One God Or A Trinity?

This is one of the most contentious issues for some Christians and indeed some denominations of Christianity to come to terms with.
Who is God? Who is Jesus? What does the Bible say about ‘One God’ and the ‘Holy Trinity’?

This article will discuss the answers to these questions and hopefully explain just how the Trinity came to be one of the cornerstones of Christian Faith for so many.
(Unless I note otherwise, all scriptures will be from the New King James (NKJV) Bible.

All Christians see ‘salvation’ as important. Jesus explains what ‘eternal life’ is when praying to God.

John 17:1-5

¹ Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
² as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
⁴ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

When trying to understand, or indeed to find answers (yes, understanding and answers are two completely different concepts) there has been much written. Over time, many theologians, philosophers and teachers have weighed in with their interpretation and writings on the matter of Trinity.

Instead of focusing on these, what If we turn to the writings contained within the Bible and look at the words spoken by God and Jesus to see what they have said on the matter.

Who Is God

Some 3,464 years ago (from AD 2024), around BC 1440, God told Moses (who was around 80 at the time) that He wanted to talk to the Israelites face to face.
The Israelites came to the base of Mount Sinai, and God caused a cloud of smoke to surround the mountain. The Lord was in the cloud.

Exodus 19:16-19

¹⁶ Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
¹⁷ And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
¹⁸ Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
¹⁹ And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

The Ten Commandments were written by God upon two tablets of stone and then given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The record of the Ten Commandments can be found in the Bible, both in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

Exodus 20:1-17

¹ And God spoke all these words, saying:
² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
³ “You shall have no other gods before Me.
⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
⁶ but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
⁷ “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
⁹ “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
¹³ “You shall not murder.
¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.
¹⁵ “You shall not steal.
¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Deuteronomy 5:1–21

¹ And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.
² The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
³ The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.
⁴ The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
⁵ I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
⁶ ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
⁷ ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.
⁸ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
⁹ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
¹⁰ but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
¹¹ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
¹² ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
¹⁴ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
¹⁵ And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
¹⁶ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
¹⁷ ‘You shall not murder.
¹⁸ ‘You shall not commit adultery.
¹⁹ ‘You shall not steal.
²⁰ ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
²¹ ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

²² “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.’

The People Afraid of God’s Presence

²³ “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders.
²⁴ And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives.
²⁵ Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die.
²⁶ For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
²⁷ You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’

²⁸ “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken.
²⁹ Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
³⁰ Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.”
³¹ But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’

³² “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
³³ You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

Following on, Moses talks about ‘The Greatest Commandment’:

Deuteronomy 6

¹ “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
² that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
³ Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Around 550-538 BC, God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, said:

Isaiah 43:10

⁹ Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
¹⁰ “You are My witnesses,” says 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, Nor shall there be after Me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.
¹² I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God.

Further down, Chapter 45, The Lord, the Only Savior

Isaiah 45:14-22

¹⁴ Thus says the Lord: “The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.’ ”
¹⁵ Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!
¹⁶ They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols.
¹⁷ But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever.
¹⁸ For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
²⁰ “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.
²¹ Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.
²² “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Apart from addressing ‘one God’, this chapter also addresses the ‘who is God’ question.

Around 450-430 BC there was God’s Covenant with David, through the prophet Nathan and David’s response in the form of a thanksgiving prayer.

1 Chronicles 17:20

O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

There are many other verses throughout the ‘Old Testament’ of the Bible that tell us that God is the only one true God, and that there are no other gods besides Him.
For a complete list of references within the ‘Old Testament’:

God is one:

Job 31:15; Zechariah 14:9; Malachi 2:10; 23:9.

The LORD (Yahweh) is the only true God:

Exodus 8:10, 9:14, Deuteronomy 4:35-39, 7:9, 32:12-40; 1 Samuel 2:2; 2 Samuel 7:22, 22:32; 1 Kings 8:23,39,60, 18:17-39; 2 Kings 5:15, 19:15-19; 1 Chronicles 16:25-26; 2 Chronicles 6:14, 13:9; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 9:8; Psalms 18:31, 62:2,5-6, 71:16,19, 72:18, 73,25, 83:18, 86:8-10, 89:6-11, 90:1-2, 96:4-5, 118:27; 136:4, 148:13; Isaiah 37:16-20, 40:18-25, 41:4, 43:10-13, 44:6-8,24, 45:5-7,14,18,21-22, 46:9; Jeremiah 3:11, 5:7, 10:6-16, 16:20; Hosea 13:4; Joel 2:27.

The Father alone is the one true God:

Deuteronomy 32:6; 2 Samuel 7:8-14; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14, 29:10: Psalms 2:7, 89:26-29; Isaiah 42:1, 61:1-2, 63:16, 64:8; Jeremiah 3:4,19, 31:9; Malachi 1:6, 2:10.

The LORD God (the Father) is Almighty and Supreme:

Genesis 18:25; Exodus 20:3-5, 22:20; Deuteronomy 10:17; Joshua 3:11,13, 22:22; 1 Samuel 7:3-4; 1 Kings 18:17-39; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 47:2,7, 83:18, 97:9, 110:1,136:1-26; Isaiah 2:11,17, 26:13-14, 44:24; Daniel 2:47, 3:29, 11:36; Zechariah 6:5.

When reading through the New Testament, we find the same message telling us that God is one. The apostle Paul said (1 Corinthians 8:6):

Be Sensitive to Conscience

1 Corinthians 8

¹ Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
² And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
³ But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

⁴ Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
⁵ For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

⁷ However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
⁸ But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.

⁹ But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?
¹¹ And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
¹² But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
¹³ Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Ephesians 4:1-10 is Paul’s compelling description of Christian unity. Every saved believer, regardless of talent or skill, Jew or Gentile, male or female, is saved by the same faith in the same God. Each Christian, therefore, is part of a single, universal family of believers in Jesus Christ. At the same time, God gives different gifts to different people, so that they can serve the many roles needed to accomplish His purposes here on earth. Rather than being concerned about what gifts we might lack, each Christian can rejoice in our unity and focus on serving God to the best of our ability.
In these verses of Ephesians, the apostle Paul claims that something is both supremely important and true. He claims it’s true for everyone, despite our differences. In other words, it’s an (unavoidably exclusive) claim for unity. Where is this unity located? It’s not located in a code of morality, or a vision of harmony, or a feeling of transcendence, or a sense of love?
It’s located in God. And by God, I don’t mean a general sense of divinity, but a specific understanding of who God is. Which God? The God whom Christians have confessed and professed down through the ages. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is one God. Therefore, he’s the only God.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Walk in Unity

¹ I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Spiritual Gifts

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
⁸ Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (Now this, “He ascended” what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
¹⁰ He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ
¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

In 1 Timothy chapter 2, Paul transitions from his personal focus on Timothy and a general reference to sound doctrine to information regarding worship practices in the church.
Even when kings, rulers, and politicians seem hostile and evil, Paul reminds Timothy that God wants all people to be saved through Christ.
This is why Christians are called on to pray even for those who persecute them, the goal is to see souls saved, not revenge.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

¹ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
⁷ for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

1 Timothy 2:5 teaches that there is one true God and Jesus was a Man.

There are many other verses throughout the ‘New Testament’ of the Bible that tell us that God is the only one true God, and that there are no other gods besides Him.
For a complete list of references within the ‘New Testament’:

God is one:

Matthew 19:17, 23:9; Mark 2:7, 10:18, 12:29,32; Luke 18:19; John 8:41; Romans 3:30; 1 Corinthians 8:4,6; Galatians 3:20; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19, 4:12.

The LORD (Yahweh) is the only true God:

Mark 12:32; John 13:16, 14:28, 17:3; Acts 19:26; Romans 16:27; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, 10:20; Galatians 4:8; 1 Timothy 1:17, 2:5, 6:15-16; 1 John 5:20; Jude 25; Revelation 15:4.

The Father alone is the one true God:

Matthew 11:25, 24:36; Mark 10:18, 13:32; Luke 10:21, 18:19; John 1:18, 5:43-44, 6:27,45, 8:41-42,54, 14:28, 17:1-3, 20:17; Acts 7:55-56; Romans 1:7, 15:6; 1 Corinthians 1:3, 8:6, 11:3, 15:24; 2 Corinthians 1:2-3, 11:31; Galatians 1:1-5; Ephesians 1:2-3,17, 4:5-6, 5:20, 6:23; Philippians 1:2, 2:11, 4:20; Colossians 1:2-3, 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3, 3:11,13; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2, 2:16: 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 3: Hebrews 12:7; James 1:27, 3:9; 1 Peter 1:2-3; 2 Peter 1:17; 2 John 3,9; Jude 1: Revelation 1:6.

The LORD God (the Father) is Almighty and Supreme:

Matthew 4:10, 24:36, Mark 5:7, Luke 4:8, 8:28, John 5:44; Acts 7:48, 16:17; Romans 16:27; 1 Corinthians 3:23, 11:3, 15:24-28; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 3:14, 4:6; 1 Timothy 1:17, 6:14-16; Hebrews 7:1; Jude 25; Revelation 1:8, 4:8, 11:17, 15:3-4, 16:7,14, 19:6,15, 21:22.

Jesus Christ Son of God

Now let’s turn our attention towards Jesus. What does the Bible teach about Jesus?

The Bible reveals (Luke 1:31-35) that the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s only son, born of the virgin Mary to take away the sins of the world.

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, enabled Mary to conceive and have a baby named Jesus.

Luke 1:26-38

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “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.
³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸ Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Paul compares life under the law to a child living under the care of a guardian (Galatians 4).
Though that child is entitled to a grand inheritance, the child’s daily life is similar to that of a slave until the predetermined date set by his father arrives.
Paul says that date has come for those who were under the law. In fact, the moment has come for all who want to share in the inheritance of Jesus. When the “fullness of time” had come, God’s Son Jesus was born to a human woman.
This woman, Mary, was a virgin, and her pregnancy was a miracle. She carried the child of God.

Galatians 4:1-7

Sons and Heirs Through Christ

¹ Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,
² but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Hebrews 5:1–10 explains how Jesus fits the requirements of a high priest. Earlier verses showed that the Messiah promised by the Old Testament would be entirely human (Hebrews 2:17). That humanity allows Christ to sympathise with our temptations and weaknesses. Here, the writer of Hebrews points out that this also makes Jesus qualified to be our ultimate High Priest.
Because of His humanity (of ‘flesh’), His prayers, His sacrifice for sin, and His appointment by God, Jesus’ status is far superior to any other figure.
Because Jesus was literally the son of God (Hebrews 5:7-8), he had a real father-son relationship with God.

Hebrews 5:1-11

Qualifications for High Priesthood

¹ For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
² He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.
³ Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.
⁴ And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

A Priest Forever

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

⁶ As He also says in another place:

“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;
⁷ who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
¹⁰ called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”
¹¹ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Jesus learned from and spoke to his Father often (Luke 6:12). There is also Jesus stating he was “The Son of Man” (Luke 6:5):

Luke 6:1-12

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

¹ Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.
² And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
³ But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
⁴ how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”
⁵ And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

⁶ Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
⁸ But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.
⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
¹⁰ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Jesus – Son of Man

According to Hebrews 2:10, Jesus’ role as the “Captain” of our salvation includes taking on the suffering we experience as human beings.
The writer of Hebrews has already explained that the Messiah could not be an angel, according to passages in the Old Testament.
In addition, angels cannot truly experience human suffering, so they cannot be an example for people to follow.
As a man, however, Jesus Christ is able to do exactly that. Part of that example was laid out in Hebrews 12 and 13, which quoted from both the Psalms and the prophet Isaiah. Those references showed the idea of trusting God despite temporary hardships.

Hebrews 2:14 clearly presents the reason why Jesus, the Promised One, had to become human in order to be the perfect “founder” of salvation. His humanity allowed Him to experience the same things normal people do.
This makes His perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection a valid example for us to follow.
Specifically, this perfect life and sinless sacrifice “destroys” Satan, who has the power of death. This concept of destruction is from the Greek term katargēsē, which means “to counter, negate, deactivate, or abolish.”

In other words, by taking on human form, Jesus Christ shattered the enslaving control which the fear of death has on humanity.

Hebrews 2:1-18

Do Not Neglect Salvation

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
² For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,
³ how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
⁴ God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

The Son Made Lower than Angels

⁵ For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.
⁶ But one testified in a certain place, saying:

“What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him?
⁷ You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands.
⁸ You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.
⁹ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

Bringing Many Sons to Glory

¹⁰ For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
¹¹ For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
¹² saying:

“I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

¹³ And again:

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And again:

“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

¹⁴ In as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
¹⁶ For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
¹⁸ For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Romans 8:3 explains how it is possible that there is no condemnation from God for those who are in Christ Jesus by faith. This was stated in emphatic terms in Romans 8:1, in a statement flowing directly from Paul’s reference to Christ at the end of chapter 7.

Paul has built a clear case that the law of Moses cannot save those who live under it. Instead, the law simply shows that we cannot keep the law (Romans 7:7–12). We cannot escape our sinfulness and make ourselves acceptable to God. He had to step in to save us, and He did. He did what the law, truly, our inability to keep the law, could not do.

What did God do? He sent Jesus, His Son, to earth in a human body just like all the other human bodies. Except Jesus’ body was not full of sin (Hebrews 4:15). He never sinned.
God sent Jesus in a body so that He could condemn all sin through the punishment of that one sinless body.

Romans 8:4 shows, God did this because it was necessary to fulfill the law’s requirement of death for sin and life for righteousness.

Romans 8:1-11

Free from Indwelling Sin

¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
¹⁰ And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

For more references take a look at the following verses:

Jesus began his life at birth:

Genesis 3:15, 13:15, 17:8, 22:18; Deuteronomy 9:6,7, 18:15-19; 2 Samuel 7:11-14; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14; Psalm 89:27, 139:15-16; Isaiah 7:14, 49:1-5; Jeremiah 1:5, 30:21; Micah 5:2-5; Matthew 1:20-24, 2:1-6; 13:35, 25:34; Luke 1:30-35 (see 1:13-17), 2:40,52 (see 1:80), 11:50; John 7:42, 8:56, 12:41, 17:5,24; Acts 2:22-24, 15:18; Romans 4:17, 8:28-30, 9:23, 11:2; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Galatians 1:15, 3:16, 4:4; Ephesians 1:3-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; Titus 1:2-3; 1 Peter 1:1-2,11,19-21; Revelation 13:8, 17:8.

Jesus as Son of God and Son of Man:

Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Job 9:32-33, 33:12; Psalm 80:17; Isaiah 47:3, 55:8-9; Jeremiah 30:12; Zechariah 6:12, 13:7; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 24:30-44; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27,36; John 3:2, 8:40, 19:5; Acts 2:22, 7:56, 13:38, 17:31; Romans 5:15; 1 Corinthians 15:21,47; Ephesians 2:15, 4:13; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation 1:13, 4:14.

Are God and Jesus the Same?

As we’ve seen, from the Bible, there is only one God and Jesus Christ is His son, the Son of Man. Is it possible that Jesus and God are both made of the same substance, or are both co-equal and co-eternal?

Let’s look at some comparative examples, again coming directly from the Bible as my source of information.

God cannot be tempted

James 1:13

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

Jesus was tempted

Hebrews 2:18

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Hebrews 4:14-15

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

God cannot be seen

1Timothy 6:16

who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Jesus was seen

John 21:14

This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

God knows everything

Jeremiah 23:24

Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

Jesus learnt

Luke 2:52

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.

Hebrews 5:8

though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Mark 13:32

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

God cannot die

Deuteronomy 32:39-40

³⁹ ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
⁴⁰ For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, “As I live forever,

1 Timothy 6:16

who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Jesus died

1 Corinthians 15:3

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

Revelation 1:18

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

God is subject to no one

Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

Jesus is subject to God

John 14:28

You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

1 Corinthians 11:3

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 15:28

Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

God is everlasting

1 Timothy 1:17

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus was created

Galatians 4:4

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Hebrews 1:5

The Son Exalted Above Angels

For to which of the angels did He ever say:

“You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”?

And again:

“I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?

God is all powerful

Jeremiah 32:27

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

Isaiah 45:11-12

¹¹ Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
¹² I have made the earth, And created man on it. I, My hands, stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded.

Jesus is not all powerful

John 5:19-20

¹⁹ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

Hebrews 5:7-8

⁷ who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

God is Perfect

Matthew 5:48

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus had to be made perfect

Hebrews 5:9

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Luke 18:19

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

God does not change

Malachi 3:6

“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

Jesus did change

Hebrews 2:7

You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands.

God has no god

Isaiah 44:6

There Is No Other God

⁶ “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.

Isaiah 44:8

⁸ Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’ ”

Jesus has a God

John 20:17

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

God is not a man

Numbers 23:19

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Jesus is a man

Acts 2:22

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know –

1 Timothy 2:5

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

These differences clearly show the differences between God and Jesus, the two are unique, different beings.

Recap on What’s Been Covered So Far

At the beginning of this article I proposed a number of questions: Who is God? Who is Jesus? What does the Bible say about ‘One God’ and the ‘holy Trinity’?

So far, we’ve covered Who is God? Who is Jesus? What does the Bible say about ‘One God’. I have covered these questions by quoting directly from the Bible (New King James (NKJV)).

Now I will look at the last question: What does the Bible say about the ‘holy Trinity’? many Christian faiths say is so important.

The Trinity

Problem: Nowhere in the Bible do we find the word ‘Trinity’, nor do we find the Trinitarian terms ‘God the son’ or ‘God the Holy Spirit’.

The gradual development of the doctrine of the Trinity, after the completion of the Bible, is well known and accepted by all faiths.

The “New Catholic Encyclopedia” states:

“The formulation ‘one God in three persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title of Trinitarian dogma.
Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”
(New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Guild Publishers; 1967-1974. Trinity; 14:299)

So understanding the Trinity means one God in three persons (Father, Son, and Spirit). Let’s look at the math: 1 + 1 + 1 = 1. Even though the word ‘Trinity’ never appears in any Bible verses.

Above we covered God is the ‘Father’ to Jesus, so now we have to investigate how ‘God’ can also be the ‘Son’ and the ‘Holy Spirit’.

According to Catholic teachings, the Bible describes this in terms of different combinations: Father and Son (John 14:23); Father and Holy Spirit (John 14:23; 1 John 3:24); Son and Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6).
Let’s take a look at these verses.

John 14:23

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Here, Jesus is referring to himself and separately to His Father. Father and Son are clearly two different references.

1 John 3:23

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

Two important commandments are given in this verse. First is the essential gospel message of belief in Christ. John 3:16 offers a similar teaching from Jesus Himself. Rather than a list of hundreds of commandments no one could adequately fulfill, Jesus said, first and foremost, we are to believe in His name. Again, there is reference to two separate identities, “His (God) Son Jesus Christ”.

1 John 3:24

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Here He (God) has given us the ‘power’ to abide in Him (God) by keeping His (God) commandments. John is simply repeating the teaching of Jesus, who named as the “greatest commandment” to love God, and the next greatest to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–40).

Galatians 4:6

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

This verse, according to Catholicism helps to show how each member of the Trinity is involved in our salvation. God the Father sent the Son to save us, then sent the Spirit to live in our hearts.
But, without referencing the ‘Trinity’ isn’t a simple, more literate understanding given by God sending His ‘power’ to live in the hearts that gives us the right, along with Jesus, to call out to God as a young child calls out to their “daddy”.
Abba means “father” in the Aramaic language. Because it’s easy for young children to say, like the English term dada, it’s what most young children would call their father.
Without our own sinfulness and the law standing between us and God, we can live with God as little children do with a trusted father.

Many Christian theologians and apologists seem to hold ‘Trinity’ is a deductive inference.
Other Christians admit that their preferred doctrine of the Trinity not only:
(1) can’t be inferred from the Bible alone, but also
(2) that there’s inadequate or no evidence for it there, and even
(3) that what is taught in the Bible is incompatible with the doctrine.

These Christians believe the doctrine solely on the authority of later doctrinal pronouncements of the ‘True Christian Church’ (typically one of: the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox tradition, or the mainstream of the Christian tradition, broadly understood).

Where did the Doctrine of the Trinity come from?

Trinities of gods were taught in non-Christian religions since ancient times. In Mesopotamia one such ‘trinity’ was Anu (the god of the sky), Enlil (the god of the earth) and Ea (the god of the waters). Another trinity, in ancient Babylon, was made up of the three gods Nimrod, Semiramas and Tammuz. Grouping of gods in triads was also common in Egypt, Greece and Rome in the centuries before and after Christ.

After the death of the apostles, such ideas began to come into Christianity, Seigfried Morenz in his book ‘Egyptian Religion’ notes:

“…the trinity was a major preoccupation of Egyptian theologies… three gods are combined and treated as a single being addressed as singular. In this way the spiritual force of Egyptian religion shows a direct link with Christian theology.” [1]

It is interesting that it was in Egypt that the subject of the Trinity was discussed by the church leaders, because in the preface to Edward Gibbon’s ‘History of Christianity’ we read of the influence of Egyptian religion on their discussions:

“If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism. The pure Deism of the first century Christians … was changed by the Church of Rome, into the incomprehensible dogma of the Trinity. Many of the pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians and idealized by Plato, were retained as being worthy of belief”. [2]

The powerful influence that non-Christian philosophies had on Christianity is again acknowledged in “A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge”:

“The Trinity is a corruption borrowed from the heathen religions and engrafted on the Christian faith”. [3]

Some of these ancient trinities are still worshipped today. In Egypt, a trinity (made up of the three gods called Osiris, Isis and Horus) is worshipped.
Likewise in India, the three gods, Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, are worshipped as a trinity in the Hindu faith.

Plato’s Understanding & Greek Philosophers Claiming to Follow Platonic Philosophy (Platonism)

Plato lived (Born: 428/427 BC, Died: 348/347 BC) for some 80 years, in a time some 350 years before Christ and the collation of the Bible.

‘Platonism’ is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato.

Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. In many interpretations of the Timaeus Platonism, [4] like Aristotelianism, poses an eternal universe, as opposed to the nearby Judaic tradition that the universe had been created in historical time, with its continuous history recorded. Unlike Aristotelianism, Platonism describes idea as prior to matter and identifies the person with the soul. Many Platonic notions secured a permanent place in Christianity. [5]

At the heart of Plato’s philosophy is the theory of the soul. Francis Cornford described the twin pillars of Platonism as being the theory of the Forms, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. [6]
Indeed, Plato was the first person in the history of philosophy to believe that the soul was both the source of life and the mind. [7]
In Plato’s dialogues, the soul plays many disparate roles. Among other things, Plato believes that the soul is what gives life to the body (which was articulated most of all in the Laws and Phaedrus) in terms of self-motion: to be alive is to be capable of moving oneself; the soul is a self-mover.
He also thinks that the soul is the bearer of moral properties (i.e., when I am virtuous, it is my soul that is virtuous as opposed to, say, my body). The soul is also the mind: it is that which thinks in us.

For Plato, God is the ‘Form of the Good’. A Form here means an Ideal, an eternal fundamental principle, of which material objects and attributes are imperfect copies. So God is the Ideal of perfect Goodness and source of all that is Good.

First Council of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I.
The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July AD 325. [8]

This ecumenical council [a] [13] was the first of many efforts to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all Christendom. Hosius of Corduba may have presided over its deliberations. [9] [10]
Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the divine nature of God the Son and his relationship to God the Father, [11] the construction of the first part of the Nicene Creed, mandating uniform observance of the date of Easter, [8] and promulgation of early canon law. [12] [9]

The major impetus for the calling of the Council of Nicaea arose in a theological dispute among the Christian clergy of Alexandria concerning the nature of Jesus, his origin, and relation to God the Father. [15]
Scholars propose dates between 318 and 322 for the beginning of the dispute. [16]
The precise origins of the controversy are unclear, but the principal actors were Archbishop Alexander of Alexandria and the presbyter Arius. [17]
Arius’ teachings are known partially from a few pieces of his writing which survive, but principally from his opponents, primarily Alexander and Athanasius of Alexandria. [18] [19]
Arius criticized Alexander’s teachings on Christology; Alexander taught that Jesus as God the Son was eternally generated from the Father, while Arius and his followers asserted that the Father alone was eternal, and that the Son was created or begotten by the Father, and thus had a defined point of origin and was subordinate to the Father. [20] [21]
Arius accused Alexander of following the teachings of Sabellius, who taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were one person, rather than the view held throughout the east that they were distinct. [22]
Alexander called a local council of bishops from Egypt and Libya, which sided with Alexander’s view. Arius refused to subscribe to the council’s decision, and he and several followers were excommunicated and exiled from Alexandria by Alexander. Arius then travelled to churches around the Roman east and wrote to bishops to gain support of his view. Among Arius’ supporters were Eusebius of Nicomedia and Eusebius of Caesarea, and they advocated for his view and his restoration to the church in Alexandria.
Alexander also circulated letters defending his own position. [23] [16]

There is no record of any discussion of the biblical canon at the council. [24]
The development of the biblical canon was nearly complete (with exceptions known as the Antilegomena, written texts whose authenticity or value is disputed) by the time the Muratorian fragment was written. [25]

Trinity

The Council of Nicaea dealt primarily with the issue of the deity of Christ. The term “Trinity” was already in use, with the earliest existing reference being by Theophilus of Antioch (AD 115–181), referring to Theos, the Logos, and Sophia [44] (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit was referred to by several Church fathers), though many scholars believe that the way the term was used indicates that it was known previously to his readers.
Also, over a century before, the term “Trinity” (Τριάς in Greek; trinitas in Latin) was used in the writings of Origen and Tertullian, and a general notion of a “divine three”, in some sense, was expressed in the 2nd-century writings of Polycarp, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr. In Nicaea, questions regarding the Holy Spirit were left largely unaddressed until after the relationship between the Father and the Son was settled around the year 362. [45]
The doctrine in a more full-fledged form was not formulated until the Council of Constantinople in 381 [46] and a final form formulated primarily by Gregory of Nyssa. [47]

During the time period of early Christianity, there was no accepted “New Testament”, merely books considered of greater or lesser value. While likely not intended strictly as a canon list, the fragment is evidence of the first attempts to systemize such a group of approved writings, at least if it indeed dates to the 2nd century. Debates on what works should be accepted as scripture would continue. The earliest version of the eventual consensus New Testament canon did not occur until 367, when bishop Athanasius of Alexandria in his annual Easter letter composed a list that is still recognized today as the canon of 27 books. [26]
However, it would take several more centuries of debate until agreement on Athanasius’ canon was reached within all of Christendom. [27]

Athanasius I of Alexandria (c. AD 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th pope of Alexandria (as Athanasius I).
Athanasius was a Church Father, [28] the chief proponent of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian Christian leader of the fourth century.

Conflict with Arius and Arianism, as well as with successive Roman emperors, shaped Athanasius’ career.
In AD 325, at age 27, Athanasius began his leading role against the Arians as a deacon and assistant to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria during the First Council of Nicaea.
Three years after that council, Athanasius succeeded his mentor as Patriarch of Alexandria. In addition to the conflict with the Arians (including powerful and influential Arian churchmen led by Eusebius of Nicomedia), he struggled against the Emperors Constantine, Constantius II, Julian the Apostate and Valens. He was known as Athanasius Contra Mundum (Latin for ‘Athanasius Against the World’).

Some argue that, in his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius was the first person to list the 27 books of the New Testament canon that are in use today. [29]

Development of the New Testament canon

The canon of the New Testament is the set of books many modern Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible. For most churches, the canon is an agreed-upon list of 27 books [30] that includes the canonical Gospels, Acts, letters attributed to various apostles, and Revelation.

For historical Christians, canonicalization was based on whether the material was written by the apostles or their close associates, rather than claims of divine inspiration. However, some biblical scholars with diverse disciplines now reject the claim that any texts of the Bible were written by the earliest apostles (though many of the Pauline letters were likely written by Paul or close associates of his). [31]

The Catholic Church provided a conciliar definition of its biblical canon in 382 at the (local) Council of Rome (based upon the Decretum Gelasianum, of uncertain authorship) [32] [33] as well as at the Council of Trent of 1545, reaffirming the Canons of Florence of 1442 and North African Councils (Hippo and Carthage) of 393–419. [34] [35]

For the Church of England, it was made dogmatic on the Thirty-Nine Articles of 1563; for Calvinism, on the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647.

The core books of the New Testament were completed before 120 AD, with the Gospels being finished slightly earlier (the first of which, Mark, was likely written close to 70 AD). [30]
Although the list of what books constituted the canon (i.e., list of books to read out in church) initially differed among the geographically-separated churches in antiquity, according to ancient church historian Eusebius there was a consensus that the same 27 books constituting the canon today were the same 27 books generally recognized in the first century. [36]

For the first three hundred years of Christianity, there was no entirely agreed-upon canon.
Some of Paul’s letters and the four Gospels whose authorship were attributed to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John were read publicly in certain churches. The earliest record of attempt at compiling a canon was made by Marcion, c. 140 AD, who accepted only a modified version of Luke and ten of Paul’s letters, while rejecting the Old Testament entirely. [37]
After the council of Nicaea in year 325, Roman Emperor Constantine instructed Eusebius to put together accepted Christian Scriptures that would be displayed in churches. However, nothing is known if Eusebius was successful in completing the task.

One of the oldest bibles in existence is the Codex Vaticanus which was written around year 350. The Codex is currently kept in the Vatican Library. It has the 27 books of the New Testament which are accepted by all Christian denominations today. The 27 books were canonized in the council of Hippo in year AD 393. This was later affirmed in the council of Carthage in year AD 397 and 419. [38]
Evidence corroborates the claims of the fourth century church councils that their canonical list are the same 27 books that the church received from the earliest bishops. [39]
Irenaeus (died c. AD 202) quotes and cites 21 books that would end up as part of the New Testament, but does not use Philemon, Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 3 John and Jude. [40]
By the early 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria may have been using the same 27 books as in the modern New Testament, though there were still disputes over the canonicity of Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, and Revelation [41] (see also Antilegomena).
Likewise by 200, the Muratorian fragment shows that there existed a set of Christian writings somewhat similar to what is now the New Testament, which included four gospels and argued against objections to them. [42]
Thus, while there was plenty of discussion in the Early Church over the New Testament canon, the “major” writings were accepted by almost all Christian authorities by the middle of the second century. [43]

First Council of Constantinople

The First Council of Constantinople was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. [48] [49]
This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, except for the Western Church, [50] confirmed the Nicene Creed, expanding the doctrine thereof to produce the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, and dealt with sundry other matters.
It met from May to July 381 [51] in the Church of Hagia Irene and was affirmed as ecumenical in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon.

When Theodosius ascended to the imperial throne in AD 380, he began on a campaign to bring the Eastern Church back to Nicene Christianity. Theodosius wanted to further unify the entire empire behind the orthodox position and decided to convene a church council to resolve matters of faith and discipline. [52] 
Gregory Nazianzus was of similar mind, wishing to unify Christianity. In the spring of 381 they convened the second ecumenical council in Constantinople.

The Council of Nicaea in AD 325 had not ended the Arian controversy which it had been called to clarify. Arius and his sympathizers, e.g. Eusebius of Nicomedia, were admitted back into the church after ostensibly accepting the Nicene creed. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, the most vocal opponent of Arianism, was ultimately exiled through the machinations of Eusebius of Nicomedia.
After the death of Constantine I in AD 337 and the accession of his Arian-leaning son Constantius II, open discussion of replacing the Nicene creed itself began. Up until about AD 360, theological debates mainly dealt with the divinity of the Son, the second person of the Trinity. However, because the Council of Nicaea had not clarified the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, it became a topic of debate. The Macedonians denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This was also known as Pneumatomachianism.

Nicene Christianity also had its defenders: apart from Athanasius, the Cappadocian Fathers’ Trinitarian discourse was influential in the council at Constantinople. Apollinaris of Laodicea, another pro-Nicene theologian, proved controversial. Possibly in an over-reaction to Arianism and its teaching that Christ was not God, he taught that Christ consisted of a human body and a divine mind, rejecting the belief that Christ had a complete human nature, including a human mind. [53]
He was charged with confounding the persons of the Godhead [b], and with giving in to the heretical ways of Sabellius. Basil of Caesarea accused him of abandoning the literal sense of the scripture, and taking up wholly with the allegorical sense. His views were condemned in a Synod at Alexandria, under Athanasius of Alexandria, in AD 362, and later subdivided into several different heresies, the main ones of which were the Polemians and the Antidicomarianites.

Sabellius (fl. ca. 215) was a third-century priest and theologian who most likely taught in Rome but may have been a North African from Libya.
Sabellius’ opposition to the idea of the Trinity led to his excommunication as a heretic by Callixtus in AD 220. It’s been suggested that Calixtus’ action was motivated more by a desire for unity rather than by conviction. [54]

Sabellius taught that God was single and indivisible, with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being three modes or manifestations of one divine Person.

This understanding has been called Sabellianism or modalistic monarchianism. [55]
A Sabellian modalist would say that the One God successively revealed Himself to man throughout time as the Father in Creation; the Son in Redemption; and the Spirit in Sanctification and Regeneration.
(Because of this focus on God’s revelation of himself to man, Modalism is often confused with economic Trinitarianism).

1. The suggestion of development and change within the Godhead was seen as contradicting the concept of impassibility.
2. It also stood in contrast to the position of distinct persons existing within a single godhead by representing Father, Son and Spirit as different “modes” (hence the term “modalism”), “aspects” or “faces”, “roles”, “masks” (persona in Latin) [56] that God presented successively to the world.
3. More importantly it stood against the Trinitarian teaching that “God was one God in Father” rather than One in the Father’s essence only. [57]

It has been noted also that the Greek term “homoousios” [c], which Athanasius of Alexandria favoured, was actually a term that was reported to be put forth and favoured also by Sabellius and was a term that many followers of Athanasius took issue with and were uneasy about. Their objection to the term “homoousios” was that it was considered to be “un-Scriptural, suspicious, and of a Sabellian tendency.” [58]
Athanasius, however, used the term differently than Sabellius, affirming oneness of the Divine Essence while maintaining the distinctions between the Divine Persons.

The term “homoousios” was accepted, however, at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, using the Athanasian formula and doctrine, of the Father and Son being distinct persons, though co-eternal, co-equal, and con-substantial. The objections to using the term were addressed by clarifying that it was not being used in the Sabellian sense of oneness of Person, but rather to denote oneness of Essence while affirming the distinctions of the Persons or “hypostases”. [d]

Philosophical Influence from Philosophers

Philosophy through the ages, from ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, through to those who integrated Neoplatonism such as Augustine and Aristotelian philosophy such as Thomas Aquinas tackle topics like existence, morality, truth and wisdom, but the Bible has much to say about these issues.

The Bible affirms that God is the ultimate source of existence. In Genesis 1:1, the declaration emphasises the world view that everything originates from a divine creator, shaping future philosophical discussions about the nature of reality.

Genesis 1:1

The History of Creation

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Morality in the Bible is grounded in God’s character. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 provide a framework for ethical behavior. These commandments establish fundamental moral principles, guiding believers and influencing philosophical thought on ethics and human conduct.

The concept of truth in the Bible emphasises objective reality. Jesus states in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This assertion positions Jesus as the embodiment of truth, influencing how you understand truth in a philosophical context.

John 14:6

⁶ Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The Bible portrays wisdom as essential for living rightly. Proverbs 4:7 encourages the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, fostering a philosophical approach to life.

Proverbs 4:7

(Solomon speaking to his son, passing on wisdom given to him from his father David)

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

Security in Wisdom

¹ Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding;
² For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law.
³ When I was my father’s son, Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴ He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live.
⁵ Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶ Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you.
⁷ Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
⁸ Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
⁹ She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
¹⁰ Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.
¹¹ I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
¹² When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble.
¹³ Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.
¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil.
¹⁵ Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶ For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸ But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.
²⁰ My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹ Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
²² For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
²⁴ Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

The Bible offers further insights on philosophical themes:

Ecclesiastes emphasises the significance of wisdom in understanding life’s complexities. In Ecclesiastes 1:16-18, Solomon highlights that increased knowledge brings increased sorrow. This passage illustrates the weight of wisdom and its dual nature, showing that while knowledge is valuable, it can also lead to deeper questions and existential reflections.

Ecclesiastes 1:16-18

¹⁶ I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”
¹⁷ And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
¹⁸ For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Additionally, Ecclesiastes 7:12 explains that wisdom acts as a protective force, guiding you through life’s challenges and uncertainties. This pursuit of wisdom encourages you to reflect, ask questions, and seek answers beyond surface-level truths.

Ecclesiastes 7:12

¹² For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

In Colossians 2:8, Paul warns against being taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy. This passage stresses the importance of discernment when engaging with worldly ideas. It reminds you that not all philosophical perspectives align with biblical truth, urging caution in your intellectual pursuits.

Colossians 2:8

⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Additionally, Colossians 2:3 presents Christ as the source of all wisdom and knowledge. Aligning thoughts with Christ’s teachings enriches understanding and provides a solid foundation for exploring philosophical questions. This perspective encourages us to critically evaluate philosophical claims while remaining anchored in Scripture.

Colossians 2:3

Not Philosophy but Christ

¹ For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh,
² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,
³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
⁴ Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.
⁵ For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
⁶ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
⁹ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

The Bible encourages rational thought as a means of engaging with faith. In Isaiah 1:18, God invites us to reason together, highlighting the importance of discerning truths.

Isaiah 1:18

¹⁸ “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

Proverbs 18:13 emphasises listening before answering, promoting thoughtful dialogue

Proverbs 18:13

¹³ He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

Additionally, Romans 12:2 urges transformation through the renewal of your mind, reinforcing the idea that critical thinking aligns with spiritual growth.

Romans 12:2

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Scripture provides insights into various philosophical approaches by man, evaluating their validity in light of biblical truth. Engaging with these critiques helps discern the value of philosophical thought throughout history.

Secular philosophy often relies on human reasoning devoid of divine influence. Belief systems like existentialism and utilitarianism focus on human experience and ethics, sometimes leading to relativism. The Bible presents a contrasting view, asserting that absolute truths exist in God’s word. Remembering back, John 14:6 identifies the supremacy of divine guidance over human speculation.

You might encounter secular philosophical arguments that question the existence of God or propose moral frameworks independent of biblical teachings. Reflecting again on Colossians 2:8, which cautions against being taken captive by hollow philosophies, empowers you to critically evaluate these claims and measure them against scriptural principles.

Ethical theories, such as deontology and virtue ethics, offer frameworks for understanding morality. Scripture addresses these theories explicitly. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 illustrate a deontological approach, establishing clear moral obligations. You can use these commandments as a foundation when assessing moral questions and dilemmas.

Additionally, the concept of virtue ethics aligns with biblical principles found in passages like Galatians 5:22-23. These verses describe the fruits of the Spirit, which focus on character development and moral living. Engaging with these biblical teachings allows you to incorporate ethical frameworks into everyday decisions, grounding your reasoning in a biblical context.

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

I’d like to point out here the ‘Spirit’ is clearly God’s power, a force of love, joy and peace.
The Spirit of God lives inside of people who belong to Jesus. If a person lives his or her life according to the Spirit, then that person is like a tree that produces good fruit. This good fruit Paul calls the “fruit of the Spirit.” Our good words, actions, and thoughts are the fruit that shows what kind of tree we are.

When navigating ethical dilemmas, examine how biblical ethics intersect with philosophical theories put forward by man (philosophers). Recognise that while philosophy can offer insights, scriptural truth remains paramount. This then enables us to make decisions that reflect both critical thought and biblical wisdom, fostering a balanced perspective.

As I have touched on above, the influence of paganism and Greek philosophy on Christianity resulted in church debate and division back in AD 325 resulting with the Roman Emperor Constantine calling for a special meeting of church leaders.
It was at this Council of Nicaea it was decided that Christ was made of the same substance as God. In the Creed written at the council no mention was made of the Holy Spirit being a third person of the Godhead (that came later). It was however, a very significant meeting that laid the foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity.

Those who rejected the decision made at the Council of Nicaea, and refused to accept that God and Jesus were equal, continued for a short time. However, emperor Theodosius decided against them, confirmed the Nicaean Creed, and called for another Council meeting. It was at this meeting, the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, that the church leaders decided the Holy Spirit was on the same level as God and Christ. For the first time, the doctrine of the Trinity came into being.

Even after this Council of Constantinople, there were many that opposed the teaching, and often paid with their lives for expressing their views. The Trinity was more fully defined and recorded as the Athanasian creed which states:

“We worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. For the person of the Father is one; of the Son, another; of the Holy Spirit, another. But the divinity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one, the glory equal, the majesty equal. Such as is the Father, such also is the Son, and such the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, the Holy Spirit is infinite. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal. And yet there are not three eternal Beings, but one eternal Being. So also there are not three uncreated Beings, nor three infinite Beings, but one uncreated and one infinite Being. In like manner, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, and the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. And yet there are not three omnipotent Beings, but one omnipotent Being. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God only. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. And yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord only. For as we are compelled by Christian truth to confess each person distinctively to be both God and Lord, we are prohibited by the Catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords. The Father is made by none, nor created, nor begotten. The Son is from the Father alone, not made, not created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is not created by the Father and the Son, nor begotten, but proceeds. Therefore, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity there is nothing prior or posterior, nothing greater or less, but all three persons are coeternal and coequal to themselves. So that through all, as was said above, both unity in trinity and trinity in unity is to be adored. Whoever would be saved, let him thus think concerning the Trinity.”

The complexity of the creed is striking. Consider the difference between the Athanasian creed, recorded after the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, and the simple ‘Apostles’ Creed’ of around 150 AD:

I believe in God Almighty,
And in Christ Jesus, His only Son, our Lord,
Who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.
Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and was buried. And the third day rose from the dead
Who ascended into heaven,
And sits on the right hand of the Father,
From where he comes to judge the living and the dead;
And in the Holy Spirit
The holy church,
The resurrection of the flesh,
The life everlasting.

The change in belief can be summarised as follows:

Apostles Creed = God Almighty, Jesus Christ His only Son, born of the Holy Spirit.

Athanasian Creed = God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Throughout history the penalty for denying the doctrine of the Trinity was death. In 1648, the British parliament passed a law making it compulsory to execute the death penalty on anyone opposing Trinitarian teaching.
It wasn’t until 1813 that the death penalty for those opposing the Trinity was removed from British Law.

Again throughout history, there were many who risked death by continuing to deny the teaching of the Trinity stating it was introduced from non-Biblical sources.
So strong was their faith in the truth of the Bible they were willing to die rather than accept a false teaching which was introduced only years after Christ’s death.

When Christianity was forced upon pagan Rome, many pagan teachings were absorbed into Christianity and the pure Christian teachings of the first century were polluted. Although many converted in name to Christianity, they still held on to their pagan practices and beliefs. The church compromised for those accepting this new faith and permitted many pagan teachings and ideas to be mixed with Christianity. The Trinity is only the most obvious of the non-Biblical ideas to have entered into Christian thinking.

For many Christians it is almost unthinkable that God would have allowed such a thing to happen. But it should not be. The Old Testament tells how God’s people Israel repeatedly turned from God’s teachings to many false religious practices (including worship of idols). Why should New Testament believers be any better?

In fact God not only allowed it to happen, in the Bible He warns us that the teachings of the church would be corrupted:

2 Thessalonians 2:3

The Great Apostasy

¹ Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Fast

¹³ But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,
¹⁴ to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
¹⁵ Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,
¹⁷ comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

The Ephesian Elders Exhorted

Acts 20:29-30

²⁵ “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.
²⁶ Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
²⁸ Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
³⁰ Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
³² “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
³³ I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
³⁴ Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.
³⁵ I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

2 Timothy 4:3-4

Preach the Word

¹ I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
² Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
⁵ But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul’s Valedictory

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

The Abandoned Apostle

⁹ Be diligent to come to me quickly;
¹⁰ for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica, Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.
¹² And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
¹³ Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments.
¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.
¹⁵ You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.
¹⁶ At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.

The Lord Is Faithful

¹⁷ But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
¹⁸ And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

2 Peter 2:1

Destructive Doctrines

¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
² And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
³ By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

1 John 4:1-3

Love for God and One Another

⁴ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
² By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
³ and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Now in 2025, we have the benefit of looking back over history and seeing the changes that have occurred in Christian doctrine and biblical canon. True Christianity comes directly from the words spoken by God, his son Jesus Christ and from the Apostles.
As I mentioned above, there is a difference between picking out individual verses to support a narrative and a deeper understanding of what they mean.

Many Christians, who in sincerity believe the Trinity, are unaware of the many influences outside the Bible that shaped the doctrine.
In an effort to find proof for their beliefs they often use isolated verses and ignore the true meaning of the words. Here is an example:

John 10:30

³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

Yes, perhaps reading just this verse you could be forgiven, even though there is no mention of a ‘Spirit’, for thinking there is a Trinity, but to “be one” does not mean to be one person, but ‘to agree’.

John 17:21

²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

But let’s look at what Jesus says in more detail:

John 10:7-39

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
¹² But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
¹³ The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
¹⁵ As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
¹⁷ “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
¹⁹ Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.
²⁰ And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

²² Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
²³ And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
²⁴ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
³² Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
³³ The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’?
³⁵ If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
³⁶ do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
³⁷ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
³⁸ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
³⁹ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

It is seen that Jesus is not saying he is God at all. In John 10:29, Jesus clearly says that he is not equal to His father.
The Jews who hated Jesus and were always looking for an excuse to kill him, accused him of blasphemy and of making himself equal with God as written in John 10:33.
This was their accusation, but Jesus of course did not blaspheme, and he did not say he was God. Jesus corrects them in John 10:34-38.

When Jesus says in John 10:34: “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? he was quoting from Psalm 82 where the divinely appointed priests and elders of Israel were given the title of ‘gods’. They were given this title because they acted on behalf of God and spoke in the name of God.

Psalm 82

A Psalm of Asaph

¹ God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
² How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah
³ Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
⁴ Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.
⁵ They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.
⁶ I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.
⁷ But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.”
⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.

Therefore, Jesus is saying, “if men in the Old Testament were called ‘God’, why are you getting so upset when I am simply saying I am the Son of God?”

So when reading the whole chapter, the book of John and the rest of John’s writings, it becomes clear that Jesus was saying he was of ‘one mind with God’ (John 10:15).

In the same way Jesus was one with the Father, we can also be one with Jesus and the Father:

John 1:1-3

The Eternal Word

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

There is probably no verse in the Bible which has caused more disagreement. This is because it is undeniably a difficult verse. However the most common understanding of the verse goes something like this:

“At the creation of the world was Christ, and the Christ was with God, and Christ was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All the world was made by him”.

The Greek term used for ‘Word’ in this passage is ‘Logos’. John borrowed this word from the Greeks but at the same time infused it with Old Testament meaning.

The most basic meaning of logos is ‘word’, which is why it is translated that way. But in Greek philosophy it also can mean ‘divine reason’, or ‘mind’, or ‘wisdom’, or ‘thought’, or ‘principle’, or ‘message’.
It has a broad range of uses. It is that flexibility which enables John to use it with such symbolism here.

New Testament writers used the term ‘logos’ over three hundred times. In most of these, it is used according to its standard meaning, which is just ‘word’. In John 1:1, it has a more symbolic meaning attached to it.

If the first verses are confusing, it is helpful to jump ahead. John gives us the key to unlock all the mysteries of what he is saying.

John 1:14

The Word Becomes Flesh

¹⁴ 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.

There were many Greeks in John’s audience. By using a term they were familiar with, he helped them bridge the gap between their world and the gospel message. He started from what they knew and understood.

Paul did a similar thing when he went to Athens and preached to the Greeks. He went through their temples and saw an idol built to what they titled an “Unknown God”. He mentioned this in the introduction of his sermon, telling them that what they worshiped in ignorance, he would reveal to them. By starting from a common ground, he could better keep their attention while not overwhelming them with stuff they didn’t understand.

Words are an integral form of communication. They enable the passing of ideas from one being to another. By using the term “Word” for Jesus, John tells us that Jesus is the way that God communicates with us.
Jesus in the flesh is God’s message to us. As a word goes in between you and another person to pass a message along, Jesus is the go-in-between us and God. He is the mediator.

John is, in essence, saying, again I am paraphrasing, “Pay attention. Jesus’ life is God’s way of communicating to us. If you want to know about God, read this gospel and study Jesus’ life”.

Studying the book of John is not just about learning of the person of Jesus. It is a direct window into the mind, purposes, and plans of God.

John 14:7

The Father Revealed

⁷ “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

Jesus is saying Knowing Him is the SAME as knowing the Father.

“…and the Word was with God”. Even without any knowledge of the original Bible languages it is clear that what follows cannot be the simple statement “Jesus = God” that people want to read, because if the Word is simply Jesus he cannot physically be “with God” (on the right hand of God perhaps?) and yet “be God” at the same time.

“.. was in the beginning with God”. This is a repeat of John’s earlier “with God” statement, but in different words.
John’s repeated emphasis here that the Word is something that is present with God, but distinct from God, is often overlooked.
John is choosing words carefully here to make clear that the word is not identical to God. Most importantly John repeats in 1:2 the important time factor; When was the word with God? – “in the beginning” – the Mark 1:1 beginning not Genesis 1:1.

John 1:2

² He was in the beginning with God.

Mark 1:1

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
² As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”
³ “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”

Summary

2 Timothy 3:15-17

¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

From the Old and New Testaments we can read God is the almighty creator, the Father and the only one true God.
Jesus Christ is His son, born of Mary after the power of the Holy Spirit came upon her, and caused her to conceive.

Trinity Problems

If God is a Trinity, why didn’t He tell us in any book, chapter or verse of the Bible?

If Jesus is coequal with God, why did he say “my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28)?

How is it possible that an important doctrine would be developed many hundreds of years after the deaths of the apostles?
Why should we believe a doctrine that is not clearly recorded in God’s word, especially since we are warned in Galatians 1:9:

Galatians 1:9

⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Today, like it was in the 4th Century, the number of people that don’t follow the forced upon Trinity doctrine is narrow.

Matthew 7:13-14

The Narrow Way

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

John 17:3

³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

If we are to open God’s word and read it in an intelligent and logical manner, putting aside preconceived ideas, accepting all we see and not brushing aside those things in the Bible which conflict with what we have been told before, only then we will really learn what God is telling us.

I have mentioned a few times about answers vs understanding, so I leave with the ‘Words of Solomon’.

Proverbs 2:2

The Value of Wisdom

¹ My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,
² So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;
³ Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,
⁴ If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
⁸ He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.
¹⁰ When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
¹¹ Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,
¹² To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,
¹³ From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;
¹⁴ Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
¹⁵ Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;
¹⁶ To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,
¹⁷ Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.
¹⁸ For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;
¹⁹ None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life—
²⁰ So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.
²¹ For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;
²² But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

References

1. Morenz, S. Egyptian Religion. Cornell: University Press; 1973:254-257

2. E. Gibbon. History of Christianity. Republished by Arno Press; 1972

3. A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge. Lyman Abbott; 1875. section on ‘Trinity’ p944

4. cf. Proclus’ commentary on the Timaeus; Cornford 1937

5. “Platonism.” Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005

6. Cornford, Francis (1941). The Republic of Plato. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. xxv.

7. Campbell, Douglas (2021). “Self‐Motion and Cognition: Plato’s Theory of the Soul”. The Southern Journal of Philosophy. 59: 523–544.

8. Hanson 1988, p. 152.

9. Carroll 1987, p. 11

10. Vallaud 1995, pp. 234–235, 678.

11. The Seven Ecumenical Councils, NPNF2, vol. 14, p. 39

12. The Seven Ecumenical Councils, NPNF2, vol. 14, pp. 44–94

13. “Council | Christianity”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.

14. “Catholic Encyclopedia”. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2006.

15. Lyman 2021, pp. 43–44, 46.

16. Lyman 2021, p. 46.

17. Hanson 1988, pp. 130–132.

18. Hanson 1988, pp. 5–6.

19. Lyman 2021, pp. 46, 57–60.

20. Hanson 1988, pp. 1, 6–7.

21. Lyman 2021, pp. 47–50.

22. Edwards 2007, p. 554.

23. Hanson 1988, pp. 134–135.

24. John Meade, “The Council of Nicaea and the Biblical Canon” and Ehrman 2004, pp. 15–16, 23, 93

25. McDonald & Sanders 2002, Apendex D2, Note 19

26. “From Letter 39 (Athanasius)”. New Advent.

27. Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195141832.

28. Laos, Nicolas (2016). Methexiology: Philosophical Theology and Theological Philosophy for the Deification of Humanity. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-4982-3385-9.

29. Livingstone, E. A.; Sparkes, M. W. D.; Peacocke, R. W., eds. (2013). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-19965962-3. OCLC 1023248322.

30. Bart D. Ehrman (1997). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Oxford University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-19-508481-8. “The New Testament contains twenty-seven books, written in Greek, by fifteen or sixteen different authors, who were addressing other Christian individuals or communities between the years 50 and 120 C.E.”

31. Coogan, Michael; Brettler, Marc; Newsom, Carol; Perkins, Pheme (2018-03-01). The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-027605-8.

32. McDonald, Lee Martin (26 January 2017). The Formation of the Biblical Canon. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 317, 367. ISBN 9780567668851.

33. “The Christian canon”. Encyclopædia Britannica.

34. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). “Canon of the New Testament” . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

35. Philip Schaff, “Chapter IX. Theological Controversies, and Development of the Ecumenical Orthodoxy”, History of the Christian Church, CCEL

36. Ferguson, Everett (2013). Church History, Volume 1:From Christ to the Pre-Reformation. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 9780310516576.

37. Bart Ehrman – The History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon The Teaching Company, Lesson no. 12.

38. “The Third Council of Carthage on the Canon of Scripture”.

39. Felder, H. C. (31 October 2018). The African American Guide to the Bible. Christian Faith Publishing. ISBN 9781641140089.

40. Bruce, F. F. The Books and the Parchments. (Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963) p. 109.

41. Both points taken from Mark A. Noll’s Turning Points, (Baker Academic, 1997) pp. 36–37.

42. H. J. De Jonge, “The New Testament Canon”, in The Biblical Canons. eds. de Jonge & J. M. Auwers (Leuven University Press, 2003) p. 315.

43. The Cambridge History of the Bible (volume 1) eds. P. R. Ackroyd and C. F. Evans (Cambridge University Press, 1970) p. 308.

44. “Philip Schaff: Fathers of the Second Century: 0107=101 – Christian Classics Ethereal Library”. ccel.org. Retrieved 27 April 2023.

45. Fairbairn 2009, pp. 46–47

46. Socrates, Book 2, Chapter 41

47. Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry (1893). A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: Gregory of Nyssa: Dogmatic treatises, etc. 1893. Christian literature Company.

48. Socrates Scholasticus, Church History, book 5, chapters 8 & 11, puts the council in the same year as the revolt of Magnus Maximus and death of Gratian.

49. Hebblewhite, M. (2020). Theodosius and the Limits of Empire. pp. 56ff.

50. Richard Kieckhefer (1989). “Papacy”. Dictionary of the Middle Ages. ISBN 0-684-18275-0.

51. “Catholic Encyclopedia: First Council of Constantinople”. www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2021-06-02.

52. Ruether, Rosemary Radford (1969), Gregory of Nazianzus: Rhetor and Philosopher, Oxford University Press

53. McGrath, Alister (1998). “The Patristic Period”. Historical Theology, An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-20843-7.

54. Wace, H., A Dictionary of Christian Biography: And Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D. With an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies, Hendrickson Publishers, 1994. ISBN 1-56563-057-2. Partly reproduced online at CCEL.
Bunsen, C. C., Hippolytus and His Age, Kessinger Publishing, 2007. Originally published by Longmans, 1852. Partly reproduced online at Google Book Search.

55. Jaroslav Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600), The University of Chicago Press, 1975, pp.179-181

56. pgs 51-55 Vladimir Lossky The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-31-1) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 1991. (ISBN 0-227-67919-9)

57. pgs 51-55 Vladimir Lossky The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-31-1) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 1991. (ISBN 0-227-67919-9)

58. Select Treatises of St. Athanasius – In Controversy With the Arians – Freely Translated by John Henry Cardinal Newmann – Longmans, Green, and Co., 1911, footnote, page 124

Footnotes

a. An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters [13] in which those entitled to vote are convoked from the whole world (oikoumene) and which secures the approbation of the whole Church. [14]

b. Godhead refers to the essence or substance (ousia) of God in Christianity — God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

c. Homoousion is a Christian theological term, most notably used in the Nicene Creed for describing Jesus as “same in being” or “same in essence” with God the Father. The same term was later also applied to the Holy Spirit in order to designate him as being “same in essence” with the Father and the Son. Those notions became cornerstones of theology in Nicene Christianity, and also represent one of the most important theological concepts within the Trinitarian doctrinal understanding of God.

d. Hypostasis, from the Greek ὑπόστασις (hypóstasis), is the underlying, fundamental state or substance that supports all of reality. It is not the same as the concept of a substance. In Neoplatonism, the hypostasis of the soul, the intellect (nous) and “the one” was addressed by Plotinus.
In Christian theology, the Holy Trinity consists of three hypostases: that of the Father, that of the Son, and that of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.