As a young man I used to follow my girlfriend to church. Yet I somehow never felt that I went to church for the purpose of fellowship with God. My ulterior motive I thought had more to do with fulfilling fleshly needs than about my relationship with God. Yet I can look back and actually see what God brought me through had much more to do with His will. For one I had to make a somewhat believable impression of being a Christian to win favor of her parents so not only did I have to go the church I had to participate and learn as a Christian. And I though I knew so little about the Bible simple lessons where the different books were found. Without my knowing I was actually growing in my understanding about God, His character, and who He was.
I always have a desire to become more familiar with the Bible. Not only because I knew that my knowledge of the Bible or God's word was insufficient. Even while a young child growing up in Chicago, I'd always knew that it was the right thing to do. I also had a yearning to grow in my knowledge and relationship with God. I just never fully understood why.
We as humans have a deeply rooted desire to grow and become knowledgeable towards God. We, and I believe that I speak for most, strive to be the best at what we do. Mediocrity just is never acceptable. Yet there is a force within us that hungers for truth which we often try to undermine, hide, and even try to shove under the rug. This characteristic I refer to as our lazy bug. And I also believe that it is fueled by sin.
Growing up in Chicago we would get on those blue, Jack Hyles buses early on Saturday mornings and go to Hammond, Indiana for a church service, hamburgers, hotdogs, and then we'd spend an afternoon playing ping-pong, bumper pool, air hockey, baseball, and touch football.
It was during one of these Saturday's that I discovered that something wasn't right. Yet, because of foolish pride, I didn't want anyone to know. What'd troubled me was me not being sure if I was saved or not. You see during the alter calls instead of getting up I would secretly pray that God would come into my life without me actually looking foolish in front of a large crowd. Plus I felt justified in my position because I was raised as a Lutheran. As s Lutherans we were baptized at an early age. Which for me this occurred was when I was about a year old. Yet nothing in the Bible supports this teaching. Oddly I never felt like I fit in or was in agreement with the teachings and traditions of the Lutheran church. Nor did I believe in many of the traditions the Catholic church either as these had also been revealed at an early age as not being Biblical. Sure I knew that there was forgiveness of sin, but I also knew that openly paying cash for forgiveness to the church wasn't even close to what the word of God taught. Sure I was only a young man in my pre-teen’s yet because of what I'd learned from Jack Hyles while reading along in the Bible I knew that it was the truth. All because Jack Hyles had done something which until then was not only proven necessary but so far only he would encourage even us at a young age to check his teachings through reading along in the Bible during his sermons. And after going to several different churches I'd only seen this very take place in Baptist churches. I had somehow and without knowing became a Baptist. And this (at the age of 11 or 12) was not something that you just offered up in conversation with your family. Well at least that didn't ever happen in our family.
I never realized it though until years later just how Jack Hyles had molded and taught each of us the foundational truths and lessons pertaining to a true Christian faith. One lessen which he taught us was the difference between a real church and that of a cult. The lesson was simple, clear, and easily understood. It was mainly based on 1st John 5-7. But he broke it down using other scripture references and he explained it in simple terms well enough that even an eight year old child could understand. I learned years later that the "b" phrase “and these three are one.” was added as a footnote by the first English translators. But even after learning that it did nothing to cause or bring any change I my position or other revelation of the point nor chip away at the foundation of the Holy Trinity. I believe that there is only one explanation for the and it is grounded in the truth. The Bible in itself throughout the old and new testaments always edifies this principle as well as giving foundation and clear understanding that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are in agreement and work together. Put simply if someone was to look at a car engine one could say that an engine has several parts. Yet another person might say no that not an engine that's just the block. Another person may look at certain parts of an engine and say no, that's not an engine that's the cylinders or heads or that is not the engine that's the short block.
When you look at God it is much the same. He being the Father is so Holy and pure that He cannot even be looked at with mortal or human eyes. So in this realm it really doesn't matter to us what He looks like. No one or at least no mortal man has any even a partial understanding of this. The Holy Spirit on the other hand also can not be seen with our eyes but we know that it in fact does exist. We also know where the Holy Spirit is from, what it does, it purpose, and who gives or provides it to and for us. On the other hand without Jesus Christ dieing for us on the cross, in our place because we have sinned, that there is no other way for us to get to, approach, or ever please God.
Without Jesus Christ as our advocate none of this matters. And Without Christ and without the Holy Spirit, we have no way to access to God nor do we nor would we have even a partial understanding of who God is and why He deserves our praise, honor, our fellowship, and any reason to worship Him. It is only through the revelation of the truth through the knowledge given of the Holy Spirit and the true testimony of Jesus Christ that we can even get close to, approach, or have any level of understanding of this basic and simple concept of a Holy Trinity.
I challenge any and all non-trinitarian's with this. If God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not the same, would it matter if they did or did not exist? Of course it would. So we must therefore acknowledge that these three exist, right? And since they exist, are they not in many if not all ways or perhaps just in certain ways fulfilling the will of God? Of course they are. So, knowing that these three exist, and that they're all in agreement, and fulfill the same purpose, how much further of a step is it to believe that they because of the fact that they are in agreement; to acknowledge that because of the position which Christ now fills as being one with the Father, and because the Holy Spirit reveal this unity. Why not use the term as a simple understanding of this being their will (meaning God's) and that they are all one? Could it be that the purpose disbelief of the trinity is for man centered sinful and therefore antichrist? What other explanation or purpose is there for someone to openly discredit bible than by discrediting the English translators. Than to dissect and untie this basic or core concept of the Holy Trinity. This is where the cult reveals itself. As unbelief in the Holy Trinity does much more than just to remove a translators added verse to the original 1 Jn 5-7 writing; it is a deceitfully wicked position. It undermines the truth and leads many towards a devious relationship with the enemy. What it serves is to add and accept yet another form of something which is purposefully anti-Christ. Ultimately this reveals the fact that man is evil, he hates God, and he is in enmity with God.
I struggle with the concept of anyone changing, adding to, or taking away this idea of the Holy Trinity just because the word trinity is nowhere found in the Bible. Because the word trinity is not in the Bible does not in any way make it untrue and is therefore a complete lie. Sure the word “trinity” is not in the Bible, we can all agree with that. But that is not the main purpose behind this position. Not long ago electromagnetic force, gravity, x-rays, and a flat earth were not found or proven either. It was not until they were eventually discovered that they became understood. And once they were discovered they must have been somehow revealed to someone as to what they were and their science. And then once they are revealed they had to somehow have been proven. Once they were proven they were later confirmed and as this caught on eventually they we acknowledged to exist. It is the same with God and the Holy Trinity. They all three exist but it is only by faith and have the truth in us that they can be revealed to anyone to a level of understanding. Once God reveals something (which by the way is through the power of the Holy Spirit) what anyone can do or say to the contrary, never disprove the existence of the Holy Trinity and its concept. And this is especially true as it pertains to the oneness aspect of the Holy Trinity. So if you are not a trinitarian by now, you as a believer do not exist well, at least to me.
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