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Reasons Why The Adventist Church Is Trinitarian Since1892
Reasons Why The Adventist Church Is Trinitarian Since1892
Reasons Why The Adventist Church Is Trinitarian Since1892
IS ‘TRINITARIAN’ AS OF 1892
Where Satan cannot lead into absolute unbelief, he will endeavor to mystify so that the
belief remaining may prove ineffectual. From the confusing idea of ‘one God in three
Gods’ and ‘three Gods in one God’ – the unexplainable dictum of theology- [i.e. the
traditional Catholic Trinity explanation, of a singular threefold organism/Being or a
singular tri-personal substance] - the enemy gladly leads to what appears to be a more
rational, though not less erroneous idea – that there is no trinity, and that Christ is
merely a created being. But God’s great plan is clear and logical. There is a trinity,
and in it there are three personalities…We have the Father described in Dan. 7:9,
10…a personality surely…In Rev. 1:13-18 we have the Son described. He is also a
personality… The Holy Spirit is spoken of throughout Scripture as a personality.
These divine persons are associated in the work of God…But this union is not one in
which individuality is lost…There is indeed a divine trio, but the Christ of that Trinity
is not a created being as the angels- He was the “only begotten” of the Father…let not
the lips of man speak of Christ as a created being. He is one of the divine trio- the
‘only begotten Son’ of the
Father…”
It is easy for the person with an open mind to see why Adventists,
since 1892, have accepted, and have been using, the word “trinity”
in referring to the Godhead. This, the Church has endeavored to
do, by the method of ‘common consent’ over time, (not by Church
decree); despite there are those within the Church who differ in
opinion on the matter. This writer believes that every man should
be convinced in his own mind; that is his God-given right. This
presentation is not forcing anyone to believe or accept what it
supports doctrinally’, but is simply meant to show why, within all
good reason, Adventists can feel justified in being ‘Trinitarians’
(even if by unorthodoxy). When the following points are borne in
mind, it will be seen that the Adventist Church’s pre-1915
acceptance of ‘a Trinity’ (though not exactly the Roman Catholic
explanation), is an acceptance that has reasonable foundation.
Reason 1.
“Is Christ the Father in the trinity? If so, how is he the Son? Or
if he is both Father and Son, how can there be a trinity? For *A
TRINITY IS THREE PERSONS [or supposed to be]. To
recognize a trinity [a true group of three persons, or trio], the
*DISTINCTION [separation] between the Father and the Son
must be preserved”.
J.H. Waggoner, Review and Herald, Vol. 22, Nov. 10, 1863, pg. 189
“That one person is three persons, and that three persons are
only one person, is the doctrine [of ‘the Godhead’ as explained
by others at the time] which we [Adventists] claim is contrary to
reason and common sense. The being and attributes [nature of]
of God are above, beyond, out of reach of my sense and reason,
yet… our Creator has made it an absurdity to us that one person
should be three persons, and three persons but one person…”
Did this mean that the Adventist Church rejected the “Three
Persons” in the Godhead? Eventually NO! What Adventism
clearly rejected then, about the traditional ‘Catholic’ doctrine
concerning the “Eternal Godhead”, was the explanation of
how the three persons are “one”.
Reason 2.
Before going on, carefully note again that the Adventist Church uses
the word “God” to mean: (1) a class of persons having the ‘divine
nature’ (or ‘Godhead’) and is called “Deity”, and (2) the person of “the
Father”.
Grammatically, it is correct to say that “Man”, the class of beings with the
‘human nature’, exist only as male and female. Likewise, to an
Adventist, it is true to say that “God”, or the class of beings with
the ‘divine nature’, exist only as “three Persons’. This is because
that is what historic Adventism teaches; that the Father is God, the
Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, but are “three Persons”!
However there is only one Person of the Father; that is, “one God,
the Father”. It is also true to say that there is ‘a union [cooperating
group] of Three Divine Persons in one Godhead’, because that is
what Adventism believes. How many ‘Godhead’ (union) is there?
Only one! How many persons are there in that one ‘Godhead’?
Three! Let the reader here note that the word “Godhead”, used to
mean a cooperating union of ‘three divine Persons’ in Heaven, is
(historically) exclusively ‘Trinitarian’. The true Adventist cannot
deny ‘trinitarianism’, because by the dictionary definitions of “the
Godhead”, to believe in the “Three Persons” of “the Godhead”,
that is what ‘trinitarianism’is! However you will quickly notice
that there are significant differences in the dictionary definitions of
“the Godhead”:
(1) In the definitions (c) and (d) above, some see God as one
(1) single, solitary Person or Being, but existing as three
‘extensions’ or ‘forms’ (so- called ‘persons’) living in that one
indivisible substance. This is the “orthodox” (common) “Trinity”
explanation that Adventism was opposed to.
(2) In definitions (a) and (b), others see “one (1) Godhead” (a
‘divine nature’ and ‘divine union’) as, not one person, but “a
group” of “Three Divine Persons” (‘trio’). This is historically what
Adventism gradually came to accept; a “Godhead” doctrine true
to the root meaning of the word “trinity”.
Because the word “trio” (‘group of three persons’) and the simple noun
“trinity” (‘a group of three persons’) both mean the same thing literally
(see the Oxford and Collins Dictionary), the Adventist Church is in reality
‘trinitarian’. At least by one definition, Adventists believe in and “serve” a
‘group of three persons’, or ‘a union of three Divine Persons (Father, Son
and Holy Spirit) in one Godhead’ (the union). It must be repeated, that is
basic ‘trinitarianism’! Let the reader note the following overwhelming
evidence, which, in a court of law, would be enough to declare
‘trinitarianism’ in pioneering Adventism before 1915. The quoted phrases
below, from Mrs. White (her exact words in underlined quotation marks),
can be easily verified, for accuracy, by anyone wishing to do so. The lately
published CD-ROM of her writings, along with the earlier quotations in this
presentation, would be a useful tool. The Seventh-day Adventist Church,
evidenced by the writings of Mrs. Ellen G. White (before her 1915
death), believed in the following even before 1931:
1. That there exists the “Eternal Godhead” of “Three Persons”. The Church
believed in a “Heavenly Trio”. The word “trio” was clearly a coined word,
just like ‘trinity’ (also a coined word), which sought to express a group of
“three living persons” in the Godhead, not the traditional ‘Catholic’ view
of ‘one Being, with three forms existing in one indivisible substance’.
Adventism felt that the traditional ‘Trinity’ was misleading because, in the
true sense of the word, “a trinity is three persons”, literally a “trio”. It
taught, however, that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, that the Holy
Spirit is also God, and that the “essence of God” is found in Matthew 28:19,
“the Eternal Godhead”.
2. That the Holy Spirit is not just the ‘personality’ of another. Note carefully,
He “has a personality” (E.G. White, Evangelism, pg. 617). He is “also a
Divine Person”, the “Third Person of the Godhead”. He is described as a
“Heavenly Dignitary”, as “omniscient” (‘knowing all things’), as
“infinite”(‘beyond comprehension’), as “Eternal” (Heb. 9:14), and as “God”
(Acts 5:3,4/ 2 Sam. 23:2,3). More importantly, Mrs. White said we should
“serve” the Spirit (compare Matt.4: 10). This alone amount to
‘trinitarianism’, if nothing else does. Any ‘Jehovah’s Witness’ or Watch
Tower Bible student would know this to be true. Only those unable to or
unwilling to come to grips with our doctrinal history as a Church would
continue to deny the obvious. Note again dear reader the full impact of the
following crucial evidence:
“When we have accepted Christ, and in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit have pledged ourselves to *SERVE God, the
Father, Christ, *and [thirdly] THE HOLY SPIRIT- the three Dignitaries
and Powers of Heaven…”
Who are we only to “serve” in the spiritual sense? God! Adventism teaches
what the Bible declares; that the Father is God, Christ is God, and the Holy
Spirit is also God. Adventism also teaches that these three are “living
Persons” of the “Eternal Godhead”. The truth here is obvious. That is basic
‘trinitarianism’!
CONCLUSION
Truth is truth, though it may make you uncomfortable, or it may surprise
you, or it may force you to rethink your position, or it may even make you
unable to answer all questions about that truth. The truth is that the
Adventist Church, gradually, in its history, showed the basic features of
‘Trinitarianism’, even before 1931 (when the *term was first officially
adopted), even if it was of a different kind from the traditional. This
conclusion is not based on speculation, but on factual evidence. ‘The
blindest person is he who will not see’. Amen!