In PART I of this study I presented those scriptures which show the humanity of the Christ.

PART II follows the presentation of the Christ as the son of God.

PART III shall attempt to follow the twisted trail from scripture to "tradition of men" and "doctrines of demons."

PART IV - The chronology of the Gospel of God: Will attempt to show, from the scriptures, the time frame of the events portrayed in the prophecies of the Old Testament, in their fulfillment in the New Testament;

PART V - NUMBER OF PERSONS IN GOD: will examine the scriptures to determine what the earliest Christians understood as relates to the number of persons in God.

The New Testament Christians did not have a New Testament for reference, they had the Old Testament, in Hebrew and in Greek; their primary source of doctrine was the Greek, or Septuagint Manuscripts. But the Hebrew doctrine of the "one-ness" of God, establishes the fact very well.

Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one (Echad) LORD:

IS THERE A BIBLE-DOCTRINE concerned with the number of PERSONS in "One" God? Only if you pay attention to the rules of grammar, and properly appreciate the use of the first-person-singular (I) in Scripture, can we learn to appreciate proper Exegesis of the book itself. The argument that the first person singular holds no authority in the Greek is false. If the meaning of "first-person-singular" means something else in Greek than it does in the rest of the world, then it would have to go by a different name; but it most certainly would not be called "first-person-singular. God is not the author of confusion, (1CO 14:33). The ONLY WAY one can justify arguing that the first-person-singular doesn't apply to God, is if one has a preconceived notion as to some numerical nature of God.

NOTE: God dictated the words and their forms, or He did not. The use of the Nominative singular "egw" ("I") should suffice to point out that the term "singular" refers to the "number of persons" under consideration. Webster's New World dictionery offers the following:

SINGLE: A. adj. LL.singulus, 1.One only. 2.alone. 3.of or for one person or family. 6. having only one part; not multiple, etc. B. noun. 1. a single person or thing.

SINGULAR: A.adj. 5.in grammar, denoting only one. B. n. in grammar, the singular number or form of a word.

And the use of "ONLY" and "ALONE; (In the Greek) monon & monos in conjunction with egw (I) & eimi (AM) should suffice to settle the matter.

[ONLY: A. adj. an, one. 1.alone, sole. B. adv. 1. and no other; solely.

JESUS TESTIFIES that when He and the Father are together, He, Jesus, is ouk monon; not alone. It necessarily follows that if they are together, and one is not alone, the other must also be not alone, or ouk monon

John 8:29 And HE that sent me IS WITH ME: the Father hath not (ouk) left me alone (monon);

AND AGAIN JESUS TESTIFIES that the disciples will separate each to his own and leave Jesus alone, but HE IS NOT ALONE because the Father is with him. He is ouk monos, NOT ALONE

NOTE: the difference between Monos and Monon is, one is an adjective, the other an adverb. The meaning remains the same.

John 16:32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone (monon): and yet I am not (ouk) alone (monos) because the Father is WITH ME.

YET GOD TELLS US that He was, and is, alone in all that He does. He did not have a co-creator. Nor was he more than "one person." He was alone; only; monos; monon; He calls himself I; and My; AND ME; all personal pronouns of the first person singular.

Psalm 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

2 Kng 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the ONLY (monos) God of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. (IF JESUS WAS THERE = ouk monos)

Isa 37:16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims thou art the God alone (ho theos monos) of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. (IF JESUS WAS THERE = ouk monos; NOT ALONE)

Psalm 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone (monos). (WITH JESUS = ouk monos)

NOTE: TO GET AROUND THIS PERSPECTIVE, ONE MIGHT ARGUE THAT "JESUS THE MAN" WAS NOT PRE-EXISTANT, ONLY THAT WHICH WAS DEITY. TO THIS I SAY "PROVE IT". GOD CERTAINLY HAS NOT SAID IN THESE PASSAGES, THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER "MAN," BUT THAT THERE IS NO OTHER BEING THAT COULD BE DESCRIBED AS GOD. THEREFORE IT IS NOT THE ETERNAL MANHOOD OF JESUS THAT IS IN QUESTION; IT IS HIS ETERNAL GOD-HOOD, HIS DEITY.

GOD FOREKNEW THAT MAN WOULD LIKEN HIM TO SOMEONE ELSE: ISA 40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

ISA 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

ISA 46:5 To whom have ye compared me? See, consider, ye that go astray.

GOD COVERS "BEFORE, BESIDE, AND AFTER": ISA 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I (egw) have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I am the LORD (Egw theos) and beside me there is no saviour.

ISA 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD (egw kurios) that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone (monos); that spreadeth abroad the earth (by myself);

GOD TESTIFIES THAT there is none else that qualifies to be designated as deity; if there was such a one the phrase would have to be "there is god beside me. Instead, ouk estin...theos, not God.

(Greek Terminology to be considered:) ouk estin ..theos estin (Septuagint) kurios ho ; theos

ISA 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God (ouk ...theos) beside me:

ISA 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none (ouk ...estin theos) beside me.

I am the LORD (the) God, and there is none (else) beside egw kurios ho theos ouk esti

ISA 45:12 I egw) have made the earth, and created man upon it: I (egw), even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I (egw)commanded.

ISA 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God (egw eimi ho theos) and there is none else.

Neh 9:6 Thou art LORD alone; (Kurios monos) thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is therein. (egw eimi ho theos Kurios monos)

In a privately published paper, titled "EXCEPT YE BELIEVE THAT I AM.." written by three students at Florida College, in March, 1983, the following argument is offered in defense of the trinity Doctrine, on page three:

(QUOTE) We believe that viewing the nature of an infinite God in merely quantitative terms is not only logically irresponsible but also oppposed to scripture itself. We intend to show that when scripture speaks of the "one true God", it does not necessarily refer to God as one person. (END QUOTE)

(QUOTE) The view that the substance of God is numerically one is based upon statements in passages like Dt.6:4, "The Lord is ONE".

There are two errors committed in this interpretation, however. First, one detects a failure to understand that the passage is not intended to address the substance of the composition of God, whether He be one person or three persons. And second, one immediately notices a failure to understand that the usage of the Hebrew word (achad) [Strong's 258] allows a plurality of persons in one God. (END QUOTE)

(QUOTE) In regard to the first error, Dt.6:4 specifically teaches that Israel is the unique God as opposed to idols, the only true God among all the gods men worship. The intent of this passage is not to teach that God is one person. Because men have created false gods for themselves, Israel is being instructed that Jehovah is the only true God to whom they owe their loyalty and worship. No indication is given here as to what elements Jehovah is made up of, only that Jehovah is God relative to other so-called gods. (END QUOTE)

(QUOTE) In regard to the second error, an examination of the Hebrew words used to express "one" rules out the conclusion that the oneness of Dt.6:4 is necessarily a numerical oneness; it is more likely a oneness of uniqueness or unity. This passage, as in others that contain similar phrases, uses the hebrew word (achad) [Strong's 258] This is the word that is used for Adam and Eve's unity (Gn 2:24), the unity of the tabernacle curtain (ex 26:6,11), the unity of Israel (ezek 37:17), etc. It is never used to denote one to the exclusion of any other. Has this been the force of Dt 26:4 the Hebrew word (yachid = one) would have been required. (END QUOTE)

(QUOTE) Furthermore, that the word achad often describes a qualitative sense of unity rather than a numerical quantity is borne out by the fact that it has a plural form -- achadim. (END QUOTE)

(QUOTE) We see from the most frequent usage of the word achad that the force is one of qualitative unity and uniqueness, not numerical oneness in substance. Moreover, the context makes no reference whatsoever to God as one person. Therefore, any argument that interprets these passages as affirming that God is one person is based upon an unfounded presupposition and not on any conclusive affirmation of passages in the Old Testament. (END QUOTE)

REBUTTAL: This is a rather lengthy statement for a Hebrew word which has only one entry in scripture, and most definitely references a numerical quality as to how many ways are available from which to choose.

(Achad) AND (Echad)

(Achad) strong's number 258; p-17, Hebrew lexicon; p-40 Hebrew concoredance 8a 1:-go one way or other. (Only 1 entry)

Ezekiel 21:16 GO thee ONE (Achad) way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.

(Echad) strong's number 259; heb.lex. p-17; heb.conc. p-41. numeral from Heb 258; (538 entries) prop. united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:-a, alone, a certain, each, first, once, one, only, other, (partial list);

I believe that this is the word intended for their argument, but the argument does not apply here, either. It is a fallacious argument based upon researching commentaries, instead of studying God's word.

(Echad) used as number Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; (one in number, exclusive of all other).

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Since the word has already been used to indicate a numerical oneness, I think it would be confusing to somehow change meaning within the context, without scriptural mention of such change. I therefore believe that the "one flesh" of verse 24 is to show that they, being two persons, become numerically one "man-unit," which is equivalent to the "one flesh" in marriage.

1 Cor 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.(excludes all others)

(Echad) used to show selection: Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

NOTE: Isaac was NOT Abraham's ONLY son; He was the ONLY son of Promise, however, and so the word ONLY is here used in an accomodative sense,i.e., ONLY means exclusive in one sense, but not necessarily in every sense.

NOTE; yaw-keed is the hebrew word translated ONLY, not ONE. ONE in this passage comes from (Echad)

The children of Isaac use the term ONE in a numerical: Gen 42:11 We are all one man's sons;

(Echad) used as ORDINAL Lev 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month.....

Deut 1:3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month.....

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia.....

(Echad) used to indicate uniqueness and uniformity of law. Lev 24:22 Ye shall have ONE manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God.

(Echad) used to obviate difference between numbers. Shows that God knew the significance of using one number to express one thing and another number to express something else: Num 11:18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. 19 Ye shall not eat ONE day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

(Echad) shows that God knows difference between designations ONE, and ALL: Num 16:22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

(Echad) used to show difference between singular and plural: Num 35:30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

Deut 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established.

(Echad) IS NOT USED TO SHOW UNIQUENESS OF GOD AMONG GODS; God plainly states that to be the case in Deu 6:14, but (Echad) is nowhere to be found in that context. One cannot take what one learns in other verses and plug that information into the inherent meaning of a word in another verse, without some help from the scriptures themselves.

Deut 6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods (Eloheem), of the gods (Eloheem) of the people which are round about you; 15 For the LORD (Jehovah) thy God (Eloheem) is a jealous God (El) among you lest the anger of the LORD (Jehovah) thy God (Eloheem) be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

(Echad) shows knowledge of numbers: Deut 32:30 How should ONE chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

(Echad) shows use of "once", (similar to "first".) Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city ONCE. Thus shalt thou do six days.

IF WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE NUMERICAL USE OF THE WORD (Echad) as used in the foregoing passages, and if we can understand the use of the first person singular in the Greek Old Testament, why do we then balk at understanding when God simply states that He is singular in nature, and in person? and alone?

ISA 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me. (ouk estin..theos)

THE introduction of non-scriptural words, to define or identify scriptural concepts, is in direct violation of God's mandate, found in 1Co 2:13; "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

The introduction of homousion (HOMO-OUSION) not found in scripture; means (Same-Substance), into doctrine, at the Nicene Council (325 A.D.) caused such a furor that the church was still denying fellowship thirty years later, to those who introduced the word from outside scripture, to describe, or explain something which was a purely scriptural matter. Just as theotokus ("God-bearer"), later applied to Mary, caused another furor which lasted for centuries. Explaining scriptures from outside sources does have its proper place, when used to update a changing language from archaic expressions, but introduction of new concepts is contrary to God's admonition regarding "adding to" his word.

In 1Cor 8:6, Paul expresses his understanding of New Testament doctrine as follows: "But to us, there is one but God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

Clement, Bishop of Rome, wrote to the church at Corinth circa 96 a.d.; "Let all the Gentiles know that YOU ARE GOD ALONE, and JESUS CHRIST IS YOUR SON, and we are your people, and the sheep of your pasture.

I have privately published a book on the subject of the pre-existant deity of Christ, fact or fiction? I will be glad to study this theme with any serious bible student.

Go to PART VI - JESUS AND THE CREATION

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