Oct
7

Dealing with a Theological Curveball, part 2 of 2

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matt. 28:19-20 (ESV)

Last week, I wrote about a conversation I had with someone (“Brad”) who I was vetting for a Facebook group I admin. Ultimately, I declined his membership request, because he made it clear he did not hold to the essential Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which is a prerequisite. He made some comments about the term ‘Trinity’ not being in the Bible and about Jesus actually being resurrected on Saturday, which I addressed in my previous post. Now, we’ll tackle the nature of the Trinity itself, which is the heart of the matter and the most important objection.

“Brad’s Confusion”

First, here are the relevant parts of Brad’s comments to me:

“Okay..here is a curveball. I believe the Holy Spirit is just that…a spirit and not a person…. GOD is a family if (sic) father and son,period. Jehovah GOD and Jesus Christ…they are the Holy Spirit…. God is one.GOD is the spirit who created the universe. GOD became flesh in the body of Jesus Christ.When Jesus was in the grave 3 days GOD the father was running the universe.”

By asserting that the Holy Spirit is “a spirit and not a person”, Brad has made an unwarranted assumption, i.e., that spirits are, by definition, not persons. This is false. Briefly, the philosophical definition of “person” is “a self-conscious or rational being.” We also understand “persons” to be individuated (in some respect) from other persons, being distinguished by certain personal attributes, and typically given at least one name and/or title. While we recognize that God is unique, I would point out that other spiritual beings that are non-physical by nature (i.e., angels and demons) are depicted in the Bible as persons — even when we can only refer to them as a collective (e.g., the group of demons that self-identified as “Legion” (Luke 8:30)).

You have to wonder what exactly Brad thinks the Father and Son are if not spirit (presumably), especially since Jesus Himself said “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) I also find it odd that, in the midst of proclaiming the Holy Spirit to be an impersonal force, he says that “Jehovah GOD [i.e., the Father] and Jesus Christ [i.e., the Son]… are the Holy Spirit….”. Did he mistype? Or, maybe he meant to communicate that the Holy Spirit “force” somehow emanates jointly from the Father and Son to do its work?

It would seem Brad is confused about definitions, but there is probably more going on here. Despite his professed upbringing, his various unorthodox claims point to other influences. More on this later….

“Summary of the Doctrine of the Trinity”

I don’t know if Brad actually knows the orthodox Christian concept of the Trinity. Given his background, one might assume he does, but there are a number of reasons why he might not. To be fair, a lot of otherwise orthodox Christians aren’t real clear on it, either. (Maybe you’re one of them?) Regardless, before pressing forward regarding the Holy Spirit in particular, it might help to first review the basics of Trinitarian doctrine.

Of course, right away we have the problem that we are ourselves finite beings with limited communication skills, trying to accurately define, describe, and understand a completely unique and infinite Being. Also, analogies (e.g., egg, water) are imprecise, and certain terms come with “baggage” and can thus be unintentionally misleading. But, here goes…

There is one Divine Being, aka God, Who exists as three co-equal and co-eternal, divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The shorter version is “God is one in essence but three persons” or “One What and three Whos”.

It isn’t so hard to say, really; it’s just hard to understand. But, the Bible teaches it, and if we take the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant Word, then we are obligated to accept the doctrine, even if we don’t fully understand it.

The identification of “one Divine Being” is monotheism, a view which Christianity has in common with Judaism and Islam. That Being is unique, undivided and indivisible. Yet, this Being is comprised of three divine persons, which is the biggest sticking point and source of confusion. Contrary to what some may claim, we are not saying that one Being is/are three Beings or that one person is/are three persons, either of which would be self-contradictory. Remember: one Being, three persons. And these “persons” are not finite like human beings.

Some people, even professed Christians, confuse true Trinitarian teaching with “modalism”, which says that the one God exists in three “modes” — like an actor putting on different masks — rather than three distinct persons. (Ironically, many sects that deny the Trinity actually accuse Christian orthodoxy of some sort of modalism.) But, a more complete study of the relevant Scripture passages shows that this doesn’t work. For example, this fails to account for how all three of the divine persons were present (though the Father spoke from Heaven) at the baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3:13-17). It would also mean that, when Jesus prayed to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, God was actually praying to Himself (Matt. 26:39-44)!

Each person is fully God, co-equal with the others in their shared divine nature, having eternally existed in this unique relationship. So, at no time has the Father not been the Father, or the Son not the Son, or the Spirit not the Spirit. All three have always existed, and their relationship is outside the realm of time itself.

While co-equal within the Triune Godhead, the three persons take for themselves different roles or functions in creation and in redemption. (This agreement within the Trinity of Who would take what redemptive role is called by theologians the Eternal Covenant of Redemption.) Thus, we see a hierarchy in Scripture, with the Father first, the Son second, and the Holy Spirit third. But, we must be careful not to import elements of time, “size”, dignity, or participation in the divine Being. The “order” of the persons is solely one of relationship.

In speaking of the Spirit’s role, Dr. James White notes the following,

“Just as the Son voluntarily chose to take the role of Suffering Servant so as to redeem God’s people, so, too, the Spirit has chosen to take the role as Sanctifier and Advocate of the people of God. But, since it is the Spirit’s role to direct the hearts of men to Christ, and to conform them to His image, He does not seek to push himself into the forefront and gain attention for himself…. Some take this as evidence of inferiority, but… difference in function does not indicate inferiority of nature.”

“The Personhood of the Holy Spirit”

One common argument made by those arguing against the Spirit’s personhood is that the phrase “Holy Spirit” in the Greek is in the neuter gender. True enough, but Greek genders do not necessarily indicate personality. Inanimate things can have masculine and feminine genders, and personal things can have the neuter gender. We’ll need to look at other indicators to assess whether or not the Holy Spirit is a person. So, let’s consider a few Bible verses that either speak of or include speech by the Holy Spirit, in order to get a sense of what He (not “it”) is.

Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit (aka ‘Helper’ or ‘Spirit of truth’) with personal pronouns, saying He will testify, guide, speak, disclose future events, and glorify Christ (John 15:26; 16:13-14). Sure enough, several places in Acts have the Holy Spirit speaking, referring to Himself with personal pronouns, calling and sending people and giving instruction (Acts 13:2; 10:19-20; 8:29; 21:11). Does this behavior sound like the actions of an impersonal force?

The Apostle Peter said that the Holy Spirit bore witness to the Resurrection of Jesus and surrounding events (Acts 5:32). In Paul’s warning to the Ephesian elders, we learn that the Holy Spirit places people in leadership roles in the “church of God” (Acts 20:28). Elsewhere, Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit helps, “intercedes… with groanings”, and intercedes for the saints (Rom. 8:26-27). He also “searches everything” and “comprehends the thoughts of God” (I Cor. 2:10-11). Non-persons can’t serve as witnesses, appoint leaders, intercede on behalf of others, comprehend God’s own thoughts, etc. Those are the marks of personal agency.

Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit can be insulted (Heb. 10:29), grieved (Eph. 4:30), and resisted (Acts 7:51). What’s more, the unpardonable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-32 & Mark 3:28-29). One can’t sin against or otherwise offend an impersonal force. We also learn that the Holy Spirit seals believers for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), has a role in bringing the love of God to His people (Rom. 5:5), and distributes various gifts to the members of the body of Christ as He wills (I Cor. 12:9-11). As He wills… Do impersonal forces have a will? Does gravity “will”? Does electricity “will”? (Note that the Greek verb for “will” (boulomai) is the same used of the Son (Matt. 11:27) and the Father (Heb. 6:17).)

But He isn’t merely a person. The “Spirit of God” is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7), omniscient (I Cor. 2:10-11), and active in Creation (Gen. 1:2; Psalm 104:30). He was lied to and identified with God (Acts 5:3-4). He regenerates and causes us to be born again (John 3:6 & Titus 3:5). New Testament writers also apply to the Spirit passages from the Old Testament that were originally written about Yahweh (e.g., Acts 28:25-26).

There is more to the cumulative case that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son, but I’ll leave it at that. I encourage you to look up every one of the above passages to see for yourself. Of course, there is also a lot more to be said about the doctrine of the Trinity in general and its significance in Christian theology. For more information, pick up a good book on the Trinity, such as the one I used as my main source, White’s The Forgotten Trinity. Also, check out this article by Greg Koukl: “The Trinity: A Solution, Not a Problem”.

“Final Note”

It is interesting to note that Sabbatarianism, the Father-and-Son-are-God-family idea, the Wednesday-crucifixion-and-Saturday-resurrection, anti-Catholicism, and denial of the Trinity and of the personality of the Holy Spirit are all included in the teachings of the late Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the heretical Worldwide Church of God. Consider the following:

“He believed that the observance of Sunday as the “Lord’s Day” was a papal and/or satanic corruption introduced without authority from God or the Bible….

Armstrong did not accept Trinitarianism, believing it to be a doctrine of satanic authorship as part of a “counterfeit Christianity” (which he identified as the Roman Catholic Church). Armstrong taught that the Father and the Word were co-eternal, but that the Holy Spirit was not an actual person. He believed that the Holy Spirit was part of God’s essence, a power emanating from him that suffused all creation, and especially believers, and through which God was omnipresent and able to act at all places and at all times.”

Sound kind of familiar?

While the WCG has rebranded itself “Grace Communion International” and now officially subscribes to orthodox Christian doctrine, not all members accept current teachings. Plus, there are offshoot denominations that hold to the old Armstrongism. (Notice I used this site as a source last week, which is by the United Church of God, the largest group to hold onto Armstrong’s teachings.) Perhaps Brad had fallen in with one of them?

In closing, I’d like to encourage my readers to investigate theological doctrines, especially the essentials of the faith, to make sure your understanding is “within the pale of orthodoxy”. Pick up a trusted volume of systematic theology, e.g., by Millard Erickson, Wayne Grudem, or Louis Berkhof. Or, maybe take the “Introduction to Theology” course from Credo House. You will learn a lot, and you will be better able to identify the errors in beliefs like Brad’s.