Hi Ely,
Of course the Bible says there is only one God. But if this does not mean one personal being, then what does it actually mean? What does "God" mean, and what does it mean that "God is one" and that "there is one God"?
Well, it means there's only one God! That's what I, as a trinitarian believe. That's what we all believe. As far as the "nature" of God, these statement do not explain anything. They are simply statements that say that He is the only God, and that there are no others. To that I say Amen!
To show verses that say that there is only one God, does not prove anything. All trinitarians accept this. In any definition that you may find about they trinity, they are most likely to start with "There is one God..."
I would like to throw a few verses at you if you don't mind. Not as some kind of battle of "proof-texts" but because I would be interested in what you think about them. They are all very common, so I'm sure you've thought them over.
John 1:1,2, and 14
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
Joh 1:2
He was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:14
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Phi 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
Phi 2:6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Phi 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Phi 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Phi 2:9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
Phi 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Phi 2:11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I am sure you are aware of how a trinitarian feels about this passage, and I would like see your exegesis of it, but I'm especially interested in what you think about vs. 9-11.
In comparing vs. 9-11 with Is. 45:23, I am reading Paul apply to Jesus a statement made by Yaweh about Himself. Rather idolotrous, if not trinitarian, in my opinion.
Joh 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, *"
My Lord and my God!"
Joh 20:29 Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
(*literally "the God of me, and the Lord of me!")
Tit 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of our great *
God and Savior Jesus Christ,
(*lit. "great God and Saviour of us, Jesus Christ")
2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of
*our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
(*lit. "the God of us, and Saviour of us, Jesus Christ")
I am assuming you know where I'm coming from with most of these, so I will withhold comment for now. Just wondering how you are interpreting them.
I am not sure how one keep from making a mess of interpreting the New Testament, (and many parts of the Old Testament), without some form of trinitarianism.
Perhaps you have stumbled onto something we haven't heard.
This question is not meant to offend you, but since you are in the UK I can't help but ask, are you becoming, or have you become a Christadelphian?
Orthodox" trinitarianism only posits the second person of the trinity to be "eternally begotten"; the third person is eternally generated, and the first person is eternally begetting and generating. (I'm sure that clears everything up, of course.)
All these complicated theories of being "eternally begotten" and "generated" (both of which would seem to be logically contradictory), and the like, are the stuff of creeds, and not the bible, (unless I am merely ignorant of the verses that state such a thing-which is not an unlikely possibility). These theories only serve to complicate matters, in my opinion.
The term "begotten" is only used, to my knowledge, of the incarnate Son. I would also say that He is only refered to as "the Son", after the incarnation. That is how I understand those terms.
God bless,
Derek
. It's difficult to speak about God's omnipresence because so much is speculation but in the OT He did manifest Himself in specific situations on earth yet He didn't live on earth. My point which i'm not explaining to well is that His divine substance can manifest apart from any physical limitations as we understand them.