Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
My heart goes out to Pastor Steven L. Anderson (whom I admire, love and
support for his zealous soul-winning efforts), who has had his share of wake-up calls lately, finding out that
several members of his church congregation and even staff openly deny the
Godhead. You couldn't make this stuff up! It blows my mind how anyone can
attend a Bible-believing church for several years and still deny the
Godhead. Folks, if you are truly a child of God, then you believe in the
Godhead (commonly called theologically, the “Trinity”).
If you take the Bible literally, you can only conclude a Godhead. I have no doubt that Brother Anderson's heart is broken, as he has had to take an uncompromising biblical stand against some of his own congregation; yet, he knows he is doing the right thing to uphold the truth, as I am doing fighting against the corrupt Bob Jones crowd for their support of the Devil's Alexandrian Bible versions. So we rejoice that we “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).
I am writing this article because the Godhead is such an important fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith! No one is saved who denies the Godhead (i.e., Trinity), after being shown the truth from the Holy Bible! One of the former staff members of Faithful Word Baptist Church is Missionary Garrett Kirchway, who was justly fired for denying the Godhead. There are so many things wrong with Kirchway's corrupt theology. What he believes is called the “oneness doctrine” or “modalism.” For the benefit of my web visitors, I am writing this article to take a position in this matter, because there can be no compromise when it comes to the doctrine of the Godhead.
Missionary Garrett Kirchway openly denies the biblical fundamental doctrine of a Godhead...
“I believe very strongly that the orthodox Trinity is a false doctrine!”
SOURCE: Missionary Garrett Kirchway; Critiquing the Orthodox Trinity, first statement in video.
Folks, Mr. Kirchway (he is definitely NOT a born-again believer) denies the deity of Jesus Christ! That is the real issue here, the deity of Christ, that is, the biblical truth that Jesus is almighty God!!! Mr. Kirchway denies that Jesus has a body in Heaven!
If you watch the preceding YouTube video, you'll hear Garrett deceitfully saying that he believes Jesus is the Son of God, and that he had his own body on earth, and that he bodily ascended into Heaven, and that he will reign during the millennium. (Please note that I am intentionally using lowercase lettering here referring to Jesus, because Mr. Kirchway doesn't recognize Jesus as almighty God, because he says Jesus doesn't exist in bodily form in Heaven). Kirchway is a lost man, no question about it!!! I say that kindly, but truthfully and sorrowfully, sincerely. Anyone who, after being shown the truth from the Scriptures, still adamantly denies Jesus' deity is not saved. If Jesus doesn't have a literal body in Heaven, and He shares the SAME BODY as God the Father, then in essence Garrett Kirchway is denying Christ's existence today, which is effectively the same as atheism.
There are so many things wrong with Kirchway's corrupt theology. What he believes is called the “oneness doctrine” or “modalism.” I am glad that Brother Anderson has a passion for doctrine, which is so lacking in our churches today. The greatest threat of the modern watered-down, vague, corrupt, Bible perversions is that they generate much INDIFFERENCE in the churches toward doctrine and truth. This is why Calvinism and the free grace Gospel exist side-by-side in thousands of Baptist churches today. It is apostasy! TWO BIBLES means TWO GOSPELS! God only authored ONE BOOK!!!
According to Kirchway, there are three witnesses in Heaven, and these three witnesses share ONE BODY! 1st John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” The truth is that there is only ONE GOD. Deuteronomy 6:1, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” That one God exists in three PERSONS: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is NOT polytheism (i.e., not multiple Gods).
Unfortunately, BOTH JW's and Kirchway
deny Christ's deity. JW's believe that Jesus is “a god,” but not almighty God;
Kirchway doesn't believe that Jesus exists in a person separate from God the
Father!!! We know what Kirchway is teaching is very wrong for many reasons.
Jesus raised up from the dead in a physical body, seen by over 500 witnesses at
one time (1st Corinthians 15:6). According to our text passage of Scripture from
Acts 1:9-11, Jesus ascended BODILY into Heaven. Somewhere in this
universe today, Jesus exists in a physical body! The Holy Bible teaches in
Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
Garrett Kirchway totally ignores this important Scripture! A throne is a
concrete object (i.e., something able to be detected with the five senses).
These are not abstract terms used in Scripture. A “throne” is a literal,
concrete, object that can be sat upon. God the Father sits upon His throne, and
seated to His right-side is the Son of God. This Scriptural truth proves that
Jesus has a body up in Heaven, and sits upon a physical throne, which means he
definitely has a BODY!!!
The Word of God Was Not Created; the Word of God Created All Things!
In
his May 2018 YouTube video, “Critiquing
the Orthodox Trinity,” Kirchway errantly says that God the Father “spoke
forth the Word before the world began” (21:05 time in video) and then those
words became incarnate in the earthly flesh of Jesus, and now the Word is back
in Heaven as a witness, but there is no individual (bodily) person in Heaven
called the Son of God. BLASPHEMY!!!
God never spoke the Word, the Word always was according to John 1:1-3 and 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ... And the Word was made 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.”
In sharp contrast to what the Bible teaches, Garrett misapplies the following Bible verse, claiming that God “spoke the Word before the world began.” Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” My friend, there is nothing in this verse that says God spoke the Word of God into existence. It's the other way around. According to John 1:3, the Word of God (Jesus) spoke everything into existence. It's the exact opposite of what Garrett is teaching!
Mr. Kirchway errantly says that the Father spoke the Word and then the Word became incarnate as Jesus, but that's not what the Bible says! The Bible says in the beginning was the Word, AND THE WORD WAS GOD!!! Jesus is not only the Word incarnate (made flesh), but also, JESUS IS THE WORD OF GOD!!! Revelation 19:13, “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” Jesus is the Living Word; the Bible is the Written Word. There is no place in Scriptures where we are told that the Word of God had a beginning, as Kirchway errantly says, who teaches that God spoke His words, and then those words became flesh. In sharp contrast, Jesus Himself proclaimed that He is the beginning and the end in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
What Garrett teaches is almost
identical to what Jehovah's Witnesses teach, with slight variations. JW's
believe that Michael the archangel became incarnate (flesh) in Jesus' human
body; Kirchway believes that the Word of God became incarnate (flesh) in Jesus'
human body. So Kirchway is correct on this one point, that the Word of God
became flesh, but he goes horribly astray by ignoring John 1:1-2, “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” So if
Jesus WAS GOD, and also WITH GOD, then they cannot be the same person bodily!!!
There is ONE GOD, to be clear, but He exists as a Godhead in the three persons
of: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Missionary Garrett Kirchway Perverts Genesis 1:26
In the same video, “Critiquing the Orthodox Trinity,” Mr. Kirchway errantly claims that the phrase in the Bible, “Let us make man in our image,” refers to God the Father and the angels, and not (as traditionally taught in New Testament churches) that the statement refers to the Godhead. ...
Genesis 1:26-27, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Now, it is easy to refute Kirchway here, simply by reading verse 27. Most false prophets cherry-pick Bible verses and ignore the surrounding text, which is what Kirchway does here. Garrett foolishly claims that “Let us,” “our image” and “our likeness” refer to God and the angels; but verse 27 plainly teaches that God created man in “HIS OWN IMAGE, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD CREATED HE HIM.” Notice carefully that mankind was not created in the image of God and the angels; but rather, ONLY in the image of God. No mention is made of the angels in this Bible passage. Man has been created in the sole image of God. It is wrong, gross theological incompetence, and a deadly spiritualization of the Scriptures to ADD the idea of the angels being included in the image of man in creation. There is no such teaching in the Scriptures as what Mr. Kirchway is espousing!
The context of the passage clearly says that man was created in the sole IMAGE OF GOD; and therefore, the phrases “Let us,” “our image” and “our likeness” must only refer to God. This is clear evidence of the Godhead (i.e., God's triune nature).
The bottom line is that in order to rightly divide (or dissect) the Scriptures, we must never read into a passage what it does not say. Where the Bible is silent we ought to remain silent, unless we admit that we are merely speculating. Our core beliefs CANNOT be based upon mere speculation, but upon the rock solid teachings of God's Word. Kindly, that is why I make such a big fuss, and rip against Harvest Baptist Church (HBC) on Guam for their support of the Devil's corrupt Bible versions. I am being their true friend, but they are too foolish to recognize me as a Godsend to their church. Instead, they count me as an enemy, as they did the apostle Paul (Galatians 4:16), and have banned me from returning to their church, because they couldn't care less about upholding THE TRUTH!
Well, then I'll stand alone, and I'll expose the corrupt Bob Jones University camp with their wicked counterfeit Bible revisions, and their Calvinism (aka, Lordship Salvation), until the Lord takes me home to glory!!! If I could close the doors of BJU permanently, it would be a done deal! We are at war with the Devil folks, and BJU and their graduates, and other new-evangelical apostates, are messing with our weaponry!!! We cannot win a war with inferior weapons! You're not going to build a great church and a strong congregation on corrupt seed!!! Nearly all of these modern Bible perversions completely remove the word “Godhead” from Romans 1:20, Acts 17:29 and Colossians 2:9. Tragically, Garrett Kirchway uses the inspired King James Bible but he still gets it all wrong!!!
By the way, I mean no unkindness
toward Garrett Kirchway, he has every right as an American to believe whatever
he wants, and I DO respect that. I have no doubt whatsoever that he is a good
man, as far as good men go, but he is very wrong on a key fundamental doctrine,
which makes him unsaved. There is no slack to offer in this matter! Anyone who
denies the Trinity is God's enemy! Anyone who denies that Jesus Christ exists
bodily in Heaven today is a false prophet! I mean, BIG TIME! I am going to prove
to you biblically that Jesus has a physical, literal, glorified, resurrected,
immortal, body today, which is a completely separate body from that of God the
Father.
Jesus Will Appear Bodily At the Rapture
1st Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
1st Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Philippians 3:21, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Carefully notice from the preceding
Scripture passages, particularly Philippians 3:21, that every believer at the
Rapture is going to “BE CHANGED,” and we will receive a new glorified BODY,
“fashioned LIKE UNTO HIS GLORIOUS BODY”!!! This is thousands of years
AFTER Jesus raised up bodily from the dead, appeared bodily to
over 500 saints at once, and then bodily ascended into Heaven. Jesus
today has a body in Heaven! It is ridiculous and strange doctrine to say
that God the Father from time-to-time takes on human form, as Jesus, but then
reverts back to His lone self afterwards. This is what Garrett Kirchway is
teaching!
Jesus Physically Appeared and Touched the Apostle John in Revelation
Revelation 1:17-18, “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
After
Christ raised up bodily from the dead, and then bodily ascended into Heaven, He
returns in the book of Revelation (written 96 AD) to make a physical appearance
to the apostle John, who is exiled on the island of Patmos, punishment for
preaching the Gospel. The book of Revelation was written in 96 AD, approximately
60 years after Jesus raised up from the dead and ascended into Heaven. So here
we see that Jesus still had a physical body, and was able to APPEAR and
PHYSICALLY TOUCH the apostle John on the shoulder. Clearly, Jesus still has a
physical body, just as the Holy Bible says in Philippians 3:21, a body that
is immortal. To be immortal (which is the exact word the Bible uses) means to be
undecaying. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus our great King is immortal. ...
1st Timothy 1:15-17, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
The preceding passage speaks of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our King, Who is a member of the Godhead; thus, making Him equal with God the Father. Jesus is God the Father is the sense that they are both part of the Godhead (which is why He is called “THE EVERLASTING FATHER” in Isaiah 9:6); but Jesus is not God the Father in the sense that they are uniquely different, having separate bodies, personalities and functions.
Perhaps you say, “The idea of the Trinity doesn't make any sense to me!” May I say, there are many things in the Holy Bible that are not explained to us. God does not explain to us in the Bible why a parent must grieve over the loss of a child, except that we know sin has brought ruin to the human race. God does not explain in the Bible why he created Lucifer, knowing that he would wreak havoc and influence billions of souls to burn forever in the Lake of Fire. God does not explain these things, although many men attempt to speculate. If all babies automatically go to Heaven (and they do), then isn't abortion a good thing, because if those billions of children hadn't been aborted, most of them according to Matthew 7:14 would have went to Hell forever? You see, man cannot explain everything, and the Bible does not tell us everything. Ah, but God told us all that we NEED TO KNOW! Someone has said that “BIBLE” can be expressed as an Acronym for: B.I.B.L.E. = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I think that is true! The unsaved heathen world continually places God on trial, demanding answers for every answer they are given, relentlessly persecuting and attacking God's Word.
And may I say to you dear reader, the Bible itself calls the doctrine of the Godhead, a “MYSTERY.” Colossians 2:2, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” As we just read, the doctrine of the Godhead is a “MYSTERY.” There is only ONE GOD, but He manifests Himself to to the human race as three persons.
Again, please notice that the Bible speaks about “THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS” in 1st Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” This Scripture proves (which is why the modern corrupt Bible versions change it) that, although Jesus exists in His own separate body, He is at the same time God almighty!!! This is the doctrine of the Trinity. Although the word “Trinity” is not found in the Holy Bible, neither is the word “Bible” found in the Bible. Albeit, the word “GODHEAD” means essentially the same thing and is certainly found mentioned in the Word of God, that is, if you have a trustworthy inspired King James Bible!!!
The following Bible passage warns about false prophets like Garrett Kirchway, who deny the Godhead. Colossians 2:8-10, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Kirchway believes that the Godhead consists of three witnesses in Heaven (i.e., Father, Son and Word), but he denies Christ's bodily existence in Heaven, which effectively makes Him an atheist! I learned that truth from Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965). Anyone who denies the deity of Jesus Christ is effectively an atheist. That is what Mr. Kirchway is doing!
Again, the fact that Jesus physically
touched John's shoulder in Revelation 1:17 evidences that He still has a
physical body in Heaven. There is no reason whatsoever to believe otherwise. And
in fact, Jesus could not sit upon a “throne” (Colossians 3:1; Romans 8:34)
without a physical body to do so, because a throne is a concrete object (not
abstract). God the Father also sits upon a throne. Since Jesus sits on the
“right hand” of the Father, there are clearly TWO THRONES; therefore, it is only
logical to conclude that God the Father and God the Son have separate PHYSICAL
BODIES! Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
Clearly, Mr. Kirchway is WRONG to teach that there is only God's body
in Heaven.
Jesus is Returning Bodily At His Second Coming
Revelation 1:7-8, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 19-11-16, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Please notice in the preceding passage of Scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is coming directly from Heaven, to clean house at the Battle of Armageddon, “with ten thousands of his saints” (Jude 1:14). The entire world will see him, including those in Hell (which is where those who pierced the Lord are today). I cannot explain this, I just know it is biblical. We are told that there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth in regret, when unsaved people in Hell SEE the saints of God enjoying the blessings of Heaven, and they are cast out. Luke 13:28, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” Oh listen my dear friend, I am the best friend you have right now, because I am telling you how to become immortal and live forever, if you don't already have this gift. You can be saved RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW. The choice is yours alone. Kindly, Mr. Kirchway needs to get saved, because he has “ANOTHER JESUS” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).
Garrett Kirchway is way off in his
theology, teaching doctrines of devils. I say that kindly, but truthfully. It is
hard to believe that any professed Christian could deny that Jesus is alive in
Heaven in a PHYSICAL BODY. May I remind you dear reader that the Jehovah's
Witness cult teaches that Jesus only raised up in spirit, without a physical
body. Kirchway does believe that Jesus bodily raised up and bodily ascended into
Heaven, but somewhere long the way from that point, he says Jesus no longer has
a physical body in Heaven. According to Kirchway, there is only God in physical
form in Heaven, and then Jesus and the Holy Spirit are mere witnesses. This
heresy is called “modalism,” and it is of the Devil.
The Lamb of God Exists in Heaven Bodily
Revelation 7:10-14, “And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Revelation 21:22: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”
There are Christians starving to death in many places in the world. Few Americans realize that a million of Christians have been martyred over the past decade in places around the world. The precious Lord sees them all, each and every one! In Heaven, the Bible promises that the blessed Lamb of God will feed them. In order to do so, the Lamb must be a literally person with a body! God the Father is not the Lamb! They are two separate individuals. Jesus is the precious Lamb of God (John 1:29). So we see that God the Father is sitting upon His throne, and the Lamb (Son of God) is in the midst of the throne (not seated upon His throne in this passage), feeding the poor who have been martyred during the Tribulation period.
Clearly, the Lamb of God is A PERSON, Who resides in Heaven with the Father, Who is a separate PERSON, with His own body.
Adding Garrett Kirchway to 'The Kingdom of The
Cults'
Dr.
Walter R. Martin (1928-1989) wrote a brilliant book in 1965 called, “KINGDOM
OF THE CULTS,” in which he explains the foolishness of trying to use human
reason to understand the Godhead (aka, Trinity). The following excellent
exegesis exposes the satanic cult of the Jehovah's Witness, but the same exact
refutation that Dr. Walter Martin uses to expose the JW's applies 100% to
Garrett Kirchway and his modalism cult, denying the deity of Jesus Christ. And
don't kid yourself my friend, concerning Garrett Kirchway's denial that Jesus
exists in Heaven in bodily form, Kirchway is in fact DENYING CHRIST'S DEITY
(essentially claiming that Jesus doesn't even exist anymore). ...
Jehovah’s Witnesses vs. the Scriptures, Reason, and the Trinity Every major cult and non-Christian religion that seeks to deride orthodox theology continually attacks the doctrine of the Trinity. Jehovah’s Witnesses (the Russellites of today) are the most vehement in this endeavor, and because they couch their clever misuse of terminology in scriptural contexts, they are also the most dangerous. Throughout the whole length and breadth of the Watchtower’s turbulent history, one “criterion” has been used in every era to measure the credibility of any biblical doctrine. This “criterion” is reason. During the era of “Pastor” Russell, and right through until today, reason has always been “the great god” before whom all followers of the Millennial Dawn5- 37 movement allegedly bow with unmatched reverence. In fact, the “great paraphraser,” as Russell was once dubbed, even went so far as to claim that reason—or the ability to think and draw conclusions— opened up to the intellect of man the very character of God himself! Think of it—according to the “pastor,” God’s nature is actually openly accessible to our feeble and erring reasoning powers. In the first volume of the Millennial Dawn series (later titled Studies in the Scriptures), “Pastor” Russell makes God subject to our powers of reasoning. Wrote the “pastor”: “Let us examine the character of the writings claimed as inspired (The Bible), to see whether their teachings correspond with the character we have reasonably imputed to God” (p. 41). Here it is plain to see that for Russell man’s understanding of God’s character lies not in God’s revelation of himself to be taken by faith, but in our ability to reason out that character subject to the laws of our reasoning processes. Russell obviously never considered Jehovah’s Word as recorded in the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah the prophet, which discourse clearly negates man’s powers of reasoning in relation to the divine character and nature of his Creator.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8–9).
By this statement God certainly did not say reason and thought should be abandoned in the process of inquiry, but merely that no one can know the mind, nature, or thoughts of God in all their fullness, seeing that man is finite and He is infinite. The term “reason” and derivatives of it (reasonable, reasoning, reasoned, etc.) are used eighty-eight times in the English Bible, and only once in all these usages (Isaiah 1:18) does God address man. Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain that since God said, “Come now and let us reason together,” He therefore gave reason a high place, even using it himself to commune with His creatures. While this is true, it is only so in a limited sense at best. God never said, “Reason out the construction of my spiritual substance and nature” or “limit my character to your reasoning powers.” Nevertheless, Jehovah’s Witnesses, by making Christ (the Logos, John 1:1) “a god” or “a mighty god,” but not “Jehovah God,” have done these very things. In the reference quoted above (Isaiah 1:18), Jehovah showed man the way of salvation and invited him to be redeemed from sin. God never invited him to explore His deity or probe into His mind. The apostle Paul says, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever” (Romans 11:34–36).
The biblical, historical Christian faith is reasonable, and reason is given to humans by God as a tool for discerning truth, but one cannot fully comprehend the infinite God with reason alone; and the “reason” demonstrated by the Watchtower is not reason at all, but a complex collection of irrational, contradictory, and false statements masquerading as reason.
But now let us examine this typical propaganda from the Watchtower’s arsenal and see if they follow “Pastor” Russell and his theory of reason any better than Russell himself, who talked a great deal about “reason,” but who violated every basic law of logic—often more than one at a time. In this article,5-38 “The Scriptures, Reason, and the Trinity,” the Witnesses constantly appeal to reason as the standard for determining what God thinks. The following are quotations that we believe illustrate this point beyond doubt. In addition, we will compare the statements of this article at strategic points with a much more recent publication, Should You Believe in the Trinity?5-39 to show that the teaching has remained consistent over time.
1. “To hold that Jehovah God the Father and Christ Jesus His Son are coeternal is to fly in the face of reason” (Watchtower). Notice that reason is used as the “yardstick” to determine the validity of a scriptural doctrine. The more recent publication remarks concerning the Trinity: “Is such reasoning hard to follow? Many sincere believers have found it to be confusing, contrary to normal reason, unlike anything in their experience” (Believe, electronic version, 1).
2. “Jehovah God says, ‘Come now, and let us reason together’ (Isaiah 1:18). The advocates of the Trinity admit that it is not subject to reason or logic, and so they resort to terming it a ‘mystery.’ But the Bible contains no divine mysteries. It contains ‘sacred secrets.’ Every use of the word ‘mystery’ and ‘mysteries’ in the King James Version comes from the same Greek root word meaning ‘to shut the mouth,’ that is to keep secret. There is a vast difference between a secret and a mystery. A secret is merely that which has not been made known, but a mystery is that which cannot be understood.
“However, contending that since the Trinity is such a confusing mystery it must have come from divine revelation creates another major problem. Why? Because divine revelation itself does not allow for such a view of God: ‘God is not a God of confusion. ’ In view of that statement, would God be responsible for a doctrine about himself that is so confusing that even Hebrew, Greek, and Latin scholars cannot really explain it?” (Believe, electronic version, 3).
Once again the interested reader must pay close attention to the Witnesses’ favorite game of termswitching. The Watchtower makes a clever distinction between the term “mystery” and the term “secret” and declares that “the Bible contains no divine mysteries.” In view of the seriousness of this Watchtower exercise in semantics, we feel obliged to destroy their manufactured distinction between “secret” and “mystery,” by the simple process of consulting the dictionary.
“Mystery” is defined as (1) “Secret, something that is hidden or unknown”; “Secret” is defined as (1) “Something secret or hidden; mystery.” Surely this is proof conclusive that the Bible contains “divine mysteries” as far as the meaning of the term is understood. It must also be equally apparent that Jehovah’s Witnesses obviously have no ground for rejecting the word “mystery” where either the Bible or the dictionary are concerned. We fail to note any “vast difference” between the two words, and so does the dictionary. The truth is that the Watchtower rejects the Trinity doctrine and other cardinal doctrines of historical Christianity not because they are mysterious, but because Jehovah’s Witnesses are determined to reduce Jesus, the Son of God, to a creature or “a second god,” all biblical evidence notwithstanding. They still follow in “Pastor” Russell’s footsteps, and one needs no dictionary to substantiate that.
3. “Jehovah God by His Word furnishes us with ample reasons and logical bases for all regarding which he expects us to exercise faith. … We can make sure of what is right only by a process of reasoning on God’s Word.”
Here indeed is a prime example of what Jehovah’s Witnesses continually represent as sound thinking. They cannot produce even one shred of evidence to bolster up their unscriptural claim that God always gives us reason for those things in which He wants us to “exercise faith.” Biblical students (even “International” ones)5-40 really grasp at theological straws in the wind when they attempt to prove so dogmatic and inconclusive a statement. A moment of reflection on the Scriptures will show, we believe, that this attempt to overemphasize reason is a false one.
First, does God give us a reason for creating Lucifer and allowing him to rebel against the Almighty? Is such a reason found in the Scripture? It is not, and yet we must believe that he exists, that he opposes God, and that all references in the Scripture to Satan are authoritative. God demands that we exercise faith in their objective truth, yet He never gives us a reason for them.
Second, does God anywhere give to man a “reasonable” explanation of how it is possible that He exists in Trinity—as three persons while at the same time retaining oneness of nature and essence? No. Never in Scripture is this explained. Here we see a gross inconsistency of Watchtower reliance upon reason in their rejection of the Trinity. When compared to their acceptance of the miracles of Jesus, one wonders what they consider “reasonable.” If they can believe that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, changed the water into wine, and fed five thousand with only two fishes and five loaves, without a “reasonable” explanation as to “how” He did this, should the “how” of the Trinity be of more difficulty in “reasonableness”? Surely the former is every much as mysterious as the latter!
Third, does God anywhere give the grieving parent who has lost a child a “reasonable” explanation as to the “why”? That certain physical catastrophes can be traced to the results of sin upon mankind, no one will argue. But is God under any obligation to furnish the parent with a “reason” as to why his child in particular was taken? No. Never do the Scriptures address the issue. Yet, through it all, God asks us to believe that these seemingly indescribable evils will ultimately work out His divine plan, and He asks us at times to believe in Him without full explanation or reason (but not irrationally) and with the eyes of faith.
Much, much more could be said along the same lines, but enough has been shown to refute adequately the contention of Jehovah’s Witnesses that God always gives us “reasons and logical bases” for all regarding which He expects us to exercise faith. ...
SOURCE: Dr. Walter R. Martin (1928-1989); pp. 111-113, “THE KINGDOM OF THE CULTS.”
That is excellent exegesis from Dr.
Martin. Colossians 2:2, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit
together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,
to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father,
and of Christ.” Again, as we just read, the doctrine of the
Godhead is a “MYSTERY.” There is only ONE GOD, but He manifests Himself to to
the human race as three persons.
The Holy Bible Teaches the Godhead (aka, “Trinity”)
I am thankful for pastors like Pastor Steven Anderson, who uncompromisingly stand for THE TRUTH. Jude 1:4, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Garrett Kirchway DENIES JESUS CHRIST! According to Mr. Kirchway, Jesus doesn't exist bodily in Heaven!!! If you died right now as a believer, Kirchway says you'll only see God the Father, and that's it! My friend, that is satanic teaching!!! One of the core tenets of the Baptist faith, and moreover, Bible Christianity, is that we WE WILL SEE JESUS when we get to Heaven!!!
This is biblical. 1st John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for... we shall see him as he is.” This Bible verse speaks concerning the Rapture, when Christ shall APPEAR. He will appear because He exists! The Son of God has a body! The Lamb is a person!
When some of the apostles asked if they could sit on Christ's left side in Heaven, Jesus told them it wasn't His decision to make, but the Father alone. Mark 10:40, “But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.” Clearly, Jesus is NOT the same person as God the Father!
We read in 2nd Corinthians 5:10-11, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” Folks, the Bible doesn't say that believers will be judged by the Father (as the unsaved will at the Great White Throne of Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15); but rather, we will be judged by CHRIST at the Judgment Seat of Christ! It is very wrong for Kirchway to deny Christ's person, and to say that God the Father merely wears different hats or costumes (so to speak). False prophets DENY THE LORD!
May I say, as born-again Christians, we believe IN A RISEN CHRIST!!! Jesus is alive today in Heaven, a real-life person in a resurrected body, the firstfruits of those who will be raised up from dead unto life eternal and immortal. 1st Corinthians 15:20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” If Christ didn't have His own body, then the Bible is a lie! If there is no Son of God in bodily form in Heaven, then what would have been the purpose for Christ raising up?
And may I remind you dead reader, when Christ ascended into Heaven, he appeared before God the Father, which clearly evidences that they are NOT THE SAME PERSON! Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Now, if Jesus is appearing in the Father's presence for us, then He clearly cannot also be the Father.
We also read in Romans 8:34 that Jesus is now making “intercession” in Heaven for every believer, seated on the Father's right-hand. Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Clearly, Jesus exists BODILY in Heaven, Who intercedes as a Mediator between God and men. 1st Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Now if the Mediator is not God the Father, then He must be a separate person. And so, I have shown you several of many more Scripture passages, which all attest that the Godhead (Trinity) is biblical. The Godhead is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. Here are some very helpful Bible studies on the Trinity by Pastors Jeff Owens if you'd like to her them...
“Nothing
in my future can ever affect the salvation that I have... Once you trust
the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are eternally secure!”
—Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), a quote from the classic MP3 sermon
titled, “
