The God in the Old Testament

Exodus 20:3 “You shall not have no other gods before me.”

Deu 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”

Isaiah 45:5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.”

Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.”

The God in the New Testament

Mar 12:29 “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”

1Co 8:6 “But to us there is but one God, the Father, …”

Eph. 4:6  “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”.

The God of Jesus Christ

When Jesus confessed to God, “the LORD our God, the LORD is one” just who did he have in mind? A three person God? Or his Father alone? Read the following Scripture verses and see if you can determine if Jesus’ one and only God was a one person being or three person being.

“He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” (Rev 3:12).

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

“But I know that you have not the love of God within you. I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:43-44).

The Head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3).

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus. (2 Corinthians 11:31).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:3).

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory” (Ephesians 1:17).

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Colossians 1:3).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3).

[Jesus] has made us kings and priests to his God and Father.” (Revelation 1:6).

Father…. this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

Clearly, the one and only God of Jesus Christ was not a three person being but was his Father alone. Jesus’ God was His Father and Jesus’ Father was His God. We have not the slightest reason to believe any differently. And since Jesus is not a polytheist he taught us that his God is to be our God.

I am ascending to my Father and your Father and my God and your God” (John 20:17).

The God of E. G. White and the SDA Pioneers -1872

A DECLARATION
OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
TAUGHT AND PRACTICED ——— BY ——— THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.
“Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” EPHESIANS 2:20
STEAM PRESS OF
THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION,
BATTLE CREEK, MICH.: 1872

…

1. That there is one God, a personal, spiritual being, the creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal, infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit. Ps. 139:7.
2. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom God created all things, and by whom they do consist; that he took on him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the redemption of our fallen race; that he dwelt among men full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in Heaven, where, with his own blood he makes atonement for our sins; which atonement so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of his work as priest according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in Heaven. See Lev. 16; Heb. 8:4, 5; 9:6, 7; &c.
3. That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, were given by inspiration of God, containa full revelation of his will to man, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
4. …

 The Story of the Statement of beliefs
(Appearing from 1889-1914 in the SDA Yearbooks)

1. That there is one God, a personal, spiritual being, the creator of all things, omnipotent, …unchangeable, and everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit.  Ps. 139:7.
2. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom he created all things, ….
3.  That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, …..” {Fundamental Principles of SDA’s no. 1, p. 147}

Clearly non-trinitarian.

What changes took place after EGW, and all the founding pioneers, died?

1931 Yearbook (re-appearing after 15 years of absence!)

1. “That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God,…
2. That the Godhead, or Trinity, consists of the Eternal Father, a personal, spiritual Being, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infinite in wisdom and love; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, through whom all things were created and through whom the salvation of the redeemed hosts will be accomplished; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, the great regenerating power in the work of redemption.  Matt. 28:19.” {Fundamental Principles of SDA’s no. 2, p. 377}

by F.M. Wilcox.
It never went before the General Conference in session, nor any other committee for that matter. However, it is still not 100% Trinitarian philosophy But during these years, God still had His faithful ministers to raise their voice against the trinity.

What great changes took place after EGW, and all the founding pioneers, died?

1981 Yearbook

1. “The Holy Scriptures Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, …
2. The Trinity:     There is one God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.  …
3. The Father: God the Eternal Father…
4. The Son:         God the eternal Son…
5. The Holy Spirit: God the eternal Spirit…” {Fundamental Principles of SDA’s no. 3, p. 5}

What great changes took place after she, and all the founding pioneers, died?

The Relationship Within the Godhead.

“… the Godhead consists of God the Father (see chapter 3 of this book), God the Son (chapter 4), and God the Holy Spirit (chapter 5), a unity of three co-eternal persons having a unique and mysterious relationship.” {Seventh-day Adventists Believe p23}

Change from God the Father and His only begotten Son to mystery gods called trinity…

“The first response to the logic of Trinitarian thought is to admit that we are dealing with the profoundest of mysteries. In loving relationships, there does appear to develop a profound social or emotional oneness. Are we then to say that loving relationships are totally illogical and incoherent? We think not. And this seems to be the best way to give a coherent account of the mystery of the Trinity and its plural oneness.” (The Trinity: p 113,114 Woodrow Whidden, Jerry Moon, John Reeve)

The SDA god became a mystery.

Is our God a mystery? Mystery = One whose identity is unknown. Let us see what Jesus says about our God, the Father. Is it our God unknown to us? We read from gospel of John chapter 17:

¹Jesus spoke these words and lifted up His eyes to Heaven and said, Father, … ³And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁶I have revealed Your name to the men whom You gave to Me out of the world. … ²⁵Righteous Father, the world has never known you. Yet I have known you, and these men have known that you sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have for me may be in them and I myself may be in them.”

First of all to know the only true God, the Father, is life eternal. Jesus has revealed His name to the men whom He (the Father) gave to Him (Jesus) out of the world. The world has never known Him (the Father). Jesus revealed the Father’s name to the men whom He (the Father) gave to Him out of the world. If your God is mystery then you are not one of the men whom the Father gave to Jesus.

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