The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-07-05
nuence upon all with whom they come in

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| contact.
Thus we see that there is a trinity of
! the Scriptures very different from the
! trinity of the creeds-a beautiful trinity
| Before we proceed to demonstrate the
! Bible trinity and to give an array Of
| Scripture texts proving it. let us glancs
| backward and note we'll the conditions
and circumstances which gave rise to the
erroneous theory of the trinity set forth
in our creeds. namely. as stated by some.
that there are three Gods in one person
God the Father. God the Son. God the
+, Holy Spirit, Or, as stated by some other
persons. There is one God in three per-
sons. or a trinity Of Gods with one aim
and object
The Origin of tho Error.
1t will not be disputed that for more
than four thousand years there was no
suggestion of a trinity Of Gods. nor of
more than one God. amongst the Israeli
| ties. The heather nations recognized gods
many-polyt hesm-and at least one of
these as having a trinity But Gods peo-
pie were warned against all these. being
| instructed in these words. Hear. o Is,
raei. the Lord our God is one Lord-Je-
hovah. Thou shalt have no other gods
mighty ones. rulersl before me-" Deu-
tercnomy vi, ~ 1t should be noted that
our Bible recognizes earthly gods or rul-
ers, but none of these were ever to rank
with the great Eternal One. whose Word
and authority must stand supreme with
those who would be His people. Indeed.
the word elohin. as used in the Bible. and
translated GODS. signifies merely mighty
ones.
Jehovah. being the Mightest One Of all,
is frequently referred to by this word
eI0him. And sometimes. by way of show
ing His pre-eminence over other mighty
ones (eiohim). He is styled the ALI
Mighty One, The word elohim is also
used IN the Bible in respect to angels,
because they are mightier than men. es-
pecially when they came to men as Dr.
vine agents. bearing the Divine message.
In one instance the term eLohim. or gods,
Is used in referring to men-men placed
in positions of might authority-the
seventy elders of IsraeL-Exodus xxi, 6:
XIII 8. g. %: Psalm lxxxii, 6.
AS we shall shortly show. the words, OF
Jesus and the Apostles fully corroborate
the teaching of the Old Testament. adding
that Jesus is the Son of God. and that
the call of this Gospel Age Is for the
gathering Of the Church. to be under and
associate sons. 'partakers of the divine
nature."-II Peter |, 4. ..... .....
1t was after the death of the twelve
Apostles that without Divine authority,
the bishops of the church were proclaimed
to be the successors of the Apostles, and
to possess Apostolic authority. as teach
ers in the church. and whose words were
to be taken as of plenary inspiration. 1t
was these bishops in council who declared
the doctrine that Is one-that God Is
one being. of three personalities or man
ifestations. all three being equal in power
and in glory, The question is. Why did
they make such statement? Why should
they concoct so unscriptural and SO I'M
reasonable a proposition? The answer Is
that 1t was done to combat certain errors
prominent in their day. They flew from
one extreme to another.
AS soon as Christianity became promi-
nent enough in the world to attract the
attention Of the Grecian philosophers.
they confessed some of it's teachings to be
grand and noble. but they attacked the
thought that Jesus was more than man
and that His death was in any sense OF
the word necessary as the Atonement
price for the sins of the world. In pro-
portion as they endeavored to discredit
the Redeemer and to deny His prehuman
existence. proportionately did the other
party exalt and extol Him, until they
claimed for Him that which neither He
nor the Apostles ever claimed, namely.
that He was the Father as we'll as the
Son-that He was not only equal to the
Father in power and glory but was the
same in person. ETC.. etc. s.-... .....-
Hearken to the Words Of Jesus.
A little Scripture is worth far more than
a great deal of reasoning. much more
than all the statements in all the creeds,
because the Word of God Is Truth. and
the testimony of our creeds has long ago
been proven untrue in many particulars.
We will take the cords of Jesus first, of
whom the Father said, This is My be-
loved Son, in whom / am well pleased"
hear pc Himi'-Matthew ill, IT: Luke tx, IS.
l. Jesus declared. My Father is greater
ha
My Father is greater than all."-John
x, 80 -.-...: =
"Of Mine Own Self can do nothing
John v, 30. -."
LAS the Father hath sent Me, SO send
ou."-John Xxx. 81 -...... 49,. -.'
II came not to do Mine Own will. but
the will of Him that sent Me"-John
vi, 3S. -
There is a unity here manifested-an alb
solute unity Of mind and purpose, because
the Redeemer sought not to do His own
will. but the Fathers will. Hence they
were one. even as we will be one with
each other if we as disciples are in har-
mony with the Fathers will and Word.
and in harmony with our Redeemer's
counsels
Hear Jesus again: After His death, after
His resurrection. when speaking to Mary.
He said. II have not yet assembled to My
Father. - l ascend to My Father and
to your Father; to My God and to your
God" John Xxx. 17.) Say We of Him whom
the Father hath sanctifed and sent into
the world, Thou blasphemest, because !
said. am the Son of God ?"-John x. Sc.
Perhaps the strongest testimony of the
Scriptures respecting the exalted position
held by the Redeemer is the word Of
our Lord Jesus Himself. That all men
should honor the Son. even as they honor
the Father" John v, 23) This Is In
harmony with the thought of the Father
and the Son being of one mind. one will.
one purpose: but it distinctly shows that
they are separate persons. otherwise we
could not reverence the one as we rever-
ence the other.
Our text is to the point. 1t declares the
faith once delivered to the saints. and
says nothing about the trinity-three
Gods in one person ITO US there Is one
God the Father" The context shows
that the Apostle is contrasting our faith
with the faith of others who recognize