The Trinitarian/Binitarian holds some variant of the "Jesus is God" doctrine that says that God came down as wholly God and wholly man, or abandoning his Godship to become wholly man, or projecting himself into the body of a man, to show us how true obedience and worship is to take place and that he resurrected himself so that they may have salvation on account of their belief that Jesus is God. But such confusion does not continue when you remove the three-in-one or two-in-one doctrine from the picture. Suddenly a clear understanding of the Scriptures opens up that is neither confusing nor obsessively dependent upon proving a doctrine at the expense of understanding the information.
If Jesus is not God, then Jesus’ example of obedience and worship still holds, but says that Jesus is proving Satan to be an apostate liar so that we may have hope that we may be redeemed in the sacrifice of a perfect man, Jesus, to counteract the disobedient act of a perfect man, Adam, and receive the hope of resurrection from the dead by the resurrection to eternal life of the perfect man, Jesus. (Ge 3:1-5 [pa|in]; Job 1:6-12 [pa|in]; 2:1-5 [pa|in]; Mt 6:9 [pa|in]; Joh 8:33 [pa|in]) Indeed, if God resurrected himself, then he never actually died, and if so he is being made a liar, which we all know he is not; (Joh 3:33-34 [pa|in]; Ro 3:3-4 [pa|in])
The crux of the issue is that one of them has a fundamentally flawed view of the scriptures and whoever follows the flawed one will be unable to make a properly informed choice. They would then end up misguided by blind guides. (Mt 15:14 [pa|in]) When those guides have to go outside the scriptures to teach a doctrine, they end up teaching philosophies of men (theology in the strict sense) as doctrines, rather than relying upon the Scriptures. (Col 2:8 [pa|in]) They distort the understanding of the scriptures to support their doctrine, taking scriptures out of context, purposefully mistranslating scriptures and adding spurious texts, all to fit their predetermined dogma.
To do these things, they have to teach their congregations to ignore the context, because if they understood the context, the doctrine would not withstand the scrutiny. And so, because they are trained in taking quotes out of context, or to explain away discrepancies, they fail to understand any of the scriptures. Finally, and most importantly, it distorts their understanding of the need to sanctify God’s name and to vindicate His right to rule mankind and fail to understand Jesus’ role as king of God’s kingdom and the purpose of the kingdom itself. (Ro 6:23 [pa|in]; Mt 6:9, 10 [pa|in]; 1Co 15:20-28 [pa|in]) It also affects their view of the resurrection.
Since the Trinity doctrine was not established until the third century, perceptions of the salvation message also changed when a so-called “clearer” understanding of this dichotomy of Christ as God became known. Thus, this would imply that the faith of all those Christians that came before, all those that Jesus himself taught, was wasted for not having an accurate knowledge of the salvation message. (Ga 1:8 [pa|in]) And to say that those who came after had a clearer understanding about who Jesus was in relation to God than those taught by Christ himself, and who had the spiritual gifts of prophecy and of knowledge, is arrogant. Who would you rather trust: an eyewitness with special gifts of prophecy and knowledge from God or a theorist?
Paul said, "For since death came through a man, resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive." (1Co 15:21-22 [pa|in]) Paul is here saying that Jesus perfectly countered Adam’s disloyalty and perfectly balanced the equation with his humanity, not Godship. He goes on to say, "’The first man Adam became a living person.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." (1Co 15:44-45 [pa|in]) He spelled this line of reasoning out to the Jews in Rome, saying: "Adam, who bears a resemblance to him that was to come." (Ro 5:14 [pa|in]) Here we again see a comparison between the two. He continues: “So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, so too through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life. For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one person many will be made righteous. Now the Law came on the scene so that trespassing might increase. But where sin abounded, undeserved kindness abounded still more. To what end? So that just as sin ruled as king with death, so also undeserved kindness might rule as king through righteousness leading to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Ro 5:18-21 [pa|in])
As you can see, there is a one-for-one balanced equation taking place in this line of reasoning. It is even seen in the balance of the Scriptures themselves. Of Adam the Scriptures say: “And God went on to say: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.’” (Ge 1:26 [pa|in]) And of Jesus they say: “He is the reflection of [his] glory and the exact representation of his very being”. (Heb 1:3 [pa|in]; see the subheading DOES HEBREWS 1:3 PROVE THAT JESUS IS GOD? In Part 12 [5].)
If Jesus were God, this equation could never be balanced out. Jesus was to demonstrate perfect obedience to counter Adam’s disobedience. (Heb 5:8-10 [pa|in]) How can God demonstrate perfect obedience when all he is doing is fulfilling his own rules? In order to demonstrate such obedience, the person must do so in the exact same manner as Adam, or the equation does not balance out.
The Bible never says that “God died for us.” If God had died for us, he would have ceased to live in any form, because if the consciousness does not cease, the living being does not die. (Ec 9:10, 11 [pa|in]) Since God is infinite, it is impossible for him to die. (Ps 102:26, 27 [pa|in]; Da 4:34 [pa|in]) In fact, the prophet Habakkuk was inspired to write: "O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (Hab 1:12 [pa|in]) Therefore, God could not have died for us. If he made a version of himself to die for us, it would not have any value, because he was never under any threat and never actually experienced death, because the infinite true God did not die.
The very idea of God becoming man and sacrificing himself does not have any strength in this purchase because it is unbalanced, a false weight, the Creator in exchange for the created. (Pr 20:23 [pa|in]) In fact, the Bible never once says, "God gave his own life" or that "God became man". It instead says, "God . . . gave his only-begotten Son." (Joh 3:16 [pa|in])
However, just as Adam gave up his perfect human life for the conscious decision to disobey his Creator who is separate and greater than himself, thereby losing life and perfection for his descendants, Jesus gave up his perfect human life that he might prove his perfect obedience to his Creator who is separate and greater than himself, (Joh 14:28 [pa|in]) and buy back life and perfection for those putting faith in his perfect atoning ransom sacrifice. (Joh 3:16 [pa|in]) It could not be a perfect atonement if he were God.
The meaning of the word "Christ" is "anointed one". There is nothing in that title that suggests that Jesus is God. Even the Emperors were called Christs. It simply indicates a choosing to a particular position, which puts a damper on the idea that he is God. Even the scriptures say, "That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your companions." (Ps 45:7 [pa|in]; Heb 1:9 [pa|in]) Was it because he was God? No; it was because he "loved righteousness, and. . . hated lawlessness." The scriptures say that the apostles were called "Christians" by "divine providence". (Ac 11:26 [pa|in]) It does not say that they were called Christians because they believed Jesus was God.
What is a Christian? Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you all have love among yourselves." (John 11:36 [par|int]; compare 1Jo 3:13-18 [pa|in] and Joh 8:44 [pa|in]) He also said, "If anyone loves me, he will observe my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our abode with him. He that does not love me does not observe my words; and the word that you all are hearing is not mine, but belongs to the Father who sent me." (Joh 14:23-24 [pa|in]) There is no ambiguity there. He said, "He that does not love me does not observe my words", meaning that not observing his words means that you do not love him.
In what ways have Trinitarians/Binitarians failed to "observe [Jesus’] words"? Do they uphold Jesus’ command to "have love among yourselves"? Their record demonstrates that they do not. Almost all nominal Christian sects go to war and support political powers that go to war without consideration of whether there are any of their brothers on the opposing side. Really, would God fight both sides of a war? But according to John 11:36 [pa|in], if one claiming to be Christian is spilling the blood of Christians, he cannot be a Christian regardless of what tenet he holds to. (2Co 10:3 [pa|in])
Again, nearly all nominal Christians have failed to carry out the house-to-house ministry that Jesus assigned to his disciples in Luke chapter 10 [pa|in]. (Compare Mt 28:19, 20 [pa|in]) And by forcing the Trinity/Binity as the only way to Christ, they "teach commands of men as doctrines" as well as "shut up the Kingdom of the heavens before men; for [they] do not go in, neither do [they] permit those on their way in to go in." (Mt 15:9 [pa|in]; 23:13 [pa|in])
Indeed, "Jesus himself said, ’The Father is Greater than I am." (Joh 14:28 [pa|in]) Earlier he said, "Everyone, then, who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father who is in the heavens." Obviously this would not just be an acknowledgement of his existence, but the truth about who he is in relation to his Father, just as John said, and who he clearly distinguishes as a different person in his statement there. What did Peter acknowledge? "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (Mt 16:16 [pa|in])
Thus, Jehovah’s Witnesses are truly Christians because we love the Son of God and our true Christian brothers by not going to war or getting involved in politics, observe Jesus’ words about preaching and know the difference between Jesus and the Father who sent him, all in accord with Jesus’ commands.
This restriction that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe that God is a Trinity/Binity is a lie blocking the way to salvation. God never revealed a "Trinity" or “Binity” to the Jews, through whom the savior came, (Joh 4:22 [pa|in]) and Jesus, through whom salvation came, never revealed a "Trinity"/”Binity”, and the first century Christians, who preached salvation, had no concept of a "Trinity"/”Binity”. Therefore, lovers of truth will not believe in a "Trinity" and will not be held back from salvation or from being a Christian for not believing that Jesus is God.
If God wanted people to believe that he is a Trinity or Binity and that it was essential to salvation, he would have let us know clearly from the beginning by means of the prophets and revealed himself in such a way that it is simple to grasp. If the Trinity/Binity were clearly stated or was the best explanation of the text, then it would not be able to be disputed. Yet it is openly disputed as shown in this series. But because a better explanation of the Bible’s text exists through an understanding of Jesus not being "God the Son", the Trinity/Binity must necessarily be rejected.
Return to the beginning of the Salvation vs. the Trinity/Binity series
Go back to: Part 3: What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe About God and Jesus?
Go to Part 5: They Are Neither Trinitarians Nor Binitarians
If Jesus is not God, then Jesus’ example of obedience and worship still holds, but says that Jesus is proving Satan to be an apostate liar so that we may have hope that we may be redeemed in the sacrifice of a perfect man, Jesus, to counteract the disobedient act of a perfect man, Adam, and receive the hope of resurrection from the dead by the resurrection to eternal life of the perfect man, Jesus. (Ge 3:1-5 [pa|in]; Job 1:6-12 [pa|in]; 2:1-5 [pa|in]; Mt 6:9 [pa|in]; Joh 8:33 [pa|in]) Indeed, if God resurrected himself, then he never actually died, and if so he is being made a liar, which we all know he is not; (Joh 3:33-34 [pa|in]; Ro 3:3-4 [pa|in])
The crux of the issue is that one of them has a fundamentally flawed view of the scriptures and whoever follows the flawed one will be unable to make a properly informed choice. They would then end up misguided by blind guides. (Mt 15:14 [pa|in]) When those guides have to go outside the scriptures to teach a doctrine, they end up teaching philosophies of men (theology in the strict sense) as doctrines, rather than relying upon the Scriptures. (Col 2:8 [pa|in]) They distort the understanding of the scriptures to support their doctrine, taking scriptures out of context, purposefully mistranslating scriptures and adding spurious texts, all to fit their predetermined dogma.
To do these things, they have to teach their congregations to ignore the context, because if they understood the context, the doctrine would not withstand the scrutiny. And so, because they are trained in taking quotes out of context, or to explain away discrepancies, they fail to understand any of the scriptures. Finally, and most importantly, it distorts their understanding of the need to sanctify God’s name and to vindicate His right to rule mankind and fail to understand Jesus’ role as king of God’s kingdom and the purpose of the kingdom itself. (Ro 6:23 [pa|in]; Mt 6:9, 10 [pa|in]; 1Co 15:20-28 [pa|in]) It also affects their view of the resurrection.
Since the Trinity doctrine was not established until the third century, perceptions of the salvation message also changed when a so-called “clearer” understanding of this dichotomy of Christ as God became known. Thus, this would imply that the faith of all those Christians that came before, all those that Jesus himself taught, was wasted for not having an accurate knowledge of the salvation message. (Ga 1:8 [pa|in]) And to say that those who came after had a clearer understanding about who Jesus was in relation to God than those taught by Christ himself, and who had the spiritual gifts of prophecy and of knowledge, is arrogant. Who would you rather trust: an eyewitness with special gifts of prophecy and knowledge from God or a theorist?
A Perfectly Balanced Equation
Adam sold himself and his descendants into slavery to sin and death and thus mankind no longer has any value because they are no longer perfect. (Joh 8:34 [pa|in]) But how do you buy back something that has lost its value? In spiritual terms, only an equilibrium needs to be struck. If the cost is not balanced out, there remains to be inequity. So to pay that cost, it must be a straight across trade. What the current possessor paid, the repurchaser must also pay. As the Bible itself says, "eye for eye." (Ex 21:12-27 [pa|in]; Le 24:17-20 [pa|in]; De 19:21 [pa|in]) But since the life of each and every one of us is valueless in such a trade for having lost perfection, we must have a perfect intercessor to be sacrificed in our behalf to make up for what Adam lost. What value must that intercessor have?Paul said, "For since death came through a man, resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive." (1Co 15:21-22 [pa|in]) Paul is here saying that Jesus perfectly countered Adam’s disloyalty and perfectly balanced the equation with his humanity, not Godship. He goes on to say, "’The first man Adam became a living person.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." (1Co 15:44-45 [pa|in]) He spelled this line of reasoning out to the Jews in Rome, saying: "Adam, who bears a resemblance to him that was to come." (Ro 5:14 [pa|in]) Here we again see a comparison between the two. He continues: “So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, so too through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life. For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one person many will be made righteous. Now the Law came on the scene so that trespassing might increase. But where sin abounded, undeserved kindness abounded still more. To what end? So that just as sin ruled as king with death, so also undeserved kindness might rule as king through righteousness leading to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Ro 5:18-21 [pa|in])
As you can see, there is a one-for-one balanced equation taking place in this line of reasoning. It is even seen in the balance of the Scriptures themselves. Of Adam the Scriptures say: “And God went on to say: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.’” (Ge 1:26 [pa|in]) And of Jesus they say: “He is the reflection of [his] glory and the exact representation of his very being”. (Heb 1:3 [pa|in]; see the subheading DOES HEBREWS 1:3 PROVE THAT JESUS IS GOD? In Part 12 [5].)
If Jesus were God, this equation could never be balanced out. Jesus was to demonstrate perfect obedience to counter Adam’s disobedience. (Heb 5:8-10 [pa|in]) How can God demonstrate perfect obedience when all he is doing is fulfilling his own rules? In order to demonstrate such obedience, the person must do so in the exact same manner as Adam, or the equation does not balance out.
The Bible never says that “God died for us.” If God had died for us, he would have ceased to live in any form, because if the consciousness does not cease, the living being does not die. (Ec 9:10, 11 [pa|in]) Since God is infinite, it is impossible for him to die. (Ps 102:26, 27 [pa|in]; Da 4:34 [pa|in]) In fact, the prophet Habakkuk was inspired to write: "O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (Hab 1:12 [pa|in]) Therefore, God could not have died for us. If he made a version of himself to die for us, it would not have any value, because he was never under any threat and never actually experienced death, because the infinite true God did not die.
The very idea of God becoming man and sacrificing himself does not have any strength in this purchase because it is unbalanced, a false weight, the Creator in exchange for the created. (Pr 20:23 [pa|in]) In fact, the Bible never once says, "God gave his own life" or that "God became man". It instead says, "God . . . gave his only-begotten Son." (Joh 3:16 [pa|in])
However, just as Adam gave up his perfect human life for the conscious decision to disobey his Creator who is separate and greater than himself, thereby losing life and perfection for his descendants, Jesus gave up his perfect human life that he might prove his perfect obedience to his Creator who is separate and greater than himself, (Joh 14:28 [pa|in]) and buy back life and perfection for those putting faith in his perfect atoning ransom sacrifice. (Joh 3:16 [pa|in]) It could not be a perfect atonement if he were God.
Is Belief That Jesus Is God Necessary to Salvation?
As mentioned, many in Christendom claim that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe Jesus is God. But the Scriptures are absent of any such declaration. They do, however, state that you cannot get salvation unless you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, (Not God himself,) which contradicts Trinitarians who claim Christ’s sonship is merely symbolism. (Another claim that contradicts the Scriptures.)The meaning of the word "Christ" is "anointed one". There is nothing in that title that suggests that Jesus is God. Even the Emperors were called Christs. It simply indicates a choosing to a particular position, which puts a damper on the idea that he is God. Even the scriptures say, "That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your companions." (Ps 45:7 [pa|in]; Heb 1:9 [pa|in]) Was it because he was God? No; it was because he "loved righteousness, and
What is a Christian? Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you all have love among yourselves." (John 11:36 [par|int]; compare 1Jo 3:13-18 [pa|in] and Joh 8:44 [pa|in]) He also said, "If anyone loves me, he will observe my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our abode with him. He that does not love me does not observe my words; and the word that you all are hearing is not mine, but belongs to the Father who sent me." (Joh 14:23-24 [pa|in]) There is no ambiguity there. He said, "He that does not love me does not observe my words", meaning that not observing his words means that you do not love him.
In what ways have Trinitarians/Binitarians failed to "observe [Jesus’] words"? Do they uphold Jesus’ command to "have love among yourselves"? Their record demonstrates that they do not. Almost all nominal Christian sects go to war and support political powers that go to war without consideration of whether there are any of their brothers on the opposing side. Really, would God fight both sides of a war? But according to John 11:36 [pa|in], if one claiming to be Christian is spilling the blood of Christians, he cannot be a Christian regardless of what tenet he holds to. (2Co 10:3 [pa|in])
Again, nearly all nominal Christians have failed to carry out the house-to-house ministry that Jesus assigned to his disciples in Luke chapter 10 [pa|in]. (Compare Mt 28:19, 20 [pa|in]) And by forcing the Trinity/Binity as the only way to Christ, they "teach commands of men as doctrines" as well as "shut up the Kingdom of the heavens before men; for [they] do not go in, neither do [they] permit those on their way in to go in." (Mt 15:9 [pa|in]; 23:13 [pa|in])
The apostle John held accurate knowledge of Jesus’ Christ’s relationship to God as paramount, and in so doing clearly identified him, not as God, but as "God’s Son" and anyone who does not acknowledge that fact has not put faith in the ransom sacrifice of the real Jesus, and thus cannot be saved. He said, "Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is God’s Son, [Not God, not a symbolic sonship,] God remains in union with such one and he in union with God.If Jesus were God, this would have certainly been made clear in John’s words, but John’s words instead make a clear demarcation, not just between the Father and the Son, but between God and the Son of God.. . . Who can conquer the world? Is it not the one who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God? .. . . The person putting his faith in the Son of God has the witness within himself. The person not having faith in God has made him a liar, because he has not put his faith in the witness given by God concerning his Son.. . . The one who has the Son has the life, the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this life.. . . You have life everlasting, you who put your faith in the name of the Son of God." (1Jo 4:15 [pa|in]; 5:10-13 [pa|in])
Indeed, "Jesus himself said, ’The Father is Greater than I am." (Joh 14:28 [pa|in]) Earlier he said, "Everyone, then, who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father who is in the heavens." Obviously this would not just be an acknowledgement of his existence, but the truth about who he is in relation to his Father, just as John said, and who he clearly distinguishes as a different person in his statement there. What did Peter acknowledge? "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (Mt 16:16 [pa|in])
Thus, Jehovah’s Witnesses are truly Christians because we love the Son of God and our true Christian brothers by not going to war or getting involved in politics, observe Jesus’ words about preaching and know the difference between Jesus and the Father who sent him, all in accord with Jesus’ commands.
This restriction that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe that God is a Trinity/Binity is a lie blocking the way to salvation. God never revealed a "Trinity" or “Binity” to the Jews, through whom the savior came, (Joh 4:22 [pa|in]) and Jesus, through whom salvation came, never revealed a "Trinity"/”Binity”, and the first century Christians, who preached salvation, had no concept of a "Trinity"/”Binity”. Therefore, lovers of truth will not believe in a "Trinity" and will not be held back from salvation or from being a Christian for not believing that Jesus is God.
If God wanted people to believe that he is a Trinity or Binity and that it was essential to salvation, he would have let us know clearly from the beginning by means of the prophets and revealed himself in such a way that it is simple to grasp. If the Trinity/Binity were clearly stated or was the best explanation of the text, then it would not be able to be disputed. Yet it is openly disputed as shown in this series. But because a better explanation of the Bible’s text exists through an understanding of Jesus not being "God the Son", the Trinity/Binity must necessarily be rejected.
Return to the beginning of the Salvation vs. the Trinity/Binity series
Go back to: Part 3: What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe About God and Jesus?
Go to Part 5: They Are Neither Trinitarians Nor Binitarians
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