Many who claim to follow Christianity may be surprised to know that the Bible does not teach there is a supernatural devil or satan who opposes God and tempts men and women to sin. This idea is of pagan origin and was introduced into the early church.
God: Creator of all things
Throughout the Bible, God is revealed as the great Creator:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
“Where wast thou when I (God) laid the foundations of the earth? …. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?” (Job 38:4, 5).
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth …” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Jesus also endorsed the Creation account:
“From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6 and Matthew 19:4, 5).
Evolution not found in the Bible
Modern Christianity has tried to incorporate the theory of evolution into its teaching, but this idea is completely absent from the Bible, which constantly points to God as the Creator. Where men and women ignore the clear evidence of God’s creative design in the things He has made everywhere around them, the Bible describes them as being “without excuse”:
“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made … so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
As noted above, Jesus himself believed the Biblical record of the Creation.
The angels are God’s messengers
The angels are immortal beings who assisted God at Creation; they are His messengers and also speak for Him as His representatives:
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ….. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4 – 7).
“Behold, I send an Angel before thee … Beware of him, and obey his voice …. for My name is in him” (Exodus 23:20, 21).
“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7).
“Are they (the angels) not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).
The Spirit of God is His power
The Bible shows that the Spirit of God is the power which comes from Him and is the basis of all things which exist. It was used in the work of creation:
“The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
“Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created …..” (Psalm 104:30).
While God dwells in heaven, He is able to be present everywhere by His Spirit:
“Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell (the grave), behold, Thou art there” (Psalm 139:7-12).
The Holy Spirit
When God uses His power for particular purposes, the Bible describes it as the “Holy Spirit” (often rendered “Holy Ghost” in the Authorised Version of the Bible). This means that it has been set apart for God’s use.
The Holy Spirit inspired men to record God’s word:
“Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).
Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without limit:
“God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (John 3:34).
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good … for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).
The apostles were given the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, which enabled them to perform miracles, raise the dead and speak in other languages as they preached the Gospel message:
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
God only is the source of immortality
The Bible reveals that God is the only source of underived immortality:
“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see …” (1 Timothy 6:16).
The character of God
In the Bible, God is shown to be kind, gracious, merciful and forgiving, a loving Father in whom all can trust. But He is also revealed as being holy and righteous. He requires men to obey His commands and He will punish the guilty.
“The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty ….” (Numbers 14:18).
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger for ever …… For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him …. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him” (Psalm 103:8 – 13).
God is ONE
The Bible consistently teaches that God is a unity and not a trinity:
“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 saviour” (Isaiah 43:10, 11).
“For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens ….. I am the Lord, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18).
Jesus and the apostles also taught the unity of God:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
There is no Trinity consisting of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
The idea of God consisting of a trinity is not found in the Bible and was not taught by the apostles and early Christians. It is entirely absent from what is known as the Apostles’ Creed (which was developed from a second century form of baptismal confession):
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit), born of the virgin Mary.”
As the teachings of Greek philosophy were gradually incorporated into the early Church, the idea of a trinity consisting of God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost was adopted (although not without great strife).
The Nicene Creed (AD 325) and Athanasian Creed (fifth or sixth century) introduced the doctrine of the trinity in stages, firstly concerning Jesus and lastly including the Holy Spirit as part of the Godhead.
The process of its adoption is recorded by such historians as Edward Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) and Mosheim (Ecclesiastical History). Many church leaders freely admit that the idea of a trinity is not based upon Biblical teaching.
Sadly, many now read the Bible with pre-conceived ideas about a trinitarian God, often interpreting its statements about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as referring to this philosophical belief, when it was unknown to the writers of the Bible.
Jesus’ teaching about God
An examination of the Bible reveals that the idea of co-eternity and co-equality with God (as required for a trinity) was entirely absent from Jesus’ teaching. He taught –
- That God was greater than he:
“My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).
- That he was God’s messenger speaking His word and doing His will:
“The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24).
“The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do …” (John 5:19).
- That he had been sent by God:
“This is the work of God, that ye believe on him (Jesus) whom He hath sent” (John 6:29).
- That as the saviour promised after Adam’s sin and condemnation to death in Eden (the “seed of the woman” Genesis 3:15), Jesus was in the mind and purpose of God from the beginning:
“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
In light of the above Bible teaching, it can be seen that the only sense in which Jesus and his Father were as one was in their unity of mind and purpose:
“I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
A false verse
In an effort to promote the Trinitarian view, a verse which has been shown to be spurious or false was inserted in 1 John 5:
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (verse 7).
It does not appear in Greek texts written earlier than the sixteenth century and was obviously a later addition.
The truth about God
The Bible’s message about God is clear. He is the great Creator and He is a unity. The evidence of His handiwork and wisdom is all around us and He speaks to us through His word about His plan for the earth and all who live on it.