“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Matthew 22:36

The Jews had studied God’s laws exhaustively and this one wished to test Jesus to see what answer he would give him to this question. At once Jesus said:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38

The command to love God is therefore the greatest and foremost of all his commandments. All other laws and all the teachings of the prophets are summed up in this one law to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls and minds. No other law can faithfully be kept unless it is kept in a spirit of love.

What, however, is love? Can we say that by our a efforts to obey God’s laws we automatically show that we love him? That obedience to his commands is an essential aspect of love towards him is not to be disputed. No one who disobeys his commands loves him. Nevertheless the mere performance of religious duties is not proof of the presence of love. Men who endeavour to serve God may do so through fear, pride or prospect of reward. Love, therefore, is not necessarily the motivation behind such service. We must serve and obey God if we love him but this service must be done out of love, and must be motivated by love. One of the closest disciples of Jesus, the Apostle John, put it as follows:

“And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love.” 2 John 6

There is clearly something intensely deep about obedience that grows out of love. When we analyse the basic principles of love, we find certain essential features which must be present for this love to be truly exercised.

Firstly, love must be genuine (Romans 12:9). It must be an uninhibited expression of the affections of the heart. There must be complete freedom for such love to be genuinely exercised. If there is any presence of fear in the heart, love cannot be openly displayed. The fear of punishment will automatically disqualify the one who has it from genuinely loving the one he fears. All his service towards that person will be done with the purpose of alleviating the wrath of that person towards him. Such service, therefore, springs not from love but from self-motivation. The man who serves God because he has no assurance of forgiveness from God, and seeks by this service to obtain that forgiveness, has his own welfare at heart. He most certainly does He not truly love God for love is selfless. Love, as a motivation of the heart, knows no partners. For love to be genuine there cannot be any other factor affecting the service of the one who seeks to express that love.

Words Have Meaning

The premise is quite simple. Words have meaning. The words being written for the reader to peruse are really nothing more than vehicles for meaning. Physical symbols of ‘g’, ‘o’, and ‘d’, when properly combined produce visual representations of meaning.

I am sure we can all agree that words have meaning. When we use a word, we do so because we have agreed between us that it has a specific meaning. For instance, if one wishes to communicate ‘plate’, the word ‘frivolous’ is not used. Likewise, if one desires to communicate a more transcendent idea, such as the hope one has for success, one does not employ this phrase: “I really like your dress, Francine!”

To complicate such a simple notion, however, we can add the subject of comparative religion to the mix. Do not all religions speak about God, sin, good and evil? Because a Muslim and Christian use the same words, we must mean the same thing, correct? After all, we both believe that ‘God’ is one, the creator, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and totally unlike anything other being. We both agree that humans sin, that sin is bad because it is an act of rebellion against God. So, what is the problem?

Let me illustrate with a somewhat crude analogy. Sitting out in your front yard is a Ford and a Fiat. Let us make a list of similarities between the two:

• both are automobiles used for transportation;
• both words begin with ‘F’ and have four letters;
• both use petroleum products;
• both might even be the same color.

If we simply employ the similarities of the objects, we could rightly say that it would appear the Ford and Fiat are the same. Perhaps we would focus on the one underlying characteristic of both: they are automobiles whose purpose is transportation. Surely, these similarities are overriding in our understanding of the Ford and Fiat? Not only are they similar in important ways, they are categorically the same! They are automobiles. Granted, a Ford salesman might tell you a Fiat is not an automobile, but who can trust a car salesman?!

But the question remains: Is a Ford the same as or similar to a Fiat? Are there differences?

• one is American made, the other Italian;
• one is automatic, the other has a stick shift;
• one is new, the other is old;
• one has four doors, the other two.

Sameness and Similarity

Based on these observations, is the Ford similar to or equivalent to the Fiat? If one uses only the first list, the list of comparison, the two cars can almost be made to be equivalent (the same). On the other hand, if the second list, the contrasting characteristics, is used in addition to the first, the only conclusion possible is that the two cars are simply similar. That is, they share commonalities and similarities, but they are not the same or equivalent.

For clarity, let us distinguish between the idea of ‘sameness’ and ‘similarity’. First, let me offer this stipulative definition for sameness: any two items, persons or ideas are equivalent in every characteristic and attribute. Philosophically we are speaking of strict identity. An underlying assumption which feeds into this notion of sameness is that change exists. Sameness allows for no change or alteration. For purposes of this discussion, Muslims and Christians agree that very little changes. In fact, we might agree that God is the only being not subject to change. But this refers to his character and attributes, not to our understanding of God. More on this later.

Similarity is not sameness. Similarity is a flexible, fluctuating, pliable concept. Sameness is firm, unbreakable, absolute. Two things, persons or ideas may share any number of similarities. That they are partners in similarity, by definition, makes them not the same. Sameness and similarity are mutually exclusive concepts.

The Ford and the Fiat are similar. The fact of their similarity proves they cannot be the same. If the Ford and Fiat were indeed the very same car (but perhaps called different names by various people), we could not say they are similar. I am reminded of my own children and their struggles with the English language. Many times one of them will say something such as “That place is like a store.” What is being described is a store. If it is like (similar to) a store, it cannot be a store. It might be an office building, a house, a bank or a garage, but it cannot be a store. So, I gently correct the statement, “It cannot be like a store if it is a store.” Six year olds do not yet understand the formal equivalence of ‘is’.

Second, the definition of similar: two or more items, persons or ideas which may have at least one characteristic held in common. Obviously, then, the greater the number of characteristics and attributes held in common, the greater the similarity. The characteristics of commonality may be endless, but if there is one characteristic which is not equivalent, the two cannot be called the same.

Similarity works on a sliding scale of contrasting and comparing. We can say ‘x’ is very much like ‘y’ or we may say ‘z’ is very little like ‘y’. Both statements deal with similarity. Sameness is identity. There is no sliding scale of comparison. Either the items, persons or ideas are equal, equivalent, and identical or they are not.

It would appear that many times, Muslims (and Christians) have committed this type of error. This error is known as the fallacy of equivocation (equating two or more concepts which are not the same though they may be similar). Words which have similar meanings (that is, they share commonalities) are made to be equivalent. Muslims say ‘car’ meaning Ford while Christians think Fiat! Muslims say ‘Allah’ and think this is the God of the Bible.

From the Old Testament:

• “Know therefore this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath: there is no other.” (Deuteronomy 4:39 NKJV)
• “I am the LORD, and there is no other, there is no God beside Me.” (Isaiah 45:5)
• “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” (Malachi 2:10)
• “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4,5)

From the New Testament:

• “It is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Matthew 4:10)
• “There is one God; and there is no other but He.” (Mark 12:32)
• “You believe that there is one God; you do well.” (James 2:19)
• “Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.” (Galatians 3:20)
• “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men.” (1 Timothy 2:5)

THE MEANING OF GOD’S ONENESS

It is obvious that God’s oneness differs from man’s oneness. Man’s oneness makes him limited. Thus it is not possible for one man to be in two places at the same time. But God can be on His throne in heaven and, at the same time, be here on this earth. This is neither impossible nor difficult for God. And we do not mean that part of Him is in heaven while the other part is on the earth. We mean that God, in all His glory, can be on His throne in heaven and at the same time be here on this earth.

This is exactly what happened when Christ came to this earth. The Bible states clearly that in Christ “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). This is what we call the Incarnation. We have heard of great men and kings who wore poor people’s clothes and went to visit the poor in their homes without taking servants with them in order not to frighten the poor, and in order to see their needs and to help them. We admire such great men, and praise them for their humility and nobility. The greater the person, the greater is his nobility in humbling himself.

But who is the greatest of all? Is it not God Almighty? And who is the most noble? Is it not He who created them all? To sum up then, we assert, and God unequivocally declares, that “God is one!” But His oneness is not the same as man’s oneness, because God is not limited. And the human mind cannot fathom the depth of what deity is. It therefore suits man to stand in awe when he considers what God revealed about Himself.

The following Scriptures, given the character of Jesus Christ, are only logically explained on the basis of His deity:

*For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38)

*And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:5)

*”I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58)

*Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)

*I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

*Jesus said… “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” (John 11:25)

*I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24; see John 10:27, 28; 11:25)

*I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

*Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

*When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. (John 12:45; see John 14:7-11; 17:5)

*All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:15)

*While I am in the world, I am the light of the world, (John 9:5)

*There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. (John 12:48)

*Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36)

*[The Father has entrusted all judgments to the Son] that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. (John 5:23)

*When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. (John 12:44)

Can we imagine the president of the United States appearing on national TV and making such claims for himself? Can we imagine even the most exalted angel doing so? The magnitude of these claims are such that if they are not true, Jesus cannot be considered a sane or a good man. He would have to be considered as the founder of the greatest system of idolatry the world has ever seen. Loraine Boettner asserts in his Studies in Theology (1980, p. 144):

Certainly on the basis of His own teaching Jesus claimed Deity for Himself. No unprejudiced reader can reach any other conclusion. Such has been the impression of the great mass of those who have read the New Testament. This has led Dr. A. H. Strong to observe that “if He is not God, He is a deceiver or is self-deceived, and in either case, Christ, if not God, is not good.” And Dr. E. Y. Mullins has pointed out that if we deny His Deity then “we must conclude that, with all His moral beauty and excellence, Jesus was a pitiable failure as a teacher if He did not succeed in guarding His message against corruptions which have led to His own exaltation as God, and to the existence through eighteen centuries of a system of idolatry of which He is the center.”

Note again the close relationship between God and Christ in the following Scriptures. No mere creature, however exalted, could rationally make such claims:

I and the Father are One. (John 10:30)

He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. (John 5:23)

If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. (John 8:19)

He who beholds Me, beholds the One who sent Me. (John 12:45)

Whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:19)

No one knows the Father except the Son. (Matthew 11:27)

You believe in God, believe also in Me. (John 14:1)

He who has seen Me, has seen the Father. (John 14:9)

He who hates me, hates my Father. (John 15:23)

He who receives Me, receives the One who sent Me. (Matthew 10:40)

All that belongs to the Father is mine. (John 16:15)

My Father is working until now and I am working. (John 5:17)

For example, in the Gospel according to John, (speaking of eternal life) Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” (John 11:25). He makes the offer of eternal life conditional on faith in his own person. This would be blasphemous for anybody other than God. This is an incredible claim. Does he give any evidence for his authority to make such claims? The record gives many details of what happened at this particular day, but at the end we read, “When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, `Lazarus, come out!’ The dead mean came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, `Take off the grave clothes and let him go.'” (John 11:43-44).

When you read the Gospels carefully you will find that consistently

* Jesus talks like he is God,

* Jesus acts like he is God,

* Jesus gives evidence for claiming this authority rightfully by performing miraculous signs.

After 3 years with his disciples we read how one of them asks Jesus and wants to be “shown the Father (God)”.

Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after   I have been among you such a long time?   Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. …   Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the   Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the   miracles themselves.” (John 14:10-11).

Jesus expected the disciples and the people around him to recognise his true nature and identity from his words which are only appropriate for God to speak and from his deeds. Jesus does give enough proof and then lets you draw your own conclusions. Everybody could make the claim to be God. And many have made claims to be (a) god throughout history. Only the true God can give true evidence for it and if you have the evidence there is no need for the explicit command to worship anymore. The statement “I am God” adds nothing of substance to the question regarding his identity. His real identity is established by the proof he gives, not by claims each and everybody can make. After he has given the evidence, there is no more need for the statement. Those who are open for the truth will recognise the evidence, those who ignore the evidence won’t be convinced either if he adds this specific statement you seem to demand from him. And if you have recognized his true identity, worshiping him is only proper and will nearly be an “automatic” response.In the Gospel according to John, end of chapter 20, and the Gospel according to Matthew, end of chapter 28, we read how Jesus receives worship and affims this. Even though he never demands the worship, he accepts it and confirms it as proper.

In the following condensed descriptions of various Scriptures, we see that Jesus Christ is God because He has the attributes of God.

Eternity

The everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6).

From everlasting (Micah 5:2).

In the beginning, He always was (John 1:1, 2, 14, 15).

Jesus had glory with God before the world was created (John 17:5).

Omnipresence

Where two or three are, He is there (Matthew 18:20).

He is with us always (Matthew 28:20).

He is in every believer (John 14:20-23).

He fills all (Ephesians 1:23; 4:20).

Omniscience

He knows people’s thoughts (Mark 2:8; Luke 6:8; 11:17).

He knew the manner of His death (Matthew 16:21; John 12:33).

He knew the Father (Matthew 11:27; Only God can know Himself—1 Corinthians 2:11, 16).

He knew who would betray Him (John 6:64, 70-71).

He knew the future (John 2:19-22; John 18:4; John 13:19; Matthew 24:35).

He saw Nathaniel under the fig tree (John 1:49).

He knew the history of the Samaritan woman (John 4:29).

The disciples’ testimony (John 16:30; 17:30).

He knew all men (John 2:24, 25).

While Christ is God, we must remember that in the incarnation He had surrendered the independent use of His attributes (Philippians 2:6-8; John 5:30). As a true man, He was a servant to the Father, as an example to us (John 13:4, 5). Therefore, while on earth, there were some things the Father did not allow Him to know and in His humanity only He was not omniscient. Thus, He didn’t know the time of His return (Mark 13:32); He went to see if there was fruit on a fig tree (Mark 11:13) and He marveled at both unbelief (Mark 6:6) and belief (Matthew 8:10).

Omnipotence and Sovereignty

He is the Almighty (Revelation 1:8).

He does whatever the Father does (John 5:19).

He upholds all things (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3).

All authority, including over all mankind, is given to Him (Matthew 28:18; John 17:2, 3).

He is the head over all rule and authority (Colossians 2:10).

He has power to subject all things unto Himself (Philippians 3:21).

He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25).

He exerts control over His own life and death (John 10:18).

He is the ruler of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5).

He has power over nature (Luke. 8:25).

He is Lord of all (Revelations 19:16; 1 Peter 3:22, Colossians 1:18; Acts 10:36).

Immutability

He is always and forever the same (Hebrews 13:8 cf., 1:12, 8, 10).

His words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).

Holy

He is holy (Revelation 3:7)

He is the holy offspring that will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

He is without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

He is holy, innocent, undefiled, and separated from sinners (Hebrews 7:26).

He is unblemished and spotless (1 Peter 1:19).

He committed no sin (John 8:46; 1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 2:22).

Truth

He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

The truth is in Jesus (Ephesians 4:21).

He is the truth (John 14:6).

He is faithful and true (Revelation 19:11).

If the major attributes of deity are ascribed to Christ, the only logical conclusion is that Christ is God.

2 But is this really what we find when we carefully examine the writings of the earliest Christian leaders, or is this merely an invention by those who, for whatever reason, choose not to believe in the Trinity? The following twenty-two chronological examples of key leaders show that the early church clearly believed that Jesus Christ was God:

Ignatius of Antioch (30-107 A.D.). He was born before Christ died and consistently spoke of the deity of Jesus Christ. Consider a few examples: In his writings To the Ephesians, To the Romans, To the Magnesians and other letters, we find references such as the following: “Jesus Christ our God”; “who is God and man”; “received knowledge of God, that is, Jesus Christ”; “for our God, Jesus the Christ”; “for God was manifest as man”; “Christ, who was from eternity with the Father”; “from God, from Jesus Christ”; “from Jesus Christ, our God”; “Our God, Jesus Christ”; “suffer me to follow the example of the passion of my God”; “Jesus Christ the God” and “Our God Jesus Christ.”3 The fact that Ignatius was not rebuked, nor branded as teaching heresy by any of the churches or Christian leaders he sent such letters to proves that the early church, long before 107 A.D., accepted the deity of Christ.

Polycarp (69-155 A.D.). He possibly spoke of “Our Lord and God Jesus Christ.”4

Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.). He wrote of Jesus, “who… being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God.”5 In his Dialogue with Trypho, he stated that “God was born from a virgin” and that Jesus was “worthy of worship” and of being “called Lord and God.”6

Tatian (110-172 A.D.). This early apologist wrote, “We do not act as fools, O Greeks, nor utter idle tales when we announce that God was born in the form of man.”7

Theophlius (116-181 A.D.). He was the first to use the term “Trinity” in his Epistle to Antolycux II, xv.8

Irenaeus of Lyons and Rome (120-202 A.D.). He wrote that Jesus was “perfect God and perfect man”; “not a mere man…but was very God”; and that “He is in Himself in His own right…God, and Lord, and King Eternal” and spoke of “Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Saviour and King.”9

Tertullian of Carthage (145-220 A.D.). He said of Jesus “Christ is also God” because “that which has come forth from God [in the virgin birth] is at once God and the Son of God, and the two are one…in His birth, God and man united.” Jesus is “both Man and God, the Son of Man and the Son of God.”10

Hippolytus (170-235 A.D.). He said, “[it is] the Father who is above all, the Son who is through all, and the Holy Spirit who is in all. And we cannot otherwise think of one God, but by believing in truth in Father and Son and Holy Spirit…. For it is through this Trinity that the Father is glorified…. The whole Scriptures, then, proclaim this truth.” And, “the Logos is God, being the substance of God.”11

Caius (180-217 A.D.). He was a Roman Presbyter who wrote of the universal Christian attestation to the deity of Christ in his refutation of Artemon, who maintained that Christ was only a man. Caius appealed to much earlier writers, all of whom taught Christ’s deity: “Justin and Miltiades, and Tatian and Clement, and many others—who is ignorant of the books of Irenaeus and Melito, and the rest, which declare Christ to be God and man? All the psalms, too, and hymns of brethren, which have been written from the beginning by the faithful, celebrate Christ the Word of God, ascribing divinity to Him…. [This] doctrine of the Church, then, has been proclaimed so many years ago,…”12

Gregory Thaumaturgus of Neo-Caesarea (205-270 A.D.). He declared in On the Trinity, that “All [the persons] are one nature, one essence, one will, and are called the Holy Trinity; and these also are names subsistent, one nature in three persons, and one genus [kind].”13 He referred to Jesus as “God of God” and “God the Son.”14

Novatian of Rome (210-280 A.D.). He wrote in his On The Trinity of Jesus being truly a man but that “He was also God according to the Scriptures…. Scripture has as much described Jesus Christ to be man, as moreover it has also described Christ the Lord to be God…. this same Jesus is called also God and the Son of God.” “Christ Jesus [is] our Lord God.”15 (Note, then, that in the 200’s we already had discourses on the Trinity.)

Origen of Alexandria (wrote ca 230 A.D.). He stated that Christ was “God and man.”16 In 254 A.D. he wrote, “Jesus Christ…while he was God, and though made man, remained God as he was before.”17

Athanasius (293-373 A.D.). This keen defender of New Testament teaching against the early Arian heresy, which taught that Jesus Christ was not God, declared of Jesus, “He always was and is God and Son,” and “He who is eternally God,… also became man for our sake.”18

Lucian of Antioch (300 A.D.). “We believe in… one Lord Jesus Christ, his Son, the only-begotten God…God of God.…”19

Alexander of Alexandria. He spoke in reference to Jesus of “his highest and essential divinity” and that he was “an exact and identical image of the Father.”20

Eusebius of Caesarea. Stated that “the Son of God bears no resemblance to originated creatures but…is alike in every way only to the Father who has begotten [Him] and that he is not from any other hypostasis and substance but from the Father.”21 And (325 A.D.), “We believe in… one Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God, God of God.…”22

Cyril of Jerusalem (ca 350 A.D.). “We believe in… One Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God…very God, by whom all things were made.”23

Epiphanius of Constantia (374 A.D.). “We believe…in one Lord Jesus Christ…of the substance of the Father, Light of Light, very God of very God.”24

Augustine. Declared that Christians “…believe that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, maker and ruler of the whole creation: that Father is not Son, nor Holy Spirit Father or Son; but a Trinity of mutually related Persons, and a unity of equal essence,” and that therefore, “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit God; and all together are one God.”25

Tertullian. Wrote of Jesus that “He is God and man…. We have here a dual condition—not fused but united—in one person, Jesus as God and man.”26

Proclus. “He was born of woman, God but not solely God, and man but not merely man…..Christ did not by progress become God—heaven forbid!—but in mercy he became man, as we believe. We do not preach a deified man; we confess an incarnate God…him alone who was born of a virgin, God and man.”27

Cyril of Alexandria. Wrote of Jesus, “For he remained what he was; that is, by nature God. But…he took it on himself to be man as well,” and, “There is nothing to prevent us from thinking of Christ as being the one and only Son at once both God and man, perfect in deity and perfect in humanity…he is conceived of as God and is God,…”28

From the very first the leaders of the Christian church—immediately after the time of the apostles up to the Council of Nicea in the fourth century and beyond—had consistently believed and taught that Jesus Christ is God. Therefore, those who deny this are clearly mistaken when they maintain that the Trinity was “invented” by Christians only in the 4th century or later.

There is only one logical explanation for the abundant early testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ: early church leaders were simply declaring what was already declared by Jesus Christ and the apostles in Holy Scripture: that Christ was indeed God. As Gregory of Nazianzus stated in his “Third Theological Oration Concerning the Son,” “From their [the apostles] great and exalted discourses we have discovered and preached the deity of the Son.”29 E. Calvin Beisner, author of God in Three Persons, states:

The testimony of the New Testament to the deity of Christ is unanimous…. Were there no passages at all which directly call Christ God, we would still have a great weight of evidence that is the New Testament conception of him, for in all senses he is depicted as precisely parallel to God the Father. C. F. D. Moule wrote: “Far more impressive than any single passage are two implicit Christological ‘pointers.’” At first is the fact that, in the greetings of the Pauline epistles, God and Christ are brought into a single formula. It requires an effort of imagination to grasp the enormity that this must have seemed to a non-Christian Jew. It must have administered a shock comparable (if the analogy may be allowed without irreverence) to our finding a religious Cuban today inditing a message from God-and-“Che” Guevara….”

The other Christological pointer, evidenced early… [is the undeniable] fact that Paul seems to experience Christ as any theist reckons to understand God—that is, as personal, but as more than individual: as more than a person. This is evidenced by certain uses (though admittedly not all) of the well known incorporative formulae, “in Christ.”…30

The truth is that for all those who deny Christ’s deity—as for the early Arians—the Trinity is simply a stumbling block to their rationalism. What they cannot fully comprehend, they will not accept. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be rejected on biblical or historical grounds because the testimony for it is too abundant. It can only be rejected on philosophical and personal grounds which have no merit.