God is a triune God. Why do you say that “the Triune God” doesn’t exist?
God is a triune God. Why do you say that “the Triune God” doesn’t exist?
Answer as follows:
When some brothers and sisters hear those who
preach the kingdom gospel say that “the Triune God” doesn’t exist, they feel very disturbed, saying: The Bible clearly records, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, see, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on him: And see a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17) “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19) “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) Don’t all these verses say that there are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? How can you say that the Triune God doesn’t exist?
Brothers and sisters, let’s study the Bible, to see whether there is the saying that God is a “triune God.” Genesis 1 says that in the beginning, “the Spirit of God” was hovering over the waters, but it doesn’t say that “the Triune Spirit” was hovering over the waters. When God appeared to Abraham, he also appeared as the only true God. Moses had seen Jehovah’s back with his own eyes and had heard Jehovah speak with his own ears, and he had talked with Jehovah many times during his lifetime, but he had never told the Israelites that Jehovah God was a “triune God.” Job, Daniel, David, Samuel, and other ancient saints and prophets didn’t say that God was a God composed of three parts either. Besides, let’s look at Isaiah 43:10–13, “You are my witnesses, said the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore you are my witnesses, said the LORD, that I am God. Yes, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” From these verses, we can see clearly that Jehovah personally told the Israelites that he is the only true God, and apart from him there is no God, nor will there be one after him. The people in the entire Age of the Law all knew that God is the unique God, and apart from him, there is no true God. There were not at all such sayings as the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit. God never says that he is the Trinity. Jehovah didn’t say so in the Old Testament, and the incarnated Jesus didn’t say so in the New Testament. Later, when the Holy Spirit did the work, he didn’t say such words either. So, such a saying doesn’t hold water. “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” Jesus said means that when baptizing others, you may do that in the name of the Father, may do that in the name of the Holy Spirit, and may do that in the name of the Son, but not in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As many people of that time were not certain about Jesus, Jesus said such a word which was easy for people to accept and understand, allowing people to do that in the name of the Father. In fact, if people were certain about Jesus and knew that Jesus was the Lord, they could directly do that in the name of Jesus, without need to do that in the name of the Father, even less in the name of the Holy Spirit. But people didn’t understand Jesus’ words, so they were always unclear about the relationship between Jehovah and Jesus. Especially when Jesus prayed, he always called the God in heaven “Father,” yet he also said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me,” and “I and the Father are one.” Then, is Jesus actually the “Son” or the “Father”? Theoretically, Son is Son, and Father is Father; how can they be one? When people could not explain it clearly, they considered that God was a “triune” God. Since then, the saying “the Trinity” has been passed down to this day.
As to whether the saying “the Trinity” is correct or not, let’s look at what the Lord Jesus said. The Bible records, “Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffises us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works.” (John 14:8–10) From this we see that because Philip had no knowledge of the Lord Jesus’ substance, he regarded Jesus and “the God in heaven” as two, thinking that Jesus had a “God the Father” in heaven. Therefore, he said to the Lord, “Lord, show us the Father.” But the Lord Jesus corrected his erroneous knowledge, saying, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me”; “I and the Father are one”; and “he that has seen me has seen the Father.” That is to say, he was the Father and the Father was he, he and the Father were one and their substance was one Spirit, and they could not be separated. According to our former thought that Jesus had a Father God in heaven, don’t we make the same mistake as Philip did? Some brothers and sisters may ask: Since “the Father and Son” are one, why did Jesus call the God in heaven “Father” when praying? About such a question, Almighty God’s word has said it clearly. Let’s read a passage of God’s word, “Who is God’s Spirit? Isn’t he the Holy Spirit? Wasn’t the One who worked in Jesus the Holy Spirit? If it had not been the Holy Spirit (that is, God’s Spirit) who worked in him, could the work he did represent God Godself? When Jesus called the God in heaven Father in his prayer at that time, he did it just in the position of a created man. That was only because God’s Spirit had put on an ordinary and normal man and had the outer shell of a created being. Although in him was God’s Spirit, outwardly he was still a normal man, that is, he became what all people, as well as Jesus himself, call the ‘Son of man.’ When a son of man is mentioned, it refers to a man (who, a male or female, had a human outer shell) born into a family of an ordinary and normal man. So, when Jesus called the God in heaven Father, it was the same as you called the God in heaven Father at that time, and he called in the position of a created man. Do you still remember the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught you, ‘Our Father in heaven….’? He asked all people to call the God in heaven Father like that. Since he also called the God in heaven Father, he called him that way in a position equal to yours. Since you called the God in heaven Father like that, Jesus regarded himself as a man (God’s son) selected by God on earth who had a position equal to yours. If you call God Father, isn’t it also because you are created beings? No matter how great was Jesus’ authority on earth, before he was crucified, he was still a Son of man directed by the Holy Spirit (God) and was one of the created beings on earth, for he had not completed the work. So he called the God in heaven Father, which is his humbleness and obedience. However, his calling God (the Spirit in heaven) that way did not prove that he was the Son of the Spirit of the God in heaven. It was only that he was standing in a different position but not that he was a different Person. There is no such a fallacy as Person at all! Before Jesus was crucified, he was a Son of man who was limited by his flesh, and he did not have all the authority of the Spirit. So, he could only seek the will of God the Father in the position of a created being, just as he prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane, ‘Not as I will, but as you will.’ Before he went to the cross, he was only the king of the Jews, the Son of man, and the Christ, but was not a glorious body, so he had to call God Father in the position of a created being. Then you cannot say that whoever calls God Father is the Holy Son. If that were the case, wouldn’t you all have become the ‘Holy Son’ after Jesus taught you the Lord’s Prayer? If you are still not convinced, who do you say the one you call ‘Father’ is? If he is Jesus, who is the ‘Father’ of Jesus to you? After Jesus left, there was no longer such saying as Father and Son. That saying was only applicable to the years when Jesus was incarnated. After that, when you called God Father, he and you were Creator and created beings. There should never be such saying as the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit being three in one. It is a fallacy that is rare throughout the ages, and it does not exist!” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) Through the words of Almighty God, we know that when Jesus prayed at that time, he called the God in heaven Father; it’s only that he called that way from the angle of a created man, which represents his humbleness and obedience, but doesn’t prove that he is the Son of God’s spirit in heaven. We should know that before the Lord Jesus was crucified, he was only the Son of man and was Christ, not the glory body. Besides, the saying of “Father and Son” is applicable to the years when Jesus was incarnated. After Jesus left, there is no longer such saying as “Father and Son.” So, we shouldn’t regard God as a “triune God” because of the saying of “Father and Son.” Such a view is erroneous. Again, it is recorded in the Gospel of Mark that someone asked Jesus which was the first commandment of all. Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.” (Mark 12: 29) Why did the Lord Jesus especially emphasize this one? Wasn’t it because he wanted people to understand that God was “one”? Now we know that at the creation of the world, God’s Spirit was only one. Jehovah said that he was the only true God, and the Lord Jesus also said that God was unique. Thus it can be seen that whether in the Age of the Law or in the Age of the Grace, with God there is not at all the saying “the Trinity.” That is to say, the saying “the Trinity” is erroneous. It is from man, not from God.
Actually, we had the same understanding of “the Father, the Son, and the Spirit” as yours before. We also believed that since “the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit” were mentioned, they were three Persons and one God, that is, God was a triune God. It is not until today, when Almighty God has come and unlocked all the mysteries, that we know that God is essentially one Spirit. He can direct the entire universe in heaven and can also be incarnated to live together with men. When God is incarnated, his flesh can also do God’s own work, because the flesh and the Spirit are originally one and they have the same substance, the same disposition, and the same wisdom and almightiness. When God is incarnated and becomes a normal and ordinary man, he calls the Spirit in heaven Father in the position of man. It is only during the period of the incarnation that there is the saying of “Father” and “Son.” Actually, the flesh and the Spirit are still one God; it is simply because of the incarnation that they are separated, one in heaven and one on earth. But after God’s work in the flesh is accomplished and his flesh leaves the earth, with God there will no longer be such sayings as “Father” and “Son.” Let’s read Almighty God’s words, and we will understand it. Almighty God says, “If anyone says that the Triune God does exist, then you may explain: What is trinity? What is the Holy Father? What is the Holy Son? What is the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Father Jehovah? Is the Holy Son Jesus? Then what is the Holy Spirit? Isn’t the Father Spirit? Isn’t the substance of the Son also Spirit? Wasn’t the work done by Jesus done by the Holy Spirit? Wasn’t the work done by Jehovah at that time also done by the same one Spirit in Jesus? How many Spirits can God have? If, according to what you say, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit are three in one, they are three Spirits. Three Spirits are three Gods. In that case God is not the only true God. Could such a God be of God’s original substance? You confess that God is only one. Then how can he have a Son and how can there be a Father? Aren’t all these your notions? God is only one, God’s Person is only one, and God’s Spirit is only one. Just as the Bible records, ‘The Holy Spirit is only one, and God is only one.’ Regardless of whether the Holy Father and the Holy Son you speak about exist, God is only one, and the substance of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, or the Holy Spirit conceived by you is the substance of the Holy Spirit. That is to say, God is one Spirit, but he can be incarnated and live among men and can be high above all, his Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit and the omnipresent Spirit, and he can be in the flesh and at the same time in the entire universe. Since people all say that God is the only true God, there is only one God. No one is allowed to divide him as he pleases! God is only one Spirit and has only one Person, that is, God’s Spirit. If, according to what you say, there are the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit, aren’t they three Gods? The Holy Spirit is one thing, the Holy Son is another thing, and the Holy Father is still another thing, and their Persons are different from one another and their substance is different, so how can they be the different parts of one God? The Holy Spirit is Spirit, and this is easy for everyone to understand. So the Holy Father is even more Spirit. He has never come down to the human world or been incarnated and is the Jehovah God in people’s mind, so he is certainly Spirit too. Then what is the relationship between him the Spirit and the Holy Spirit? Is it the relationship of Father and Son? Or is it the relationship of the Spirit of the Father and the Holy Spirit? Is the substance of them two Spirits the same? Or is it that the Father uses the Holy Spirit as his instrument? How to explain these? What is the relationship between the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit? Is it the relationship of a Spirit and a Spirit or that of a man and a Spirit? All these are something unexplainable! If they are one Spirit, they are not three Persons, because they have the same Spirit. If their Persons are different, their Spirits will be different in power, and they cannot possibly be one Spirit. The saying of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit is most absurd! When you say that, you have divided God. The three parts into which God is divided each have their own position and their own Spirit. Could they be one Spirit and one God? Who do you think created the heavens and the earth and all things, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, or the Holy Spirit? Some may say that they did it together. Then who redeemed mankind, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Son, or the Holy Father? Some may say that the Holy Son redeemed mankind. Then who is the Holy Son in substance? Isn’t he the incarnated flesh of God’s Spirit? When the flesh called the God in heaven Father, he called in the position of a created man. Don’t you know that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit? In him was the Holy Spirit. No matter what you say, he was still one with the God in heaven, because he was the incarnated flesh of God’s Spirit. There is no such saying as the Holy Son at all. All the works were done by the one Spirit and were done by God Godself, that is, by God’s Spirit.” “Some may still say, ‘The Holy Father is the Holy Father, the Holy Son is the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and they can be united into one in the end.’ How do you unite them into one? How should the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit be united into one? If they are originally two, won’t they still be two parts no matter how you unite them? When uniting is spoken of, doesn’t it mean that two different parts are put together into a whole? But aren’t they two parts before they become a whole? Each Spirit has his own substance. Two Spirits cannot be united into one. Spirit is not a material thing and is different from the things in the material world. In people’s eyes, the Holy Father is one Spirit, the Holy Son is another Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is still another Spirit, and the three Spirits become a whole as three cups of water do, and thus haven’t they been united into one? It is a fallacious interpretation! In that way, hasn’t God been divided? How could the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit be united into one? Aren’t they three parts of different nature? Still some may say, ‘Didn’t God clearly say that Jesus was his beloved Son?’ The word ‘Jesus is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’ was certainly spoken by God Godself. That was God giving the testimony about himself. It was only that he was testifying himself in another position, testifying in heaven his incarnated flesh in the position of the Spirit. Jesus was his incarnated flesh, not his Son in heaven, do you know? Didn’t Jesus’ word, ‘The Father is in me and I am in the Father,’ mean that they were one Spirit? Wasn’t it because he was incarnated that they were separated in heaven and on earth? Actually they were still one. All in all, that was God giving the testimony about himself.” “If Jesus was Jesus, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit was the Holy Spirit, how could they be one? In that case, the work could not have been done. The Spirit in Jesus, the Spirit in heaven, and the Spirit of Jehovah are one, and he is called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, and the all-inclusive Spirit. God’s Spirit can do many works. He can create the world, destroy the world by a flood, and redeem all mankind, and even more can conquer all mankind and destroy all mankind. All these works are done by God Godself, and they cannot be done by the God in any Person instead. His Spirit can be called Jehovah, Jesus, and the Almighty. He is the Lord, the Christ, and can also become the Son of Man. He is in heaven and on earth. He is above the universes and among all people. He is the only Ruler in heaven and on earth! From the creation of the world until today, the work is done by God’s Spirit himself. Both the works in heaven and the works in the flesh are done by his own Spirit. The created beings in heaven and on earth are all in his almighty hand. All the works are done by God Godself, and no one else can do them in his stead. In heaven, he is the Spirit and is God Godself. Among people, he is flesh and is still God Godself. Although he has numberless names, he is still himself, and all are the direct expression of his Spirit. Going to the cross to redeem all mankind was a work directly done by his Spirit. Speaking to every country and place in the end time is also a work directly done by his Spirit. No matter when, God can only be called the only true almighty God and the all-inclusive God Godself. There is no such thing as Person, much less such saying as the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit! There is only one God in heaven and on earth!” (from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
Brothers and sisters, we have now understood that the Bible mentions “the Father and the Son” because in the New Testament age, God needed to do the redemptive work, but the Spirit could not directly do the work of crucifixion, and the Spirit of God must put on a flesh so that he could accomplish it. So, God came to earth from heaven, and his Spirit was realized in the flesh and became a man, that is, the Spirit of God lived in the flesh to accomplish all his work of divinity. Thus, the Father (that is, the Spirit) lived in the flesh, and the flesh expressed the will of the Father (that is, the Spirit). But because people of that time didn’t know that Jesus was the incarnated God, God testified his own flesh (the Son) in the position of the Spirit (the Father), calling the God in the flesh Son, and the incarnated God called the Spirit in him Father in the position of the flesh. In this way, there was the saying of the “Father and Son.” However, they were still one, and it was only because of the need of the work and because the positions they stood in were different that they called each other in different ways. In a word, God is in no way a “triune” or “three-in-one” God. God is forever one, and God is forever the only true God!
Source: Walk in the Light
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