1 Timothy 2:5,6 – There Is One God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Galatians 3:20; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6)

1 Thessalonians 5:23 – Is Man A Trinity? (Genesis 1:26,27)

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you [plural] entirely; and may your [plural] spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. -- New American Standard Version (words in brackets supplied by us).

1 Thessalonians 5:23, along with Genesis 1:26,27, is often presented by trinitarians as an alleged proof of their trinity dogma. Evidently, the thought is that man is presented as a trinity in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and that since man is God’s image (Genesis 1:26,27), then God also is a trinity.

VERY (ONE) BUT THE GOD OF THE PEACE MAY SANCTIFY
0846 1161 3588 2316 3588 1515 0037 0846_99
humas holoteleis kai holokleeron humwn to
YOU COMPLETELY WHOLE, AND WHOLE IN (EVERY) PART OF YOU THE
4771_7 3651 2532 3648 4771_5 3588
pneuma kai hee psuchee kai to swma amemptws en
SPIRIT AND THE SOUL AND THE BODY BLAMELESSLY IN
4151 2532 3588 5590 2532 3588 4983 0274 1722
tee parousia tou kuriou heemwn ieesou christou
THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD OF US JESUS CHRIST
3588 3952 3588 2962 1473_8 2424 5547
teereetheiee
MAY IT BE KEPT.
5083
Westcott & Hort Interlinear

Was Paul, by what he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, speaking of a man is made of? Actually, Paul was not writing about man in general, but rather of believers in Christ. In prayer form, Paul uses plural forms of words in Greek; he is not speaking of a human being individually, nor is he speaking of humans in general, In prayer form, he prays for the sanctification and preservation of the entire body of believers (Ephesians 4:4) in Thessalonica: spirit, soul, and body. (Acts 4:32; Romans 12:4,5; 1 Corinthians 1:8,9; 10:17; 12:12,13,20; Ephesians 2:18; 4:4; Philippians 1:27; Colossians 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Jude 1:24; 1 Peter 1:2) There no reason, however, to think that Paul was presenting a tripartite division of a human being, but rather that he was presenting a holistic application to the church in Thessalonica.

Paul's prayer makes it clear that God is ultimately responsible for holiness. Paul emphasizes God's faithfulness in completing what He starts in their lives by praying that God Himself sanctifies the believers. Paul was praying for the believers in Thessalonica to be preserved blameless and faultless before the Lord Jesus until the time of his return. By comparison of spiritual revealing with spiritual revealing, we can see that he was speaking of those believers as new creatures, and he was not speaking of their fleshly bodies which were still undergoing the effects of sin. In other words, he is not saying that bodies of flesh will be become totally without sin, except such is reckoned by justification. The new creature, however, is begotten apart from sin, is thus, without sin. It as new creatures that the mind, soul and body is preservered until Christ returns.

While Paul was directly speaking of the Christians in Thessalonica, the principle of what he stated is certainly applicable to the Christian church as a whole; it is certainly not describing man as a trinity as taught by the trinity doctrine. The trinity doctrine teaches that the Father is wholly, fully God, the Son is wholly, fully God, and the Holy Spirit is wholly, fully God, and that God is without parts. According to the trinity doctrine, God is three separate and distinct persons, but each person is wholly, fully God. Thus, if man is such a trinity, each human being is three separate and distinct persons, each of which are wholly, fully, the human being. We would have to say that the human soul is a separate and distinct person of each man, and yet at the same that the human soul is all of what each man is. Additionally, we would have to say that the spirit of a man is another separate and distinct person of each man, and yet the spirit of a man is also fully the man. Furthermore, the same would have to be true of the body; the body of each man would have to be a person separate and distinct from the other two persons, and yet that body would have to be fully the man himself. 

The reality is, however, Paul was not praying that the all the individual fleshly bodies of the believers be persevered until Christ returned. In harmony with other scriptures, he was using these words pictorially of the believers in Thessalonica.

In Acts 4:32, we read that “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul,” and in Ephesians 4:4, the Apostle points out that there is one BODY AND ONE SPIRIT. In Philippians 1:27, he prays that Christians may “stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel.” The true spirit has been preserved in the faithful called-out ones.

Please see our study:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 – The Spirit, Soul and Body of the Church

Genesis 1:26,27

God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

This scripture is often combined with 1 Thessalonians 5:27 as proof that man, alleged to be a trinity, is the image of God, and thus, this means that God is a trinity. What is evidently being imagined, assumed and added to what is written in Genesis 1:26,27, is that man’s being made in the image of God means that man is likewise a trinity, as man is alleged to be presented in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. In reality, “God (ELOHIM)” in Genesis 1:26 is presented as being one person who speaks to at least one other person.

In what way, then, was man created in the image of God? We know that man is separate from other animals due to his ability to reason, speak languages, etc. We can also reason that man was created in God’s image in that he was endowed with moral qualities like that of his Creator, but with the ability to choose to do what is right, or to do what is wrong. In this sense man was “crowned with the glory of God”, but after disobeying, he became short of the glory of God. (Psalm 8:5; Romans 3:23) However, the scripture itself points to the fact that to man was given a dominion. That is, that just as God rules over all the universe, so he appointed to man a dominion, to have all things on earth put under his feet. (Psalm 8:6-8) At present, due to man’s fallen condition, all things are not now under man’s feet. (Hebrews 2:8) But in the age to come this dominion will again be restored to mankind.

There is nothing in either Genesis 1:26,27 or 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that says that man’s being made in the image of his Creator means that man is a trinity of three persons, each separate and distinct from each, but each of which is fully the man. We find nothing about a Triune God at all in either Genesis 1:26,27 or 1 Thessalonians 5:23, or any place else in the Bible.

And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. -- Genesis 2:7, American Standard Version.

Genesis 2:7 does not present man as consisting of three components. What is found there is that man, the living soul, is composed of the body made from the "dust of the ground" + breath of life. With these two components, man is a living soul. 

See also our study:

Genesis 1:26,27 - Who is God Speaking To?

The Default Reasoning Regarding Jesus and His God

Trinitarians, especially, approach the scriptures with the assumption that all their trinitarian formulations are true, and most often appear to assume that the trinitarian assumptions are the default. They appear to reason that because they can think up many assumptions beyond what is written, and add to those assumptions to what is written, that what they imagine and assume is actually fact, and thus the default reasoning. Indeed, it appears that they do not even consciously realize that they are adding so many assumptions to the scriptures and reading those assumptions into the scriptures.

The "oneness" believers often do similarly, with their claims that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all three one person.

We believe, however, that the Bible itself sets what the default reasoning should be. Let us examine a few scriptures.

Psalms 2:2 - The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying. -- American Standard Version (ASV).

In Psalm 2:2, the Messiah (Anointed One) is presented, not as being Jehovah, but as the one whom Jehovah anointed. The default reasoning should be that the Messiah is not Jehovah, not to imagine and assume that Jesus is Jehovah.

Of course, the trinitarian will usually make use of his many assumptions by which he would imagine and assume that Jehovah is more than one person, and thus they will claim that Psalm 2:2 refers to one person of Jehovah who anoints another person of Jehovah, etc. The reality is that Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is not once in the Bible presented as being more than one person.

Psalms 110:1 - A Psalm of David. Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool. -- ASV. 

Here David speaks of Jesus as being his Lord, and he tells of Jehovah speaking to Jesus, his Lord. "Jehovah" refers to only one person, and David's Lord is not depicted as being Jehovah. Again, the default reasoning is that David's Lord is not Jehovah who speaks to David's Lord.  See our study: The Lord of David

Isaiah 11:1 - And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:2 - And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
Isaiah 11:3 - And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears. -- ASV.

Again, we find Jehovah presented as being one person, and the Messiah has the spirit of Jehovah resting upon him and the Messiah rests in the spirit of knowledge of the fear (reverence) of Jehovah. Indeed, it is prophesied that the Messiah will delight in the fear (reverence) of Jehovah. Jehovah is presented as being only one person, and the Messiah is distinguished from being Jehovah throughout. Again, the default reasoning is that the Messiah is not Jehovah.

Isaiah 61:1 - The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isaiah 61:2 - to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn. -- ASV.

Here Isaiah prophetically quotes the Messiah. Rather than claiming to be Jehovah, the Messiah says, "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me". Rather than claiming to be Jehovah, the Messiah says, "Jehovah hath anointed me". Rather than claiming to be Jehovah, the Messiah states concerning Jehovah, "He hath sent me". Rather than claiming to be the God of Israel, the Messiah refers to Jehovah as "our God [ELOHIM]", thus showing that he recognized himself as having Jehovah as his God. The default reasoning is not to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Israel, but rather that Jesus is not Jehovah who anointed and sent the Messiah. 

And Micah prophesies concerning the Messiah:

Micah 5:4 - And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. -- ASV.

Here the Messiah is definitely shown not to be Jehovah, but rather Jehovah is depicted as being the God (ELOHIM) of the Messiah, in whose strength the Messiah stands and feeds his flock (the flock that Jehovah gives to him -- Ezekiel 34:23,24; 37:24; John 10:29; 17:2,9). Micah 5:4 is in harmony with Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3 and many other scriptures that show that Jesus' Father is Jesus' God. Again, the default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, his God, in whose strength he stands and feeds the flock. -- See our study: Jesus Has a God

Of the Messiah Moses stated:

Deuteronomy 18:15 - Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deuteronomy 18:17 - And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken.
Deuteronomy 18:18 - I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Deuteronomy 18:19 - And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. -- ASV.

Peter refers to this as recorded in Acts 3:13-26. Rather than presenting Jesus as being Jehovah, Peter presents God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as being only one person, and he presents Jesus as being the prophet whom the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob raised up. Peter thus actually distinguishes Jesus from Jehovah throughout. The default reasoning is not to create many assumptions that have to be added to the Bible so as to claim that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but rather that Jesus is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who raised Jesus to be His prophet.

The fact is that Jehovah's Anointed One is nowhere presented as being his God. Any such idea has to be formulated beyond what is written, added to what is written and read into what is written.

Thus, the default scriptural reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Supreme Being who sent Jesus; the default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since Jesus speaks the words given to him from Jehovah the only true Supreme Being. -- Exodus 3:13,14; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 61:1; John 3:34; 5:19; 6:29; 7:16,28; 8:26,28,42; 10:36; 12:44-50; 14:10,24; 17:1,3,8; Acts 3:13-26; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 1:1,2; 1 John 4:9,10.

The default scriptural reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since it was Jehovah, God and Father of Jesus (Ephesians 1:3), who is the Only one in the universe who is the source of all (1 Corinthians 8:6), Jehovah is He who anointed and sent Jesus (Isaiah 61:1; John 17:1,3), prepared a body of flesh for Jesus (Hebrews 10:5), and made Jesus a little lower than the angels so that Jesus could offer that body of flesh with its blood to Jehovah his God for our sins.  -- Matthew 26:26-28; Luke 22:19; Romans 3:25; Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 2:9; 9:14; 10:10; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5.

The default scriptural reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, who who made the covenant with Abraham and the seed of Abraham -- which seed is Christ (Galatians 3:14,16; Luke 22:29), through whom the Father -- Jehovah -- will bless all the nations. -- Genesis 22:18.

The default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since it was Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who raised Jesus up as His prophet who is like Moses. -- Exodus 3:14,15; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:13-26.

The default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since Jesus was sent by Jehovah, speaks the words of Jehovah as his God and Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:14,15) who raised and glorified His Son. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-22; Matthew 22:32; 23:39; Mark 11:9,10; 12:26; Luke 13:35; 20:37; John 3:2,17,32-35; 4:34; 5:19,30,36,43; 6:57; 7:16,28; 8:26,28,38; 10:25; 12:49,50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8,26; 20:17; Acts 2:22,34-36; 3:13-26; 5:30; Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 8:6; 11:31; Colossians 1:3,15; 2:9-12; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:1.

The default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since Jesus receives his power and authority from, Jehovah, his God and Father. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Psalm 2:6-8; 45:7; 110:1,2; Isaiah 9:6,7; 11:2; 42:1; 61:1-3; Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 34:23,24; 37:24; Daniel 7:13,14; Micah 5:4; Matthew 12:28; 28:18; Luke 1:32; 4:14,18; 5:17; John 3:34; 5:19,27,30; 10:18,36-38; Acts 2:22,36; 3:13-26; 10:38; Romans 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:27; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Colossians 1:15,16; 2:10; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:2,4,6,9; 1 Peter 3:22.

Additionally, we reason that Jesus is not Jehovah, since, the only true God, the God and Father of Jesus, never is "given" power at all; THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS IS POWER INNATE, the source of all. (1 Corinthians 8:6) Jehovah, being the source of all might, power, does give to Jesus power, but not the power of being the source of all power, since it is obvious in that all that is given from the only true Supreme Being, that of being the only true Supreme Being is exempt from being given to anyone. (John 17:1,3; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; 1 Corinthians 15:27) All is still "of" Jehovah, the source of all, "through" the one whom only true Supreme Being has made -- appointed -- as "Lord" over the church and the world; Jesus, the one appointed, only has power "through the strength of Jehovah", "his God". -- Psalm 2:6; Isaiah 9:7; 11:2; 61:1-3; Ezekiel 34:23,24; 37:24; Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 5:4; Matthew 28:18; Luke 1:32,33; Acts 2:36; 5:31; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; Philippians 2:9-11.

The default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since it is Jehovah who is designated as being "Most High", and Jesus is designated as being "son of the Most High." (Genesis 14:22; Psalm 7:17; 83:18; 92:1; Luke 1:32; John 13:16) Jesus is never identified in the Bible as being the Most High.

The default reasoning is that Jesus is not Jehovah, since throughout the entire Bible, Jehovah is ALWAYS presented as being one person, and He is ALWAYS distinguished from being the Messiah, whom He anointed. Not one scripture presents Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as being more than one person. Not one scripture identifies Jesus as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, despite however many scriptures one may think beyond what is written in order to "see" such a thought in the scriptures. The onus is not upon one accepting this default to disprove all the claims made by others that would claim that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is only for such to present what the scriptures do say, and what they do not say, and show the harmony of the scriptures without adding all the assumptions needed to support the idea that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

See also our study: Jesus is not Jehovah.

See also: Links to our Studies Related the Ransom and the Trinity.

1 John 3:16 - Did God Almighty Lay Down His Life For Us?

1 John 3:16 - By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. -- World English Bible version.

Many, reading the King James Version of the above scripture, have claimed this verse says that God himself laid down his life for us. No, it was not God who laid down his life for us. The KJV  translators added the words "of God" to the verse. Most translations do not add the words "of God" to the verse:
http://biblehub.com/text/1_john/3-16.htm

Albert Barnes stated regarding this:

The words “of God” are not in the original, and should not have been introduced into the translation, though they are found in the Latin Vulgate, and in the Genevan versions, and in one manuscript. They would naturally convey the idea that “God” laid down his life for us; or that God himself, in his divine nature, suffered. But this idea is not expressed in this passage as it is in the original, and of course no argument can be derived from it either to prove that Christ is God, or that the divine nature is capable of suffering. The original is much more expressive and emphatic than it is with this addition: “By this we know love;” that is, we know what true love is; we see a most affecting and striking illustration of its nature. “Love itself” - its real nature, its power, its sacrifices, its influences - was seen in its highest form, when the Son of God gave himself to die on a cross. For an illustration of the sentiment, see the notes at John 3:16; John 15:13. -- Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on 1 John 3". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/1-john-3.html. 1870.

Some claim that the only way to pay for the sin of all mankind would be for God Himself to die for our sins. No scripture presents the idea that in order for God's justice to be appeased through propitiation, the death of God Himself would required. The scriptures reveal that all that is needed to appease God's justice is the offsetting price (anti-lutron) of a sinless man who would give his fleshly body with its blood in sacrifice to God on man's behalf. It was the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself in sacrifice to God for our sins. -- Matthew 26:26-28; John 6:51; 8:23; Luke 22:17-19; Romans 3:25; 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:24; 15:21,22; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 2:9; 10:10; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 1:7; 2:2; 4:9,10.

Some note that Scrivener's Textus Receptus Text have the Greek equivalent of "of God." Scrivener's text was created in the latter 1800s. Evidently, being a trinitarian, he deemed that "of God" should be added.

https://biblehub.com/text/1_john/3-16.htm

Nevertheless, even as 1 John 3:16 reads in Scrivener's Textus Receptus of 1894, it should not be understood as meaning that God gave Himself as an offering to Himself for sins, otherwise, since the condemnation would have been eternal except that that it be offset, this would mean that God is now eternally dead.

The reality is, however, that it was not God, but the man, Christ Jesus, who had, while in the days of his flesh (Hebrews 5:7), the glory that is a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9), being equivalent to Adam before Adam sinned, who did not sin as did Adam, and gave himself to God in sacrifice for Adam and all who are dying in Adam (1 Corinthians 15:21,22; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 9:14,28; 10:10,12), and Jesus is now, as a man having the glory that is a little lower than angels, eternally dead. The wages of sin that came upon Adam would have been eternal had not another taken upon himself the eternal penalty of sin, thus releasing Adam and all of Adam's descendants from that penalty. -- Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; 1 Timothy 2:5,6.

1 John 4:9-10 -  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. [10]  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

"God" above refers to only one person who is not Jesus, and that one person sent His Son -- Jesus. The default reasoning is therefore that the one sent is not the one who did the sending, that is, Jesus is not "God" who sent him.

Even so, God's love is seen in that He sent His son to die for our sins.  -- John 3:16,17; 1 John 4:9.10.

God's justice was emphasized during the time before Christ. His justice demanded the death penalty upon all of Adam's descendants due to Adam's sin. God's love combined with His wisdom, however, saw to it that all were condemned in the one man, so that only one sinless man would be needed as a propitiation (appeasing) of God's justice. This is what Paul wrote about in Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; 1 Timothy 2:5,6.


Some links to some of our related studies, see: The Ransom and Trinity