Church, Vol. III, pp. 668-669).
The proponents of the creed relied most heavily upon Philippians 2:6-8 for their conviction. They interpreted the passage much like we see reflected in the KJV translation: “[Jesus] being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Versions such as the Emphatic Diaglott are far more faithful to the sense of the passage: “[Jesus] though being in God’s form, yet did not meditate a usurpation to be like God, but divested himself, taking a bondman’s form, having been made in the likeness of men; and being in condition as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Opposition to the creed
Those bishops opposing the creed endorsed the Theophilos’ view concerning “A unity of attributes.” The many verses linking Jesus with the Father were understood in the light of that bishop’s conviction. For example, passages such as John 6:62; 14:9 and 17:5,25 were understood to be referring to Jesus’ spiritual unity with the Father.
The Christadelphian view
Our faith defines God monotheistically as expressed in I Tim. 6:16; Isa. 45:5, etc. We believe the Holy Spirit is God’s power, the Son was conceived in the womb of Mary by the power of God and that the Father is the one described in verses such as I Timothy 6:16: “God only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting.”
The logos
Since we stand apart from so many on this issue, we should be ready to give an account of our faith regarding our monotheistic concept of the Deity.
Today, the passage most likely to be quoted in defense of trinitarian belief is John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word (Greek, Logos, plan, thinking, purpose), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The background to this verse is found in Proverbs 8 where the word “wisdom” is equivalent to logos, referring to the purpose and thinking of God.
“I wisdom dwell with prudence…I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth…when he prepared the heavens, I was there…then I was by him (God), as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him” (Prov. 8:12-35).
This same creative wisdom was later manifested in a human being, Jesus Christ the Son of God. The purpose of God “was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (I Tim. 3:16).
In summary
The Almighty Deity is the one, the only true God, creator and sustainer of all things. The expression of His inner thoughts and purpose is referred to by the terms “wisdom” and “word.” His purpose, revealed in scripture, is fully revealed through and is centered in Christ and his redemptive work. The Lord Jesus gave himself wholly to this purpose and was a willing vehicle for the proclamation of the revelation of God. He could truly say, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). At the same time, it was true that “My Father is greater than I” and he could fully acknowledge, “I can of myself do nothing” (John 14:28; 5:19).
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