Trinity
symbol from “What
is Binitarianism?” On Got Questions, last updated 1/13/2023.
Free to use, under Got Questions' Copyright
Policy. Note:
the use of the symbol does not imply that this author accepts every
point in Got Questions' Statement
of Faith -- especially on eternal security, the “rapture,”
and millennialism. (I just like the symbol, y'all!)
Introduction
The article
of 4/14/2023 mentions the wrong path that I'd taken, during my
hike the day before. Papaw Ferrell would have laughed! That article,
with embedded podcast, explains my “hiking theology,” on taking
the right path up.
I didn't know, a day later, that I
would take an online sidetrack. Well, I did. On Saturday, I came
across Medium, a
platform to read and publish articles. I decided to experiment. So, I
created M. Fearghail, on
Medium. I re-published
my 4/14/2023 article there that day. Depending on various
factors, I may delete that account or continue to re-publish articles
there. (I already republish some articles on my
Substack website.) Mainly, I am looking for other authors, who
write on topics of interest to me.
That wasn't really the online
sidetrack. My sidetrack, while searching for other authors,
who write on religious topics, happened to find an anonymous
writer, whose 3/24/2023 article raised my righteous and indignant
Irish dander!
This thirty-eighth article
on Logic
- Theology - Deep Stuff will debunk the doctrine of
Binitarianism and prove that the doctrine of the Trinity is true.
(This is also my 404th article.) I hope that you, dear reader, find
this little sidetrack both interesting and helpful – in your
spiritual hike on the right path up.
The Binitarian Doctrine
- Debunked
The 3/24/2023 article, which raised my
indignant dander, is: "Debunking
the TRINITY doctrine," on Forbidden Doctrines, by anonymous
author, 3/24/2023. This is his second article. The “About”
section of his website does not introduce the author by name. The
website's stated purpose is “to expose the many lies and false
teachings of the Church.” The
stated goal for his readers is “to search their Bibles to
see what is true.” The website
is titled correctly, since it promotes forbidden and unscriptural
doctrines, as the correct study of the Bible indicates. (See 2
Timothy 2:15.)
(As a brief aside,
I will not become the eighth person to “follow” this anonymous
author, who has published four articles, as of this entry. By quick
glance, his first article (10/10/2022) seems to be biblical. However,
his third article (4/6/2023) denies free will, which is unbiblical,
obviously. His most recent article (4/14/2023) affirms the unbiblical
notion that Adam and Eve were created, by a perfect and sinless God,
as sinners, before they sinned.)
This
article focuses only on the anonymous author's second article -- in
which the false doctrine of Binitarianism is alleged. Interestingly,
the article was written in critique of an article -- published over
seventeen years ago -- which is: "What
Is the Doctrine of the Trinity?" On Desiring God, by guest contributor
Matt Perman, 1/23/2006. Amazingly, the author concludes his
remarks, by stating that the 1/23/2006 article “. . .
accurately explains the TRINITY doctrine.”
The author's Binitarian doctrine
falsely affirms two -- God the Father and God the Son -- not three
divine beings, who compose the one divine nature (or Godhead). The
author thinks that the Holy Spirit is an “it” -- the
spirit of both the Father and the Son -- not a separate, or third,
divine person (as in the Trinity). The author states, “. . . the
Word of God teaches . . . that the Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of both
Jesus Christ AND His Father.”
Binitarianism falsely rejects the full
deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit. I will cite the author's
three Binitarian arguments and then debunk each one.
First Binitarian
Argument Debunked
Argument: first, by misusing
Matthew 1:20, the author claims that, if the doctrine of the Trinity
is correct, then the Holy Spirit is the Father of Jesus. The verse,
which the author mishandles, is the angel of the Lord's statement to
Joseph, regarding Mary's conception, which states, in part, “. .
. what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 1:20,
NIV). The author's erroneous conclusion is: “. . . if the Holy
Spirit conceived Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit is his father.
That would be the logical conclusion if the TRINITY were true.”
Debunked: the author is guilty
of eisegesis (reading his ideas into the verse) and of taking the
verse out of context. His leap of logic is a non sequitur (from
Latin, “it doesn’t follow”). Please read and consider the full
context, in Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-7; and John
1:1-3,14,18. The correct exegesis (understanding) of the complete
context is as follows.
God (the Father) sent the angel
Gabriel, to the virgin Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph. Gabriel
said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One
who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35,
NKJV). The verse confirms the
Trinity -- the Holy Spirit (or “power
of the Highest”), the Holy One (or the Son of God), and, by
necessary inference, God the Father.
The apostle John's inspired eloquence
states:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
(John 1:1-3, NKJV)
And the Word became 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. (John 1:14, NKJV)
Obviously, God, the eternal Word, who
“became flesh,” is “the only begotten of the Father” -- not
the only begotten of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the
means by which God the eternal Word became flesh, as the Son of
God -- born of the virgin Mary, by immaculate conception. The
full context confirms the Trinity.
Second Binitarian
Argument Debunked
Argument: building on his first
and debunked claim, the author's faulty reasoning continues to 2 John
1:3 (not to 1 John 1:3, which is an apparent typographical error, in
the article). The author cites the World English Bible translation:
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
(2 John 1:3, WEB)
The author attempts to build his second
argument upon his first and concludes: “The Holy Spirit
conceived Jesus, but Jesus is the Son of God the Father. The only
logical explanation is the Holy Spirit is not some third distinct
person.”
Debunked: the author's first
claim has already been debunked; therefore, his second argument,
built on that debunked argument, is also debunked. Obviously,
scripture teaches that God, the eternal Word, became the incarnate
Son of God, by the immaculate conception of Mary. Again, the
immaculate conception was by means of God the Holy Spirit.
Third Binitarian
Argument Debunked
Argument: finally, as well as I
can understand the faulty logic of the author, he reasons, somehow,
that John 14:26 and 1 John 2:1 prove that the “Counselor” (Greek,
παράκλητος, translated Counselor, Helper, or Advocate) is
Jesus, or the spirit of Christ -- not the Holy Spirit.
Debunked: the writer is correct,
only in that παράκλητος is found five times in the Greek
New Testament, each in the apostle John's inspired writings. See the
Gospel of John (14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7) and the First Epistle of John
(1 John 2:1).
The full context, in the Gospel of
John, is the last supper, before Jesus' arrest (John chapters 13 -
17). The four times that παράκλητος is used, in that
context, clearly indicate the Holy Spirit. The context also affirms
the Trinity. In John 14:16,26, Jesus comforts His disciples by
telling them that He will ask the Father to give them another
Advocate, the Spirit of truth or the Holy Spirit. In John 15:26 and
16:7, Jesus continues to assure His disciples that He will send to
them the Advocate, or the Spirit of truth, from the Father, after He
has returned to the Father.
In his First Epistle, John wrote, “.
. . we have an advocate with the Father -- Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One.” (1 John 2:1, NIV). Here, John uses παράκλητος
to indicate Jesus.
As has been said often, “a text
taken out of context is a pretext.” The inspired apostle John
uses παράκλητος to identify the Holy Spirit (in his Gospel)
and also Christ (in his Epistle) – as separate divine persons –
not as the same divine person. Otherwise, Jesus returned to the
Father, to send Himself back, as the Holy Spirit.
The Johannine use of παράκλητος
is a title, attributed to God the Holy Spirit (in his Gospel) and to
the Son of God (in his Epistle). A title, in this sense, describes
the function – of two divine persons – and does not imply only
one divine being. For example, my wife and I have a niece, who is an
advocate (or lawyer). We, however, know other advocates. If we call
our niece “the advocate,” we do not imply that she is the only
advocate.
In his same First Epistle, John also
states:
And this is his [God's]
command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love
one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands
lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives
in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
(1 John 3:23-24, NIV)
This is how we know that we live in him [God]
and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and
testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the
world. (1 John 4:13-14, NIV)
As in his Gospel, the apostle John also
affirms the Trinity, in his First Epistle. God (the Father) commands
us to believe in His Son, Jesus. By keeping God's commands, we live
in God, and God lives in us. We know this by the Spirit of God that
God has given us. (This is “the gift of the Holy Spirit,”
which the apostle Peter mentions, in Acts 2:38.)
The author has “taken texts out of
context and made a pretext.”
This article intends no malice toward the anonymous author. My
purpose is to enlighten him, in his error, to guide him on the
correct path.
For
further study on the error of Binitarianism, I suggest:
“Binitarianism:
Is It Biblical? How erasing the Holy Spirit also denies the true
nature of the Father and the Son,” on Answers in Genesis, by Simon
Turpin, 10/29/2022.
God in Three Persons –
the Trinity
The previous section, which debunked
the Binitarian doctrine, has also affirmed the Trinity. On Saturday,
4/15/2023, I commented on the anonymous author's 3/24/2023 article.
He replied. I replied to his response. He then left his reply.
The draft of the still unpublished
seventh article, in my Christian
Evidences series, includes a section, “Important Note on the
Trinity.” On Saturday, in my first comment, to the author's
article, I included that section on the Trinity. It is as follows.
At this juncture, an
important note on the Trinity is necessary. The Trinity is God
the Father, God the Word (who became God the Son), and God the Holy
Spirit. Three distinct and divine beings, united perfectly, are one
divine nature -- God.
This is also called the Godhead.
Genesis 1:1 (NIV) states,
“In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
In Hebrew, “God” is
plural (Elohim, אֱלֹהִ֑ים)
but “created” (bā·rā,
רָ֣א)
is singular. The next verse (NIV) states that “the
Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Verse 26 (NIV) states, “Then
God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness . . .
.'” The plural forms are used.
John 1:1-3 (NIV) states, “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things
were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Then verse 14 (NIV) states, “The Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the
one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In Genesis 1:1,2,26 and John 1:1-3,14, the Bible states that God the
Father created, through God the Word (who became God the Son), by
means of God the Holy Spirit. The triune action of the Godhead
created all that exists. God the Word became God the Son, to redeem
us, by His grace and truth.
The Trinity was present at Jesus' immersion, when God the Father
spoke and God the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. See
Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; and John 1:31-34.
After His resurrection and before His ascension, Jesus gave the Great
Commission.
All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)
Christians continue to answer the call of the Great Commission, by
immersing penitent believers in the name of God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The concept of the Trinity -- three distinct and divine beings,
united perfectly, in one divine nature, God -- is profound but not a
mystery. Consider that millions of distinct and human beings are one
human nature. We are united in one human nature. We, however and
unfortunately, are not united perfectly in character, will, or
purpose – as God is.
That excerpt from my still unpublished
article proves the Trinity. The following other scriptures also
verify the Trinity. For example, in the context of the sin of Ananias
and Sapphira, the apostle Peter affirms that the Holy Spirit is God.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled
your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for
yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it
belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the
money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing?
You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (Acts
5:3-4, NIV)
They lied to the Holy Spirit, whom the
inspired Peter calls God. Even though the word “Trinity” is not
found in the Bible, the doctrine of the Trinity is biblical. Consider
also the following texts.
Jesus'
Great Commission states, in part:
Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit . . . . (Matt. 28:19, NIV)
(Note: I am aware that some claim that
the verse is an uninspired addition, to the Gospel of Matthew. I also
know that the art and science of textual criticism has confirmed that
the text is the original words of the inspired Matthew. The fact can
be unpacked and verified, in a future article, as needed.)
The apostle Paul concludes his second
letter to the Corinthians, as follows.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor. 13:14,
NIV)
The apostle Paul's encouragement to the
Christians at Ephesus, to live worthy and united in their calling
states, in part:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one
hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God
and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to
each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
(Eph. 4:4-7, NIV)
One God, in three persons – one God
and Father, one Lord (Christ), and one Spirit – is the apostle
Paul's inspired truth.
The apostle Peter greets the Christians
of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, by stating that
they:
. . . have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to
Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood . . . (1 Peter 1:2,
NIV)
Clearly, each divine person, in the
Trinity, is present in salvation, by the foreknowledge of God the
Father, the sanctifying of the Spirit, and obedience to Jesus Christ.
See also, among other texts, 1
Corinthians 12:4-6, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, and Jude 1:20-21.
For further study on the Trinity, I
suggest: “The
Biblical Doctrine of the Godhead,” on the Christian Courier, by
Wayne Jackson, undated.
Conclusion
At least this sidetrack was not like
the one that I'd taken, during my hike on Papaw Ferrell's birthday!
The anonymous author of the 3/24/2023 article, which this article has
debunked, is welcome to continue our discussion, by his comments on
this article. After publishing this article, I plan, in the Lord, to
reference this article, as my final comment, to his article.
Binitarianism is clearly a false
doctrine. The author's error is by not correctly handling (dividing
or understanding) the true words of the Bible. (See the apostle
Paul's guidance to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:15.) Instead, his
eisegesis (reading his ideas into certain texts, which he takes out
of context) twists and distorts the Bible. (See the apostle Peter's
warning, in 2 Peter 3:16.)
I hope that this article guides the
author back to the right trail up. I also hope that this article
helps keep you, dear reader, from doing down the wrong Binitarian
trail. “Dear God, in Christ's name, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, I pray that this article will guide every reader along the
right path up.”
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