If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.  – Proverbs 18:13

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. – Exodus 20:16

We are often too quick to speak into another person’s life. For as we do so, we have already determined what is going on in that person’s heart. We may ask questions, but even those questions are only asked to get the person to see what we already know. And when they speak, we don’t truly listen. And in this we break God’s commandment to not bare false witness against another and to falsely judge our brother.

The scripture teaches us to not be presumptuous toward another. Because of our own sin and pride, we are often blinded by the rod in our own eye. Our rods skew our vision and interpretations of situations. It makes us sure of things that are not true. And because of our pride, we often are unwilling to admit to our skewed interpretations. We don’t want to admit the rod in our own eye, for that would be an embarrassing predicament and make us look foolish as we our insistent in removing the speck out someone else’s eye. For some they are quick to bear false witness, because it keeps the focus on someone else. If people are looking elsewhere they won’t be as apt to see the rod in their eye.

A man of understanding is aware of this. He is aware of how his own sin blinds and skews his vision and how he is so quick to misinterpret another’s heart. He is aware of his own desire to hide his own sin in his pride. He knows because of his own sin that a quick judgment will prove to his folly and shame. He will ask the Lord to search his own heart and expose his sin. And so He will take his weakness to the Lord and will approach with caution, understanding, and a listening heart that seeks to draw out the purposes of a man’s heart.

“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.“

This man will refuse to place his own assumptions on a person, but instead will be patient and will listen. His listening will be purposeful, seeking together with the person to hear God’s truth about the matter.

God does call us to speak into each other’s lives.  But it is to be done with patience and understanding and grace. Like exploring deep waters it takes more work than just looking at the surface. And if that is all you are willing to do, then it is to your folly and shame.

God alone knows our hearts fully and we must come to him in order to understand one another and to continue to speak Christ into each other’s lives.

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick;

Who can understand it?

I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind,

Even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.“

So, as we explore one another’s hearts, we must come humbly before God. Both parties must die to themselves, knowing God alone can reveal their hearts.

We are not able to understand our own heart and even so the heart of another. We can however pursue each other in patience and love, allowing God to reveal our own hearts to one another. And we can trust our Father to do this, for he is faithful and true.  And this is our pursuit as we come to one another in admonition to die to our own words and to allow the word of Christ to speak into our hearts, that we may together come to know Christ more and more.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“

Questions:

• When you come to someone are you pursuing God and listening to what He has to say about the matter? Or are you pursuing your own version of the “truth”?

• How often do you assume the worst or “bear false witness” against others?

• The scripture states that it takes understanding to discover the purposes of a man’s heart. How quick are you to accuse the motives of the hearts of others? Do you understand that this is to your folly and shame?

• Do you tell the person what they are thinking or feeling?

• Do you allow the other person to speak, or do you speak over them?

• Do you take the time and effort to listen before coming to a conclusion about someone? When you do listen or ask questions are you truly pursuing the person in love and understanding?

• When you come to someone are you humble and broken? Are you aware of your own sin?

• Once you have come to a conclusion about someone are those conclusions easily changed?

• How often does your pride keep you from hearing what others have to say?

1. Are you defending the rod in your own eye?

1. Are you quick to criticize the speck in someone else’s eye in order to distract from the rod in your own eye?

We tremble and shrink back

As discussed earlier (here), God has postponed the Day of the Lord, the day of our judgment . . . by hiding himself. And because of this we have hope, despite the definitive verdict for our trespasses. But this is not the only reason God hides himself. . . .

For even if God were to come near without judgment as he did with Adam and Eve, we would shrink back, run away, and hide from his presence. This is our natural inclination, just as it is the natural inclination for roaches to flee for the darkness when the light is turned on. A fallen humanity cannot stand before the Lord, not just because God is holy, which is one reason, but also because we don’t want to be near his presence. We need to be clear; it is not God who does not want to be near for “He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27, NASB), but it is we who cannot bear to be in his presence. Let us look at Adam and Eve’s response when God came into the Garden.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

Adam and Eve shrunk back and hid themselves. Because this is our natural response, if God wanted a relationship with humanity where we would not flee, he had to condescend so that we would stick around long enough to hear his voice. God does not overwhelm us by his presence but comes to where we are and is gentle, treating us as precious and as the apple of his eye. Therefore, God’s hiddenness is an act of loving-kindness towards us, allowing us to come near to him.

And so, when God came to Adam and Eve after they had sinned, he did not come in the fullness of his glory, but instead he came hidden in gentleness and patient kindness for God is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness (Psalm 103:8, Exodus 34:6). The word “cool” in the passage above can be translated “wind”, rendering the phrase, “the sound of the Lord God walking in the Garden in the wind of the day”. The words “wind of the day” is describing God coming in the clouds. When God comes near, he is often portrayed as being cloaked in clouds or cloaked in some other way, such as behind the veil of the tabernacle. As it is hard to see on a dense foggy day, this cloud obscures us from seeing God in his fullness. Likewise, the word “sound” is describing the fact that God’s face is not seen, but only his voice is present. When God shows up, we often see the term “the Word of the Lord”. This is more than just hearing an ethereal voice out of nowhere. Often, the “word” or “sound” is doing things like “walking in the garden” or “standing”. There is a real presence. But like the word “wind”, it is describing the presence of God that is hidden. We cannot fully see God. And so, the words “sound” and “wind” are significant words in the Bible, describing both a God who is hidden and who is intimately near us. In the Bible, when God makes his presence known after the fall, it is never by direct means but always hidden in a cloud of glory and through the word of the Lord. And so, by using the words “sound” and “wind”, this passage is describing a God who had already hidden himself before coming into the garden to meet with Adam and Eve. With these words, it is clear that their relationship has changed. God was no longer going to have direct and naked fellowship with Adam and Eve. And yes, by this act of hiding himself, God was postponing the day of judgment by hiding his throne and his face from us, but in love, he was also doing something more. . .. He was making himself approachable to humanity despite their sin.

Notice that Adam and Eve’s response is similar to the Israelites’ response when they heard the sound of the Lord and saw the clouds.

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. (Exodus 19:16, ESV)

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:18–19, ESV)

just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ (Deuteronomy 18:16, ESV)

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” (Hebrews 12:18–21, ESV)

Israel trembled and did not want God’s presence to be near. Just like Adam and Eve, the Israelites would prefer to be hidden from God’s presence. We may feel bold and shout up to the sky, telling God that he ought to reveal himself more directly to us, but even if he came veiled and hidden, we would not be able to handle it. We would fall on our faces, trembling. Instead of wanting to be in his presence, we, like Adam and Eve, would flee. And we, like the Israelites, would only harden our hearts in unbelief on that day. This is what Hebrews speaks of when it describes “those who shrink back and are destroyed” (Hebrews 10:39, ESV). And it is the very thing God is trying to avoid in hiding himself. If God showed up, we would run away and destroy ourselves, for we would flee even if that meant running to a place of darkness.

We who do not want God near, though he comes near

Let us be clear. It is not because God is not good that we shrink back. It is because evil cannot survive in his presence that we shrink back in fear. Light is good, but darkness flees in the presence of light. For those who love the light, this is good. For those who love the darkness, this is terror, for the things they love cannot survive in the light. Jesus brings healing, for he is the way, the truth, and the life. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4–5, ESV). Yet despite this, we reject him,

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:19–20, ESV)

And so, because we love our sin, we shrink back in fear of being destroyed. Because this is our tendency when in the presence of God, God veils and hides himself. God lowers down the notch by infinite degrees so that his presence won’t overwhelm us. He comes in the shadows and in the things that go bump in the night; we just choose to shrink back and hide. The most repeated command in the Bible is, “Do not fear”. In our fear, God is gentle, kind, sensitive, and loving in the way he approaches us.

God hid himself in order to rescue us

Though God hides from us, God is not hiding from us in the sense that he does not want to be found, nor in the sense that he is difficult to find. That is so far from the truth. God hid himself to protect us from the judgment day and to keep us from shrinking back so that he might rescue us. And so, yes, there is a theme of hiddenness, a veil, a cloud throughout the Bible, that only allows us to see God dimly, as if in a reflection. And yes, we cannot see God directly, for we are carefully kept from this by a loving God who is gentle, patient, lowly, humble, and self-sacrificing in the way he handles us in our fallen nature. And he has done this not to hide himself from us, but instead that he might be approachable and might be found. And it is indeed his desire to be found by us and come to Him, despite our sin. Psalm 32 has the theme of God calling to the sinner to come near despite their sin. In this Psalm, God calls to the sinner,

     Be not like a horse or 
          mule,
       without understanding,
       which must be curbed
          with bit 
          and bridle,
       or it will not stay
          near you.
          (Psalm 32:9, ESV)

Because God has veiled himself, because of his hiddenness, it allows us to come near into his presence without shrinking back or being like a mule, and as we come near, we need not fear our final judgment because the veil keeps us from his throne and his face. Paul states that God set history “that [we] should seek God, and perhaps feel [our] way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27, ESV).  Moses describes God’s nearness,

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it (Deuteronomy 30:11–14, ESV)

Paul elaborates on this,

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:5–13)

Though God is hidden, he is not far from each one of us. The only wall between us is our willingness to call upon the name of the Lord. But instead of coming to God, we are the ones who hide ourselves from his presence despite his gentle kindness towards us. We, in our “unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). We actively hide God’s presence from ourselves, for his presence means we will be exposed and vulnerable. We love the darkness and don’t want to be exposed by the light. We love our world. God’s presence destroys our world, and we want to fight to keep it. And so, we shrink back and hide ourselves.

But God is only a call away from us. When we are ready to leave our world behind and come to him, we will find that he was already there with arms open wide.

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Psalm 145:18)

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. (Psalm 34:1)

Our Father is near. And if we go back to the words “sound” and “wind”, we will see this. Though they imply hiddenness, they also imply a deep intimacy and a loving faithfulness. And because of His love and kindness, an all-powerful, all-knowing God has chosen to use these means to reveal himself. We will discuss more about the “sound” and the “wind” in the upcoming articles in this series (The hidden God in an evil world). But before we discuss the “sound” and the “wind”, we will look at our response to the “obvious” means of evidence that atheists seem to want, for we must be careful what we wish for.

Ed, I know I can argue the Trinity and other Christian beliefs well. But I am not doing this out of stubbornness, I am trying to help you and give you the opportunity to explain your beliefs better than me. If you can answer these questions, you will be able to convince not only me, but countless others of your faith. And we ought not be intimidated or have fear or be troubled, by those who asks us to give an account for our hope. For the scripture says,

AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:14b-15)

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4.5)

Do not fear. Have faith in the scripture. Have faith in Jehovah. And this confidence I expect to see in you as you answer my questions and present your faith.

The Trinity

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

This verse is in contention between Unitarians and Trinitarians, for this verse is central to both of their beliefs. And this contention is focused on the word “one”. For Unitarians this word is restricted to a number. Trinitarians agree that the word “one” has a numeric function (Is 45:21-22, 44:6-8, Ex 15:11, Deut 4:35, 6:4-5, 32:39), but also understand that this word is used elsewhere to describe unity between members (Genesis 2:24, Genesis 11:6, John 17) and therefore feel it is fitting to take in the full meaning of this term in describing who God is. They also point out that in this verse God is referred to three times, possibly emphasizing this three-person unity. So, saying God is one for the Trinitarian, is both numeric and relational. Deuteronomy 6:4 according to the Trinitarian is describing one God who has eternally been in relational unity. Deuteronomy 6:4 is the foundational verse for the Trinity.

The Trinity has an emphasis of a God who has eternally loved. When John says, “God is love”, the term for “love” is an outward selfless love. For God to be love eternally there must be an outward selfless directed love. Note this kind of love does not exist in the imagination, or a future creation, but must be expressed currently and eternally toward an object to be true. An Unitarian God did not have this love for an eternity past, because there was no outward actualized current object to love till one was created. The only eternal love a Unitarian God can have eternally is an imaginary love and a self-love. Therefore, a Unitarian God cannot be said to have had an active, current actualized eternal outward directed love. However, this is not true of a Trinitarian God, a God who does not change, but from eternity past has had a current actualized eternal outward directed love. Because the Trinity consists of three persons who are in unity as one God, these three persons outwardly love one another for eternity. Thus, John can say, “God is love”, because love is central to who God is. It is also why love is called to after the statement “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” This is why loving God is the first and greatest command, the second to love others (Matt 22:37-39). “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). And did not Paul pray that we would know this love that surpasses imagination,

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21)

The love of Christ fills us with the fullness of God. (Note that it is the love of Christ, that fills us with the fullness of God, something only the love of God can do) This love is intimate. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). The word “know” is used in the Bible for the most intimate of relationships of a man and wife. God calls his people his bride and himself our husband. This is the intimate love God has for His people. This intimate, close, passionate, fully giving of oneself, extravagant love is the theme of the Bible. And it is the theme of the Bible because it is who God is in the Trinity. God’s love and intimacy with us is an outflow of who He is. Jesus delighted to have the children come into his presence, not hindering them, and also pursued the prostitute, tax collector, demon possessed, sick, and sinners, and cried out “come all who are weary and heavy laden”. We are his sheep, and He knows us by name. A shepherd has an intimate relationship with all his sheep.  This kind of love is not the heart of a created being, this is the heart of God, who desires intimate, close relationship with us. An intimate relationship that is beyond anything we could ask or think. It is God’s pursuit of an intimate relationship with all His people that is the story of scripture. Therefore the love of the Trinity is foundational to the faith of a Christian and what we believe about the Gospel and salvation.

Trinitarians believe there are three persons, each fully God, in one essence, nature, or being, having the fullness of being one, both in the numeric sense and in unity of love as described when the scripture states, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Being three persons, the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, nor the Son, the Father or Holy Spirit, nor the Holy Spirit the Son or Father. So, for example, when the Father sends the Son, He is not sending Himself. No, this is real and heart felt, just as any earthly father would send their own son, so God the Father sends his Son into the world, and yet it is even deeper than the earthly example or if Jesus were created, for the love that the Father has for the Son and the love that the Son has or the Father is an eternal love, something no earthly or created relationship can experience. The relationships that the three persons of the Trinity have are real, eternal, and deeper than any love we can imagine. So, John can truly write, “God is love”. Since they are three persons, we see real and active interactions between the three persons of the Trinity. Since each is fully God they interact with each other as God. Jesus prays to the Father, the Father glorifies the Son, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit intercedes to God for the saints.

The scripture refers to each of the three persons of the Trinity as God and Yahweh (Ex 3:14-15; Deut 32:39, Zech 12:8-10, 14:1-5, Is 40:3, John 1:23, Matt 3:1-3, Luke 3:3-5, Heb 1:10-12, Ps 102:25-27; Jer 23:5-6; John 12:26-43; Is 6, John 8:24; John 19; Is 43; Rev 1:8, Rom 10, John 1:1,14,18, Titus 2:14, Matt 1:23, Acts 20:28, Rom 9:5, 2 Pet 1:1, John 20:28). Each person of the Trinity are fully God. Each of the three persons of the Trinity have qualities that can only be attributed to God: aseity, eternal (Micah 5:2, Hebrews 7:3), all-knowing (Mark 2:8, Luke 6:8, 11:17, John 2:24,25, omnipresent (Matt 18:20, John 14:20-23, Eph 1:23, 4:20), omnipotent, immutable (Hebrews 13:8, Matt 24:35), creator (Is 44:24, Job 9:8-9, Is 45:18), having all authority (Judges 8:23, 1 Sam 8:7, 1 Sam 10:19, Jer 23:5,6, Eph 1:21-23), the Name (Is 52:6, Ps 83:18, Malachi 1:11, Matt 28:19, Joel 2:32, Romans 10:5-13, Acts 2:21,39, Acts10:43, Acts 22:16, 1 Cor 6:11, Is 43:11, Phil 2:9-11), Savior (Hosea 13:4, Is 43:11, Titus 1:3-4, 2:10, 3:4-6), on clouds of heaven (Deut 33:26, Ps 104:1-3, Is 19, Dan 7:9-13, Matt 26: 63-66), Worshiped (Is 2:11, Rev 5:8), Delivered from Egypt (Jude 4, Cor 10:4) etc.

We both believe Jesus is God. But the scripture goes further and says that he is Jehovah. Here is a sampling of verses that demonstrate Jesus is Jehovah: John 8:24; Zech 12:8-10; Zech 14:1-5; Is 40:3; John 1:23; Jer 23:5-6; John 12:27-43; Is 53; Is 6; Matt 3:1-3; Luke 3:3-5; Heb 1:10-12; Ps 102:25-27; Is 40:3; John 19:4-6; Is 43; 1 Cor 1:30-31; Jer 9:24; Zech 11:13; John 1:14; Col 2:9; Heb 1:1-3; Phil 2:6; Phil 2:10; Rom 14:11; Is 45:23; John 1:18; Gen 48:14-16, Judges 13; Matt 1:22-23; John 1:1; Deut 8:3; 1 Sam 3; Gen 15; Deut 5; Jer 1; Is 44:6; Matt 28:19; Is 52:6; Is 26:7-9; Is 12:4; Ps 83:18; Ex 34; Is 7:14; Acts 1:8; Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13; Acts 2:21,39; Ps 91:14; Acts 3:12-16; Acts 8:12; Acts 10:43; Acts 22:16; Acts 22:16; 1 John 5:13; John 3:18; 1 Cor 6:11; Is 43:5-13; Is 52:6; Luke 10:17; Acts 4:30; Acts 4:10-12; Phil 2:9-11; Eph 1:21-23; Jer 23:5,6; Is 2:11, John 9:38; Heb 1:6; Rev 5:8; Is 42:8; Matt 18:20, 28:20; Heb 7:3; Jude 5; Ps 68:19, Eph 4:7-10; Deut 33:26; Psalm 104:1-3; Is 19:1; Dan 7:9-13; Matt 26:63-66; Is 44:24; Job 9:8,9; Heb 1:10-12, Psalm 102; John 1:3; Col 1:16; 1 Cor 8:6

For the Spirit of Jehovah, obviously in his name, he is Jehovah, he is God, what we have to ascertain is if the Holy Spirit is a person or a force. Here are some verses that show that the Holy Spirit is a person: Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 13:14; Eph 4:4-6; 2 Cor 3:16-18; John 14:17; Acts 8:39; Rom 8:11; John 6:63; 1 John 5:6; John 14:26; Rom 8:16; Rom 8:26; Is 63:10; Rom 8:27; 2 Sam 23:2; Acts 8:29; Acts 10:19; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2; Acts 21:11; Acts 28; 25-26; 1 Tim 4:1; Heb 3:7-8; Rev 2:7,11,17,29; Rev 3:6,13,22; Rev 14:13; Rev 22:17; 1 Cor 2:11; Acts 15:28; Acts 5:3; Acts 5:9; Acts 20:28; Acts 5:32: Acts 7:51; John 14:26; Luke 12:12; Matt 4:1; John 6:63; Acts 2:4; Matt 3:16; Matt 12:32; Mark 1:8; John 3:34; John 20:22; Acts 16:6; 1 Cor 2:10; 1 John 5:6

We also believe that Jesus became fully man in every way, emptying himself, taking on every aspect of what that means to be human, including obeying, serving, worshiping, and being devoted to the one and only true God. I explained this more thoroughly previously in a letter I sent and won’t repeat it all here. But to summarize, the messiah had to fully complete everything man was supposed to do, otherwise no one could be saved. One of those aspects is in his humanity, Jesus, as we are called to do, served the only true and living God in every way we are to. I would reread what I wrote earlier on this subject. But this is fundamental to Trinitarian teaching. I know this makes John 17:3 a harder argument for you, I am not trying to make it harder, I am just trying to share with you honestly what Trinitarians believe. And this is the story of the Trinity and their determination to save mankind. But this is where you have to work to show how what you believe shows the story of God’s love and how it is supported by scripture more. It forces you to go deeper into what your faith is, which is in the end is always a good thing. So, it should make you rejoice that you get to explore the wonders and beauty of Jehovah at a deeper level. And I look forward to seeing that.

So, for the Christian, there is one God, not three separate gods or three separate modes of God. They are three persons in one essence, nature or being. God is both “one” in unity and “one” in the numeric sense. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are truly one God. Just as “love” is prominent in the Bible, the scripture is filled with the theme of “oneness”. The power of God is found in this idea of “one”, a power that can only be found in a Trinitarian God. A Unitarian God, it is just a number, and shows that he is above all else. For a Trinitarian God, yes, He is one God above all else, but he is also more. He is unlike anything we know, He is Holy, Holy, Holy. He is a God bigger than we can comprehend. There is none that is even remotely like Him. So yes, for us there is one God. And we are baptized under one name (Jehovah), the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). There is only one name (Jehovah), because there is only one God.

We also believe there is no other god (Is 43:10, Deut 4:35, Is 41:4, Is 44:6, Psalm 86:10) or savior (Hosea 13:4, Is 43:11) besides God. “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” (Is 44:6) We take very seriously the first commandment.

You shall have no other gods before me. (Ex 20:3)

This is more than just saying we will not have another god equal to God, this is saying we will not have another god period, at all, whether equal or lesser to God. Jesus is clearly called God in the scripture. The question is – does the scripture say Jesus is a god besides Jehovah or is he God Jehovah, himself. Trinitarians believe there are no gods beside Jehovah. There may be so called gods, such as Satan who is called the god of this world, but for us there is only one God. Satan is not our god. There is not in any way “a god”, regardless of its standing, for the Christian. Nor is there anywhere in the scripture where “a god” is given any status next to or in the presence of Jehovah. Because we take the first commandment seriously, the Christian does not recognize any god or “a god” except for Jehovah. It is this passion for Jehovah as our only true God with no gods besides him that drive us to reject the idea that Jesus is “a god” who is besides or in the presence Jehovah, even as a lesser god, who is revered less. In Revelation, both Jesus and the Father sit on the one throne of God, because they are Jehovah God. As Christians we are baptized into one name (Jehovah), and only one name (Jehovah) – The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). We are saved by calling on the Name (Jehovah) and only one name (Is 52:6, Ps 83:18, Malachi 1:11, Matt 28:19, Joel 2:32, Romans 10:5-13, Acts 2:21,39, Acts10:43, Acts 22:16, 1 Cor 6:11, Is 43:11, Phil 2:9-11). For us there is also one God of heaven and earth (Deut 4:39).

We come to this understanding because of what the scripture teaches. The Bible teaches that there is one God, and yet it refers to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as God and Jehovah. It is from this that the concept of the Trinity was formed.

So, I hope this helps you understand the Trinity more. If you have any other questions let me know. So now on your part having shared what I have shared, help me to know how the scripture discounts the Trinity. Ed, I really need your help with this. If you believe Jesus is “a god”, how is this not breaking the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”? How do you explain this? This is something hard for a Trinitarian to understand, since we believe in only one God, nor are we allowed to have “a god” even below Jehovah. Again, this is not an attack, I am being honest where I struggle with your concept of Jesus being “a god” separate from Jehovah. I think explaining this and showing me the scriptures that support there being “a god”, without violating the first commandment, would go a long way to helping me to understand how you support your beliefs from the scripture. I look forward to your response on this and the other questions.