The True God is Not Three Persons in One
What Does “God is One Not Three in One” Mean?
According to Jesus Christ in John 17:3, “God is one not three in one” means the Father alone is “the only true God.” Jesus prayed to the Father in heaven, identifying Him as the singular true God, not three persons. This biblical teaching rejects the trinity doctrine that claims God exists as three persons in one being.
[Video begins]
Brother Barry Thompson: Ask those who call themselves Christians who they believe God is, they’ll most likely tell you this:
Interviewee: Three Gods in one: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Brother Barry: Now, they say they believe in only one true God, but they’ll also say God is composed of three persons, which they call “the Trinity.” Is that true or false? Find out who the one true God is today on Face The Truth.
[On-text screen graphics]
Topic: The Truth About God
[Face The Truth show open]
Brother Barry: Hello, and welcome to Face The Truth, a program brought to you by the Church Of Christ. I am Brother Barry Thompson.
Most of the various religious groups and churches who are affiliated with Christianity believe in the teaching of the Bible that there is only one God. For many of them the one God is composed of three persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Now, they would further teach that Jesus Christ Himself is God incarnate or that God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, this is arguably the most popular belief about God that so many people today have, but popularity of a belief does not equate to truth, which is what we are after. So, let’s lay out the facts. Let us not forget that we learned previously that the Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ is a man, and that is clearly shown in various verses throughout the Bible. Since Jesus Christ is a man in state of being, then we must learn the identity of the one true God, and see if the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself identified as the one true God of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about the true God?
Now, how does the Bible introduce the true God? Let’s go to the book of Deuteronomy, the chapter is 32, and the verses are 3, 4 and also verse 6:
For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. … Do you thus deal with the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?
[Deuteronomy 32:3-4, 6 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, during the ancient times when Israel was under the leadership of Moses, a servant of God, he taught them that the God who made them is none other than the Father. Now, notice there is no mention here by Moses of the Son or the Holy Spirit. Now, as we move forward to the time of King David, how was the true God introduced during the reign of King David? Let’s go to the book of Psalms, chapter 89 and the verse is 26. This is written:
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
[Psalm 89:26 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, God is introduced here as the Father. So, notice here again that neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit is mentioned as God. Next, let’s continue to move forward in time to the time of the Prophet Isaiah. Who was the true God acknowledged at this time? From the book of Isaiah, chapter 64, the verses are 4 and 8. Let us read:
For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. … But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, And all we are the work of Your hand.
[Isaiah 64:4, 8 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Notice God’s servants again did not change in their view and the teaching as to the identity of the one true God. They introduced the true God as the Father. Now, yet to solidify the teachings as to the identity of the one true God of the Bible when we go to the last book of the Old Testament to the time of the prophet Malachi. Who is the true God during this time? Let’s read from the book of Malachi, chapter 2 and the verse is 10:
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
[Malachi 2:10 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: So, take note, the one God who created all of us is the Father. And so at this point in our study, there is no need to guess as to the identity of the one true God or to make opinions or suppositions. It’s clearly taught, for He was clearly introduced by the servants of God in the ancient times as the Father only. Not the Son nor the Holy Spirit.
Now, does this change in the Christian era? Did God change? Find out when we return on Face The Truth.
[On-screen text graphics]
Face The Truth
Is the belief that there is only one true God still applicable today?
Brother Barry: Welcome back to Face The Truth. You know, in the ancient times, the servants of God were united in their belief and teaching that the one true God is none other than the Father. Now, perhaps others would assert that when the Christian era arrived, there was a change or more was revealed about God than what was previously revealed during Old Testament times.
So, as we now go to the Christian time, was there any change in teaching as to the identity of the one true God? Let’s ask the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as to who the one true God is. And especially for the fact that so many people assert or assume that Jesus Christ is the true God. So, we will ask Christ now: who is the one true God? And this is what He says in the book of John, [chapter] 17, the verses are 3 and also verse 1:
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. … 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,
[John 17:3, 1 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, Christ here tells us that there is only one true God. Now, He also identifies who the one true God is. Did you notice the words used by our Lord Jesus Christ? He said, “You”— not “us”, not “we,” or “we three,” not “you, me and the Holy Spirit”, but He said You—people should know “You, the only true God.”
Now, who was the Lord Jesus Christ addressing in this verse? When we read verse 1, you notice that Christ was lifting up His eyes to heaven. So He is on earth and He was lifting up His eyes to heaven and He said, “Father.” So the Father, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father in heaven is the only true God.
Now, we must ask, should we go against what the Lord Jesus Christ said? When there are those who would say the Son or Jesus Christ is also God. Was Jesus Christ telling a lie? Or, telling a half truth or keeping back part of the truth? Maybe you’re saying, “Well, you know, I don’t want to tell people who God really is.” No. Christ said, the one true God, according to Jesus Christ, is the Father only. No more. And we are sure our Lord Jesus Christ was not lying because the Lord Jesus Christ never sinned or told a lie.
So, when the Lord Jesus Christ mentioned that the Father is the only true God—that’s the truth—100 percent. And it doesn’t matter how many others say differently or teach something else, we could never and would never dare to go against the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God says that Jesus Christ is His Son
Now, Christ taught that the Father is the only true God. What, in return, did the Almighty God Himself teach about the Lord Jesus Christ? Matthew [chapter] 3, and [verse] 17. Let us hear from God then:
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
[Matthew 3:17 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, the Almighty God, our heavenly Father, is now introducing the Lord Jesus Christ. And how did God introduce Christ? According to what we have read, God introduced the Lord Jesus Christ as His Son. Christ, then, is the Son of God. Now for those who believe in the Trinity, they would probably use the phrase “God the Son,” but do you know that the phrase “God the Son” is not to be found anywhere in the Bible? That’s why we could not accept it.
[On-screen text graphics]
incmedia.org, Watch other shows of the Iglesia Ni Cristo
What we could read in the Bible is the “Son of God” and Christ is the Son of God. Now, did the Christians of the first century led by the apostles also have the same belief and teaching of that which Christ taught, that the one true God is the Father? Let’s go to the Apostle Paul and listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians, the chapter is 8 and the verse is 6. This is what Apostle Paul stated:
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.
[1 Corinthians 8:6 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Notice what was mentioned by the Apostle Paul in what he taught, and what the Christians believed, because Apostle Paul said, “Yet for us there is one God, the Father.” So it’s the same thing that was taught by our Lord Jesus Christ that the Father is the only true God and this is what the first Christians believed. They did not teach or believe that the Son as well as the Holy Spirit are also God or anything called the Trinity.
Is the trinity found in the Bible?
In fact, did you know that the word “Trinity” is not found in Scripture? Neither is the term nor phrase “God the Son”? So, if it didn’t come from the Bible, where did this teaching that millions around the world believe come from? Find out as we return on Face The Truth.
[On-screen text graphics]
Face The Truth
Welcome back to Face The Truth. You know, you can comb through every page of the Bible and you will not find the term “Trinity” in its pages. So who came up with the term “Trinity”? I want to read to you an excerpt from a book entitled “Systematic Theology” written by Louis Berkhof on page 304. I quote:
“The term ‘Trinity’ is not found in Scripture… The invention of the term is ascribed to Tertullian.”
Notice that the term “Trinity” came from Tertullian or is ascribed to Tertullian. And Tertullian is not a prophet, he was not an apostle, nor can he be found anywhere in the Scriptures and thus, it is not surprising that the term “Trinity” itself is also not found anywhere in the Scriptures.
Now, what is found in the Scriptures is a unity in teaching and belief about the one true God. From the ancient times to the Christian era, the belief of God’s true servants remained the same. They understood and believed and taught not only that God is one, but also that the one true God is the Father.
Now it shouldn’t surprise us that there is no change in their teaching and belief about God, because that would imply that God changes which would contradict what the Bible teaches about God. This is what we could read in the book of Malachi, the chapter is 3 and the verse is 6. This is stated:
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
[Malachi 3:6 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: God Himself tells us that He does not change. And so this leaves no room for anyone to entertain any belief that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, as some would tell you, or some would believe.
What is the nature of God?
Now, what does the Bible tell us as to the nature of the one true God? Let’s go to Jesus Christ who He tells us this in the book of John, chapter 4 and the verse is 24:
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
[John 4:24 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: So, Christ here tells us as to the nature of the one true God and Christ says, “God is Spirit.” What exactly does this mean? Again, from the Lord Jesus Christ as He explains what a spirit is in Luke [chapter] 24, the verses are 36 through 39, let us again listen to the Lord Jesus Christ:
Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
[Luke 24:36-39 New King James Version]
[On-screen text graphics]
incmedia.org, Watch other shows of the Iglesia Ni Cristo
Brother Barry: Now, after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples. Now, here Christ corrected the wrong beliefs of His disciples when they were thinking that He became a spirit. And so the Lord Jesus Christ explained to them that a spirit does not have flesh and bones as He does, thus showing them He is not a spirit or that He could not be God, who Himself Christ introduced as a spirit.
Now, not only did our Lord Jesus Christ explain to His disciples that He has flesh and bones and thus could not be a spirit or God, He also tells us that He is a man when speaking about His own self. And this is what He says in John, chapter 8 and the verse is 40. Let’s again listen to the Lord Jesus Christ:
But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.
[John 8:40 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, you know Christ has every opportunity to tell us who He really is. And in this verse, He tells us that He is a man. Now, to say that Christ is other than a man in His state of being would be to go against the very words of Christ, or to make it appear that Christ is lying about Himself or hiding the truth from us. He said He is a man. He said He has flesh and bones. He said God is a spirit and a spirit does not have flesh and bones—So They’re different.
Now, others would argue that Christ never stated that He is not God. Well, Christ doesn’t have to say that He is not God because the mere fact that He is a man is sufficient proof that He is not God. For example, just like a man or a human being doesn’t have to say he is not a monkey. Just the mere fact that he is a man or a human being is a proof that he is not a monkey or an animal.
Now, even God’s servants from the ancient times tell us what we should not think about God’s nature. Like today, people are thinking that God is a man or became a man. We’ll look at what the servants of God of old said in Numbers 23 and the verse is 19. This is written:
“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?
[Numbers 23:19 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, according to God’s servants, God is not a man nor the son of man. Now, if you were to ask God Himself concerning what so many people believe today about Him that He became a man, what would He reveal? Would He agree to this? Hosea [verse] 11, and [chapter] 9 contains the answer to that question. Let us read what is written:
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror.
[Hosea 11:9 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now God is the One speaking here and God said, “I am God, and not man.” This statement of God should be enough to discourage others from having a false belief that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. God says, “I am God, and not man.” What more would you want God to say?
Now, Christ Himself even goes further to tell us about the true God we should believe in. And this is what Christ says in the book of John, the chapter is 20 and the verse is 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.’”
[John 20:17 New King James Version]
Brother Barry: Now, Christ was speaking to one of His disciples here after He was resurrected, and He had this instruction for the Christians or His disciples. He tells Mary Magdalene here to tell the other believers something, and what did He instruct her to tell the other believers? Christ said, “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
And so the Father of Christ is also our Father. The God of Christ is also our God. Christ did not say, “I’m ascending to my God” or “I’m ascending, I’m going to turn back into God.” But Christ said, I am ascending, I’m going up to My Father who’s also your Father, My God who’s also your God.
It also tells us opposite to what so many people say today that God descended and became the person of Jesus Christ, because Christ said here, I’m ascending, I’m going up to my God who’s also your God.
Now, if Christ is also God and He’s going up to God, we already have two Gods: one on earth and one in heaven. That’s not a teaching of the Bible. You’ll have so many problems. And so, why don’t we just stick to the Bible? Why don’t we just stick to what is written?
And so if there are beliefs upheld today by others about a God that is different than what the Bible teaches about God, those beliefs should be dismissed completely. Instead, we must hold on to what’s written in the Holy Scriptures and not to fall victim to teachings that go outside of the Bible and go against the teachings of the Bible.
Let’s take another look at the truth written in the Bible. Christ is a man. God is not man. God is a spirit. Christ is the Son of God; He is not the Father. The Bible introduces the Father as the only true God and does not change—God does not change. So there is no way then that Christ could be God or even that the Trinity doctrine could be true. The only thing that is true about the Trinity is that it is truly false.
You know, some may call this a trivial matter that we are discussing, who the true God is. They would argue that it’s not a matter of life and death. Well, if that’s what the people believe or even you, then that kind of thinking could cost you your salvation and eternal life. For Christ has this to say about the importance of knowing the one and only true God. We’re going to read a verse that we read earlier in John [chapter] 17, the verses are 3 and 1. Let’s again listen to the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is what He says:
And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. … After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.
[John 17:3, 1 New Living Translation]
Brother Barry: Christ told us that the way to have eternal life is to know the Father as the only true God. And so if eternal life is not what you desire, then consider what we have studied today unnecessary or trivial. But if eternal life is what you desire, then learn from the very words of God—the truth. This is the truth—what the Bible teaches, what Christ teaches about the one true God. The one true God is the Father. And so the truth, it may be painful at first, but whether we accept it or not, whether we believe it or not, the truth is something we all must face.
Thanks for joining us. Take care and God bless.
[Show ends]
