Should God’s Nature Be Complex?

We have seen that the confusion created by this doctrine is widespread—even among trinitarians. There is broad disagreement about details of God’s nature. Let’s ask again: Should there be this much confusion about something so fundamental?

Paul also clarified matters pertaining to division and disagreement within the true Church of God: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement” (I Cor. 1:10).

Why would God inspire Paul to make the above statements if widespread confusion and division is to be tolerated among His followers? Think this through very carefully. Notice that not only should there be no division among God’s people—“brethren”—but we saw that Paul declared that there is “simplicity” in God’s Way. There is nothing simple about the trinity or the “Christ” within it.

The Church where the living Jesus Christ is truly the Head (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18) is a Church that is unified on all matters of doctrine. His Church is to speak the same thing all the time on all points. Does a “believe whatever you want” smorgasbord—and this is the picture seen throughout the churches of traditional Christianity—fit with the complete unity described in I Corinthians 1:10?

By now you have seen that there is nothing simple about the trinity. In fact, we have seen that it is one of the most complex ideas promulgated by modern Christianity, and we will eventually see that it is entirely lacking in any biblical support.

No Scriptural Support

Even the Catholic church recognizes that any who study the trinity should do so with “qualifiers” in mind. Notice the candour with which the New Catholic Encyclopedia talks about this teaching: “…one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification…when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century.

It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma ‘one God in three Persons’ became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought. Herein lies the difficulty. On the one hand, it was the dogmatic formula ‘one God in three Persons’ that would henceforth for more than 15 centuries structure and guide the Trinitarian essence of the Christian message…On the other hand, the formula itself does not reflect the immediate consciousness of the period of origins; it was the product of three centuries of doctrinal development.”

This is an astonishing admission!

In other words, the idea of “three beings in one God” did not originate with the New Testament Church. Neither Christ nor the original twelve apostles taught it. Nor did Paul. The New Catholic Encyclopedia readily admits this, and as much as declares openly that the idea was derived from outside the boundary of Scripture!

As we have seen, the trinity doctrine slowly formed in the minds of professing Christians—actually professing Christian philosophers—for about three hundred years. As the centuries passed, complex arguments and theories developed. Various confusing assertions were stated, leaving many so unsure that we have seen they chose to blindly accept them. It was not until the fourth century that the trinity became the official doctrine of the great universal church—and it remains the foundation of professing Christianity today!

Are we to assume that Christ did not reveal to the apostles, whom He knew personally and worked with directly for three and a half years during His ministry, that He was part of a trinity? Did He expect that all those who would later come to believe “all things whatsoever I have commanded you [the apostles]” (Matt. 28:19-20) would have to wait at least three centuries for a group of philosophers to explain to them the nature of the God they were to serve?

Ridiculous!

A Convenient “God”

There is another reason the trinity god appeals to so many. At its basis, it teaches that Christ and the Holy Spirit work in our stead—rather than Christ working in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When fully understood, this teaching relieves “Christians” of the need to do anything—other than just “accept Jesus.” How often have you heard this expression?

Trinitarian proponents ignore passages such as Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” But before we can look at the details of God’s Master Plan for you, near the book’s end, we must open God’s Word and look for the trinity.

We have seen that many theologians admit that the Bible does not condone the trinity and that “it was the product of three centuries of doctrinal development.” However, many attempt to contort and twist certain scriptures into supposed proofs for this doctrine. In the next chapter, we will look at various so-called “proof texts” and dissect them. Careful and thorough examination of these “proofs” is essential. No matter the protestations of those who have invented “biblical support” for an idea that was actually born entirely in human minds, the Bible has never supported this doctrine. But we need to see this.

We must thoroughly establish that the trinity has never stood on a foundation of Scripture!