“Suppose you need to solve a crime mystery. You survey the crime scene, gather the facts, and write them down in your memo pad. To solve the crime, you take the known facts and, step by step, show who committed the crime. You conscientiously provide supporting evidence for each statement you make.” These are the primary steps of writing a geometry proof to prove a hypothesis. Now, wait a minute before you go cringing and saying how you hated math in high school! This could be a very fun way for you to approach understanding your Bible, as if gathering clues and evidence to solve the greatest mystery ever told.
Many Trinitarians will tell you that they believe that Jesus is God, or “God the Son” and quickly point to John 1:1 as their evidence or proof text. Let’s take a quick look at what their logic would look like if it was presented as a Geometry proof:
Assume Jesus is God and preexisted his birth.
1. We are given that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1
2. We are also given that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14
3. Therefore, Jesus is God and preexisted his birth, because if “the Word became flesh” is Jesus, he had to have been existing in the beginning with God and therefore must be God.
However, in geometry, my high school math teacher, Mr. Johnson, always warned us to “never assume!” First of all, John 1:1 does not say, “In the beginning was the Son.” People assume that it does and they jump to this conclusion based on this faulty reasoning. But according to the mathlab.com, “The two most important things a proof must possess are clarity and backup.” They write, “Over the years, we’ve read some awful proofs and some wonderful proofs. Without a doubt the wonderful ones were wonderful because WE COULD UNDERSTAND THEM!!!!!” And just like studying our Bibles, we must not base a theology on just one or two Scriptures alone, but on clear and consistent teachings that are backed up by numerous other verses from Genesis to Revelation.
Let’s examine the facts to see if the Trinity Doctrine has clarity and backup.
Clarity
The problem Trinitarians face with this assumption that Jesus is God, is that it makes ‘who Jesus is’ become very unclear and creates all kinds of problems. The Trinity is very confusing. 1+1+1 = 3? When does the number one not mean one? If there is only one God and He is God, then He = 1. Not They = 1. If there was ever anything called ‘‘fuzzy math,” then the Trinity would definitely be that! Are there problems with the Trinity doctrine? A boat load! For example, if Jesus really was God, and all knowing, why didn’t he know when he was coming back, and only God the Father is the only one who knows this? (Mark 13:32) If Jesus is God, and God is immortal (never dying or destructible), then, how could Jesus have died? (I Timothy 6:16) If God cannot be tempted, then how could Jesus have been tempted? (James 1:13) This erroneous assumption (that Jesus is God) opens up a whole can of worms, so to speak, introducing all sorts of inconsistencies when we assume Jesus is God, when the Bible clearly states repeatedly, that Jesus is the SON of God, not the one true, living Almighty God, YHWH. Jesus is not YHWH, and to state that he is, brings confusion, misunderstanding, and obscurity to the plan of God.
Backup
The Trinitarians’ assumption also lacks sufficient backup. Although there are a few Scriptures that are somewhat ambiguous and may be interpreted either way, there are thousands of Scriptures that state very clearly, the fact that God is the one and only living God. This is backed up substantially by thousands of personal pronouns alone (Me, Myself, I), and that Jesus is the Son of that one LORD God. Just the mere fact that there is only one God and there is Jesus, the Son of God, the mediator between God and man, proves that Jesus is not God (I Timothy 2:5). To assume Jesus is God is both illogical and inconsistent with what Scripture actually teaches. And that’s just one verse! The whole Bible emphatically states with overwhelming evidence that there is one God, and He is the Heavenly Father (John 17:3 is an ideal example).
Now, let’s look at the Biblical alternative to the man-made Trinity doctrine, called “Biblical Unitarianism.” This is simply the belief that God is one, not three-in-one. Biblical Unitarians believe Jesus is not God, but the Son of God. Let’s start by believing what God said about Jesus in Mark 9:7, “This is My beloved Son, listen to him!” How would this proof look?
Prove
Jesus is the Son of God who is the fulfillment of God’s word1. We are given in John 1:1 that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. We know that God used His spoken word to bring the earth into existence.
God also promised to us the word (plan) of Jesus since the beginning. (Backup: Genesis 3:15 Seed of Eve; Revelation 13:8: the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; Titus 1:2 the hope of eternal life, which God promised long ages ago.). God’s word (plan) consisted of how He would restore the world to what it should be, before Adam and sin changed things.2. We are given in John 1:14 that the word, (God’s plan) became flesh.
We know that God’s plan became a reality when Jesus was born.(At the proper time, Jesus became God’s plan in flesh and blood!). Through Jesus’ death and ultimate resurrection from the dead, Jesus brought us life, just as Adam brought us sin and death. Jesus is a crucial piece of the mystery, of God’s plan being fulfilled, not only for the chosen Jewish people, who are literal descendants of Abraham, but for the adopted sons and daughters as well, who through faith in Christ and faith in the promises God made to Abraham, become heirs to the promise or plan, also.
3. We are also given in Isaiah 55:11 “So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
We understand that if God speaks His word, it will be done. Jesus is the fulfillment of that spoken word and Jesus did not come to abolish it, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Jesus was doing the will of his God and Father, so that God’s word would be fulfilled.
4. We read in Revelation 1:2, John bore witness to the word (plan)of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.
God’s plan of salvation for mankind will come to a culmination at Jesus’ return to the earth when the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and Jesus will set up his Father’s Kingdom. (I Corinthians 15). In other words, God’s plan isn’t complete yet. His plan is to restore the earth and have Abraham’s descendants rule and reign with Christ in righteousness in the age to come.5. We are given the opportunity to repent from our sins and believe in the Gospel (Good News).
The Good News is that God has sent us a Savior to cleanse us from our sins, through Jesus Christ’s blood and his sacrificial death, so that we can be saved from judgment and the second death, and instead inherit eternal life and immortality in the coming Kingdom.6. Therefore, Jesus cannot be God, if he is the fulfillment and the flesh and blood reality of God’s great word (plan) of salvation for all of mankind. God’s plan might not be completely clear to you yet, but as you look into the subject more, pray and study diligently, it will become evident that Jesus is the culmination of God’s awesome plan for mankind to inherit eternal life and for the world to be restored to righteousness, justice and holiness, so that God will be able to finally dwell with mankind (Revelation 21:1-4).
This simple Geometry proof presents the mystery of the Kingdom and you will want to investigate it. Learn all the facts and truth that you can about it, so you do not miss out on it. You do not want to be swallowed up in tradition and miss the beauty of who Jesus is, within God’s great plan for us! He is an integral part of this great word or plan of God, but it doesn’t mean that he IS God. To assume this Trinity doctrine is true, muddles the beauty of God’s great plan for us and our hope for salvation [eternal life in the kingdom of God in the age to come]!
This geometry reasoning is just a fun way to tickle our brains into action. I am merely suggesting that we do not leave logic and reasoning at the door when we study Scripture. God gave us a brain and He meant for us to use it, and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. If something doesn’t make sense and you cannot connect the dots of God’s awesome plan; if your tradition has left you with gaps in your understanding or inconsistencies within Scripture; then this is indicative that there must be something wrong! God expects us to have faith, to believe in Him when we cannot see Him and to believe as Abraham did, in the promises God made to him, but He does not expect us to believe in man-made theories that have absolutely no logic and were not Scriptural to begin with! Just because we cannot grasp all the wonders and truths of our amazing, awesome God, does not mean that He does not desire us to get the elementary understandings of our faith right:
1.) that He alone is God and
2.) The only way to inherit eternal life in the coming Kingdom on the earth is through belief in His Son, Jesus, the Christ (Anointed One, the king of this Kingdom, the seed of Abraham)!
It makes me think of Peter’s words: “Like newborn babes, long for the unadulterated milk of the word (plan), that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” (I Peter 2:2-3). This word (plan) of the kingdom that God has promised us is the most basic, fundamental and integral element of our faith and our salvation. Let us long for its simplicity, in it’s pure, uncorrupted state in which God designed it since before the creation of the world, and let us taste and see the goodness of our God in His provision for us to inherit this promise! Let us praise Him, for His goodness, and His lovingkindness and mercy upon us!
The Trinity is based upon a man-made creed decided in 325 A.D. at the Nicene council and I, for one, reject this council’s decision and their Hellenistic approach to defining who Jesus was and is. I implore you: Reexamine what you’ve been taught and see if it makes sense. Don’t be afraid to question it. If it’s true, then it will stand up to any amount of testing and it will have sufficient Scriptural back up, and be clear to you, so that you can understand it!! Be a good examiner of the Bible, a Berean. God has given us enough evidence in the Scriptures to solve this great mystery of the Kingdom and our Lord Messiah. Investigate this mystery as if your very life depended upon it.
You say you believe it? Prove it!