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sparty-g

Guest
I'm actually really surprised that none of the hyper-grace / grace-only folks have come in strong against the idea of the setting up of a litmus test that demonstrates whether or not someone is truly saved. Essentially, a litmus test is a condition (ex post facto) for salvation, because it basically says: If a person comes to trust in the Messiah for God's grace-pardon, but doesn't eventually believe a, b, and c, or doesn't do x, y, and z (which you can label all as "fruit", if you will), then that person isn't truly saved. By that reasoning, it would seem that grace + necessary conditions (i.e., fruit) are required. The focus here in this thread has been trinity belief, but anyone could start setting up multiple other conditions about the nature and identity of the Messiah, expectations for a Christian who trusts Him, etc., until you have a nice long list. If you take this way of thinking to its limit, eventually it gets to the point where you need to eventually have all the right beliefs and practices to have been truly saved from the start when you first committed your life to Christ. If not, you were just wasting all your time believing in a "false Jesus". I wonder how many people will make it to heaven with that standard!

Really looking forward to a hyper-grace / grace-only person to bring their perspective.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
36,674
13,131
113

Knowing him is the "result" of him choosing us.

yes

All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
(Matthew 11:27)

All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
(Luke 10:22)

((with so many thanks!))

it's interesting how the two men, who knew Him, used two different ways to express "knowing" in these books - knowing Him, knowing who He is .. knowing who He is, knowing Him

this is eternal life, to know Him, who He is

 
D

Depleted

Guest
So, then, you believe trinity is a litmus test? That's what it sounds like you're saying. To sum up what I gather from your post: A follower of the Messiah who eventually accepts the trinity doctrine is saved (having been married to the Messiah from the start) but a follower of Messiah who does not eventually accept the trinity doctrine is not saved (having never been married to the Messiah from the start). Just trying to figure out what you believe because you didn't answer the question directly, but seems you indirectly spelled it out in your response: No, a person who has put their trust in the Messiah to receive God's grace-pardon but does not come to the understanding or acceptance of trinity is not saved.
If you never get to know the groom, you never really married him. You may have showed up on the wedding day, but then you walked away.

Saved is a one-time event. God saves some. Repent, believe, follow, commit, all are the results of the one- time event. Lack of those things is proof the event never happened. So, yeah, if you go off and are saved from some dude that isn't the Messiah and Son in the Godhead, you aren't saved by that Messiah and Son in the Godhead. It is merely a delusion.

If you don't know he is Messiah and Son in the Godhead at the time he saved you, it doesn't mean he doesn't save you. It means you didn't quite get who you just married.
 
D

Depleted

Guest
I'm actually really surprised that none of the hyper-grace / grace-only folks have come in strong against the idea of the setting up of a litmus test that demonstrates whether or not someone is truly saved. Essentially, a litmus test is a condition (ex post facto) for salvation, because it basically says: If a person comes to trust in the Messiah for God's grace-pardon, but doesn't eventually believe a, b, and c, or doesn't do x, y, and z (which you can label all as "fruit", if you will), then that person isn't truly saved. By that reasoning, it would seem that grace + necessary conditions (i.e., fruit) are required. The focus here in this thread has been trinity belief, but anyone could start setting up multiple other conditions about the nature and identity of the Messiah, expectations for a Christian who trusts Him, etc., until you have a nice long list. If you take this way of thinking to its limit, eventually it gets to the point where you need to eventually have all the right beliefs and practices to have been truly saved from the start when you first committed your life to Christ. If not, you were just wasting all your time believing in a "false Jesus". I wonder how many people will make it to heaven with that standard!

Really looking forward to a hyper-grace / grace-only person to bring their perspective.
Christmas is over. Mods are back. HG threads are gone or locked.
 

bluto

Senior Member
Aug 4, 2016
2,043
513
113
Oh boy mac, I didn't expect you to write a second novel of Tolstoy's "War and Peace?" :rolleyes: What I think I will do is focus on your last paragraph.


The particular fellowship I am a part of does not care about either proving or disproving the trinity. We just do not find it scripturally important to come down on a side. As long as we hold Yahshuas Deity sacred there are more important things to study. Believing trinity or individual deity makes absolutely no difference to our walk. Believing His deity does. Just another argument that does not change anything. No one even cared for 400 years. Then they cared for a short time and didn't care again. It is like people coming to blows over wether a cup is aquamarine or turquoise...it is a blue cup. Move on."

Tell me, what more important issue is there than the Deity of Jesus Christ? Secondly, can you elaborate on what you mean by "individualy deity?" Or let me put it another way so I understand your words. Do you believe Jesus Christ is God, the Holy Spirit is God and of course God the Father is God and yet there is only one God? This only requires a yes or no answser. I also take note that in all of your post I don't recall you quoting any Scripture, why? :eek:

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,982
26,110
113
Rev 19-9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those
who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he
said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
 

Adstar

Senior Member
Jul 24, 2016
7,426
3,479
113
If that statement makes no sense to you, then stop pretending you are an expert on the RCC. Not understanding what they do and don't teach pretty much guarantees you aren't an expert.
I will no longer reply to your posts.. You are closed to the truth...
 
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sparty-g

Guest
Depleted said:
If you never get to know the groom, you never really married him. You may have showed up on the wedding day, but then you walked away.

Saved is a one-time event. God saves some. Repent, believe, follow, commit, all are the results of the one- time event. Lack of those things is proof the event never happened. So, yeah, if you go off and are saved from some dude that isn't the Messiah and Son in the Godhead, you aren't saved by that Messiah and Son in the Godhead. It is merely a delusion.

If you don't know he is Messiah and Son in the Godhead at the time he saved you, it doesn't mean he doesn't save you. It means you didn't quite get who you just married.
So, again, what I'm gathering from your illustration is that non-trinitarians are going to hell. Does this only include those who outright deny the trinity? E.g., those who study it and conclude it is a false doctrine. Or does it also include those who don't ever take a position on it for whatever reason? E.g., Those who purposefully choose not to take a position, or do not ever have time to study it out to come to a position, are never introduced to the concept, etc.
 
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sparty-g

Guest
Depleted said:
Christmas is over. Mods are back. HG threads are gone or locked.
That may well be, but they and others of similar beliefs are active on this forum, regardless, and likely have an opinion on this topic, which I'm interested to hear.
 
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sparty-g

Guest
MacBestus,

I attempted to private message you after reading your Council of Nicaea narrative post but the system said you are not accepting private messages. Do you mind turning this back on or communicating some other way? My private message function is currently on.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
36,674
13,131
113
That may well be, but they and others of similar beliefs are active on this forum, regardless, and likely have an opinion on this topic, which I'm interested to hear.
God really is very graceful, tho.
superlatively.

there is no one like Him
 

bluto

Senior Member
Aug 4, 2016
2,043
513
113
Hi bluto. Gonna jump in with some questions.

You're saying you do not believe trinity is a requirement for salvation, but what you wrote sounds like you hold it as a litmus test of someone who truly knows Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, both as deity (which doesn't exactly speak to the distinction of individual deity vs. trinity, but we will look past that for now). I have also noted that elsewhere on this thread people have asserted that a person is not saved unless they know the "real" Jesus by understanding His true identity and nature (which, you believe, is trinity).

So my question to you is: For the person who has put their trust in the Messiah to receive God's grace-pardon but does not come to your understanding of trinity, do you believe they are saved or not?
Sorry sparty, I just now noticed your post so let me tell you what I know. First of all your going to hear all kinds of, let's say propositions regarding the Trinity as to how it is explained. Some answers are good and some are not so good based on a lack of understanding.

The most "IMPORTANT" question to ask is "Who is Jesus Christ?" If one says, "He is the Son of God" I ask what does that mean? You will get hundreds of answers ranging from, He was a good man that did good things, He is just a man like you and me, He was created by God to save us from our sins, He was a god above other gods, He was Michael the arc angel and I could go on and on.

When you understand that He is God Almighty and you discover that the Holy Spirit is God and of course we know God the Father is God you now have the Trinity in which a church father named Terullian coined as a word of convinence to describe the three persons of the Godhead. That would be God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and yet there is only one God. Btw, the word "Godhead" simply means deity.

So when the Trinity is being discussed by real Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior seven or eight times out of ten they have a hard time understanding the doctrine of how to explain the Trinity yet they are saved. This is why I said that the Trinity is the "RESULT" of salvation based on the fact that one believes Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Father are God. This is what the Bible teaches.

The thing is that it's mostly people who are not saved that ask questions like, "If Jesus is God then did God die?" Or if Jesus is God how come He did not know the time of His own return?" You need to realize that baby Christians ask these types of questions as well but that is because they are still babies and need to grow on the milk and meat of the word.

I have debated many people throughout the years about the Trinity and I even challenged them that I won't even use the word "Trinity." I focus strickly on who are the three persons in the entire Bible are identified as God? It's also extremely important to listen and read the words that people use. For example, did you know that some will say, "They are separate persons" when referring to the Trinity. No they are not, they are "distinct" persons. They is a difference in definition between the words, "separate " and "distinct."

How about the difference when they say they say the Trinity are three separate beings? The word "beings" implies more than on God. Which means the definition of "being" and "person" do not mean the same thing. I ask this question the other day to someone that there is a reason why Jesus identified Himself as the "Son of Man" and as the "Son of God." In language we what is known as "idioms." For example, there is the Jewish "idiom" called the "son of" idiom.

Of course I'm digressing a little bit but I think you get my point. So to answer your last question, "So my question to you is: For the person who has put their trust in the Messiah to receive God's grace-pardon but does not come to your understanding of trinity, do you believe they are saved or not? the answer is a resounding YES!

Even though you stated earlier in your post, "I have also noted that elsewhere on this thread people have asserted that a person is not saved unless they know the "real" Jesus by understanding His true identity and nature (which, you believe, is trinity)." you came to the right conclusion ON YOUR OWN. You have to be convinced in your own mind backed up by rightly dividing the word of God. It's the Holy Spirit who prompts you as to wherther or not something is true or false by checking out what anybody says by the Bible. Do your homework, look up words, pay real close attention to what people say and know your Bible. If you know your Bible you can talk to anybody and trust God who somehow works things out even when you make a mistake. :eek:

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto
 
E

EvanWood

Guest
I really think the only true "litmus" test of salvation is the Holy Spirit. I also believe that you and God are the only ones who can truly know. The fruits and gifts that you receive from the Spirit can manifest in different ways for different people. Don't expect others to have an identical experience as you. I'm not hyper-grace but I'm also not anti-grace. My job is to love and share the truth the best I know how. I'll let God do the judging.
 
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MacBestus

Guest
Oh boy mac, I didn't expect you to write a second novel of Tolstoy's "War and Peace?" :rolleyes: What I think I will do is focus on your last paragraph.


The particular fellowship I am a part of does not care about either proving or disproving the trinity. We just do not find it scripturally important to come down on a side. As long as we hold Yahshuas Deity sacred there are more important things to study. Believing trinity or individual deity makes absolutely no difference to our walk. Believing His deity does. Just another argument that does not change anything. No one even cared for 400 years. Then they cared for a short time and didn't care again. It is like people coming to blows over wether a cup is aquamarine or turquoise...it is a blue cup. Move on."

Tell me, what more important issue is there than the Deity of Jesus Christ? Secondly, can you elaborate on what you mean by "individualy deity?" Or let me put it another way so I understand your words. Do you believe Jesus Christ is God, the Holy Spirit is God and of course God the Father is God and yet there is only one God? This only requires a yes or no answser. I also take note that in all of your post I don't recall you quoting any Scripture, why? :eek:

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto
Good morning Bluto.

I have a busy sort of a day ahead of me so if I don't get back to you right away it doesn't mean i don't love you. That being said...

You said "Oh boy mac, I didn't expect you to write a second novel of Tolstoy's "War and Peace?"*"

Just answering your comments mate. Of course I am long winded I freely admit.

You continue:"What I think I will do is focus on your last paragraph."

Probably wise. The rest cannot be argued as it is simple history.


You go on. Quoting me first. "The particular fellowship I am a part of does not care about either proving or disproving the trinity. We just do not find it scripturally important to come down on a side. As long as we hold Yahshuas Deity sacred there are more important things to study. Believing trinity or individual deity makes absolutely no difference to our walk. Believing His deity does. Just another argument that does not change anything. No one even cared for 400 years. Then they cared for a short time and didn't care again. It is like people coming to blows over wether a cup is aquamarine or turquoise...it is a blue cup. Move on."

That ends my quote. Back to your words.:

"Tell me, what more important issue is there than the Deity of Jesus Christ?"

I never have argued against the deity of Yahshua. In fact I have mentioned that I believe and celebrate it. So what are you trying to say? That if I do not join you in your particular belief on how His Deity looks that I deny his Deity? You are on shaky ground here brother... Especially since you haven't a clue on what I believe on the matter.

You continue."Secondly, can you elaborate on what you mean by "individualy deity?"

Certainly. Individual Deity is the belief that Messiah was and is a separate being from YHWH. The same way my son is Human and shares my Genetics yet is a separate Entity. We can even be "of one mind" on a matter and still be separate. Some versions of this theory say the Holy Spirit is a Separate Entity as well. Others postulate the Spirit to be a force that flows between them.

Remember I am defining not giving you my belief.

You go on."Or let me put it another way so I understand your words. Do you believe Jesus Christ is God, the Holy Spirit is God and of course God the Father is God and yet there is only one God? This only requires a yes or no answser."

Actually this only requires a yes or no answer if I were weak willed enough to let you bully me into taking a position on something I have repeatedly stated I wouldn't. Not really likely at this point. Especially just to let you have a debate.

I will answer in this way.... i believe all Scripture is true. I do not deny the Deity of the Master. I have answered you.


You continue:"I also take note that in all of your post I don't recall you quoting any Scripture, why?*"

We were discussing the history of the RCChuch. Scripture was not required to answer your posturing or your postulations.

Perhaps you are right though. as Solomon said In:

Proverbs 9:8**Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
*9**Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

So thank you for your reproof. Here is some e Scripture for you to ruminate on.

Matthew 7:1**Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2**For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3**And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
*4**Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam*is*in thine own eye?
*5**Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

James 4:*11**Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
*12**There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Romans 2:1**Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2**But we are sure that the judgment of*יהוה*is according to truth against them which commit such things.
*3**And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of*יהוה?

Romans 14:1**Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
*2**For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
*3**Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for*יהוהhath received him.
*4**Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for*יהוה*is able to make him stand.
*5**One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
*6**He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto*יהוה; and he that regardeth not the day, to*יהוה*he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to*יהוה, for he giveth*יהוה*thanks; and he that eateth not, to*יהוה*he eateth not, and giveth*יהוה*thanks.
*7**For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
*8**For whether we live, we live unto*יהוה; and whether we die, we die unto*יהוה: whether we live therefore, or die, we are*יהוה's.
*9**For to this end the Messiah both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Sovereign both of the dead and living.
*10**But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of the Messiah.
11**For it is written, As I live, saith*יהוה, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to*יהוה.
12**So then every one of us shall give account of himself to*יהוה.
*13**Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

So adding in teachings that the bible does not call for. Stumbling blocks. Demanding that people take a stand on them. And then judging them for it?

Hmm.

A couple more scriptures.

Deuteronomy 4:2**Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of*יהוה*your Elohim which I command you.

Proverbs 30:*5**Every word of Our Father is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6**Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Mark 7:13**Making the word of*יהוה*of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. (To the Pharisees who taught tradition as law)

Thank you for your discourse Brother and may Messiah Yahshua guide your path and heart.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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MacBestus

Guest
MacBestus,

I attempted to private message you after reading your Council of Nicaea narrative post but the system said you are not accepting private messages. Do you mind turning this back on or communicating some other way? My private message function is currently on.
MacBestus gmail com
 
S

sparty-g

Guest
bluto said:
Sorry sparty, I just now noticed your post so let me tell you what I know. First of all your going to hear all kinds of, let's say propositions regarding the Trinity as to how it is explained. Some answers are good and some are not so good based on a lack of understanding.

The most "IMPORTANT" question to ask is "Who is Jesus Christ?" If one says, "He is the Son of God" I ask what does that mean? You will get hundreds of answers ranging from, He was a good man that did good things, He is just a man like you and me, He was created by God to save us from our sins, He was a god above other gods, He was Michael the arc angel and I could go on and on.

When you understand that He is God Almighty and you discover that the Holy Spirit is God and of course we know God the Father is God you now have the Trinity in which a church father named Terullian coined as a word of convinence to describe the three persons of the Godhead. That would be God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and yet there is only one God. Btw, the word "Godhead" simply means deity.

So when the Trinity is being discussed by real Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior seven or eight times out of ten they have a hard time understanding the doctrine of how to explain the Trinity yet they are saved. This is why I said that the Trinity is the "RESULT" of salvation based on the fact that one believes Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Father are God. This is what the Bible teaches.

The thing is that it's mostly people who are not saved that ask questions like, "If Jesus is God then did God die?" Or if Jesus is God how come He did not know the time of His own return?" You need to realize that baby Christians ask these types of questions as well but that is because they are still babies and need to grow on the milk and meat of the word.

I have debated many people throughout the years about the Trinity and I even challenged them that I won't even use the word "Trinity." I focus strickly on who are the three persons in the entire Bible are identified as God? It's also extremely important to listen and read the words that people use. For example, did you know that some will say, "They are separate persons" when referring to the Trinity. No they are not, they are "distinct" persons. They is a difference in definition between the words, "separate " and "distinct."

How about the difference when they say they say the Trinity are three separate beings? The word "beings" implies more than on God. Which means the definition of "being" and "person" do not mean the same thing. I ask this question the other day to someone that there is a reason why Jesus identified Himself as the "Son of Man" and as the "Son of God." In language we what is known as "idioms." For example, there is the Jewish "idiom" called the "son of" idiom.

Of course I'm digressing a little bit but I think you get my point. So to answer your last question, "So my question to you is: For the person who has put their trust in the Messiah to receive God's grace-pardon but does not come to your understanding of trinity, do you believe they are saved or not? the answer is a resounding YES!

Even though you stated earlier in your post, "I have also noted that elsewhere on this thread people have asserted that a person is not saved unless they know the "real" Jesus by understanding His true identity and nature (which, you believe, is trinity)." you came to the right conclusion ON YOUR OWN. You have to be convinced in your own mind backed up by rightly dividing the word of God. It's the Holy Spirit who prompts you as to wherther or not something is true or false by checking out what anybody says by the Bible. Do your homework, look up words, pay real close attention to what people say and know your Bible. If you know your Bible you can talk to anybody and trust God who somehow works things out even when you make a mistake. :eek:

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto
Hi bluto, thanks for the thoughtful response. As I said in a previous post, I am trinitarian (by default as an inherited belief from my days in RCC then Protestantism -- it makes sense to me and I see the Scripture evidence, so I have never challenged it). Full disclosure: I am Messianic/HRM/Torah-observant. I take your answer "Yes" to my question to be "Yes, non-trinitarians are still saved," but please correct me if I interpreted your answer wrongly. I'm not a hyper-grace / grace-only person in the sense that I don't think calling upon the name of Yeshua-Jesus for salvation is a sort of magical incantation, but what happens afterward matters and that it requires the necessary fruit of heartfelt love and obedience -- a real transformation by the Holy Spirit. That being said, I don't make it a practice of trying to list out what specifically are those necessary fruit, which is why I disagree with user:depleted that a believer must come to eventually accept trinitarianism as a sign of being truly saved. I have a real problem with the idea that our salvation is tied to the correct sum of true doctrinal beliefs or even specific practices. No, I believe God's grace is wide and encompassing, and enough to save us despite our mistakes in beliefs and practices. If not, then heaven is going to be fairly empty. Of course, we all want to "get it right" and follow the "real Jesus", but the fact is that error and different beliefs/practices exist in the body of believers. We, as individual believers, all think we are right but the reality is that we are each possibly subject to great error. I pursue what I believe to be the Truth whole-heartedly and pray for God's grace and mercy despite my mistakes. There is certainly a line that cannot be crossed, but I will let God be the judge of the individual person and not attempt to put myself in His judgment seat. I disagree with the theology of the subject line faith groups (RCC, JW, LDS), but I don't tell them they are going to hell (despite what I think about whether or not they have crossed that line into heretical unbelief) -- I take opportunities to hear from them about what they believe and why, share with them what I personally believe, and then pray that they seek the Holy Spirit on the matter. And I try to sort out my own walk in consultation with the the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, teachers and fellow believers, etc. Hope this makes sense and you understand where I'm coming from.
 
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sparty-g

Guest
MacBestus said:
Individual Deity is the belief that Messiah was and is a separate being from YHWH. The same way my son is Human and shares my Genetics yet is a separate Entity. We can even be "of one mind" on a matter and still be separate. Some versions of this theory say the Holy Spirit is a Separate Entity as well. Others postulate the Spirit to be a force that flows between them.
This reply is to both MacBestus and bluto.

On individual deity: I have not read anything by theologians or scholars on the subject, but here is what comes to my mind when I think about it: There is only one YHWH. Messiah is a separate divine entity, similar to how angels are divine and separate from YHWH, but Messiah has the special role unique to only Him of being the Messiah of the world, and YHWH has handed over to Him authority for judgment and the like (everything the Scriptures say He has authority over). He is YHWH's Son but He is not YHWH Himself. Maybe you could say He is of same or similar substance -- I don't know. On the Holy Spirit, not sure exactly what to say. In the Hebrew Bible, YHWH's Spirit filled people, so perhaps it makes most sense to say that the Holy Spirit is an attribute of YHWH that empowers people in various ways (to overcome sin, etc.) and speaks Truth to them, and those who accept Yeshua as Messiah are filled with it in a unique way. So, YHWH, the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit all have deity but are not all YHWH.

On the trinity: I like the way Dr. Michael L. Brown describes it: YHWH is "complex in His unity." He uses this to defend against the Jewish objection to the Messiah being YHWH the Son as an idolatrous belief. He describes this "complex unity" as YHWH being able to "sit enthroned in heaven, filling the universe with His presence, infinite and uncontainable in His majesty, and yet at one and the same time able manifest His glory among us in the Temple (when it was around), in theophany form to various people in history (Abraham, Moses, etc.), and in the tent of a human body (Yeshua-Jesus)." I personally don't believe any of that to be beyond the scope of YHWH's ability.

I think there are verses that can be construed either way and difficult verses that challenge each position. As I already said, I am personally trinitarian and am more comfortable with the idea that YHWH Himself takes on human form to save us Himself. But I also don't hold this as a salvation litmus test and will let YHWH (or more accurately Yeshua-Jesus in the authority handed over to Him?) judge the hearts of men and women.
 
M

MacBestus

Guest
This reply is to both MacBestus and bluto.

On individual deity: I have not read anything by theologians or scholars on the subject, but here is what comes to my mind when I think about it: There is only one YHWH. Messiah is a separate divine entity, similar to how angels are divine and separate from YHWH, but Messiah has the special role unique to only Him of being the Messiah of the world, and YHWH has handed over to Him authority for judgment and the like (everything the Scriptures say He has authority over). He is YHWH's Son but He is not YHWH Himself. Maybe you could say He is of same or similar substance -- I don't know. On the Holy Spirit, not sure exactly what to say. In the Hebrew Bible, YHWH's Spirit filled people, so perhaps it makes most sense to say that the Holy Spirit is an attribute of YHWH that empowers people in various ways (to overcome sin, etc.) and speaks Truth to them, and those who accept Yeshua as Messiah are filled with it in a unique way. So, YHWH, the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit all have deity but are not all YHWH.

On the trinity: I like the way Dr. Michael L. Brown describes it: YHWH is "complex in His unity." He uses this to defend against the Jewish objection to the Messiah being YHWH the Son as an idolatrous belief. He describes this "complex unity" as YHWH being able to "sit enthroned in heaven, filling the universe with His presence, infinite and uncontainable in His majesty, and yet at one and the same time able manifest His glory among us in the Temple (when it was around), in theophany form to various people in history (Abraham, Moses, etc.), and in the tent of a human body (Yeshua-Jesus)." I personally don't believe any of that to be beyond the scope of YHWH's ability.

I think there are verses that can be construed either way and difficult verses that challenge each position. As I already said, I am personally trinitarian and am more comfortable with the idea that YHWH Himself takes on human form to save us Himself. But I also don't hold this as a salvation litmus test and will let YHWH (or more accurately Yeshua-Jesus in the authority handed over to Him?) judge the hearts of men and women.
Sparty,

Not that it matters a whit. But you havedescribed yourself as a believer in individual Deity with Eusubian leanings.

Yet you define yourself as a Trinitarian.

One more example of the fruitlessness of this argument.

There is no doubt in my mind you love Messiah AND his deity. Whichever side you come down on.
 
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Depleted

Guest
I will no longer reply to your posts.. You are closed to the truth...
You don't get what happens in the RCC, but I'm closed to the truth? :confused:

Yeah. Okay.
 
S

sparty-g

Guest
MacBestus said:
Sparty,

Not that it matters a whit. But you have described yourself as a believer in individual Deity with Eusubian leanings.

Yet you define yourself as a Trinitarian.

One more example of the fruitlessness of this argument.

There is no doubt in my mind you love Messiah AND his deity. Whichever side you come down on.
Hi MacBestus. I admit that I'm not well read on the debate and the opinions of the early "Church Fathers" (including Eusebius) and Councils. Can you explain a bit how you gather that I am describing myself as a believer in individual deity with Eusebian leanings while defining myself as a trinitarian? Though they were only my thoughts and not researched doctrine, did I mess up the descriptions of individual deity vs. trinitarianism above? I stated that I prefer Dr. Michael L. Brown's description of YHWH's "complex unity", which is a defense of trinitarianism.

And I do agree with you about the fruitlessness of arguing it in this specific setting (the CC forums). I'm simply participating because I enjoy the discussion and can learn things from it. Personally, I'm more interested in talking with believers about Christian obedience after salvation (i.e., walking like Yeshua-Jesus). ;-)
 
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