Heretical Attacks On The Doctrine Of The Trinity

Heretical Claims Against the Trinity

Extended to us in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you and praise you for him. We thank you for granting us faith by the work of your Holy Spirit in us. We thank you for your continuing work of sanctification in us by your spirit.

And Lord, we pray that this morning, as we discuss various things that you would bless us, that you would strengthen us, that you would cause us to engage our minds and to think about what you have given us, what you granted us and what you have called us to defend even in Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

Well, before we get started, just a couple of things. First of all, if I can get Gary to hand out some work here and Tom, you know, funerals are interesting in a number of respects. You know, some of the things I was thinking about, you know, what have I learned from pastor Mike over the years when you, when you're conducting a funeral, be nice, um, preach the gospel, be nice, but you know, not to, not to wrangle over little things and to make sure that ultimately I want to speak last because I want to correct anything that goes wrong or anything like that.

And, you know, in talking to the funeral director, he said, uh, he said, well, what about music and knowing that nobody there was probably going to sing or anything like that? And I thought, well, I don't know how many solos I want to do.

So he said, well, a lot of people around here like Alan Jackson, amazing grace. And I go, I listened to it for a minute and I go, ah, it's okay. We'll, we'll close with that. And we just had background music in the beginning, whatever.

And then, um, we did the funeral and, you know, we got to the end and playing amazing grace, people started singing. Well, that was kind of cool. It was fun, but more encouraging was later that afternoon.

Um, Janet's nephew said, I mean, he's, as far as I know at this point, still, and I believe, but he said, uh, he goes, one thing I learned today, he said is if somebody is talking to me about anything and they're not talking about Jesus, they're lying.

And I'm going, well, that's pretty good. I like that. I'll take that. Um, Jesus is the truth. And we talked about that a bit. It was a, it was a good time, you know, in the sense that people need to hear the gospel.

Uh, it was encouraging in a number of ways. Um, it was hard and there were a lot of family issues still going on. So, but that's, that's pretty much normal, but it was, it was a blessing to be there. Janet's going to be in Iowa for a few more days.

Um, speaking of Iowa and all that, I don't know how many of you saw that there were tornadoes in the Midwest over the last few days. Um, you may have seen some of the pictures out of Omaha. And so I just asked Pat, Abendroth.

I said, well, you know, everybody okay back there. And he said, two people at the houses or people, two people at the church lost their houses. And he sent me one picture and all it shows is this house completely wiped out except for the front door, the front door standing there and everything else is just.

Gone.

And you just go, so, um, you can pray for, for those folks. Last night there was a tornado watch, uh, near where Janet was, but as far as I know, she didn't get blown away. So, um, but a lot, a lot of, a lot of weather back there right now.

The Trinity Does Not Change at the Incarnation

Anyway, so I thought, you know, in light of giving a, a hope for the answer that's within us, um, I might just, and what Steve Meister taught last week on the, on the Trinity and the things that we've done in the Trinity, I thought, can you refute the heretic?

And I pulled up some, I'll give you the sources for these later, because I think it's kind of interesting the people who attack the Trinity. But if you look at number one, the Trinity changes, right? If God doesn't change, when we think about the Trinity and the incarnation, what happens at the incarnation?

According to this person, the Trinity changes, because now God has entered into his creation. That's different. So what would you say to somebody who said that? The Trinity changes at the incarnation because God enters into the universe.

Well, the second part of that is true, right? Jesus Christ, the second person in the Trinity, the God-man enters into his creation. But what about the first part?

Is it true?

That the Trinity changes?

I have a yes.

I have a, can I have an extra copy? Are there any more quizzes hanging around?

Does the Trinity change?

I hear a resounding no. Somebody's getting ready to charge me. Jesus takes on human nature, true, but does that change the nature of God?

No.

Let's, let's turn for a moment to Acts chapter three. Acts chapter three. I mean, if we just think about this, Jesus is one person with two natures, true or false?

That's true.

One person, two natures. He has a divine nature and a human nature, but Jesus is still one person. Acts chapter three, verses 13 to 16. And this is Peter preaching. If you remember the setting, Peter and John have gone to the temple to worship, most likely a weekday prayer service.

And the man who was lame and outside of the temple is there begging and they heal him. And then they go into the temple and start preaching. So Peter in verse 13, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Bringing to mind what this one God, the God of the old Testament, the God of our fathers, he goes on glorified his servant, Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he decided, when he had decided to release him.

Verse 14, but you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. Now, when you see that phrase, holy and righteous one, what do you think?

Jesus.

Why do you think God?

Holy.

Who's holy like the Lord? When you think righteous, what does Paul write in Romans? And he's citing the psalmist. There's none righteous, righteous. I speak for a living. There's none righteous. No, not one.

So how could someone be righteous only if they are God?

Thank you.

Verse 15, and you killed the author of life. Now there's some irony there, but more importantly, who could be called the author of life? God, whom God raised from the dead.

Yeah.

I mean, this is like I should have all the third graders in here because every time I ask a question, they could just go, God, they don't even have to say Jesus, just God. And you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead.

Okay, they know that nobody just comes back from the dead, but God raised him from the dead. So they're saying there's two different people here that they're talking about, two different persons. Let's not say people.

We learned that last week. Two different persons, God, the father and God, the son. I mean, the son is clearly identified as God. And the father raised him from the dead. Peter says to this, we are witnesses and his name by faith in his name has made this man strong whom you see and know.

The faith that is through Jesus has given this man perfect health in the presence of you all. By whose name could someone be healed? In other words, when we say name, we mean power. They mean the totality of their person.

Who could do that?

God.

So here Peter is, he's teaching that Jesus Christ is God. He's talking about God the father raising Jesus from the dead. So why doesn't this crowd suddenly say, wait a second, excuse me, pardon me, you've just changed the nature of God.

You've taught us about two gods, not one God. Why don't they say that? Why don't they come and charge them for blasphemy like they did Jesus?

Thoughts? What's that?

Because they're Trinitarian. The Jews inherently, when they hear this, by the power of the spirit, they're enabled to believe. They don't say that's wrong. They don't confront them. They don't charge them.

They don't try to kill them because they recognize the truth in what is being said. There's no change going on here. There's the fulfillment of the types and shadows of the Old Testament are now made plain in the New Testament.

Thoughts, questions, concerns, heresies.

Okay.

Christianity Does Not Teach Three Gods

Question number two. Jesus affirmed monotheism. Christianity seems to have three gods. What would you say to someone who says that to you? This is a little easier than the first one.

Hint.

Okay.

Hero Israel, the Lord your God is one. That's the Shema. You know, the charge of Israel, which is what verse is that? Deuteronomy 6, 4. Okay, I'll buy that. Okay, so is there a conflict or is there a problem here?

Jesus affirmed monotheism. Christianity seems to have three gods.

I see that hint.

Okay, seems is a key word, and I'm going to have to credit the question writer on that one. He's a clever fellow sometimes. Yeah, seems to have three gods, but what we actually have is one God and three persons.

When Jesus declared or said that he was God, how did the crowd respond? Did they say, well, I don't know about that, Jesus, or you may have misspoken, or they understood what he said, and in those cases, they were upset with him.

But there's no conflict. We could talk about why the Holy Spirit is God as well, but the key issue I want to get to is Jesus affirmed monotheism, true. Christianity seems to have three gods. Well, it might seem to have three gods, but it doesn't have three gods.

Now, why, like a sub question here, if they're trying to push you towards modalism, what do you say other than that's false, Patrick? How many have still not watched the Lutheran satire videos? They're talking about modalism.

You have to pull those up on YouTube. They're just like five minutes long, and they're so funny. These two little leprechauns just, you know, with their sarcastic Irish accents. They're very funny. There's your homework assignment.

Pastor Mike will probably give you something holy to do. I'm just saying, go watch a couple of leprechauns.

It's fun.

You watch it a couple of times because it really is funny. Why does modalism have to be false? Okay, Jesus says I and the Father are one. It's not like you can separate them. I mean, to just kind of amplify what Joni's saying, I would put it this way.

There are actually three persons, not three masks, or three modes, or three personae, or whatever, you know, three appearances of the same God. There are actually three persons and one God. You say, well, how does that work?

Then we talk about the divine essence and all that, where we get a little philosophical.

But modalism is false.

The Trinity Is Not a Paradox of Hunger and Humanity

Number three, the Trinity is riddled with paradoxes. They actually said this. How can God get hungry? You know, Jesus got hungry. How can God get hungry? Okay, God doesn't get hungry, but Jesus in his humanity does.

I mean, what did God say in Psalm 50 verse 12?

See, I cheated.

I put it in my notes.

Did I see a hand? He said, if I were hungry, what?

I wouldn't tell you.

Now, does God get hungry? No, but he's making a point here. I'm not like you. Well, why did Jesus get hungry? Because he was truly human, truly human and truly divine. One person with two natures. Is this difficult for the unbeliever to understand?

Yes. What do they need to understand? Do they need to understand the Trinity before they get saved? They need to know who Jesus is, and then they'll flesh things out. The man, Christ Jesus, got hungry.

Why?

Because he was truly human. Let's look at Hebrews 2 verses 14 to 18. And again, this is, you know, these are, well, I'll just tell you right now, these first set of charges all come from, anybody want to guess the source of this stuff attacking the Trinity?

What's that?

No. No.

What's that?

College students, right? In their tents.

No.

The answer is Muslims. They're very much anti-Trinitarian, because they don't believe Jesus is God. Hebrews 2 verses 14 to 18. He got hungry because he was truly human. Somebody want to read verses 14 to 18?

Hebrews 2?

Go ahead, Gary. Okay.

He, the second person of the Trinity, is made like us.

Why?

So that he can understand what it is that we go through. So that he can help us when we're tempted. So that he can help us when we suffer. So that he can serve as our high priest. Thoughts, questions, concerns?

Yes.

Yeah.

Like us in every way, and therefore a fitting sacrifice. Without, you know, he's without sin.

So, yes.

The Trinity Is Revealed in Scripture

Number four. If God wanted humanity to believe in the Trinity, then why isn't it clearly defined in the Bible? Okay. It's pretty clear. That's why it seems like there's... I mean, can you think of any place where the Trinity is evident?

I see the hands.

The hand in the back, and then I'll get to you, Pat. The baptism of Jesus?

Yes.

I mean, we have the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. I mean, they would probably argue that's just the Son fulfilling the law or whatever.

Gary?

Okay.

Creation?

Let's look at a place where maybe you might not think. How about, let's go to 1 Peter chapter 1. And I'm going to read verses 1 and 2. And I'm only going to read verse 1 because it's kind of awkward if I don't.

So, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, or Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge, listen, of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you.

When you read that, if you just think, okay, the foreknowledge of God, when we think God, we typically think of the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit, meaning he is doing what? What is the Holy Spirit doing?

He is making us more like Christ, holier, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood. Why would we want to be sprinkled with his blood? Yeah, because we need that justification. And then it's interesting, after he introduces all three of them,.

What does he say?

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Well, where does that grace and peace come from? From all three persons of the Trinity. So, to say it's not clearly defined in the Bible is really to sort of be obtuse by intent, you know, to be intentionally obtuse.

The Johannine Comma Is Not Needed to Prove the Trinity

Number five, to cover up the, oh, I skipped Pat, okay. Number five, to cover up the error of Trinitarianism, 1 John 5, 7 was inserted into some manuscripts. I should have just put the Yohannin comma was inserted into some manuscripts.

I think I've mentioned this before. How many are familiar with this? The Yohannin comma? And essentially what happened was this, you know, Erasmus, a humanist who debated with Luther quite a bit. And Luther wrote to him one time, Erasmus, your thoughts of God are too human.

Well, some folks wanted Erasmus to put this into his New Testament. And he essentially said, you know, show me where it's in any kind of manuscript and I will. And so they made one up and he kind of lost his bet.

This is what it says. For there are 1 John 5, 7 with the extra added stuff here. I think it's in the King James and maybe not in any other version of the Bible. Maybe the New King James. Anybody have a New King James?

Okay, would you read the, yeah, go ahead and read 1 John 5, 7 and 8. Okay, and that's essentially what's in the Yohannin comma. And it's really not in the best manuscripts. I think they found it in, let me see.

I believe this is just off the top of my head. I think it's found in two manuscripts out of the hundreds and whatever, you know. And they were written like in the 600s or something or way late. So probably not in the best manuscripts.

Okay, which is why it's not in most of our Bibles. Number six. It, the Trinity was so difficult for Augustine to harmonize. John 17, 3 with the doctrine of the Trinity that this immensely influential church leader actually restructured Jesus's words to accommodate both the Father and Son and the Godhead.

Augustine, in his homilies on John, boldly asserts that John 17, 3 means this is eternal life that they may know thee and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent as the only true God. Okay, let's look at John 17, 3 in a non-Augustine translated passage and see if we can discern that Jesus Christ is in fact God out of John chapter 17.

I mean, this seems a rather odd case to try to make. Why do you think I would say that? You know, that John 17 is kind of a stretch to say that Jesus is God. Go ahead, Nitra. Yeah, it's a really odd thing, you know.

And so what we see here are a couple of errors. One is what we call proof texting. You know, you take one verse out of context and you make that your evidence. And then they go, wait a second, keep reading, right?

And it sort of blows the whole thing up. The other thing is an appeal to authority. And a lot of times what people do, and this really, if you read enough academic works, you'll come across this, where somebody will take someone who holds an opposite viewpoint and use it to make their point.

So, for example, I could find a quote where it looks like Pastor Mike is denying the Trinity and you go, see that?

He doesn't even believe in the Trinity.

And then you put the quote back in its context and you go, oh, well, pardon me, I guess he does believe in the Trinity. It's just dishonest. And what they're really doing here with Augustine is dishonest, because I'll wager, I haven't read the homilies on John recently, or ever.

But if you read it, I doubt that he would be like, well, you know, I can't really squeeze the Trinity into this passage, so I'm just going to rewrite it.

That's just dishonest.

The Persons of the Trinity Are Equal

Number seven. This is kind of a funny one. I mean, this is just written, a lot of the ideas here, but this is, we're written in ignorance, but this is kind of what happens when you're talking to unbelievers.

They say a lot of things and you go, well, that's not true. Or you say, what's the source of your information? Well, that's what I've always believed, or that's what I was taught, or something of that kind.

The persons of the Trinity are not equal. Let's look at Matthew 12, 32. And it's pretty interesting that somebody would make that charge based on this verse. Would someone read Matthew 12, 32, please?

Matthew 12, 32. Yeah, go ahead, Lisa.

Okay.

So essentially, what this person is trying to say is that you can be forgiven for sinning against Jesus, but not for sinning against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit's on a higher plane than Jesus is.

Right?

If you sin against him, you can't be forgiven. The Spirit bears witness to the sin. I mean, that would be a direct answer. But what's the initial problem? The initial problem is you don't understand Matthew 12, 32, right?

The person who makes this allegation. Because in context, what's Jesus talking about? The sin against the Holy Spirit. What is that? Okay, is it unbelief? Is unbelief a forgivable sin or an unforgivable sin?

I hope it's forgivable, because most of us were unbelievers for quite a portion of our life. So if it was unforgiven, then nobody's going to heaven.

Cheryl?

Exactly. Exactly right.

It's to actually attribute to Satan something that the Holy Spirit's done. I didn't even look this up. But if we look at the context here, what happens is they're accusing those...

12, 32.

Okay.

Verse 22. Then a demon oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him to Jesus,.

And he healed him.

So the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed and said, can this be the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.

Knowing their thoughts, he said to them... So essentially, the gist of this whole thing is if it was Satan casting out Satan or demons, that would be preposterous. Saying this is Jesus. This is God in the flesh, by the power of the Spirit, casting out demons.

So the traditional viewpoint on this is only those people who were there, who actually saw the miracle, and then denied the Holy Spirit, can be guilty of that sin. So in case if you're wondering, have I committed the sin against the Holy Spirit that cannot be forgiven?

The answer is no. Okay, number eight. Jesus acknowledges that he has a God. In other words, he says, I'm not the ultimate authority. There's someone over me. Well, again, you've got a problem. Because traditional Trinitarian teaching is, there is no hierarchy.

So, John 20, verse 17. Jesus said to her, to Mary, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God.

I think it's Mary Magdalene. So what about that? This is the resurrected Jesus. And he says, tell them that I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Jesus therefore admitting that he's not on the same par with the Father.

True or false?

Nobody wants to walk that plank.

It's false.

It's not true.

Why isn't it true, Jonathan?

Okay.

Going back to John 17, which is kind of cheating. No, no, it's not cheating. But even in this instance, what is Jesus doing? Is he really saying, I'm less than the Father? Or is he saying in his humanity that I've not yet ascended to the Father, but I'm going?

That's what he's saying.

Which leads us into number nine. Even after he ascended, Jesus still said he had a God. Let's look at Revelation chapter three, verses 11 and 12. Give myself better notes for this one. Revelation chapter three, verses 11 and 12.

Would somebody read that? Okay, so what do you think? Since he says a temple, a pillar in the temple of my God. Is he saying, and he says my God a few times there. Is he saying that he is less than the Father?

I mean, I'm tracking with you. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And I think even if we just look at that, what does it mean that Jesus was and is and is to come? It means he's eternal.

So who else can we say that is eternal? In fact, again in Revelation one, in verse eight, he says, I'm the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come. The Almighty, well, who's that?

It's God.

And who else is it?

It's Jesus.

So there's no ambiguity there. Again, what they're doing is they just prove text, take things out of context and try to prove to you that the Trinity is wrong. Number 10 is a little bit more fun. Jesus even surrenders his kingdom to the Father.

Therefore, implication, he can't be on par with the Father. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 15 verses 24 to 28. Now this is difficult, but it's not for the men who've been in Machen men. So they're going to cinch their belts and proudly proclaim the truth.

Jesus surrenders his kingdom to the Father. Let's read 1 Corinthians 15 verses 24 to 28.

Who has that?

He's the human vice regent. Vice regent.

I love that.

Why?

Because it's right out of the book.

Good.

As second, I mean, the context here, you know, we talk about 1 Corinthians 15. What's it most well known for? What's the whole chapter about? Resurrection. I was going to say, have you ever been to a funeral?

I didn't preach from this, but this is, it's a great funeral passage that the whole chapter is. But in this, his point, what Paul's trying to make is that Jesus basically undoes the work of the first Adam.

He, as it were, overcomes it, corrects it. As the second Adam, he's perfect. Glenn Butner wrote, Paul cites Psalm 8, 6. God has put all things in subjection under his feet. Then he says, Psalm 110 and Psalm 8 provide further insight into Paul's meaning in 1528.

These two texts put together suggest that his purpose is to connect the significance of Jesus' bodily resurrection to the expected vice regency of the second Adam. In other words, what was Adam to do?

He was to rule and to reign over the earth. He was to protect the garden of Eden. He didn't do any of that. So the second Adam perfectly does what the first Adam failed to do. And Butner goes on to say, it's certainly not the case that 1 Corinthians 15 demands the acceptance of the idea of eternal submission.

In other words, that the son is less than the father. Nor is it the case that Paul is intending to address the eternal divine relationship between the father and the son in this passage. This is the man Christ Jesus.

The emphasis is on his humanity, not on his deity. So he's no way inferior to the father. I think number 12 is more fun than 11. 11 is just nonsense. All right, so let's go to number 12. The Trinity is a documented doctrine of mankind.

Its history, I'm going to typo there. Its history is traced starting with the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and working backward. In other words, and you'll hear this too, that it was made up either at Chalcedon or it was made up, you know, the biggest boogeyman of all time is the Council of Nicaea.

But what's wrong with this idea that it's a man-made doctrine? That it's a man-made doctrine? If the Bible teaches it, the fact that the word Trinity doesn't appear in scripture is utterly irrelevant.

I mean, we talked about this, but what are some other doctrines that are not specifically named? They don't appear in scripture by name. Okay, incarnation, aseity, simplicity. I mean, there are a lot of things that aren't there, but if you use a word to describe them, does that make them wrong?

No.

If you can support it with the Bible, no, it does not make it wrong. Number 13, the councils and deliberations that created the Trinity would not have been necessary if the scriptures actually taught it.

Well, as we've said, I mean, we could go through the wrong way, according to Barrett and others, which is to show, you know, God the Father is God, Jesus Christ is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and then, you know, work our way into the Trinity.

But I think the Bible pretty clearly teaches the Trinity, even if that word is not used. It's hard to escape the concept. I mean, even if you think about Ephesians 1, again, this is the Trinity in operation.

We'll just close here. The idea that somehow there is, that there's not a Trinity, we would have, you have a hard time explaining Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 to 14, without the Trinity. Blessed be the Lord and God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Now, you could say that that's the Father and his elective love, because that's the next word. In love, he predestined us to adoption for himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, according to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he blessed us in the beloved.

In him, that is to say, in Jesus, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be the praise of his glory.

In him, again, in Christ, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory.

And when we see to the praise of his glory, whose glory? The Father, Son, and Spirit, the Trinity, the triune God. And over and over and over again, we see the Trinity in operation. We understand that the persons of the Trinity work together, that there are three persons, one God, and we need a closing prayer because it's prayer time.

Father, thank you for this time. Thank you for everyone being here this morning. Lord, we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, for his life, death, resurrection, his ascension, and the sure hope we have in him.

Father, we would pray for those who have been afflicted by this tornado in Omaha, thinking about Pat's church. Pray that you would bless those folks, that they would keep their eyes, even in the midst of this time of difficulty, so much loss and devastation, they would keep their eyes on Jesus Christ.

Father, bless us as we worship, as we fellowship, as we inhabit this house today to be the body of Christ. Strengthen us, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.