Ephesians 3:12 - in [by means of] whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.
Ephesians 3:13 - Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
Ephesians 3:14 - For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 3:15 - from whom [This is evidently referring to the God and Father of Jesus] every family in heaven and on earth is named [evidently not referring to appellations, but rather to positioning -- Genesis 28:4],
Ephesians 3:16 - that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man. -- World English.
John Ankerberg and John Weldon (The Facts on Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1988 edition, page 14) claim that the above verses are impossible to understand if one does not accept the triune God philosophy. Is there really anything in the verse that is impossible to understand without using human imagination so to assume the trinity dogma over the verse? Absolutely not! The scriptures are completely understandable without the necessity of adding what has to be imagined beyond what has been written.
First of all, in order to “see” the triune God in these verses, what does the trinitarian have to imagine, assume, add to, and read into these verses? In Ephesians 3:11 the phrase “he purposed”, the “he” refers back to “God” in Ephesians 3:10. The trinitarian has to conclude that the word “God” in verse 10 does not mean their alleged triune God, but rather only one person. The trinitarian would, of course, imagine and assume that "God" is referring to what they claim to be "the first person" of their triune God. Thus, they would imagine and assume that Paul is saying:
Ephesians 3:11 according to the eternal purpose which the first of the trinity purposed in the second person of trinity, our Lord;
Ephesians 3:12 in whom [the second person of the trinity] we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him [the second person of the trinity].
Ephesians 3:13 Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
Ephesians 3:14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the first person of the trinity who is the Father of our Lord, the second person of the trinity,
Ephesians 3:15 from whom [the trinitarian, however, would have to imagine and assume that it is referring a triune God] every family in heaven and on earth is named ,
Ephesians 3:16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of the glory of the first person of the trinity, that you may be strengthened with power through the third person of the trinity of the first person of the trinity in the inward man.
Is all of this necessary? Is there any reason that one would have to add all of the above assumptions to what Paul said in order for what Paul wrote to be understood? Absolutely not! What Paul wrote is completely understandable without adding all the trinitarian assumptions into the verses.
Indeed, throughout the letter to the Ephesians, Paul constantly refers to “God”, not as three persons, but as one person, and he constantly distinguishes “God” from Jesus. Nowhere in the Bible does Paul ever refer to Jesus as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul identifies “God”, not as three persons, but as one person, saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in [by means of] Christ.” Ephesians 4:30 identifies the Holy Spirit, not as “God”, or as a person of God, but as belonging to “God”.
Nowhere is “God” or the “Father” identified as being one of three alleged persons of God, nor is Jesus Christ ever identified as being one of three alleged persons of God, nor is the Holy Spirit of God ever identified as being one of the three alleged persons of God.
Actually, reading triune dogma into the above verses tends to make the verses appear to be confusing. The statement made by Ankerberg and Weldon “that assuming God is not three persons makes it impossible to understand” these verses actually makes no sense since we can certainly understand the verses without adding the trinitarian assumptions to what Paul wrote.
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