Jesus Messiah Fellowship

Light To The Nations

Let Us Make Man In Our Likeness

By Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor

Trinitarian like Steve Rudd with the Interactive Bible Group, attempt to trash the faith of Oneness Christians who hold to the doctrine that there is one God and that he has one Spirit.  In their attempt to prove the pagan trinity doctrine is Biblical, they will use segmentalism.  What is segmentalism?  It is using part of a Scripture to prove a doctrine and rejecting the rest of the Scriptures that might conflict with their personal private interpretation.  Trinitarians have the notion that Genesis 1:26 implies a plurality of persons (God-Spirits) in the godhead.  Let's be candid here and honest.  Trinitarians believe the word "God" does not describe a supreme Being.  They believe the word "God" describes a family of Gods consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Each of these are a separate person in the "God" family.  Each of these are a separate 'Spirit" in the "God" family.  Thus, there are three separate and distinct persons who are three separate and distinct Spirits who have three separate and distinct wills, who are three separate and distinct Gods.  This is tritheism, believing in three Gods, and if there is anything contrary to the Bible, it is that there is more than one God:

"Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses.  Is there a God beside me?  Yea, there is no God; I know not any" Isaiah 44:8).

We conclude then, if someone says or teaches by any method that there are more Gods than the one who spoke in Isaiah 44:8, then they know more than God.

To:
Steve Rudd
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
905-575-8437 Fax: 575-8814
srudd@bible.ca
LOCAL BIBLE HELPER FOR:
The Interactive Bible
www.bible.ca:

Dear Steve:

Since you believe the word "God" does not describe a singular Deity, but rather describes a "nature" of the three separate persons in the godhead, I have two questions I would like for you to answer.

Q. Do each of the persons in the trinity have a separate "Spirit" from the other two?

Q. Could you explain if the word "personality" as in saying "three personalities" in the Godhead, means three "Spirits"? Or does the word "personality" mean one Spirit with three modes of representation?

Thanks for your response, Pastor Reckart

<<Reply By Steve Rudd:

God is used both as a pro-noun to describe each of the individuals F, S, & HS. and to describe a nature. For example, I can call you by the name man (pronoun), and yet call your wife a man (nature).

Q. Do each of the persons in the trinity have a separate "Spirit" from the  other two?

A. We don't know, but they can think independently of each other. There are clearly separate wills. So I would say yes.

Q. Could you explain if the word "personality" as in saying "three personalities" in the Godhead, means three "Spirits"? Or does the word "personality" mean one Spirit with three modes of representation?

A  Three spirits.>>

In the words of Steve Rudd, the word "God" means only a "nature."  He says this applies when the word "God" is a pronoun.  Interesting that when God uses the word "God" as a pronoun in Isaiah 44:8 above, he also refers to himself in the singular and not the plural.  In the case of the Hebrew language, when the word "God" is used, the singular verb demands that the pronoun be singular.  But trinitarians ignore this to spread trinitarian theories and personal opinions that the word "God" means many Gods and not one sole Divine Presence.

The pronoun nature Rudd describes for us is that of there being plural Gods, Deities, supreme Spirit beings, and thus to him and millions of other trinitarians, the word "God" does not describe a single supreme Divine Presence but like the word humanity that could mean billions, there could be billions of Gods out there and we only know three so far.  Is this wild-eyed use of the word God to mean a nature and not a single sole Divine Presence taught like this in the Bible?  Do the Scriptures support such a monstrous mythological doctrine?

Trinitarians think that it is true and go to Genesis 1:26 to being laying the proofs for their three Gods.  In this text, the trinitarians claim that God the Father is talking to God the Son about the creation of Adam.  And so using segmentalism they claim the words "us" and "our" is one God talking to another God about making man in the image both of them possess separately. Thus, Adam was made in the likes of both Gods who were there doing the talking.  Is this true?  Do the plural words "us" and "our" mean two Gods are here talking?  Do the words mean there is a plurality in the godhead?  I present to you below some remarks by trinitarians themselves.  True Bible believing trinitarians no longer hold that "us" and "our" points to two Gods talking to each other.  And these men are preeminent Trinitarian Bible scholars:

"Christians have traditionally seen [Genesis 1:26] as adumbrating [foreshadowing] the Trinity. It is now universally admitted that this was not what the plural meant to the original author" (Gordon J. Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary on Genesis, Word Books, 1987, p. 27).  

While I do not subscribe to the NIV as being a correct translation of the Scriptures, it does for many millions of trinitarians.  More importantly, it was translated by trinitarians for trinitarians.  What does the NIV have in its commentary on Genesis 1:26:

"us...our...our. God speaks as the Creator-king,   announcing his crowning work to the members of his heavenly court. (see 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8; see also I Ki 22:19-23; Job 15:8; Jer 23:18)" (NIV Study Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 7).
Another trinitarian Bible, The Ryrie Study Bible, contains a short note about Genesis 1:26:
"Us...Our. Plurals of majesty" (Charles Caldwell Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible (Dallas Theological Seminary), Chicago: Moody Press, 1978, p. 9).

Jerry Falwell, a well known Baptist trinitarian has something to say about Genesis 1:26:

"The plural pronoun us is most likely a majestic plural from the standpoint of Hebrew grammar and syntax" (Jerry Falwell (Executive Editor), Liberty Annotated Study Bible, Lynchburg: Liberty University, 1988, p. 8).

Our next exhibit comes from a well respected trinitarian source, the 10-volume commentary by Keil and Delitzsch, they have a comment about Genesis 1:26:

"The plural 'We' was regarded by the fathers and earlier theologians almost unanimously as indicative of the Trinity: modern commentators, on the contrary, regard it either as pluralis majestatis...No other explanation is left, therefore, than to regard it as pluralis majestatis"  (Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Peabody: Hendric., 1989, Vol. I, p. 62).

Here is our question, did Moses intend for someone to conclude that there was more than one God when he wrote the words "us" and "our"?  If Moses knew these words pointed to a plurality of Gods, one talking to another, why is it absent in all of his five books?  Why did Moses teach the Israelites that was there One God who was recognized as a single Deity (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), in all of the Old Testament if he knew there were more Gods?  Obviously, to interpret the words of Moses to mean more than one God goes beyond the intent of the writer.  Some claim Moses wrote the verse under inspiration but he himself was blinded through lack of revelation of the mystery of the trinity which they claim God was to reveal at a later time and not through Moses.  Is this a valid claim?  Absolutely not!  Since the trinity doctrine came from paganism, are we to conclude that God revealed a trinity of Gods through paganism and not through his chosen people?  Absurd!  To claim that the trinity was in some way an ancient revelation the pagans retained but the Chosen people were blinded by God not to know or perceive, is theology gone mad. At least some trinitarians now see the foolishness of such claims.

Now, if God is one Being, one Spirit, who created the universe, the world, and then man, to whom was he talking when he said:  "let us make man in out likeness and in our image"?  This question can be answered by following the text of Scripture.  Two chapters later in Genesis 3:22-24, when God says: "become as one of us" was this one God talking to the other two Gods?  No, God was talking to his angels, his superior angels, his ministering angels.  God instructs two of these angels to stand at the gate and prevent man from coming back into the garden of Eden to eat of the tree of life.  These two angels are found on the vail of the Tabernacle that separates the outer from the holy of holies,by which the highpriest must pass to stand before the Ark of the Covenant.  They are also seen as figures overshadowing the mercy seat as witnesses of God's dealings with man through the Covenant and through mercy and grace.  Many believe these are representations of Michael and Gabriel, the two angels who are mentioned by name.  Let's look at the verse in Genesis 3:22-24:

"Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.  Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

The NIV commentary says the use of "us" is the majestic plural and was intended to mean the same in Genesis 1:26.  The NIV commentators then provide a number of Bible sources from the Jewish scriptures to support this position against it referring to two Gods talking to one another or one God talking to two other Gods in the case of believing there was a trinity of Gods here doing the talking:

"God speaks as the Creator-king, announcing his crowning work to the members of his heavenly court."

The NIV commentators quote Genesis 3:22, 11:7, Isaiah 6:8, I Kings 22:19-23, Job 15:8, and Jeremiah 23:18.

These verses give us a picture of God talking to his heavenly host and in particular a select group of angels. The use of the word "us" in these verses do not indicate other Gods being present whom the one God was talking to.  Thus, we can see that the first attempt of the trinitarians to get the pagan doctrine of the trinity into the Bible by false and misleading interpretation of words, segmentalism, meets the criteria of heresy and error.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew…Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me" (Isaiah 8:1, 8).

Obviously, "who will go for us" is God talking to his heavenly angels. Seeing this vision, Isaiah does not give the angles time to respond, he cries out to the one God upon the throne:  "Here am I, send me."

When I read those words I see a great marvel that so many should take into their heart right this very minute. Isaiah said "Here am I" not "Here I am".  To say "Here I am" indicates location, whereas to say "Here am I" is a statement of availability to do the will of God.

It is the will of God that you believe in One God.  Will you go for the Lord God to all nations or to a friend and tell them there is one Lord, one Faith, and one Baptism for Jew and Gentile alike?

Then join with the Messianic believers of Jesus Messiah and proclaim that Jesus Messiah is God manifest in the flesh (1Tim 3:16).

Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor

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Quotes Of Trinitarians That The Trinity Doctrine Came From Pagan Sources