JESUS CHRIST IS GOD (part 7)
Is salvation by grace not a reality because Scripture never once recorded the Lord Jesus saying this word during His earthly Ministry? Of course not. Does the absence of the Word grace in Jesus’ Ministry mean that grace is a pagan concept? Of course not. I defy anyone to find the concept of a man saved by the grace of God, alone, in any pagan teaching. Paganism knows nothing of a salvation purely by the grace of God. Scripture, on the other hand, overflows with the teaching, the concept, of salvation by grace alone, and no one but a fool would deny its presence in the Word of God. The word grace appears 170 times in 159 verses of Scripture, 39 times in the Old Testament and 131 times in the New. The word grace appears only 5 times in 4 verses in the four Gospels: once in Luke, and 4 times in the Gospel of John. The fact that the Lord Jesus never once uttered the word grace in His Ministry on earth cannot justly be considered as any sort of evidence that such a word as grace, or the concept that salvation is only by grace, is not Scriptural. This, as well as the absence of words such as omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence as well as Trinity from the Word of God, is a powerful example of some commonly used words today which either do not appear in God’s Word, or, as in the case of the word grace, was never used by the Lord Jesus during His Ministry in recorded Scripture, and yet the concepts are undeniable, for they are taught throughout the pages of the Word of God. “…by grace are ye saved…” (Eph. 2:8), etc.
Several other words which do not appear in the Bible, but of which there is abundant evidence, are: “‘Atheism’: the teaching that there is no God.” While the word ‘Atheism’ does not appear in the Bible, the concept, its existence, most certainly does: “…the Bible says: ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God’ (Psa. 14:1).” Though the word atheism is not in the Bible, its existence is made perfectly clear. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they (the things of the Spirit of God) are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). Natural man, in his natural state, cannot discern the things of God, for natural man is spiritually dead. Another word which does not appear in the Bible is, “‘Divinity’, which means Divine quality or Godlike character. Yet, the Word of God refers many times to the Godlike quality of the Lord God (see Psa. 139).” The word ‘Divine’ does appear in the Scriptures. "The words ‘Incarnation’ and ‘incarnate’ which means the Word (God) Who became flesh also do not appear in the pages of Scripture, yet, the concept is most definitely taught in the Bible: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth’ (Jn. 1:1,14).” “…God was manifest in the flesh…” (1 Tim. 3:16 cf. Col. 1:15). “The word ‘Monotheism’, the teaching that there is only one God, also does not appear in the Bible, however, God says ‘…I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me…is there a God beside Me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any’ (Isa. 43:10; 44:8); “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God’ (Isa. 44:6).” Clearly, the teaching that there is only one God—Monotheism—is in the Scriptures despite the fact that the word itself is not found. “The word ‘Rapture’ is also not found in the pages of the Bible, however, the teaching that the Christians who are alive when Jesus returns will be caught up to meet Him in the air is there for all to see in such passages as 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. So, to say that the Trinity isn't true because the word itself isn't in the Bible is an invalid argument. Furthermore, to say that—if God wanted us to believe in the Trinity He would have clearly taught it in Scripture—is also an invalid argument.” There are many teachings in the Word of God which are not clear to many people, especially the lost to whom the very Gospel itself is veiled (see 2 Cor. 4:3,4), but this can in no way be used as a valid argument by any to discount a doctrine, let alone a doctrine of such magnitude and enormous significance as the Triune God.
The only ones who are qualified to judge whether or not a teaching exists in the Bible, is the born again Christian. God reveals His truth to His people. John, writing to Christians, states: “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it…” (1 Jn. 2:21 cf. Jn. 8:32). Those who only think they are God’s people, and those who do not profess to be among His people, are where all the errors are coming from, and from whom the spirit of confusion emanates. Confusion and error come from the lost, not the saved. Be they religious or secular, those guided by, and who do follow, the spirit of error cannot see the things which are clearly visible to those who are led by the Spirit of God. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto US by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we (the people of God) have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they (the things of God) are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things…” (1 Cor. 2:9-15). There are virtually billions of people who believe themselves to be Christians, and yet the great majority of them fail to see, understand and believe the true and only Gospel of the true and only God. Simply because one cannot see does not mean there is nothing to see. How ridiculous is it to say ‘I do not believe in the invisible man because I have never seen him’. “Something does not have to be clearly formulated in the Bible to be valid. Not all things taught in the Bible are perfectly clear. Take a look at the Book of Revelation. It contains many things that are cryptic that must be interpreted after examining the whole of Scripture.” The parables of Jesus were not understood, even, at times, by His own apostles, until He explained them, or revealed them (see Mk. 4:1-13). The true Gospel of God is not seen, and, therefore, not recognized as truth, and, consequently, it is rejected by far more people than those who do, by grace, see it and recognize it as God’s only power unto salvation. Truths not seen or recognized are truths nonetheless. Truth is truth and remains truth eternally regardless of how many men react adversely to it.
Despite all the nebulousness which exists in the minds of those who do not see, and even more so in those who will not see what the Word of God teaches, there are many Scriptures which teach that God is a Triune God. For example: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6); “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16,17 cf. Lk. 3:21,22); “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name ('one name-yet three names') of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). ‘In the name of’, “by the authority of these Three Divine Persons, Who all appeared, and testified Their approbation of the administration of this ordinance, at the baptism of Christ: and as They are to be invocated in it, so the persons baptized not only profess faith in each Divine Person, but are devoted to Their service, and worship, and are laid under obligation to obedience to Them. Hence a confirmation of the doctrine of the Trinity, there are Three Persons, but one name, but one God, into which believers are baptized; and a proof of the true Deity both of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and that Christ, as the Son of God, is God; since baptism is administered equally in the name of all Three, as an ordinance, a part of Divine instituted worship, which would never be in the name of a creature.” Some other Scriptures where the Three Persons of the Trinity appear are: Matt. 3:16; 12:28; Lk. 3:22; Jn. 14:26; 15:26; Acts 1:4; 2:33; 10:38; Rom. 1:4; 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:17; 2:18,22; Titus 3:6; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:2.
Some other Scriptures which point to the Trinity are as follows: “Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake” (Jn. 14:8-11). “‘he that hath seen Me’ not with the eyes of his body, but with the eyes of his understanding; he that has beheld the perfections of the Godhead in Me: ‘hath seen the Father’: the perfections which are in Him also; for the same that are in Me are in Him, and the same that are in Him are in Me: I am the very image of Him, and am possessed of the same nature, attributes, and glory, that He is; so that he that sees the one, sees the other.” “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (Jn. 14:26 cf. Jn. 14:16,17); “But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (Jn. 15:26); “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but Righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men” (Rom. 14:17,18); “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (1 Cor. 12:4-6).
“Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:21,22); “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17); “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor. 13:14); “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph. 2:18); “In Whom (Christ Jesus) ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22); “He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost” (Acts 19:2). “He said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost", "Meaning, not the special regenerating and sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost, for that is supposed in their being disciples and believers, but the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, for it follows, since ye believed? that is, in Christ; which is taking it for granted, that they had received the special grace of the Spirit of God; for this believing is to be understood of true, spiritual, special faith in Christ: and they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost; by which they could not mean the Person of the Holy Ghost: for they must have known that there was such a Divine Person as the Holy Ghost, from the writings of the Old Testament, with which they were conversant: and from the ministry of John, into whose baptism they were baptized; who saw the Spirit of God descend on Jesus, and bore witness of it; and declared, that Christ Who was to come after him, would baptize with the Holy Ghost (see Matt. 3:11; Mk. 1:8; Lk. 3:16): nor could they mean the special grace of the Spirit, which they themselves had received; but the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit of God, which they at present knew nothing of, and which were afterwards bestowed upon them: they knew that there were prophecies in the Old Testament, concerning the effusion of the Spirit in the last days, in the days of the Messiah; but they had not heard that these had had their accomplishment; they had heard nothing of the day of Pentecost, and of the pouring out of the Spirit upon the apostles then, nor of any instance of this kind since; they did not know that the Holy Ghost was yet, (see Jn. 7:39) they knew He was promised, but not that He was given; the Ethiopic version, to avoid the difficulty of the text, renders it, ‘we have only heard that there was an Holy Ghost’."
Other Scriptures which testify of the Trinity: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Eph. 4:4-7); “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, 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” (Phil. 2:5-8); “Giving thanks unto the Father, Which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son: In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the Head of the body, the Church: Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell” (Col. 1:12-19); “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9); “…by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 3:5,6 cf. Heb. 9:14); “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Pet. 1:2); “For there are Three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these Three are One” (1 Jn. 5:7,8); “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jd. 20,21).
If the Holy Ghost and the Lord Jesus Christ are not God, then pray tell who are they? Other gods? False gods? Minor gods? No gods at all? They cannot be other gods—minor, false or true—for God says, “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me…I am God, and there is none else…” (Isa. 45:5; 46:9). If the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ are not God, then they are no gods at all. The Holy Ghost and Jesus the Messiah cannot be false gods, for we have seen how many times the Scriptures show that the Lord Jesus is God, as the Holy Spirit is God as the Father is God. Nor can they be true Gods in the sense that they are separate Gods from the Father, for God Himself says that there are no other Gods but He. They cannot be minor gods, for there is no hint in all of Scripture that suggests they were created, or in any way inferior to the Father in essence, nature, or character. They cannot be no gods, for the Scriptures clearly show their God-likeness, or Divinity, their essence and very nature, as equal to that of the Father’s. So if Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not other gods, be they false gods or true, minor gods or no gods at all, the only realistic alternative that remains is the Biblical fact that they are God as much as the Father is God. One of the most powerful verses of Scripture revealing the Awesomeness of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is Romans 8:9: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (cf. Rom. 8:11,14-16; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 2:13-18; Phil.1:19; 1 Pet. 1:11). Here we see clearly that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ. In teaching about the Spirit of God, Paul the apostle refers to the Spirit of Christ. The fact that these phrases are used interchangeably shows that God the Father and the Son and the Spirit are ONE. There are not two Spirits, or three Spirits, involved, but only ONE, just as there are not three Gods in the verse, but ONE. The same Spirit which is called ‘the Spirit of God’, in Romans 8:9, is also referred to in the very same verse as ‘the Spirit of Christ’, proving absolutely that Jesus Christ is God. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Lord Jesus as He does from the Father. If it is not the same Spirit, then who are the ‘two Spirits’? If it is the same Spirit, which it obviously is, then Jesus is God.
Before we look more closely at Romans 8, let us compare other Scriptures which speak of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Jesus: “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matt. 10:20); “Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I (Jesus) will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist’ (Lk. 21:14,15); “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of Whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:14-19); “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Cor. 2:12); “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6); “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name…” (Jn. 14:26); “But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (Jn. 15:26); “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear” (Acts 2:33); “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 3:5,6).
“Notice Christ’s words in John 14:23: ‘…If a man loves Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him’ (cf. 2 Jn. 9). Both the Father and Jesus Christ live in Christians. John 14:16-18 confirms too that not only the Father, but also Jesus Christ lives in us, through the Holy Spirit, when Christ told His disciples, ‘And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you’ (Jn. 14:16-18 cf. 1 Cor. 2:14)”, and in the same chapter the Lord Jesus said “…I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” (Jn. 14:6). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, while Jesus Christ is truth. “God the Father and Jesus Christ have both come to those whom the Father has elected, whom the Son died for and the Holy Spirit has regenerated. Both the Father and the Son have made Their home in Christians. They do this through the Holy Spirit Who flows from both of Them into all that are saved. The Bible teaches that both the Father and the Son live in converted Christians. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul encourages God’s people to examine themselves to make sure that Christ is in them. We read in John 15:4 that Jesus ‘abides’ or ‘lives’ in true Christians. As Christ abides or lives in them through the Holy Spirit, so God the Father abides or lives in them through the Holy Spirit. This is confirmed in 1 John 3:23,24: ‘And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us’ (see also 1 Jn. 4:12,13).” The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth, and the Lord Jesus Christ is truth as God is truth (see Jn. 14:6). “He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, Just and right is He” (Deut. 32:4); "Into Thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth” (Psa. 31:5 cf. Isa. 65:16).
Now let us return to Romans 8 for a closer look at what verses 9, 10 and 11 are saying.“The passage found in Romans 8:9-11, is one of the Bible's often overlooked testimonies to the truth of the Trinity. ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of Righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you’ (Rom. 8:9-11 cf. Rom. 8:12-14). Of course, Paul is not primarily teaching about the Trinity in these verses, but when we pay close attention we see that he is assuming the Trinity as common ground between himself and his readers.” We see how Paul gives witness to the fact that Jesus Christ is God, by showing that the Spirit of God is also the Spirit of Jesus. “The language of the passage only makes sense from a Trinitarian perspective. Take note of the phrases Paul uses to describe the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers: ‘the Spirit of God dwell in you’; ‘if any man have not the Spirit of Christ’; ‘Christ be in you’; ‘the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you’. Paul interchangeably called the Holy Spirit the ‘Spirit of God’ and the ‘Spirit of Christ’. THIS WOULD MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE IF JESUS IS NOT GOD. We would not interchangeably talk about the ‘Spirit of God’ and the ‘Spirit of Gabriel the Archangel’ We would not consider the ‘Spirit of God’ to be the same Spirit as ‘The spirit of that really important human teacher’. Indeed, this passage equates the Spirit of God dwelling in you with Christ Himself dwelling in you, which is not something that one could say for any man, angel, or ‘lesser divine being’. Yet, there are also careful distinctions here. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, but He is also ‘the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead’. Thus, the Father and the Son are distinguished from one another. Christ and He who raised Christ from the dead are distinct and interactive Persons in this context. Thus, we are not talking about one Person Who sometimes acts as Father, sometimes as Son, and other times as Spirit. We are talking about one God Who IS Father, Son, and Spirit all at once and interactively. One God, Three Persons.” Not incidentally, all three Persons of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were active in Christ’s Resurrection. “Certainly, it was ‘God’ Who raised Jesus’ body: ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved’ (Rom. 10:9 cf. Acts 2:24,32,33; 10:40; 13:30; 1 Pet. 1:21 in these contexts ‘God’ could refer to the Father or to the entire Trinity), and Jesus is God. But Scripture also teaches that the Father raised Him: ‘Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, Who raised Him from the dead;)’ (Gal. 1:1; cf. Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:17,20). Scripture also says that the Holy Spirit raised Him: ‘But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you…’ (Rom. 8:11 cf. 1 Pet. 3:18)”, and that Christ the Lord also raised Himself “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body” (Jn. 2:19-21 cf. Jn. 10:18). “So, the act of raising Jesus from the dead was not the operation merely of one Person within the Trinity, but was a cooperative act done by the power of the Divine substance. All three Members of the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and god the Holy Spirit were involved in the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is individually ascribed to each one of them. The fact that the Bible teaches that God raised Jesus from the dead and that Jesus raised Himself is yet another testament to Christ’s Divinity.”
The theme of the Trinity is continued further on in Romans 8. “The Spirit intercedes with the Father on the behalf of His people from within them, and thus is personal and distinct from God in Heaven: ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God’ (Rom. 8:26,27).” Before we continue with the theme of the Trinity, mention should be made of the seemingly impersonal word ‘Itself’ which appears in Romans 8:16,26, being used in reference to the Holy Spirit of God. “The Greek word for ‘spirit’ is ‘pneuma’. Greek, like German, has three genders, which include a neuter, as well as masculine and feminine. Pneuma is a neuter noun. Since it is neuter, the only reflexive pronoun that could be used is ‘itself’. 'Himself' is simply bad grammar…why did the 1611 translators write ‘itself’ twice? Here is how the Textus Receptus, the Greek text underlying the King James Bible New Testament, reads at the problematic points of Romans 8:16 and Romans 8:26: Greek—Aὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα … αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα Transliteration—auto to pneuma…auto to pneuma. Translation—itself the Spirit…itself the Spirit ‘Auto’ must be rendered ‘itself’ and not ‘himself’ because ‘spirit’ is a neuter noun (neither masculine nor feminine). You cannot have a male emphatic pronoun (‘himself’) modify the neuter noun ‘pneuma’, and neither can you have a female emphatic pronoun (‘herself’) modify the neuter pronoun ‘pneuma’. To be faithful to the Greek language of the New Testament, you must translate it as, ‘the Spirit itself’. (Since English and Greek are structured differently, we have to rearrange the words for the English to make sense—‘itself the Spirit’ in the Greek order is correctly read in English as, ‘the Spirit itself’.) The King James Bible is true to Greek here; you cannot say this about modern English versions. Contemporary translators altered the Bible text just to make it easy reading; of course, they did violence to Scripture in not adequately carrying the Greek thought.
“The Holy Spirit is certainly a Person, but we do not need to violate the Greek Bible in Romans 8:16 and Romans 8:26 to prove it. For example, the Holy Spirit is said to be God in Acts 5:3,4: ‘But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God’. The Holy Spirit has the ability to know information and teach with words, so He must be a Person rather than some inanimate force (see 1 Cor. 2:10-13). The Holy Spirit is said to ‘dwell’, or live, within the Christian that is His ‘temple’ (see 2 Tim. 1:14; 1 Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit can speak and warn, as 1 Tim. 4:1 and Acts 28:25 say. The Holy Spirit can be ‘grieved’, or saddened, which certainly means He is a Person because only a rational Being has emotions (see Eph. 4:30). ‘Spirit’ in Greek (pneuma) is neuter, without gender; ‘itself’ (auto) also being genderless, is the proper pronoun to modify ‘Spirit’. ‘Spirit itself’—not ‘Spirit Himself’—is the correct reading in both verses. There is no mistranslation… except in the modern versions! Importantly, it should also be pointed out that the Old Testament does use the word 'it' in reference to Christ. ‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel’ (Gen. 3:15). There is also a direct connection between this 'it' and the 'it' in Luke chapter 2: ‘And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child’ (Lk. 2:16,17). In this case 'it' refers back to 'babe' or brephos, which also is neuter. This connects Genesis 3:15 and Luke 2:17, the latter being the fulfillment.”
The Romans 8 verses, along with John 1:32 and 1 Peter 1:11 are often used as evidence by those who deny the Trinity, for they all refer to the Spirit as “it”. Those who oppose the King James Bible also refer to these verses as inaccurate, even blasphemous translations because they refer to God the Spirit as ‘it’ or ‘itself’. “The Random House Webster's College Dictionary of 1999 lists under the second definition of ‘itself’ - ‘used to represent a PERSON or animal understood, previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context’. Examples given are: ‘Who is it? It is John’. ‘Did you see the baby? Yes, isn’t it cute’. ‘The cat likes to sun itself in the window’.” The word ‘it’ in these examples is clearly not alluding to the baby or the cat as things. It would be unnecessary to mention ‘the baby’ again in the reply, ‘Yes, isn’t the baby cute’. In the context of Romans 8, we see verse 14 referring to the Spirit “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. There is no need to mention the Spirit again in verses 16 & 26, for the immediate context has already made reference to Him making it perfectly clear that He is a Person. “The Websters 1967 Collegiate Dictionary defines ‘it’ as ‘a PERSON or animal whose gender is unknown or disregarded’. The Father and the Son are clearly masculine, but the Spirit is sometimes referred to as masculine and sometimes as neuter, not because He is neuter, but rather because the gender is disregarded or not taken into account in that particular context. The first verse is John 1:32: ‘And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and IT abode upon him’. The second verse is Romans 8:16: ‘The Spirit ITSELF beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God’. The third verse is Romans 8:26: ‘…But the Spirit ITSELF maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered’. The fourth verse is 1 Peter 1:11, ‘Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when IT testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow’. The NASB and NIV have two interesting and parallel verses in the New Testament. Both Matthew 12:45 and Luke 11:26 speak of a ‘spirit that takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than ITSELF’ (the King James has himself). Here is a case of a spiritual entity that can see, hear, speak and has a personality, yet the gender is disregarded in the NASB and NIV, and is referred to as ‘itself’. This spirit was not an inanimate object, but rather a spiritual being with a distinct personality. The same thing occurs in the KJV, NKJV, NIV and NASB in Luke 8:29 ‘For he had commanded the unclean SPIRIT to come out of the man. For oftentimes IT had caught him…’ Here again is a spirit that talks, reasons, hears and knows that Jesus is the Son of God and that torment awaits him. This is clearly a personality and yet all the above mentioned versions refer to him as an ‘it’. The gender is disregarded, and this is perfectly acceptable English. All of the modern versions, like the NKJV, NIV and NAS use ‘itself’ when referring to both animals and groups of people. The NKJV has the donkey itself - Hosea 8:9, the goat itself - Lev. 16:22; glory for itself - Judges 7:2; Numbers 23:9 speaks of ‘a people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations’, and Zech. 12:12 ‘the family of the house of David by itself’.
“All Bible versions at times speak of Jesus Christ as being a thing or something neuter. In Matthew 1:20 the angel of the Lord says to Joseph: ‘…fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for THAT WHICH is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost’. Notice the angel does not say ‘he’, but ‘that which’, it is neuter both in Greek and in English. In Luke 1:35 the angel says to Mary ‘…The Holy Ghost 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’. ‘That holy thing’ is neuter, yet we all know that Jesus Christ is a person, in fact, God manifest in the flesh (see 1 Tim. 3:16). The book of I John opens with a reference to Jesus Christ, yet it refers to Him as a thing: ‘THAT WHICH was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life’. Yet Christ is not a thing, but a person. In I John 5:4 we are told: ‘WHATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world…’ This is a neuter. Are we to assume that everyone who is born of God is a thing?” Of course not. So often people attempt to understand the Greek or Hebrew texts of the Bible via an English mindset of how words are translated and understood, and how the modern English language uses them, thus the true understanding, the true meaning and use of words in the original languages becomes lost in the fallacies of presumption. Coupling an English understanding with the Greek and Hebrew usage of words is nothing short of a recipe for disaster. It can and does lead to all sorts of misunderstandings of words which in turn lead to the formation and belief of false doctrines which only define and promote false gods.
Now let us return to the Biblical theme of the Trinity. “Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, and also intercedes with the Father on the behalf of God’s people: ‘Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us’ (Rom. 8:34). God is working all things together to conform believers into the image of His Son, so we see a distinction between the Father and the Son: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren’ (Rom. 8:28-29). Father, Son, and Spirit are all personal, distinct, and interactive with one another. Yet, the Divine love that we cannot be separated from is interchangeably called the love of Christ: ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?' (Rom. 8:35), and the love of God: ‘For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:38,39). Again, we see both a unity of being and yet a personal distinction. It is true that the title ‘God’ is generally used for the Father here, but it is equally true that we are talking about one Divine Being Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is one Spirit shared by both the Father and the Son, and yet that Spirit is personal and intercedes in prayer to them. There is one love that is both the Love of God and the Love of Christ. For the Spirit to dwell in us is for Christ to dwell in us, and yet the Spirit's intercession is distinct from Christ's intercession: ‘…the Spirit Itself maketh intercession for us…’ (Rom. 8:26), and ‘…It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us’ (Rom. 8:34). The Spirit intercedes and Christ ALSO intercedes. Thus, we see that throughout its 39 verses Romans 8 assumes one God in Three Persons. This passage depends on the presupposition of the doctrine of the Trinity to even make its points. Paul and his brothers and sisters at Rome believed this together, and so Paul could write freely building his theology on these terms with no confusion.” In light of all this awesome weight of evidence how can Romans 8:9 not be declaring the fact that Jesus Christ is God?
“Significantly, ‘God’ is not a person but a title given to the Divine nature. There is only one God (see Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6)—one Divine nature. However, God exists in three Persons, the Trinity. The first Person of the Trinity, whom Jesus called the Father, is often referred to as ‘God’, and rightly so—the Father is God (see 1 Pet. 1:2-3). However, people often confuse the title ‘God’ as referring only to the Father. The second and third Persons of the Trinity, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are also God (see Heb. 1:8, Acts 5:3-4). So, there is one God existing in three Persons. These Persons are all distinct (see Matt. 3:16-17). They are all equally God. The Divine nature cannot be subdivided; God’s nature is infinite—infinity cannot be subtracted from or added to.”
“The teaching of the Bible concerning the Trinity might be summarized thus: God is a Tri-unity, with each Person of the Godhead equally and fully and eternally God. Each is necessary, and each is distinct, and yet all are one. If we were to use math to describe the Trinity, it would not be, 1+1+1=3. It would be 1x1x1=1. God is a Triune God. Thus the term: ‘Tri’ meaning three, and ‘Unity’ meaning one, Tri + Unity = Trinity. It is a way of acknowledging what the Bible reveals to us about God, that God is One, yet three ‘Persons’ Who have the same essence of Deity. The three Persons appear in a logical, causal order. The Father is the unseen, omnipresent Source of all being, revealed in and by the Son, experienced in and by the Holy Spirit. The Son proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit from the Son. With reference to God's creation, the Father is the Thought behind it, the Son is the Word calling it forth, and the Spirit is the Deed making it a reality. We ‘see’ God and His great salvation in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, then ‘experience’ Their reality by faith, through the indwelling Presence of His Holy Spirit. Though these relationships seem paradoxical, and to some completely impossible, they are profoundly realistic, and their truth is ingrained deep in man’s nature. Thus, men have always sensed first the truth that God must be ‘out there’, everywhere present and the First Cause of all things, but they have corrupted this intuitive knowledge of the Father into pantheism and ultimately into naturalism (see Rom. 1). Similarly, men have always felt the need to ‘see’ God in terms of their own experience and understanding, but this knowledge that God must reveal Himself has been distorted into polytheism and idolatry. Men have thus continually erected ‘models’ of God, sometimes in the form of graven images, sometimes even in the form of philosophical systems purporting to represent ultimate reality. Finally, men have always known that they should be able to have communion with their Creator and to experience His Presence ‘within’. But this deep intuition of the Holy Spirit has been corrupted into various forms of false mysticism and fanaticism, and even into spiritism and demonism. Thus, the truth of God's Tri-unity is ingrained in man's very nature, but he has often distorted it and substituted a false god in its place.”
According to those who remonstrate profusely against the concept of the Trinity being a biblical teaching, based on what are perceived to be similar teachings which are found the world over in paganism, the fact that paganism also teaches the concept of a God, must mean, according to these people’s process of thought, that the very concept of God must also be pagan in origin. “Pagans also believe in the concept of God, does this mean that God must not, therefore, be true?” Is God simply a pagan idea, and not a Christian reality? Must we dismiss the concept of a Trinity as well as the concept of God, simply because paganism employs the concept of a God, and groups of gods? The greatest deceptions are those which contain much truth, but does this mean that all seekers of truth should dismiss any truths which are used by those who seek to make their deceptions more admissible by their utilization of certain truths? “We must not dismiss a truth merely because it is held in common with those whom we may not approve. Let us not try to find all kinds of perversions from the outside that have nothing to do with the Biblical record, let’s go to the Scriptures to prove our major points. Alexander Hislop, in his book, ‘The Two Babylons’, traces the history of the practices and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. He writes, ‘All these forms have existed from ancient times, while overcome with idolatry, the recognition of the Trinity was universal, proving how deep rooted in the human race was the doctrine on the subject, which comes out so distinctly in Genesis’ (pg. 18).” Man has always failed in his understanding of the Trinity, evidenced by filling many of his religions with three gods, instead of One God with three Personages. This is one of the key aspects which identify religions as fake, and distinguishes true Christianity from all other belief systems. “THE PAGAN TRIADS ARE RESIDUARY FRAGMENTS OF MAN’S LOST KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, NOT DIFFERENT STAGES IN A PROCESS OF EVOLUTION, BUT EVIDENCE OF A MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEGRADATION (see Romans 1). While there are pagan ‘trinities’ which can be traced back to Babylon, instead of supporting anti-Trinitarian views such as the Watchtower literature promotes, it is evidence for the Triune God.” The very essence and intrinsic nature of perversion can never escape its reliance upon truth for its very existence, nor the fact that a perversion is evidence of the existence of the genuine. Man’s misconceptions of the Holy Trinity manifested themselves as triads of gods. Lost man, spiritually dead man, has never been able to lay hold of the concept of the true God being three Persons, and so, in his spiritual blindness, man filled his religions with groups of two, three or more gods, or having a single god as one person only. Man’s state of spiritual deadness is further exposed in his having now reached his inevitable conclusion that the Holy Trinity is a concept borrowed from paganism. If one does not have all the facts, if one does not know the truth, one’s thinking, as well as one’s destiny, is all too easily determined. “Many pagan religions hold to one infinite God the Creator. Strict monotheism is found in Islam and a few other religions such as Zoroastrianism, Baha’i and Sikhism. Are we now to accept their view because God is called one (singular).” Or, are we to even reject the concept of the existence of a God purely because some believe that the very concept of God comes from superstitious, pagan, man?