Smoking Theology desires to provide you with the understanding and resources of the current teachings of the Trinity and the historical views. Read below for both.
Dr. John MacArthur: In the “Pulpit Magazine” and online and material resources for church leaders, Dr. John MacArthur states, “God is three Persons in one essence; the Divine essence subsists wholly and indivisibly, simultaneously and eternally, in the three members of the one Godhead—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Dr. John Piper: Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in MN, speaks on the Trinity. Click his picture to listen. Piper believes that God is three persons in one unity/union.
Tim Keller: Listen to Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church , by CLICKING on his picture, which speaks shortly on the view of the Trinity view.
Modalism: TD Jakes. Read here. Jakes regards God as one person with three manifestations, faces, or modes (ie: Father, Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit).
United Pentecostal Church International: Believes as TD Jakes does, but read here for a further understanding of the non-Trinitarian doctrine.
Mormon: Mormons are also known as Ladder-Day Saints. They believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. But further reading away from there online website, we understand the “Son of” as being a created being, NOT God. Read here.
Jehovah Witness: Do not believe Jesus Christ is God, rather a perfect man who led a good example on earth in which we are to follow.
GIGIM: Began with a man named, Miranda in Miami, FL who claims to this present day (2007) he is Jesus Christ.
Islam/Muslim: Believes that Jesus Christ is only a prophet, similar to Abraham, Jacob, etc. Believes that Jesus is not God in human flesh. See video.
Unity Church: Believes that “Jesus was a special person in history who expressed perfection and thereby became the Christ, or Jesus Christ. He was a Teacher who demonstrated the importance of thoughts, words, and deeds in shaping the life and world of the individual.” Also, they teach, “the spirit of God dwelt in Jesus, just as it indwells every person; and that every person has the potential to express the perfection of Christ, as Jesus did, by being more Christ-like in everyday life.”
International Council of Unitarians and Universalists: Believe “the term, ‘Unitarian,’ comes from the idea that God is One.” BUT, they say, “people and congregations have come to understand that God is One and to call themselves Unitarians without having been trinitarians before,” and “as local customs have evolved, many Unitarians today are agnostic or atheist, while some see manifestations of the holy in multiple forms.”
Historical Trinity
Anathanasian Creed: Affirms scripture by stating that God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit are not three Gods but one God.
Apostles Creed: 1st & 2nd century creed clarifying scriptures claims ascribing to who God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are.
Chalcedon: A place in Turkey/Asia Minor, held another council held in 451 AD that affirmed the teachings of the scriptures that Jesus Christ is homoousios or “same nature” as God the Father. Therefore, Jesus Christ is God in flesh, the second person of the Godhead, on earth for a time.
Nicea: City that held the first coucil of Nicea in 325 AD, which established a clear affirmation of scriptures claim to the full deity of Christ (Jesus being divine, fully God on earth).
Historical NON-Trinity
Ebionism: Small group of Jews, existing some years after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, which believed that Jesus was only a prophet man. Not God.
Docetism: Followed shortly after the idea of Ebionism, but taught a gnostic idea of God. God is abstract, incomprehensible, evil is fleshly. They did NOT confess Jesus Christ as a man, because the flesh is evil. Therefore, Jesus was only God-spirit, seemingly human to human eyes and understanding.
Adoptionism: Some years later following the teachings of Docetism, the view adoptionism proclaimed that a man was born, Jesus Christ, who was adopted or made divine to be the Savior of the world. Basically, Jesus of Nazareth was filled by God. Not God before, eternally existing.
Sabellianism/Modalism:Views founded between 200-325 AD, following adoptionsim. Views God as one God with 3 different modes, masks, faces, manifestations, or persons. Sabellianism more specifically views God appearing in the Old Testament times as God the Father, then God the Son (Jesus Christ) during the Gospel’s recorded time, and God the Spirit from the time of Acts or Pentecost on to present times.
Arianism: Arose around the same time as Sabellianism, and refers to Jesus Christ as of similar nature, but NOT the same nature as the Father. Arius, the founder of the view, held his argument on this word, homoiousios which means of “like nature.” This word differs from the word homoousios which means of “same nature.”
Apollinarianism: Within the 4th century, viewed that Jesus Christ inherited or took on a human body. Basically, God is on the inside, and human on the outside.
Nestorianism: Still within the 4th century, viewed Jesus Christ as two persons, NOT one. He was a divine person and a human person, although Nestorius was trying to unify both.
Eutychianism: Eutyches, in the 4th and 5th century, described Jesus Christ was two natures that seemed to be separate. Stating that the divine became human, and the human became the divine.
