2nd
FUNDAMENTAL
TRUTH
THE ONE
TRUE GOD
The one true God has revealed himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10,11; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22).*
In 1913 a great crowd gathered in the Arroyo Seco of South Pasadena, California, to hear Mrs. Maria Woodworth-Etter in what was called a worldwide Pentecostal camp meeting.1 One night an immigrant from Danzig, Germany, John Scheppe, woke everyone up by shouting the name of Jesus. He has just received a vision of Jesus that made him feel Jesus needed to be given great honor. One of the pastors, Frank J. Ewart,2 a former Baptist minister, soon took advantage of this and said the way to give honor to Jesus was to be rebaptized in water in the name of Jesus only.3 Soon some were declaring that those who refused this rebaptism would lose their salvation.4 They also declared that there is only one Person in the Godhead: Jesus, who filled the offices or modes of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the time or occasion demanded. Those who revived this doctrine soon became known as Jesus Name, Jesus Only, and Oneness, and they referred to their doctrines as “The New Issue” (though it actually was an old heresy revived5).
Shortly after the Assemblies of God was formed in 1914, some began to spread this doctrine. To counteract it, the Assemblies of God in 19166 included a section in its Statement of Fundamental Truths entitled “The Adorable Godhead.” It is currently stated as follows:
(a)Terms Defined
The terms “trinity” and “persons” as related to the Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with the Scriptures, whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished from “gods many and lords many.” We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God, who is One Lord, as a trinity or as one Being of three persons, and still be absolutely scriptural (e.g., Matt. 28:19; John 14:16–17; 2 Cor. 13:14).
(b)Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead
Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead which He expressed in specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that this distinction and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained (Matt. 11:25–27; 28:19; Luke 1:35; 1 Cor. 1:24; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 John 1:3–4).
(c)Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him the Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His name is one (see Zech. 14:9; John 1:18; 15:26; 17:11,21).
(d)Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person; nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as to cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence, neither Person in the Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others (see John 5:17–30,32,37; 8:17–18).
(e)The Title, Lord Jesus Christ
The appellation, “Lord Jesus Christ,” is a proper name. It is never applied, in the New Testament, either to the Father or to the Holy Spirit. It therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of God (see Rom. 1:1–3,7; 2 John 3).
(f)The Lord Jesus Christ, God with Us
The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son of Man. He is, therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is God and man, is “Immanuel,” God with us (see Matt. 1:23; 1 John 4:2,10,14; Rev. 1:13,17).
(g)The Title, Son of God
Since the name “Immanuel” embraces both God and man in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son of God, describes His proper deity, and the title Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore, the title Son of God belongs to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of Man, to the order of time (see Matt. 1:21–23; Heb. 1:1–13; 7:3; 1 John 3:8; 2 John 3).
(h)Transgression of the Doctrine of Christ
Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to say that Jesus Christ derived the title, Son of God, solely from the fact of the incarnation, or because of His relation to the economy of redemption. Therefore, to deny that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal Son, is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being of God; a denial of the Father and the Son; and a displacement of the truth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. (John 1:1–2,14,18,29,49; Heb. 12:2; 1 John 2:22–23; 4:1–5; 2 John 9).
(i)Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels and principalities and powers having been made subject unto Him. And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that God may be all in all (see Acts 2:32–36; Rom. 14:11; 1 Cor. 15:24–28; Heb. 1:3; 1 Pet. 3:22).
(j)Equal Honor to the Father and to the Son
Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Spirit to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of deity, and to give Him all the honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead except those which express relationship (see paragraphs b, c, and d) and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father (see John 5:22–23; Phil. 2:8–9; 1 Pet. 1:8; Rev. 4:8–11; 5:6–14; 7:9–10).
The Bible does not attempt to prove the existence of God. Genesis begins by recognizing that He is: “In the beginning God …” Psalm 14:1 declares, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Hebrews 11:6 states emphatically that “anyone who comes to him [God] must believe that he exists.” The Scriptures affirm what is universally experienced by people everywhere: There is a God. To say there is no Supreme Being—or to live that way—is to deny what is intuitively known by all (see John 1:9; Rom. 1:19). The existence of God is so fundamental to human thinking that to abandon this conception is to embark upon a wild sea of irrationality that leaves us without meaning or purpose.
Although the Bible does not attempt to argue a case for God’s existence, there are implications that support such arguments. Several classical arguments have been put forth from medieval days which, although limited in themselves, together provide intellectual confirmation and support to the truth of the Bible. They serve as “pointers.” The first of these pointers is the ontological argument. This argument, briefly stated, is that the conception of a Perfect Being requires that Being to have a real existence, since if the idea of a Perfect Being does not have a genuine manifestation in actuality, it is less than perfect. Therefore, to conceive of a Perfect Being, namely God, it is a contradiction in terms not to believe that He truly exists.7
The second classical argument is the cosmological argument. It logically flows out of the ontological argument. The universe, as you might guess, is not self-existent. All events of which we are aware are dependent on some cause beyond the events themselves. If you push the causes back far enough, you will eventually come to a First Cause, a self-existent Being not dependent on anything else at all.
The third classical argument for God’s existence is the teleological argument, or the argument from design. The amazing world uncovered by scientific inquiry discloses a remarkable, breathtaking orderliness in nature. The mathematical improbability of the marvels of living and nonliving structures just having occurred by chance drives the serious thinking person to a sense of awe and wonder at the Designer responsible for this amazing display. We can join our voices to the Psalmist who said: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the word of his hands” (Ps. 19:1).8
The fourth classical argument, the moral argument, arises out of the innate sense of right and wrong with which every person is equipped. The existence of a great Lawgiver in the universe is the logical consequence of the awareness of morality. Even though standards of morality vary widely from culture to culture, there remains nonetheless the consciousness of moral values.
Similar to the preceding is the fifth classical argument, based on aesthetics, or beauty. That people have a conception of relative values regarding beauty and an appreciation of it (however widely the standards may vary) points in the direction of One who himself in the giver of beauty, and who is altogether lovely.
Romans 1:19–20 indicates that the existence of God may be known by all thought general revelation.9 However, to know the nature of God, it is necessary to turn to special revelation, to the Bible. God discloses himself in a variety of ways in the Bible. An important way of knowing something about Him is supplied through His divine names.
’El (Heb. “God”), the singular form, occurs about 250 times in the Bible and emphasizes the idea of strength (see Gen. 14:18–22). A related singular form, ’Eloah (Heb.), is found 42 times in the Book of Job alone. But its plural, ’Elohim, occurs over 2,000 times in the Old Testament; it is usually connected with God’s creative power and providential care of the universe and humankind. Further, its implication is of plurality in the Godhead (see Gen. 1:26; 3:22).
Yahweh is translated “LORD” in many English versions.10 It is God’s covenant-keeping name (see Mal. 2:5; 3:6). This name occurs some 7,000 times in the Bible. Its meaning is “He will [actively] continue to be.” It also implies He will show what kind of God He is by what He does, and is especially connected with the promise “I will be with you” (see Ex. 3:12).
Special compound names, employed with ‘El and with Yahweh, emphasize the nature of God and His covenantal relationships. These include ’El Shaddai, “God Almighty” (Gen. 17:1; from a root shadu, meaning “mountain”); ’El Elyon, “God Most High” (Gen. 14:18); ’El Ro’i, “The God who sees me” (Gen. 16:13); ’El ‘Olam, “The Eternal God” (Gen. 21:33); ’El ’Elohe Yisra’el, “God, the God of Israel” (emphasizing God’s special relation with Israel, Gen. 33:20); Yahweh-ropheka, “The LORD your [personal] Physician” (Ex. 15:26); Yahweh-nissi, “The LORD my Banner” (Ex. 17:15); Yahweh-shalom, “The LORD is Peace” (Judg. 6:24); Yahweh-ro’i, “The LORD my Shepherd” (Ps. 23:1). The One who forgives is denoted by Yahweh-tsidkenu, “The LORD our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:6). The name of the New Jerusalem will be Yahweh-shammah, “The LORD is there” (Ezek. 48:35). And God’s heavenly name is Yahweh-sabaoth, “The LORD of hosts [including angelic hosts]” (Ps. 148:2; cf. Matt. 26:35).
These are other important terms that describe the nature of God: ’Adonai (Heb.), Kurios (Gk.), “Lord”; ‘Attiq Yomin (Aramaic), “The Ancient of Days,” a title given in connection with His judging and ruling over the kingdoms of this world (Dan. 7:9,13,22); Qedosh Yisra’el (Heb.), “The Holy One of Israel” (used 29 times by Isaiah); Tsur (Heb.), “Rock”; ‘Ab (Heb.; Aramaic ’Abba; Gk. Ho Patēr), “Father,” or “O, Father!” (a very respectful form of address in Bible times); Melek (Heb.), “King” (Isa. 6:1,5); Go’el (Heb.), “Redeemer”; Despotēs (Gk.), “Lord,” “Master,” “Owner”; and Rishon wa-’acharon (Heb.; Gk. Ho Protos kai Ho Eschatos), “The First and the Last” (speaking of His rule over the entire course of history, Isa. 44:6; 48:12; Rev. 2:8).
Moving from names and titles used in Scripture that speak of the nature of God, let us look briefly at some of the important concepts describing the nature of God. God is by nature, first of all, infinite, without limit or limitation. He is greater than the universe, for He created it. This is a picture too big for our finite minds to capture, but it is important to our understanding of God to accept this postulate (see 1 Kings 8:27). Closely related to this is the unity of God. There is but one God (Deut. 6:5; Isa. 44:6,8).
God is at the same time both transcendent (above, beyond, and greater than the universe He has created) and immanent (present and active within the universe). Only Christian teaching about God adequately unites these two views. Transcendence preserves the distinction between God and His created universe. Not to do this causes one to fall into pantheism, in which God and the universe are hopelessly confused11 and the idea of a supreme personal God is ruled out. The idea of immanence, which recognizes that God is present within His created universe, is necessary to preserve the loving relationship of God to the people on the earth He created (Ex. 8:22; Acts 17:24–25,27–28). “He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). Those who do not give sufficient place to God’s nearness fall into the error of deism, which conceives of God merely as a great First Cause, something like the disinterested “clockmaker” who got the universe started and then went off to let it run by itself.
God is also immutable (not susceptible to change) and eternal. This means God’s nature does not change, and never will (see Mal. 3:6). In the Old Testament two very important Hebrew words used to describe God are chesed (faithful, steadfast, covenant-keeping love) and ’emeth (reliability, permanence, continuance, fidelity, truth). He is ’Elohe ’emeth “the true God” (2 Chron. 15:3), and He will be true to himself. These terms occur repeatedly in Psalm 89, for example. They vividly depict the dependability of our God.
In addition to the attributes that describe His inner nature, God bears special relationships to His creation. These are called communicable attributes, for they can be found (to a much lesser degree, of course) in human nature. They may be divided into two categories: natural and moral.
Among these natural attributes is God’s omnipotence (the quality of being all-powerful). He enjoys freedom and power to do all that is consistent with His nature. He is sovereign over the universe. Isaiah 40:15 describes the majesty of the King of kings: “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.” But if God is sovereign, one may ask, why is there sin in the world? The answer lies in the fact that God is sovereign over himself and has the power to limit himself:12 He chose freely to create beings (people and angels) with the integrity of moral choice. God determined that He would not invade the freedom of the personal will. Ultimately, one must acknowledge that God, who allows for personal freedom, is still Lord of history, and He is in control of the destiny of nations and of the universe. The entire Book of Revelation, together with important passages in Daniel (e.g., 4:34–35; 5:20–21; 7:26–27; 8:19–25) and Ezekiel (e.g., 37:24–28; 38:3; 39:1), clearly discloses the control God has over the future of our universe. But in the interim, He has, for reasons known best to Him, permitted freedom of individual choice and the sin that this allows.
God is omnipresent, everywhere present (Ps. 139:7–10). He is not limited by space. He is present to people everywhere, and to all that He has created, in manifold and wonderful ways, loving and caring for even the sparrow that falls (Matt. 6:25–29). Although He is present everywhere, one must remember that while He especially reveals himself and His glory in heaven, on earth He dwells only in intimate personal relationship with those who humble themselves and choose to admit Him into the sanctuary of their inmost being (Isa. 57:15; Rev. 3:20).
God is omniscient, having infinite, universal, complete knowledge and insight. He views reality from a different perspective than we do. We see things in a stream of consciousness. Life is for us a flow along a time line. For example, we look ahead to the future, which eventually becomes the present and then the past. For God, however, all reality is known to Him. All events, past, present, and future, are available to Him as present knowledge (cf. Rom. 8:27–28; 1 Cor. 3:20). Now, some may wonder how God can know who will be lost and allow them to be lost. God’s foreknowledge does not predetermine individual choices, for He has chosen not to violate the individual free will. In Ephesians 1:3–14 we have the outlines of the panorama of predetermined world history, but this glimpse into the predestination of the course of the universe does not rule out the “islands of freedom” God has reserved for the personal choices of free people. God does not send people to hell; He permits them to choose their own eternal destiny.
Besides the natural attributes of God, which form an important category of His communicable attributes, there are several moral attributes. Goodness is one of them. God is truly a good God. He is disposed to looking out continually for the welfare of His creation. He does not set out to lay snares for His creatures. Evil is an enemy of both creation and God. The Bible is filled with descriptions of God’s goodness, people ascribing to Him such characteristics as love (1 John 4:8), loving-kindness and faithfulness (Ps. 89:49), grace (Acts 20:24), and mercy (Eph. 2:4). The greatest act of God’s love is displayed in the climax of His plan of redemption at the Cross. No one has greater love than this.
God is holy. Central to the biblical message about God’s character is His holiness. “Holy” in the Bible basically means “separated, dedicated.” There are two important aspects of God’s holiness. (1) He is separated from and elevated above all that is transient, impermanent, finite, imperfect, as well as all that is evil, sinful, and wrong. (2) He is also separated to and dedicated to the carrying out of His great plan of redemption, the bringing in of the coming Kingdom, and, ultimately, setting up the new heavens and the new earth. This conception of God is utterly necessary for a proper understanding of worship. It is a helpful corrective to “cheap, easy believism” and superficial religious experience, which do not serve to dedicate us to doing the will of God. God evokes awe, for He is holy. (See Isa. 6:1–5.)
God is also righteous. This means He can be depended on to act with justice (see Deut. 32:4; Dan. 4:37; Rev. 15:3). More than that, it means that God is in himself essential righteousness itself (Ps. 71:19). It is His nature to be just; He will always be true to His nature (Isa. 51:4–6). It is this characteristic of God that gives moral order to the universe. Related to this lofty standard of being and behavior are the attributes of justice, truth, and anger, or wrath. God deals fairly with people (2 Chron. 19:7). That is justice. That He is the embodiment of truth is grounded in His absolutely transparent purity. It is necessary for justice and truth to be served by the exhibition of holy anger, or wrath, against those who rebel against Him (Rev. 16:1–5). Yet at the same time, God years to redeem broken humankind (2 Pet. 3:9). This is love. It is at the cross of Christ that God’s wrath and God’s love flow together (Rom. 3:22–25)!
A great mystery is before us here, for, since there is only one God, only one Trinity (or “Triunity”), we have no adequate analogies, or comparisons, to aid us in understanding the Trinity of the Godhead (the divine Being that exists in a unity of three distinct, divine Persons).13 Difficult as it may be to comprehend the truth, it is a vital and urgent doctrine. Church history contains the tragic tales of groups that failed to do justice to the concept of the Trinity.
The daily Jewish family prayer, taken from Deuteronomy 6:4, emphasizes the great truth of the unity of God. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”14 Alongside this important truth is the concept of personality in God. Personality involves knowledge (or intelligence), feeling (or affection), and will. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each show these characteristics in their own personal way. The Holy Spirit, for example, does things that show He is not a mere power or thing (see Acts 8:29; 11:12; 13:2,4; 16:6–7; Rom. 8:27; 15:30; 1 Cor. 2:11; 12:11).
Personality also demands fellowship. But before the creation of the universe, where was the possibility of fellowship? The answer lies in the complex arrangement within the Godhead. The unity of the Godhead does not preclude compound personalities. There are three distinct personalities, each wholly deity, yet so harmoniously interrelated that they are one essence. This is quite different from saying there are three Gods.
One helpful way to disclose the distinctions of persons within the Godhead is to observe the functions especially attributed to each. For example, God the Father is principally credited with the work of creation; God the Son is the principal agent in applying the word of redemption to humanity; God the Holy Spirit is the deposit, or first installment, guaranteeing our future inheritance. This three-fold distinction is sketched in Ephesians 1. Yet one must not press this distinction too far, for there is also abundant biblical testimony to the cooperation of the Son and the Spirit in the work of creation: The Father created through the Son (John 1:3); the Holy Spirit hovered gently over the earth in preparation for the six days of creation (Gen. 1:2). The Father sent the Son into the world to effect redemption (John 3:16), and the Son himself, in His ministry, went “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). The Father and the Son also share in the Holy Spirit’s ministry of sanctifying the believer.
The Trinity is a harmonious fellowship within the Godhead. This fellowship is also a loving fellowship, for God is love. But His love is an outgoing love, not a self-centered love. This kind of love demands that before the creation there had to be more than one Person within the Being of God.
An important term to bear in mind with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity is subordination. There is a kind of subordination in the order of relation of the persons, but not of their nature. The Son and the Spirit are said to “proceed” from the Father. This is a subordination in relationship, but not of essence. The Spirit is said to proceed from the Son and the Father. This is the orthodox statement of the western Church, adopted at the council of Nicea in A.D. 325 and embodied in the standard Christian creeds and doctrinal statements.
Two major kinds of heresies that diverged from the consensus of Church understanding of biblical teaching regarding the Trinity were Sabellianism and Arianism. About the middle of the third century A.D., Sabellius, in an attempt to avoid the possibility of teaching that there were three Gods, promoted the idea that there was but one God with one personality, but that He manifested himself in three different modes. First, there was God the Father, the Creator. Then God manifested himself as Son, the Redeemer. Now, He manifests himself as Spirit. God, for Sabellius, was just exhibiting three different “masks.” A modern form of this heresy erupted in Pentecostal circles about 1915, assuming the epithet of “Jesus Only,” or “Oneness.”15 It is a species of Unitarianism that oversimplifies the Trinity,16 actually dragging God down to the human level. On the human level there is only one person to one being. It does not matter what part of a person (e.g., will, emotions) acts, he must say, “I did it.” But on the divine level there are the three Persons to the one Being. God has three “places” where He can say “I.” And why not—surely we should expect God to be greater than we are!
Most of those who now follow this Jesus Only doctrine teach that people are not saved until they are baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues. This flows out of their confusion about divine persons, failing to distinguish the redemption wrought in Christ and the anointing and empowerment made available through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The other serious heresy that has periodically afflicted segments of the Church is Arianism. Arius, in A.D. 325, went to the other extreme, emphasizing so much the distinction among the persons in the Godhead that he in effect divided the Godhead into three distinct essences. The result was a subordination not only of relationship but of nature, for both the Son and the Holy Spirit. This led to the reduction of Jesus Christ, and the Spirit as well, to a position of less than full deity. Arius denied the eternal Sonship of Christ, considering Him to have come into existence at some point after the Father. Further, the Holy Spirit was said to have come into existence through the operation of the Father and the Son, making Him even less deity. There are many groups of people today who hold that neither the Son nor the Spirit is in the fullest sense deity. Such groups are in league with their spiritual ancestor Arius.17
Although there is no specific passage in the Bible that uses the term “trinity,” there are numerous passages that allude to the Trinity. A vivid example is clearly given in the events of the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan River by John the Baptist: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:16–17). The Trinity is admittedly a mystery, a mystery too great for human comprehension. But as with so many truths hard for the unregenerate person to accept, the Spirit of Truth helps our weakness and human inability (1 Cor. 2:13–16). We worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and recognize their personalities in what we see in the Bible. Therefore, we humbly acknowledge that they are One in fellowship, purpose, and substance.
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Although unbelievers do not accept the classical arguments for the existence of God, in what sense can these arguments be helpful to believers?
2. When the Bible speaks of God’s great name, the word “name” may be collective and include all that is revealed in the various names of God given in the Bible. What kind of God does the Old Testament reveal? What does the New Testament add to this?
3. How can God be both transcendent and immanent?
4. How can you relate the attributes of God to your experience of God?
5. What are the two important aspects of God’s holiness and how do they relate to the holiness He wants to see in us?
6. What is the difference between holiness and righteousness?
7. Why is it important to recognize God as a Trinity of Persons in one Being rather than as three separate Gods?
8. What are some of the ways the Bible indicates that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons?
9. What are some of the ways the Bible shows that there is indeed a Trinity (Triunity”)?
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1 William W. Menzies, Anointed to Serve: The Story of the Assemblies of God (Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Publishing House, 1971), 111.
2 Ewart was pronounced by most people then as “You-r’t.”
3 Menzies, Anointed, 112–113. Both Scheppe and Ewart were influenced by a sermon of R.E. McAlister on water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
4 This was told to Myrle M. Fisher in 1913. She was rebaptized, but later, through her own study of the Scripture, returned to a trinitarian position. She married Harry Horton and became the mother of Stanley M. Horton, who often heard her tell of this.
5 This doctrine was held by the Sabellians and Monarchians of the third century A.D., but was rejected by the majority of Christians in those days.
6 For a discussion of this controversy see Thomas F. Harrison, Christology, 2d. rev. ed. (Springfield, Mo.: published by the author, 1985), 35–77.
7 For a good discussion of the value of the ontological argument see James Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962), 98–100.
8 For a good discussion of Ps. 19 and other passages referring to general revelation in nature see Millard J. Erickson, ed., Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986), 166–171.
9 See “The Revelation of God to Humankind” in chapter 1.
10 The consonants of the personal name YHWH were written in the New Latin as JHVH and combined with the vowels of the Heb. word for Lord to give the nonbiblical form “Jehovah.”
11 Pantheism says that the universe with its forces and laws is all there is. Then it calls the universe God.
12 One of the greatest evidences of God’s ability to limit himself is seen in the coming of Jesus as a baby in the manger and in His life, ministry, and death on the cross. See Phil. 2:6–8.
13 Dr. Nathan Wood, former president of Gordon College and Gordon Divinity School, believed we could see the imprint of the Trinity in nature. He suggested, for example, that three-dimensional space shows it. If the dimensions of a room are taken as equal units, the length goes through the entire room, so do the width and the height, yet each is distinct. And to get the space you do not add 1 + 1 +1; you multiply 1 x 1 x 1, which is still one. (Like all analogies, however, this one falls short, since dimensions are not personal.)
14 “One” here is the Heb. ‘echad, which can represent a compound or complex unity. Although the Heb. has a word that means “one alone,” “the only one,” yachid, is not used of God.
15 They usually point to the fact that the word “name” in Matt. 28:19 is singular and they say that that “name” is Jesus. However, in Bible times the word “name” included both names and titles (see Luke 6:13, KJV) and was used in the singular when only one name was given for each person (as in Ruth 1:2 where the “name” is singular in the Heb. when referring to the two sons). It should be noted also that in Matt. 28:19 the command was literally to baptize them “into the name,” which was their way of saying into the worship and service of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:38, however, a different form is used in the Gk. and means “upon the Name of Jesus,” which was their way of saying “upon the authority of Jesus,” an authority expressed in Matt. 28:19. Luke used that terminology to distinguish Christian baptism from the baptism of John the Baptist.
16 Some of them use an illustration like this: Dr. William Jones is addressed by his title, Dr. Jones, in his office. On the golf course his friends call him by his personal name, William or Bill. At home his children call him Daddy or Father. The problem with this is that Bill Jones on the golf course does not go the telephone and talk to father Jones at home or Dr. Jones in the office. Yet Jesus prayed to the Father, and the Father declared, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22).
17 Some of the passages that refute such subordination are John 15:26; 16:13; 17:1,18,23. (See also 1 Cor. 12:4–6; Eph. 4:1–6; Heb. 10:7–17.)