One of the most divisive topics within Christianity today is the idea of the Trinity: God, Yeshua, and the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) not being three separate and unique entities, but rather they are all God, only in three different identities.
But, when it comes down to it, as far as our salvation goes, does it really matter if they are three unique entities, or three versions of the same personage?
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Let’s begin to answer this question with the truth about the origin of the Trinity…
SPOILER ALERT!!! It didn’t come from the Bible.
The idea of a triune nature of God, i.e., God, son, and spirit all being the same entity, was introduced into Christianity by a man named Tertullian. This man lived from 145-220 A.D., and stated in his treatise, “On the Flesh of Christ”. He said that two beings are God, the Father and the Son, and, with the addition of the Holy Spirit, even three.
So, we begin by recognizing that the idea of the Trinity is not a biblical fact; in fact, it is not biblical, at all, but only one guy’s opinion.
I am always surprised that Christians never seem to see the hypocrisy of their own teachings! Christians are supposed to be monotheistic, right? One God, and just one God, the only true God, right? But if you say there are really three gods- God, the Father, Yeshua, God the son, and the Holy Spirit being God indwelling, then any way you look at it- that’s three gods, and more than just one God is polytheism, not monotheism.
And if you are going to start quoting the ridiculous double-talk from the Gospels of John, that doesn’t substantiate the Trinity, either. When John begins the supposed diatribe of Yeshua, saying “If you knew him, you would know me, but you don’t know him so you don’t know me, but I know him and he knows me…yadda-yadda-yadda”- this is NOT Yeshua claiming to be God.
Do you believe we are all “one” in the body of Messiah? If so, does that make us THE Messiah? If you are one with Yeshua, does that mean you ARE Yeshua?
Of course not! And when Yeshua tells us “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), he already stated (John 5:19) that he does only what the Father tells him to do, and says only what the Father tells him to say, So, since he is only doing and saying what God tells him to say, when we see him perform miracles or hear him teach, we are seeing God through him. Not that he is God, but that he is acting as God, with God’s approval and with the power of God given to him through the Holy Spirit.
What about the prophets that came before him, and the Apostles after him, all doing the same miraculous things Yeshua did…are they God? The Prophets spoke directly from God, and they performed works and miracles empowered by God, just as Yeshua claimed. They, too, just like Yeshua, spoke only what God told them to say, and did only what God told them to do, so…are they God?
I don’t think so, do you?
OK, so we have established that the Trinity isn’t substantiated by anything in the Bible, and speaking on behalf of God and doing what God tells and empowers you to do, doesn’t make you God.
So, nu… let’s get back to the original question: is the Trinity necessary for salvation?
The answer is: NO!
Why is it “No”? Because we are not saved by faith that Yeshua is God; we are saved by faith that Yeshua is the Messiah. We are saved by faithfully believing his death was accepted as a sin sacrifice, that he was resurrected, and that his shed blood replaces the need to bring an animal to the temple in Jerusalem in order to ask for forgiveness of sin.
If something doesn’t lead you towards salvation, it is leading you away from it!
This is how we receive salvation: faithfully believing that Yeshua is the Messiah God promised to send, that his sacrifice is now the only means by which we can ask God for forgiveness (which is the only way we can enter into God’s presence), and that he will return to bring God’s peace to the earth for all eternity.
One other thing: since Judaism is based on the idea that God is one, God alone, and that when someone says God is three, that is a major turnoff for Jews. They cannot accept a Trinity, which means they will not be able to accept Yeshua as the Messiah.
Tertullian was a Gentile whose writings weren’t very “Jew-friendly”; in fact, he wrote several polemics against Judaism, calling it heresy, which is why I believe the idea of the Trinity was just another way of separating what had become Christianity from Judaism.
Whether Yeshua and God, and let’s not forget the Holy Spirit, are one entity or three separate entities, is NOT necessary for, or even a part of, receiving salvation.
So, to conclude… if you find yourself in a discussion of Trinity vs. Unity, just leave. All it will do is cause more dissension within the ranks, and we have enough of that, already.
Thank you for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, believer or not. After all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
