39. New Testament Library

The New Testament

Now that you have memorized the arrangement of the Old Testament books, let us move on to the New Testament.

As I said, the new bookcase, in our imaginary room, has only 4 shelves.  Some would have it with 5 shelves.  In doing that they have the first four books on one shelf and one book on the second shelf.  I see it as though they belong together.

The top shelf has 5 books which are called "History".

The 13 books on the second shelf are called "Paul's letters". This has one section of letters to churches and a section to Paul's associates.

On the next shelf, there are 8 books called, "General Epistles".

The bottom shelf has only 1 book which is called, "Prophecy".

The numbering sequence here is not as conducive to memorization as it is in the Old Testament.  5+13+8+1=27 which is the number of books in the New Testament.  

Most Bible students put 14 into Paul's writings and only 7 into General Epistles.  However, I think that perhaps Dr Luke, and not Saint Paul, wrote the Book of Hebrews.  As early as the third century there already was a debate about this issue.

1. On the first shelf, we find the books of History.

Matthew - relates the activities and teachings of Jesus from His beginning to His ascension to heaven.

Mark - relates the activities of Jesus from His baptism to His death.

Luke - relates the activities and teachings of Jesus from His beginning to His ascension to heaven.

John - focuses on the teachings and spiritual impact of Christ the Messiah.

Acts - (of the Apostles) - reports the history of the early church.

An acrostic: Mother Mary Likes Juicy Apples.

2. On the second shelf, we find all the letters of Saint Paul; this shelf is divided into two sections.  Nine letters to churches, and four letters to people whom Paul knew:

Romans - A letter to the church in Rome in Italy.

Corinthians, 1st and 2nd - Two letters to the church at Corinth in Greece.

Galatians - A letter to the church at Galatia

Ephesians - A letter to the church at Ephesus

Philippians - A letter to the church at Philippi

Colossians - A letter to the church at Colossae

Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd - Two letters to the church at Thessalonica.

An acrostic: Real Christian Generosity Emphasises Personal Commitment Throughout.

The following four letters were written by Paul to people who needed some guidance from a more mature person.

Timothy, 1st - Timothy was a young pastor, and Paul sent him some advice

Timothy, 2nd - as to what a preacher's life should be like.

Titus - The same is true for Titus.

Philemon - Was the owner of a slave who had run away.

An acrostic: Tony The Tiger Perspires

3. One shelf down we find "The General Epistles".

Hebrews - Written to Jewish Christians by Paul or Luke.

James - Martin Luther called this "a letter of straw".

Peter, 1st and 2nd - Written by a follower of Jesus and later was crucified upside down for his faith.

John, 1st, 2nd and 3rd - Written by the same man that wrote The Gospel of John and The Revelation.

Jude - Probably written by the brother of Jesus Christ.

An acrostic: However, Just Peter Joined Jude.

4. On the bottom shelf, we find one book of "prophecy":

The Revelation - Things that were still in the future, to Saint John.  

This book is often called "The Revelations".  That is wrong because there is only one Revelation, and it is of Jesus, The Lamb of God. 

It is also often called, "The Revelation of Saint John the Divine".  If one is going to call it by that name the word "of", should at least be changed to "written by" and the word divine would only mean, "a notable person".

The next post will take us back to the Book of Joshua.

38. Old Testament Library

In most of my posts, the Bible is quoted freely.  What I have failed to pay attention to is that some of my readers may not be familiar with the Bible and they may wonder how they can verify my statements. 

So if you are interested in learning the names of the books of the Bible in order, here is where the old maxim, "divide and conquer" fits really well.  I might mention that I am speaking only of the Protestant Bible; in this case, it makes a big difference.

People say that to learn the books in order, put them to music and sing them in order.  Great idea, with one major problem, I have absolutely no musical ability and so it does not work for me.  Acrostics also help.

First, imagine a room with two bookshelves; an old one with five shelves and a new one with only four shelves. We will look at the old bookshelf first.

The Old Bookshelf

On the top shelf, there are only five books; these 5 are called "The Law".

The second shelf has 12 books called "The History of Israel".

The third shelf has 5 books called "Poetry".

The next one has 5 "Major Prophet's" books;

and the bottom shelf has 12 "Minor Prophet's" books.

• Once you instil the 5, 12, 5, 5, 12 "mantra" into your mind in a rhythmic pattern, it helps to organize them in your mind.  5, 12, 5, 5, 12, again 5, 12, 5, 5, 12.  
• Note also that 5+12+5+5+12 = 39.  That is the number of books in the Old Testament. 
• Or you can picture it like this: The first two shelves, 5+12, the last two shelves, 5+12 with a 5 between the two groups.

1. Now, back to the top shelf; in the right order:

Genesis - a beginning or origin of anything.  How fitting that this should be the first book.

Exodus - (Exit us) The children of Israel exit Egypt.

Leviticus - Jacob had a son called Levi; Levi's sons became the priests for the whole Israelite nation.  

This book, named after them, contains a list of the priestly sacrifices and order of conduct.

Numbers - A census of Israel is taken and recorded in chapter 1 of this book, hence the name, Numbers.

Deuteronomy - (duet - two); this is a second recording of the law of Moses.

An acrostic: Getting Every Last Number Down. 

2. Now, down to the second shelf which has 12 books: 

Although this approach is not exactly biblically accurate, because, the name, Judges isn't one man, it did help me to organize them in my mind. It goes like this:

Joshua - 

Judges - two men,

Ruth - a woman

1 + 2 Samuel - 

1 + 2 Kings -

1 + 2 Chronicles - three sets of twins

Ezra - 

Nehemiah - two men

Esther - a woman

That's easy - 2 men, a woman, 3 sets of twins, 2 men, a woman. 

3. Then the shelf with 5 beautiful books: 

Job - (Pronounced with a long o)

Literally or prosaically its theme is, "why do good people suffer?" 

Psalms - The Jewish hymnal. 

Just for interest's sake: Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Protestant Bible; Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the Bible, and Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. 

Proverbs - These are not statements of fact; they are "probablys". 

Ecclesiastes - A preacher talks about the futility of life. 

Song of Solomon also known as Canticles - a young couple deeply infatuated with each other and missing each other terribly. 

An acrostic: John Planted Petunias Exceedingly Sparsely. 

4. The second from the bottom shelf - The Major Prophets. Major because they are longer than The Minor Prophets, not because they are more important. 

Isaiah - preached to the Israelite nation (the Northern tribes), the first of the two to go into exile. 

Jeremiah - preached to Judah, (the Southern tribes), the second to go into exile. 

Note that Isaiah with an I preached to Israel with an I and Jeremiah with a J preached to Judah with a J.  Isaiah comes before Jeremiah, as I comes before J. 

Lamentations - This also is Jeremiah's book, so, logically it follows the Book of Jeremiah. He weeps over the destruction which has come to his beloved Jerusalem because the Israelites have turned their backs on Jehovah. 

Ezekiel - He is best known for the fact that he saw and described a spaceship. 

Daniel - Is it the last book on this shelf because he was "a hard act to follow". 

An acrostic: I Just Loath Everything Depraved.

5. On the bottom shelf, with 12 books, The Minor Prophets are:

Hosea - Having

Joel - Jewels

Amos - and

Obadiah - opals

Jonah - just

Micah - might

Nahum - not

Habakkuk - help

Zephaniah -Zephaniah

Haggai - hear

Zechariah - Zechariah

Malachi - moan.

In the next post, we will look at the new bookshelf.

37. What Trinitarian Bible Teachers say About the Trinity!

 It Is Not In The Bible      

The following quotes (blue) are from, The United Church of God, web page:

http://www.ucg.org/booklet/god-trinity/trinity-biblical/   

But did you realize that, even though it is a common assumption among many sincere religious people, the word Trinity does not appear anywhere in the Bible? In fact, the word Trinity did not come into common use as a religious term until centuries after the last books of the Bible were completed—long after the apostles of Christ were gone from the scene!

Notice this admission in the New Bible Dictionary: "The term 'Trinity' is not itself found in the Bible. It was first used by Tertullian at the close of the 2nd century, but received wide currency [common use in intellectual discussion] and formal elucidation [clarification] only in the 4th and 5th centuries" (1996, "Trinity").

That same source goes on to explain that "the formal doctrine of the Trinity was the result of several inadequate attempts to explain who and what the Christian God really is . . . To deal with these problems the Church Fathers met in [A.D.] 325 at the Council of Nicaea to set out an orthodox biblical definition concerning the divine identity." However, it wasn't until 381, "at the Council of Constantinople, [that] the divinity of the Spirit was affirmed" (ibid.).

We see, then, that the doctrine of the Trinity wasn't formalized until long after the Bible was completed and the apostles were long dead in their graves. It took later theologians centuries to sort out what they believed and to formulate belief in the Trinity!

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia acknowledges that "'trinity' is a second-century term found nowhere in the Bible, and the Scriptures present no finished trinitarian statement" (1988, Vol. 4, "Trinity," ). It further states that "church fathers crystallized the doctrine in succeeding centuries"—long after the apostles had passed from the scene.

The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism states: "Today, however, scholars generally agree that there is no doctrine of the Trinity as such in either the OT [ Old Testament ] or the NT [ New Testament ] . . . It would go far beyond the intention and thought-forms of the OT to suppose that a late-fourth-century or thirteenth-century Christian doctrine can be found there . . . Likewise, the NT does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity" (Richard McBrien, general editor, 1995, "God," pp. 564-565).

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its article on the Trinity, explains: "

Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies . . . It was not until the 4th century that the distinctness of the three and their unity were brought together in a single orthodox doctrine of one essence and three persons" (1985 edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 11, p. 928).

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology points out that "primitive Christianity did not have an explicit doctrine of the Trinity such as was subsequently elaborated in the creeds of the early church" (Colin Brown, editor, Vol. 2, 1976, "God," p. 84).

Luther, Ryrie and Erickson

Martin Luther, the German priest who initiated the Protestant Reformation, conceded, "It is indeed true that the name 'Trinity' is nowhere to be found in the Holy Scriptures, but has been conceived and invented by man" (reproduced in The Sermons of Martin Luther, John Lenker, editor, Vol. 3, 1988, p. 406).

Professor Charles Ryrie, in his respected work Basic Theology, writes: "Many doctrines are accepted by evangelicals as being clearly taught in the Scripture for which there are no proof texts. The doctrine of the Trinity furnishes the best example of this. It is fair to say that the Bible does not clearly teach the doctrine of the Trinity . . . In fact, there is not even one proof text, if by proof text we mean a verse or passage that 'clearly' states that there is one God who exists in three persons" (1999, p. 89).

Ryrie goes on to state: "The above illustrations prove the fallacy of concluding that if something is not proof texted in the Bible we cannot clearly teach the results . . . If that were so, I could never teach the doctrine of the Trinity" (p. 90).

Professor Erickson ... states that the Trinity teaching "is not present in biblical thought, but arose when biblical thought was pressed into this foreign mold [of Greek concepts]. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity goes beyond and even distorts what the Bible says about God"

This post could be made indefinitely long by quoting Protestant Bible teachers who say they believe that the Trinity exists, but who, at the same time admit that such a teaching is not logical, not believable and not taught in the Bible.

This is probably enough about this topic for here and now.  If you want more evidence from the Bible that argues against the doctrine of the Trinity, I suggest the book: 

The Doctrine of the Trinity; Christianity's Self-inflicted Wound by Anthony Buzzard, available at:

http://focusonthekingdom.org/articles/trinity.htm

                                             

36. Rise in the belief of the Trinity

The Growing Divine Family

If Christ is God, would the Bible not have made that doctrine very clear?  Would it have been necessary for the church fathers to argue about it for 300 years before they could decide which way "the ball would bounce"?  

If the Holy Spirit is also a member of the trinity why was "he" not invited into the divine family until 56 years after Christ was?

Why have so many Christians who do not believe that God is a Trinity been killed because of what they believe by those who believe in the Trinity?  That is not the example Christ left us.  Those murders were designed by those who thought their opinions were more important than the teachings of the Bible.

A Selfish Church Leader

Perhaps it is no wonder that the theory of the Trinity was accepted as widely as it was because Athanasius, a leader in the church at that time, would try to destroy those people who did not agree with his heretical, theological trinitarian views. 

About Athanasius, Wikipedia writes, there were allegations of defiling an altar, selling Church grain that had been meant to feed the poor for his own personal gain, and for suppressing dissent through violence and murder. He also was accused of threatening to interfere with the supply of grains from Egypt.  If this last accusation is true, his reason for doing that probably would have been to starve those Christians in Europe who did not yet agree with his theology concerning the Trinity.  Yet, he is the man whose "doctrinal statement" many people in the church accept as the gospel truth!

About Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, at the end of the fourth century, we find this interesting bit of history.  Before the meeting of the council, he had intervened on behalf of Arius, (a leader of the non-Trinitarians) and had remonstrated with Alexander ... for deposing him (Arius). By the more vehement enemies of Arianism he (Eusebius) was regarded with great distrust. When the creed of Caesarea had been modified ... (to include the words stating that the Son was) “of the substance of the Father,” “begotten not made” ... Eusebius hesitated whether he should subscribe it. He did not like the new terms; ... But after a day’s consideration he signed with the rest, and in a letter to the people of Caesarea he explained that, “though he would resist to the last any vital change in the traditional creed of his Church, he had nevertheless subscribed to these alterations, when assured of their innocence, to avoid appearing contentious."  

So the creed which changed Christ from being the “Son of God” to being "God, the Son" happened, in part, because one leader in the church did not have the backbone to stand up for what he believed to be right!

Even Among Protestants

Another horrible example of Christian non-charity is the case where John Calvin, a leading hero of the Protestant Reformation, had Michael Servetus arrested, mistreated and murdered simply because Servetus was not a trinitarian.  

History books are full of examples such as this.  Could this possibly be what Christ meant when he said, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

The Church, as a group, did not accept that Christ was God until about 300 years after Christ’s death.   At a council meeting in 325 AD, the Church leaders made it official that the church believed that Christ also was God.   It was in 381 AD that the church added The Holy Spirit to the Godhead, and finally, officially stated that God consisted of three persons.

By the year 381 AD, the African Christian church had already imported so many doctrines from the Greek pagan culture that it was an insignificant thing for them to add another teaching to their already “non-Christian” set of beliefs.  Therefore, accepting the doctrine of the Trinity would have seemed like a small step.

Even under the threat of persecution or death, there were some who followed Arius who insisted that God is not a Trinity.  He taught that Christ is the Son of God, but not God himself.  Based on the teaching of the New Testament it seems obvious that Arius and his followers were closer to the right path than the church, which took a wrong turn way back in the fourth century. Sir Isaac Newton expressed that same thought in these words, Christianity went astray in the 4th century AD, when the Council of Nicaea propounded erroneous doctrines of the nature of Christ.

The following quotes, are taken directly from the booklet, Is God A Trinity, printed in 2011, by United Church of God: 

In the early church, it wasn't long before true servants of God became a marginalized and scattered minority among those calling themselves Christians.

The doctrine of the Trinity is considered so sacred and fundamental that many churches ... view it as a litmus test for defining who is and who isn't a true Christian. For example, author and theology professor James White writes; "We hang a person's very salvation upon the acceptance of the doctrine ... No one dares question the Trinity for fear of being branded a 'heretic' ... We must know, understand, and love the Trinity to be fully and completely Christian".

Another author writes: You cannot be saved if you don't believe in the Trinity. 

The booklet continues with many more examples from teachers who insist that the un-scriptural belief in the Trinity is essential to being a Christian.  

Ironically, those same Bible teachers say they base their doctrines on what the Bible teaches.  They may have studied their theology books - but nor their Bible.

35. St. Paul's Opinion of the Trinity

The Subservient Christ

Is it possible that the majority of theologians do not want to change their doctrine now simply because if they do, they would need to admit that they were wrong for the last 1600 years?

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn (highest (firstborn) in rank not firstborn in time) among many brethren. Rom. 8:29.  

Jehovah knew beforehand and He predestined us to become like His Son so that Christ could be ranked the highest among his brothers.  Christ is ranked the first with us, He is the head of our type of being, but He is not ranked in the same category as his Father.

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, ... and the head of Christ is God. 1 Cor. 11:3.  If Jehovah is the head of Christ how can anyone, that knows the Bible, believe that Christ and Jehovah are equal?

Now when all things are made subject to Him (Jehovah), then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him (Jehovah) who put all things under Him (Christ), that God may be all in all. 1 Cor. 15:28.  Surely the equality of the Father and the Son are forever dismissed in this one verse alone.

Paul insists on a difference between the Father and the Son. He said we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Rom. 8:17.  Jehovah does not inherit anything, because all things are His, but we (humans) are joint inheritors with Christ, therefore this verse tells us that Christ is not God, but rather one of the inheritors.

Paul continues, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom. Eph. 1:17.  Jehovah is also the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so we see that Christ is not equal to the Father.

Philippians 2:6-9

Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant (slave), and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name. Phil. 2:6-9.

In the Greek text, the word used for Christ’s life is, subsisting; this word in no way implies equality with the Father.  In fact, it is a negative word that implies poverty, "just getting by". Is this a picture of our God?

Notice, also, that being in the form of God means having a likeness to the nature of God. Certainly, the Son of God would have the nature of His father.  This, however, does not necessitate equality between the two.

He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.  TCEV has translated Phil. 2:6 like this, But he (Christ) did not try to remain equal with God.  Then, admitting that that was wrong, as a footnote they wrote, that the word, remain, could also be translated, become.  

Consequently, there is no strength in the argument for a Trinity in this verse.  If we accept the word, become, this verse would read like this, He did not try to become equal (He did not try to snatch equality) with God.  From that translation, we must understand that Christ never was, nor is, equal with Jehovah!

For these same words, the NIV has written Christ did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.  In Greek the word grasped is, snatched.  A person does not snatch something he already has.  This certainly does not say that Christ was God, it does say that Christ did not grasp for the position of equality with God.  As we recall, that was a sin that Satan was guilty of, and we see what happened to him.

God gave Him the name which is above every name.  If Jehovah gave His Son a name which is above every other name, that tells us that there was a time when Christ did not have that name of superiority, and so there is no claim for equality with Jehovah or eternality for the Son.

Paul Continues

Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. 1 Tim. 3:16.  This is among the Trinitarians favourite verse to prove the doctrine of the Trinity.  However, before we, who hold the opposing argument, admit defeat, we must point out that in the Greek translation it does not say, God was manifested in the flesh, it says, great is the mystery of the piety who was manifested in the flesh.  For the word, mystery, use the word, unveiling or revelation.  

When we stop to look at Christ’s life we agree that it is a great revelation that a person living in human flesh could live a life of such piety.  In the Greek text, this verse does not say that Christ was God; it says that Christ lived a life of piety and the revealing of that piety was great.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim. 1:17.  

Here is a good example of how easily, and how grossly wrong, theology can turn if the writer insists on inserting his own theology into a verse of scripture. The late Dr McGee wrote, Paul simply couldn’t go any further without sounding out this tremendous doxology. Who is “the King eternal”? He is the Lord Jesus Christ. And who is the Lord Jesus? He is “the only wise God.” Don’t tell me that Paul did not teach that the Lord Jesus was God. Paul considered Him to be God manifest in the flesh, and here he gives this wonderful testimony to that.

If Mr McGee had not been so insistent on seeing evidence of the Trinity, even where it is not to be found, he would have seen the obvious.  This verse of scripture does not even mention Jesus Christ.  It is a phrase of praise to God the Father.  Anyone reading McGee’s opinion, without thinking too much about it, will accept it as proof of the doctrine of the Trinity, which it is not!

Matthew Henry, about 350 years ago, in his Bible commentary, clarifying the same verse, says nothing about the Trinity.  He attributes all praise to God, the Father, where it belongs. Looking at the difference in emphases that these two teachers place on the Trinity, we sense that the false doctrine of the Trinity has grown stronger even within the last three and a half centuries.

Lavoisier explains how a teaching like the Trinity can get started and how it grows.  He wrote, suppositions handed down from one age to another acquire additional weight from the authorities by which they are supported, till at last they are received, even by men of genius, as fundamental truths.

It should be emphasized that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is, in its entirety, highly Hebraic. In spite of the fact that portions of the New Testament was communicated in Greek, the background is thoroughly Hebrew. The writers are Hebrew, the culture is Hebrew, the religion is Hebrew, the traditions are Hebrew, and the concepts are Hebrew. It is impossible to believe that Hebrew men, with a background in the Hebrew religion, would unanimously have put forward a doctrine such as the trinity! It is impossible to imagine Saint Paul, a Pharisee, preaching that God was actually three persons. Preposterous!   Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus, David Bivin and Roy Blizzard

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13.  Noting the Greek translation again, we see that this verse does not say that our great God will be appearing.  It writes, expecting the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of the great God and Saviour of us Christ Jesus. http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/tit2.pdf. 

It says that the glory of our great God will be appearing; who is the glory of God except for Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God? According to this verse, it is Christ that will be appearing when He returns to set up His kingdom, not Jehovah.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil. 1:3.  Here, Paul again makes a distinction between the Father and the Son.  Our peace comes from Jehovah and from His Son, and the two are not the same, or Paul would not have mentioned them separately.