Answers from 'Trinitarian Texts Examined'
2 Corinthians 8:9: “…our Lord Jesus Christ that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor”.
This is held to teach the incarnation of God the Son who gave up his heavenly position of power and assumed human form.
ANSWER
1) This verse says nothing at all about incarnation or the eternal pre-existence of Jesus. The time when Jesus was rich is not defined and must be discovered from other scripture.
2) But did Jesus (even accepting for a moment the trinitarian
concept) leave the riches of the Godhead behind? The trinitarians say
that Jesus was God during his ministry – if so, what part of the Godhead did he leave behind? Did the “God” part of Jesus die on the
cross? If not, then it is difficult to see what the riches of the
Godhead were that Jesus is said to have left behind.
3) Christ’s riches may be scripturally ascertained and they started with his birth and did not exist before:
a) He was the rightful heir to David’s throne and could
have assumed this position then (Matt 1:1; Luke 1:32; John 6:15).
b) He could have made stones into bread (Matt. 4:3) and performed many other similar miracles had he chosen so to do.
c) He could have called on twelve legions of angels to come to his aid (Matt. 26:53).
All of these things he refused and instead he “endured the cross,
despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2) becoming “a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). This, the suffering of the Lord,
was his poverty through whom we may become rich.
2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit…”.
Here, it is said, is a clear statement of the existence of the trinity.
ANSWER
1) Note that it does not say Jesus, the Father and the Holy
Spirit, but Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. Thus this verse does not
support the trinity, for it shows that Jesus is separate from God and,
by implication, it teaches that the Father alone is God as in 1
Corinthians 8:6.
2) The verse does not suggest or imply in any way that there is
equality or perfect unity, in the trinitarian sense, existing between
Jesus, God and Holy Spirit; this has to be read into the verse
Galatians 4:4: “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman”.
It is argued that if Jesus was sent forth by God this implies his previous existence and hence supports the trinitarian concept.
ANSWER
1) “Sent” does not imply pre-existence; John the Baptist was
sent by God (John 1:6) but no-one believes that John existed before he
was born.
2) Romans 1:3,4 gives the correct view of Jesus. He was “seed
of David” first, then, after his resurrection, “Son of God with
power”. The trinitarian concept makes Jesus Son of God with power
first, then seed of David according to the flesh second, thus
contradicting the scriptures. 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 89:27 confirm the
Romans 1:3,4 order. God says of the future son of David, “I will be
his father…” and “I will make him my firstborn…”. There is no question
in any of these scriptures of him being an eternally pre-existing son.
3) The word “sent” implies that Jesus was subordinate to the Father, for the sender is greater than the sent. This is against the trinitarian concept.
Bro John Allfree.
